Saludos Amigos (Various Directors, 1943)

"Adios Hollywood, Saludos Amigos!"

Introduction

I purchased Pocahontas on Blu Ray. This would be a very strange thing to do if I wasn't watching the entire back-catalogue of Disney animated features but, more importantly, I need to be writing faster if I want to reach Pocahontas anytime soon. Following Bambi, the Disney studios changed dramatically. First off, the world was at war. But before America joined World War II in 1941, the US Department of State funded the Disney studios to commit to a 'Goodwill' Tour of Latin America that adhered to a 'Good Neighbour' policy. Saludos Amigos was the first of six-films that were made during the 1940's - opposed to the previous three films which, though released in the early forties, were all animated and created at the end of the thirties. Indeed, Bambi had been planned shortly after Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The film is not exclusively animated either - as it shows live-action sequences that show the animators themselves on the plane... this is not the usual Disney film, thats for sure.

Animation

What is interesting - and at the time, must've been much more interesting for viewers - was the information about animation that was shown. The live-action sequences show animators on the plane and even the artists drawing and sketching. This, in and of itself, is fascinating to see. During the hey-day of Disney, it is great to imagine how fascinating this was to viewers to watch Disney artists and vocalists such as Pinto Colvig (voice of 'Goofy'), Norman Ferguson (chief animator of 'The Witch' in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) and Walt Disney himself in more relaxed circumstances - especially seeing their dexterity and flexibility in creating characters.

The first story informs us about Lake Titicata (a lake on the border between Peru and Bolivia) with the (exceptionally famous) Donald Duck. There is a fascinating contrast in art-styles - and this is why I personally love watching these films in HD where possible. This then shifts to return to the animators trying to capture views from the plane, draw Calleberos, dancers and singers. This footage truly captures the culture of the country - and the position the artists are in trying to 'catch' the people in a cultural moment. There is a sequence whereby a narrator informs us of the similarities between the Texan Cowboys and the Gaucho - and this is creatively edited together as the horse is often pushed off-screen, and into the next frame. Our Disney pal 'Goofy' plays the Gaucho to much comedic effect.

A New Character

One thing the Disney studio attempted to create with this film was a new, South-American character in a parrot named Jose Cariola. As a prelude to his introduction, we see an animated, colourful sequence showing the detailed plants and nature in South America before meeting with Donald Duck again. It is he who introduces us to Jose - a samba dancer. Jose became a South-American Disney-branded character that would go on to appear in the The Three Calleberos (another Disney animated classic) and appear moreso in comic-books and within Disney resorts.

The film is clearly weaker than the previous five - and it doesn't pretend to be anything more. But I would be interested in knowing the influence for the sequences at the start. The dancing in the clubs reminded me of a 2011 Oscar-Nominated animated-film Chico Y Rita, whilst the opening credits - alongside similar music - brings to mind the 'Three Blind Mice' opening of Dr No. I would not be so brash to say how Chico Y Rita and Dr No were directly influenced by Saludos Amigos, but clearly the artistic-influence may have been one-and-the-same.

Dumbo (Various Directors, 1941)

"Did you ever see an elephant fly?"

Introduction

Like my assumption that Pinocchio was merely a story-about-a-puppet-with-a-long-nose (it is anything but...), I could not really recall the story of Dumbo. I could remember a circus ... and the bit when he jumps out the fire-house ... and I knew the song "When I See An Elephant Fly" very well from a Disney cassette I had as a child. The first thing I noticed before watching was how short it is - only 1-hour 4-minutes! The Disney Studio lost money on Pinocchio and Fantasia, and to make matters worse, strikes hit California. The hey-days of the Hyperion Studios - whereby artists would work into the early hours of the morning - were over. In addition, a number of artists had joined the studio from the East Coast and they didn't have the same work ethic as Walt Disney.

