African Cats Revisited

The Disney Nature film African Cats premiered in theatres in  2011. Way back I posted some artwork I had created based on scenes from the film. The sketches were used as part of the film's promotion.

Among my digital files I just found a few more images. 

The original African Cats post is here:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/10/african-cats.html

The movie is still available for viewing on Disney+. I still think it is magnificent, in its storytelling as well as cinematography.

Painting Milt Kahl Cels II

A few posts back I wrote about the challenges some cel inkers and painters might have had when dealing with Milt Kahl scenes.

It was in fact Cherie Miller who gave me this bit of information. In this photo she is working on a Madame Medusa cel from a scene when Medusa threatens Snoops and Penny. 

The character's lips were painted painstakingly on top of the cel while all other colors were added on the back as usual. You can see from the sketchy drawing that decisions had to be made as to where exactly a particular color area ends, against which line?

Here is the link to the previous post:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2025/01/painting-milt-kahl-cels.html

Milt Kahl, 116

Today is Milt Kah's birthday number 116. He was eight years younger than Walt Disney. I don't have much to add to what I have been saying in previous posts. Milt was the right guy at the right time in the right place working for the right person. Hard to imagine what all those Disney characters would look like without his design contributions over so many years. Also countless outstanding animated performances.

So here's to Milt who had one of the most stellar careers in animation. 

Here are a few key drawings showing Madam Medusa as she interacts with off stage Penny. Milt was still experimenting with new expressions and graphic styles.

An amazing scene with George Hautecourt, the old lawyer from The Aristocats. He is sitting in his car, and as he takes off his gloves you can feel the leathery material by the way he uses squash and stretch. In the most sophisticated way. 

Dame Edna Everage

Some of you might be familiar with Barry Humphries' bigger than life creation of Dame Edna Everage.

I first became aware of this character in 1987 when I was working in London on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

At that time many magazine covers were announcing a new talk show with host Dame Edna. 

For one reason or another I got to talk to Dick Williams about this upcoming program. He said I should watch it, because it will be a very funny show.

The Dame Edna Experience had its debut in September of 1987....and I haven't stopped laughing since.

Guests included VIPs like Sean Connery, Joan Rivers, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Rudolph Nureyev among many others. Dame Edna takes pleasure in ridiculing her guests, but in a "sharing and caring way".

Eventually Edna also gave live theatre performances in London, and I remember going to see her with a group of friends like Don Hahn, Max Howard, Dick Williams and his wife Mo. We were laughing so hard that our stomachs were hurting. The way Edna interacted with a live audience on stage was comedic brilliance.

In later years I was able to catch her live shows in New York, Los Angeles and Sydney.

To me Edna is the funniest character creation ever. Nobody makes me laugh more.

Barry Humphries died in April of 2023, age 89.

There are many hilarious Dame Edna clips on Youtube, this one shows Humphries' genius as a guest on the Michael Parkinson show. Watch the reactions of co-guests Judie Dench and Sharon Osborne. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neMoV2AJO-c&t=562s

Mickey Sorcerer by Fred Moore

A beautiful Fred Moore sketch of Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice is currently being offered on Ebay. I don't think Fred animated any scenes for this stunning short film, but he was animation supervisor. That means he would guide and help other animators with drawing and staging Mickey.

I find the second image particularly interesting, since it shows Fred's search for a better body pose. Here Mickey is about to magically bring the brooms to life. Fred is trying to show tension in Mickey's body in order to perform this forceful act. I think both positions could have worked, but Fred decided on the better version.

This reminds me of the Mickey Mouse exhibition I curated for the Walt Disney Family Museum a few years ago. Here are a few pics from that exhibit:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2019/07/mickey-at-walt-disney-family-museum.html

Three Caballeros and a Lady

I keep discovering new, unpublished Fred Moore drawings from the South American movies all the time. Fred was in high demand when it came to promote these films. This one is a real gem.

Donald, Panchito and Jose Carioca, each showing different attitudes. Beautiful!

Crazy with the Heat

Crazy with the Heat is a Goofy/Donald short from 1947. Ed Aardel was the lead animator on the film. I remember seeing it as a kid in a theatre as part of a Disney shorts package program.

These terrific rough drawings from the short were recently offered on Ebay. I did not get them, but I think I should have. Because when examined closely, I believe at least some of them are by Milt Kahl. This is exactly how Milt drew during the 1940s, and as we all know during his career he helped many animators to improve staging and drawing for their scenes.

I think these are fantastic "doodles". What do you think? Could these be Milt's?

Here is the Wikipedia link to Crazy with the Heat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_with_the_Heat