It's another exclusive day at Miraikan! We got free passes to Miraikan special exhibition "Art of Disney - The Magic of Animation" (Thanks to TIEC #TIECrox! :D).Initially, we were under the impression that we are going to see lot of cartoon sketches and not more than that. However, soon we realized that we were wrong. Walt Disney Studios have demonstrated their journey from 1923 to 2017 in a way that we were so amazed on the sheer effort and attention to detail they have placed to keep the innovation alive in each and every production they embarked upon. Here's few examples that impressed me.
Pinocchio - They've used multi plane cameras to add dimensionality (depth or 3D effects) as a visual effect
Bambi - They have studied animal anatomy (of deers) and they have used live animals as reference (There has been few deers, so that artists can observe their moves and behavior), Further, they have used minimalistic ink to depict forests.
"Always as you travel assimilate the sounds and sights of the world" - Walt Disney
Saludos Amigos - Before they produce animated films in diverse range of settings, they observe locations, societies, cultures, prominent shapes and colors during field visits to influence the "feel" of the final work. Observing the unique South American colors for "Saludos Amigos" is one such example. Similarly, they have observed Japanese culture for "Big Hero 6" and Africa for "Jungle book"
Fantasmic - Creative visual effects itself won't make the experience of the audience complete as it would address only one human sense. In Fantasmic, they have introduced the concept of visualization of sounds of classical music.
Dumbo - Dumbo is an elephant who doesn't talk. So, they have used effective expressions of emotions to convey its feelings to the audience.
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| Sad dumbo |
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| Happy Dumbo with Opened ears and bright eyes |
Lady and the Tramp - In Lady and the tramp, scenes are viewed as how a dog sees the world. (Few centimeters above the ground. (Dog's eye view)
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| How a dog sees the world? - A Dog's eye view scene |
Frozen - Physical properties of snow (snow effects) has been considered in the animation movie for snow simulation in scenes (As given in the video below)
Zootopia - They have analyzed animal hair and fur in different animal parks to get realistic look for their own animal characters.
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| Animal fur reference. Source: https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the-fur-reaching-tech-of-zootopia/ |
101 Dalmations - In this animated movie, they have used Xerox copying technology to animate many similar looking dogs. More information on that here.