A Stork Delivers Dumbo

A wholly American story, the film was an adaptation of a story by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, and adapted by long-term Disney-writer Joe Grant. It also featured something Disney himself adored: trains. The story begins as a Stork delivers a new baby to Mrs Jumbo (Hardly the most imaginative name there!) and the baby Elephant - though incredibly cute, has enormous ears and is nicknamed Dumbo. He is taunted by the other Elephants and, due to his large ears, he is mocked by visitors to the Circus. Mrs Jumbo gets angry, bordering on madness, and is isolated. Dumbo though, with the help of his mouse-friend, manages to literally break-free from the constraints of the circus and manages to reach his full potential.

The story is so tragic - we witness a child being bullied by adults, before losing his mother. Walt and Roy had lost their own Mother in 1938, whilst their Father passed in 1941. To imagine Walt and Roy observing the artists portray Dumbo losing his Mother is difficult to imagine ... but conisder how they were working on Bambi too must have been truly unsettling.

 

Modern American Tale

Thematically, it is a very American story. There is excessive colour with a vibrant landscape - nowhere near as dark as Pinocchio. There is a capitalist-edge, as Dumbo - and all the elephants - are effectively employees working for the Circus. The Circus does not treat them well - isolating his Mother and humiliating Dumbo by dressing him as a clown.

But the look of the film is 'cartoony', it ignores the more classical and European elements of the previous three films. In fact, one of the stand out sequences is the surreal dream-sequence when Dumbo gets a little tipsy and see's dancing pink elephants - defined outlines and neon colours dominate the screen as characters dance across the screen. Elephants morph into snakes and morph again into a belly-dancer, and then again, into a floating circle before opening as an eye. A parody on Surrelism maybe, but it clearly was 'of its time' as the 1940's became a point whereby Surrealist artist Salvador Dali began promoting himself moreso - before working with Disney on the only-recently-finished Destino. Despite this interesting use of animation, the film had to save money on its animation by using large watercolour back drops and cutting back on the special effects - indeed, compare the animation of water in Pinocchio with the animation of water in Dumbo and you can see a significantly 'cheaper' quality. Disney knew that this film was all about the story - and it is indeed what makes the film unforgettable.

 

Flawed but Memorable

More caricature than realism, the film primarily used artists who worked on the Silly Symphonies and therein lies the importance of this film. The animators working on Dumbo, in many cases, decided to cease working for Disney after the film - despite their work in the previous decade. Some of the greatest animators, referred to as the 'Nine Old Men', were genereally working on Bambi, but the animators and artists who taught the 'Nine Old Men' were working on Dumbo. Specifically, Art Babbit, Bill Tytla and Walt Kelly - all of which worked on the first three-feature Disney films.

The crows are a very small part, but their characterisation and song, are definately one of the films highlights. I would argue the film is flawed - a little too 'loose' for me in its animation - but it has a beautiful story, with an incredibly cute elephant at the centre of it. And I guess that is why it was so successful, and crucially, a financial success for the Disney studios...

Fantasia (Various Directors, 1940)

"Now, look - will the soundtrack kindly produce a sound?"

Introduction

As mentioned during the week, this film was bought for me as a birthday present. For a long time I was keen to watch - or rewatch - the Disney 'Classics' Canon. Fantasia is a funny film as many people dislike the film - vividly remembering The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Mickey Mouse but not-so-keen on sequences like the 'soundtrack' whereby the composer converses with a vertical line that shimmers and changes shape according to the instrument played. You win some, you lose some I guess.

The Filmmaker as an Artist

Having recently taught lessons on the artist Wassily Kandinsky, I was amazed to see various theories that he believed discussed in the film Fantasia. To clarify, Kandinsky was "fascinated by music's emotional power" - music had no constraits or literal form, whilst at the time, to some extent, Art did. Kandinsky experimented with the idea that Art could be as expressive, abstract and emotionally involving as music creating art pieces that contained a musical playfulness and resonance. The very first thing Fantasia 'teaches' us, is the connection music has with art. Deems Taylor, who 'narrates' each segment states:

"What you're going to see on the screen are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists."

