History of Animation & Visual Effects

Module II - Class 7

Prepared by George John. H.O.D. Animation. SJCC

Disney Animated Classic Films
Disney Feature Films
Walt Disney Studios has produced more than a hundred animated feature films
since the late 1930s. Animation movies from both Disney and non-Disney-owned
studios are currently released by the Walt Disney Studios. Most of the films
listed below are from Walt Disney Animation Studios, which began as the
animation division of Walt Disney Productions.

Today, we'll discuss a few significant Walt Disney animated features that
transformed the animation business.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 1937
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy
film produced by Walt Disney Studios. The following are some interesting facts
about Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

★ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first animated feature film in
English.
★ It is also the first animated feature film to be produced in the full-color,
three-strip Technicolor process.
★ It is also the first animated feature from Disney Studios to use the multiplane
camera.
★ It is the first full-length cel-animated feature film.
Fantasia - 1940
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt
Disney Productions.

The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by
Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music
critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies, providing a
live-action introduction to each animated segment.

★ Fantasia was the first commercial movie to use stereophonic audio (Fantasound). It
was used to replicate the soundtrack once it had been captured using several audio
channels.
Lady and the Tramp - 1955
"Lady and the Tramp" is a Walt Disney-produced animated romance musical comedy film
from 1955. This is the 15th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Lady and the Tramp tells the story of a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady
who lives with a refined, upper-middle-class family and a male stray mutt named Tramp.
When the two dogs meet, they embark on many romantic adventures.

★ Lady and the Tramp was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope
widescreen film process.

What is CinemaScope?

From 1953 through 1967, widescreen movies were shot using the CinemaScope
anamorphic lens series. Theoretically, the anamorphic lenses enabled the method to
produce an image with up to a 2.66:1 aspect ratio, which is nearly twice as wide as the
previously prevalent 1.37:1 Academy format.
Sleeping Beauty - 1959
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated musical fantasy film produced by
Walt Disney. It was the 16th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Sleeping Beauty was the first animated film to be photographed in the Super
Technirama 70 widescreen process. The film was presented in Super Technirama
70 with 6-channel stereophonic sound.

● Sleeping Beauty was the first 70mm animated feature in English

● It was the last animated feature film to use hand-inked cels, which was
replaced by a Xerography

What is 70mm film?

70mm is a film format with frames that are larger in size and wider in aspect ratio
than the standard 35mm film. From an audience standpoint, it's a much crisper,
brighter, and ideally more uniform and stable image. Essentially, the difference
between 35mm and 70mm is similar to the difference between DVD and Blu-ray,
if switching from DVD to Blu-ray also made your television bigger.
101 Dalmatians - 1961
101 Dalmatians was a 1961 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney.
It is the 17th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was a
box-office hit. Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the
employment of inexpensive animation techniques, such as xerography during the process
of inking and painting traditional animation cels, that kept production costs down.

Ub Iwerks adapted xerography to eliminate the hand-inking stage in the animation

process by printing the animator's drawings directly to the cels. The first animated feature
film to use this process was 101 Dalmatians (1961), although the technique was already
tested in Sleeping Beauty released two years earlier. At first, only black lines were
possible, but in the 1980s, colored lines were introduced and used in animated features.
Xeroxing process did lead to some sloppiness as you can still see the original pencil
marks around some of the black lines.

★ 101 Dalmatians was the first animated feature that used the technique of
Xeroxing
The Little Mermaid - 1989
"The Little Mermaid" is a Walt Disney animated musical fantasy film released in
1989. "The Little Mermaid," based on Hans Christian Andersen's Danish fairy tale of
the same name, tells the story of a beautiful mermaid princess who wishes to become
human.

The Little Mermaid was released to theatres on November 17, 1989, to largely positive
reviews, garnering $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release and
$211 million in total lifetime gross worldwide.

★ The Little Mermaid was the last Disney film to use cels and a camera.
Rescuers Down Under - 1990
"The Rescuers Down Under" is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by
Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 29th film in
the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film is the sequel to the 1977 animated film "The
Rescuers." "The Rescuers Down Under" is notable for Disney as its first animated film to
completely use the new CAPS process.

CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) was a computer-based production

system used for digital ink and paint and compositing, allowing for more efficient and
sophisticated post-production of the Disney animated films and making the traditional
practice of hand-painting cels obsolete.

★ The Rescuers Down Under was the first Disney animated film to use the CAPS,
throughout the entire film

★ It was the first Disney animation produced without a camera

★ The Rescuers Down Under was the first animated theatrical film sequel produced
by Disney, the first being The Rescuers in 1977
Beauty and the Beast - 1991
The 1991 American animated musical fantasy picture Beauty and the Beast was
produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and it was the 30th film in the Walt Disney
Animated Classics series.

Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast, a prince who is
magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle, a
beautiful young woman whom he imprisons in his castle. To become a prince again, the
Beast must win her love in return; otherwise, he remains a monster forever.

★ Beauty and the Beast was the first Disney animated film to use a screenwriter

★ Beauty and the Beast was the second film, after The Rescuers Down Under,
produced using CAPS.

★ CGI - This technique was put to significant use during the "Beauty and the
Beast" dance sequence, in which Belle and Beast dance through a
computer-generated ballroom as the camera dollies around them in simulated 3D
space.
Toy Story - 1995
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated buddy-comedy adventure film
produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter,
Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-animated film and the first theatrical
film produced by Pixar.

Pixar, which produced short animated films to promote their computers, was
approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature after the success of the
short film Tin Toy (1988), which is told from a small toy's perspective.

★ Toy Story was the first 3D animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures
Points to remember
1. Which was the first commercial film shown in stereophonic sound?
Ans. Fantasia
2. Which is the first animated feature in English?
Ans. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937
3. Which was the first Technicolor animated feature from Disney Studios?
Ans. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937
4. Which was the first Cinemascope animated feature from Disney Studios?
Ans. Lady and the Tramp in 1955
5. Which is the first 70mm animated feature in English?
Ans. Sleeping Beauty in 1959
6. Which was the first animated feature that used the technique of Xeroxing? Ans. 101
Dalmatians in 1961
7. Which was the first Disney animated feature that used CGI?
Ans. The Rescuers Down Under 1990
Questions
Part A
1. Write a short essay on Fantasia
2. What is the CAPS system?

Part B

3. Write a short essay on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Part C

4. Write an essay on the important animated features films from Disney studio.