Scene from Sleeping Beauty
Walt Disney Productions
1959
Sleeping Beauty marks one of the first times that Disney animators took a prominent role in the design process of a feature-length animated film. The illustrators and animators created a design aesthetic that resembled stained glass windows, with incredible attention to character detail. While the creative team fell in love with their work, audiences weren’t ready for a break from the stylized “Disney method,” and that combined with a lacking storyline and unremarkable songs resulted in harsh criticisms and low box office numbers. This led to the firing of over half the animation team, and a fresh start for their next feature-length film
What role do you think animators should have in the making of an animated film? Are they “artists,” or simply the means to create a product? Does modern animation/illustration have a place in Art History?
(source: Mouse Under Glass : Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks by David Koenig)
88