He even goes further to explain 'three different types of segments'

"First, there's the kind that tells a definite story. Then there's the kind that while it has no specific plot, it does paint a series of more or less definite pictures. And then there's a third kind, music that exists simply for its own sake ... what we call "absolute music". Even the title has no meaning beyond a description of the form of the music. What you will see on the screen is a picture of the various abstract images that might pass through your mind if you sat in a concert hall listening to this music" 

For a family film starring Mickey Mouse, this is hugely informative and filled with art theories associated with 'high art' at the time. Kandinsky died in 1944 at the age of 78, so it is safe to assume that his theories and artistic practice was clearly known in the art world by 1940. It'd be nice to think that maybe, just maybe, Kandisnky watched Fantasia. If he did, I'd be very interested to know his opinion. In an attempt to see if there was any quote from Kandinsky on the film I found a short blog post that managed to see the connection I have seen between Kandinsky and Fantasia too.

Access to Classical Music

The conductor Leopold Stokowski introduces many segments and, to add to the feeling of watching an orchestra, we see the orchestra set-up and prepare at the start. An interval additionally shows the orchestra 'leave the stage' before re-emerging (and even engaging in a little playful improvisation) before the second-half commences. I believe that Disney wanted to bring the beauty of classical music to the masses. I know here in England, it is not neccessarily easy to find a full orchestra play classics if you don't live in London. So in the big, expansive US of A I assume it will be even more difficult. If you live in small little town in Utah, to 'experience' the Philadelphia Orchstra playing Tchaikovsky is unlikely - so every effort has been made to make you 'feel' like you are watching a live show. The hustle and the bustle of the set-up, the opening curtains, the 'improv' playing and lack of camera-movement as the Orchestra are seen. We don't move through the orchestra or see out into the audience - everything is from the front, sometimes in close-up to focus our attention to a detail, but ultimately from the front. Reminds me about Dial M for Murder, whereby Hitchcock attempted to use 3D to make it appear that you are looking up to the action 'on the stage'.

Off-Balance

Despite the good intentions of the filmmakers, it is clear that some sequences work and some do not. Obviously, The Sorcerers Apprentice is iconic and unforgettable. The fact that the purpose of the sequence was to re-establish Mickey Mouse after he became a little less popular at the time, clearly worked a treat. The animator Fred Moore even added white's in his eyes to give him more opportunities to express himself - the 'character' being the centre-point to much of Disney's success. But the 'soundtrack' sequence as a literal soundtrack  - a vertical line - changes shape and colour to demonstrate the different instruments, feels a little out of place. But again, as weak as this one sequence may appear, I think it is 'teaching' us the different sounds - what exactly does a clarinet sound like? The sequence literally goes through different instruments and shows us the sounds they make.

Another sequence is based on 'Science'. I felt that this was quite groundbreaking in how it depicts the beginning of the earth through to the extinction of dinosaurs. I vaguely remember this sequence as, pre-Jurassic Park, I was a huge dinosaur fan and this was one of the view visual associations I could have. I think the ground-breaking element resided in the presentation of evolution 'for kids'. I know that, even now, many children simply do not 'believe' in evolution, but it is clear that Disney is trying to ram this reality home: "And that story, as you're going to see it, isn't the product of anybody's imagination. It's a coldly accurate reproduction of what science thinks went on during the first few billion years of this planet's existence. Science, not art, wrote the scenario of this picture."

Innovation and the Future

This was the third Disney film - following Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Pinocchio. One thing that is exceptionally clear from watching the special features of these earlier films, is how much innovation Disney brought to animation. The first feature-length animation in Snow White, fascinating angles and uses of colours to show dream sequences - Disney's work with Dali on Destino. It truly is awe-inspiring to see such amazing talent on screen. Fantasia for all its inconsistencies, again presents us with a broad range of incredble animation - from the abstract shapes, colours and ideas that open the film, through to the fun and engaging The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Nutcracker Suite. The science lesson in The Rite of Spring and the 'introduction-to-ballet' we have with the Dance of the Hours and to finish with the incredibly scary and sinister devil in the Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria. Whether it works or not (21st Highest Grossing Film of All-Time when adjusted for inflation through the multiple re-releases it has had since its release in 1940... I think this means it worked...) is not so much the point as it is an fascinating idea and stunning to observe - either showing one sequence or watching the whole 'experience'. Another ground-breaking release from Mr Disney.

Pinocchio (Various Directors, 1940)

"Give a bad boy enough rope, and he'll soon make a jackass of himself."

Introduction

As an Art teacher who loves cinema, I firmly believe Walt Disney is one of the most important artists to film-making. Indeed, on Waking Sleeping Beauty (a documentary about Jeffrey Katzenberg's influential phase at Disney between 1984 and 1994), they note how even Spielberg himself attempted to imitate the Disney-formula (By producing An American Tale, The Land Before Time and, in conjunction with Disney, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) during a time whereby Disney itself was losing its credibility. Harking back to the first-five unforgettable films - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi - it really is clear how important Disney is to animation, and how the style of Disney itself changed and adapted through the years. 

Basic Three-Act Structure

As a story, what is strange about Pinocchio is how it is clearly separated into three different 'acts'. The original story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Collodi was serialised and this is clear in Disneys version as the story shifts gear dramatically between sequences - held together by Jiminy Cricket. The first act portrays Geppeto's workshop and Pinocchio coming to life when the Blue Fairy visits - leading to the puppet show organised by the evil Stromboli. The second act begins as we are re-introduced to the Fox and the Cat, who take all the badly-behaved boys to a place called 'Pleasure island' whereby the the boys who smoke and drink are literally turned into donkeys. Again, Pinocchio manages to escape and we fall into the final act - whereby Geppeto is stuck inside a whale. Jiminy Cricket, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves introduces the story from a book under the wistful idea that "Dreams do come true".

Incredibly Relevant

How fascinating that the story is still incredibly relevant today! Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith and Ned Washington are responsible for the music and consider the celebrity culture and attitudes of teenagers when reading the following lyric:

Hi-diddle-dee-day An actor's life is gay It's great to be a celebrity An actor's life for me Hi diddle dee dee You sleep till after two You promenade a big cigar You tour the world in a private car You dine on chicken and caviar An actor's life for me!

The idea that in 1940, the 'evil' characters sang about how an easy life is the life of a celebrity. It is clear that this is not entirely true and that fame comes at a cost. We can see that the Fox and Cat are uneducated and disastrously poor. Considering that Jiminy Cricket sings about 'dreams coming true' on the one hand, on the other hand we have characters who tell us that life can be easy, when they are clearly leading a hard and difficult life without education or a steady-income. I know many children - and adults - have very warped ideas about fame, and they will often link fame with their 'dreams' of being rich. In reality, it is not so simple - and the contrast between these two ideas is shown clearly in the film. Personally, I am amazed at how much Disney managed to sneak into the film. Consider a kids film now portraying our lead character, who your children can relate to, smoking and drinking alcohol. The incredibly sinister character who steals children to take them to 'Pleasure Island' truly sets the stage for deeper social and emotional issues.

Smoking, Drinking, Vandalism and Violence

The [very-obvious] moral to the story is how children who like to smoke, drink, vandalise and openly get involved in violence eventually turn into jack-asses and work in mines - or any other lower-paid job. Pinocchio, despite the lessons he learns in the first act and his good heart, is easily swayed towards these vices - and not necessarily because he is personally attracted to them but because he is influenced by others around him. Maybe it is a very simplistic attitude towards social disadvantages, but I would like to think that the clarity in Pinocchio turning to these vices (only for he himself to feel ill and become a jack-ass) shows how it is our decision to turns these things down which truly makes our character. Jiminy Cricket can advise Pinocchio as much as he can, but unfortunately it is his decision and no one else's...

Indeed, there is a huge difficulty in knowing and defining what is right and wrong when you are a young child. You need help and you often learn from mistakes - but it is the love of your family which will support you in this (Geppeto never gives up hope with Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy gives Pinocchio many chances).

Incredible Characterisation

As noted on another blog (Film Nitrate), the characterisation of Clio and Figaro is hugely underrated. Clio - the beautiful, feminine fish who dances and shows-off her golden fins whilst Figaro is an impulsive, jealous, masculine animal. He plays but he has a heart of gold. It is clear that even in sidekick characters (E.g. The Cat alongside the Fox) the stupidity and slapstick humours ensures the story moves along swiftly - could the tramp-like Cat be attributed to Chaplin's The Tramp? Inevitably, these purely comedic roles must have influenced future Disney films: Zazu in The Lion King, Iago in Aladdin ...

The Truth about Pinocchio

Prior to watched Pinocchio, I could only recall the long-nose-when-lying sequence. I thought that this was an integral part to the film that surely became a focus point of the narrative. It is not. In fact, this one sequence could be taken out of the film and it wouldn't make much difference. The sequence is simply pointing out the moral: "Don't lie". That's it. Pinocchio is so much more that a wooden-boy-who-lies. It is about the challenges a child has when growing up, the temptations around them and how to choose the path of goodness and the choice to fall in with wrong crowd.

The artistry is hugely influenced by nineteenth-century European architecture and specifically the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. Disney artist Gustaf Tenggren created many images to root Pinocchio in historical artistic styles. In the same way that these artistic images are now forever-associated with Pinocchio, I can only hope that themes remains as timeless as they are today.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (Various Directors, 1937)

"I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. But you don't know what I've been through. And all because I was afraid."

 

Introduction

Three years in development, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a milestone in cinema history. It is one thing if you are the studio who created one of the first sound-cartoons in Steamboat Willie, even a bigger deal if you are one of the first to use technicolour for Flowers and Trees, but what about a feature-film that could rival live-action. Max Fleischer had made an animated feature titled Einstein's Theory of Relativity, but Walt Disney wanted to make a film that could be seventy or eighty minutes long and, crucially, is accessible to everyone. Chaplin moved to features before and Disney had to too because shorts were simply not as financially effective as features. But moving from an 8-minute comedy-short is a bit different to a story with depth, narrative and comedy that lasts the length of a feature ...

Structuring a Feature

Like future films, Walt Disney decided to bookend the film with the opening of a live-action book - it ensures that the story begins as clearly fantasy and it is clearly seen as a traditional fairytale. Based on Grimms short-story, Disney had seen a silent-version of Snow White as a young boy and it stuck with him until his own version. Disney begins the story from the perspective of the Evil Queen realising that she is not the "fairest of them all" and, in fact, a young maiden cleaning the steps and singing-as-she-cleans, is the "fairest".

Silly Symphony #48: The Goddess of Spring (1934)

Snow White herself would always be a challenge to animate - she needed to be human and real opposed to playful, cartoon animal. Prior to the feature film, one Silly Symphony named The Goddess of Spring provided the opportunity to animate human - and the female form. Unlike future princesses, Snow Whites look remains a little dated with an incredibly pale face and a voice that is high-pitch. On the one hand, this may be archaic but on the other, it gives the film an incredibly unique element. Snow White, in comparison to the range of other princesses, looks different and classical in her look, whilst she sounds sweet and operatic in her voice.

The plot has huge scope and emotion - so it was brave for Disney to choose the subject matter. Comedy was available within the characters of the dwarves and the animals - but the lead roles of Snow White, the Evil Queen, Huntsman and Prince are never seen as comedic, and need to hold the story effectively with an emotional depth. We need to be able to relate to these characters and understand their challenges - in fact, could an audience relate to animation at all?

Ineffective and Effective Animation

Famously, the Prince is not animated as well as future characters. You can tell that the exceptionally limited use of the Prince combined with his dull, flat characteristics meant that his character has always been seen as one of the weaker aspects to the film. Unlike the Prince, the sequence involving the Huntsman took six-months to plan - and ensured an audience would get emotionally involved with the life and death of the animated characters. The very specific planning of the scene - the Huntsman dropping the knife, Snow White with her back to the Hunstman showing her vulnerability - all these facets became incredibly important. To move from this sequence rooted in character, and then portray Snow White running through the woods as trees turn into hands and wooden logs turn into alligators, shows how well the film was directed and constructed. The specific scene in the woods also owes something to the German-Expressionists of the time as the shots become distorted and off-balance to represent Snow Whites fear, whilst the shadows are akin to F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, and are purposeful in highlighting the impending evil.

Fast-paced action ensured that there was no 'fat' on the story - but it was still a fantasy story that live-action could not reproduce. As an example of this juxtaposition, consider how Snow White herself has interesting charactistics that also make her ambiguous in her age. She has a childlike fascination with playing (even stating how the dwarves house "looks like a dollhouse"), while she is also romantically interested in the Prince. This ensures her character is pure fantasy in how she changes her attitudes to suit the situation - but we still relate to the human elements of her character.

Ludwig Richter Illustration of Snow White

Even the animals hold very human characteristics - birds have a clear father-mother-child dynamic, which Snow White understands and even reveals aspects of her own personality when conversing with the woodland creatures. A tortoise gives the impression that he is sleepy and has a character and the keen chipmunks run amok - so excited to meet and greet this new visitor to the woods. We feel real sympathy for Snow White too - despite the fantastical element of the animals joining her in the forrest - and this continues as we meet the dwarves and understand each of their characters too. Again, this balance of accessible human-emotion and character with fantasy and fairytale is what makes the animation so engaging.

The European Link

The look of the film, though vey unique in the look of the animals and dwarves - harking back to the Silly Symphonies and short-features - also had an influence from the Grimms stories themselves. Ludwig Richter, in his depiction of Snow White in the book, shows Snow White with a fondness and friendship with the animals. In one image, it is clear that Disney has turned to these images for reference as you can see the parallel in the sequence portraying the Evil Queen (in old lady mode) give Snow White the apple.

Segovia Castle in Spain

Robin Allan notes in 'Walt Disney and Europe' how Ludwig Richter "anticipates the old world charm that Disney searched for and achieved". Even Segovia Castle in Spain is seen as allegedly the inspiration for the Evil Queens castle - and you can see how! Europe has an old-world charm that often lacks in American History, and Disney clearly knew his artists - especially as a few were even hired to work for Disney. Specifically Albert Hurter and Gustaf Tenggren became important go-to men for the animators as Hurter would check animations before they were adapted into sequences, whilst Tenggren would create backgrounds that show fantasy, European landscapes.

Subplots and Finale

The Evil Queen, initially is a beautiful woman (though dressed in a suitably 'evil' robe) but - as the film progresses, she becomes more obsessed with the death of Snow White and therefore becomes uglier. The clear association with evil-thoughts becoming expressed and characterised on the surface feeds into the character. Whilst, in comparison, the character of Grumpy begins as somebody apparently "against" Snow White, but his good-heart and efforts to impress, are not ignored and eventually, a single kiss is what melts his heart.

The film remains a clear example of the incredible skill in animation at the Disney studios - and we could easily delve deeper into the animation of the dwarves themselves or the stunning soundtrack taht includes classic Disney songs "Heigh-Ho" and "Someday My Prince Will Come". Even the movement of the animalsis something to write in-depth about. It is clear that Disney and Co were firing off all-cylinders and the movement of each and every animal shows how capable the animators are at filling an image with depth and movement. The woodland creatures are so important to the story too - as they direct Snow White to the dwarves cottage in the first place!

One thing which I think is worth noting, and that our modern-eyes will not pick up on, is the use of 'camera' in the film. At the time, a camera could only move in certain ways for live-action but animation - obviously - could move in whichever way it wanted. The scene portraying the Evil Queen turning into the Old Lady shows the "camera" move 360 degress around the queen, the colours and shapes almost burst out of the screen! This was simply not possible with live-action at the time - and it shows how informed the animators were. They wanted to top live-action and "use of camera" had to be considered if you are going up against the feature-length nature of a live-action film. Disney ensured the animators were up-to-date, watching the latest films and combining their understanding of Picasso and Matisse, with current trends in theatre and film. Practitioners and directors such as Stanislavski would be compared with Charlie Chaplin and the acting of Charles Laughton.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is much more than simply a kids story - it is full of brilliant technical achievements which consequently influenced others. Everything from the odd lyrics in a Beatles song (Snow White singing "I'm Wishing" and The Beatles "Do You Want To Know A Secret?") to cinematography and animation itself. This film single-handedly changed cinema forever.