Walt Disney Animation Studios would be top top of my lists behind Pixar, if not directly beside it. A common misconception is that Disney and Pixar are the same studio. The truth is that Disney as a company own lots of studios including Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and now recently Fox (Blue Sky). The company is one of the longest running animation studios and was founded on October 16th 1923 by brothers Walt Disney and Roy P. Disney. Currently part of the Walt Disney company, the studio is located in the Roy E. Disney Animation Building on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank California. Since the studio opened there has been 58 feature films starting with 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The studio started by using a software known as technicolour. This saw animators painting the backgrounds to films in water colour and the animating frame by frame over the top of the drawn backdrop. This technique was used until 2005s Chicken Little which became the first 3D animated film for the studio. The studio had used previous 3D elements but never a full 3D film.
Walt Disney Animation's Brutal History
Unfortunately in 1966, creator and animation God, Walt Disney died, just 10 months before the release of The Jungle Book. Following Walt's death, Wolfgang Reitherman continued as both producer and director for the feature films. Shortly after, Walt's brother and the studios co-founder, Roy died in 1971. This then left the studio to two men by the names of Donn Tatum and Card Walker, whom alternated as chairman and CEO of the company until 1978. Ron Miller, Walt's son in law, became president of Walt Disney Productions in 1978 and then CEO in 1983. After numerous attempts at a corporate takeover in 1984, Roy E. Disney, Son of Roy O. Disney and nephew to Walt, resigned from the company to start a "save Disney" campaign. This campaign successfully saw the board of Directors fire Ron Miller and bring back Roy. E Disney, along with new recruits Michael Eisner as new CEO and Frank Wells as president. Concerns internally started to build at Disney, mainly from Roy E. Disney, about the studios chief Jeffrey Katzenberg and how he was taking too much credit for the success of Disney's early 1990s releases. Disney president Frank Wells was sadly killed in a horrific helicopter accident in 1994, and Katzenberg ran CEO Michael Eisner to the line for the now vacant presidential position. Instead, tensions between Katzenberg, Eisner, and Disney resulted in Katzenberg being made to resign from the company on August 24th, leading to a man named Joe Roth taking his place. On October 12, 1994, Katzenberg went on to become one of the founders of DreamWorks SKG, of which became Disney's main rival in feature animation. Finally, in December 1994, the Animation Building, used today, in Burbank was completed. In 2003, Feature Animation chairman Roy E. Disney had resigned from the company, and launched a small business with partner Stanley Gold a second "SaveDisney" campaign similar to the one that had forced Ron Miller out in 1984, this time to force out Michael Eisner. Two of their points against Eisner included his handling of Feature Animation and the growing of the studio's relationship with Pixar. In 2005, Disney released its first fully computer-animated feature, Chicken Little, which was a $315 million box office hit worldwide but was slated critically. Later that year, after two years of Roy E. Disney's "SaveDisney" campaign, Eisner announced that he would resign and named Bob Iger, then president of The Walt Disney Company, Chairman and CEO. After Iger became CEO, on January 24, 2006, Disney announced that it would buy Pixar for $7.4 billion. Iger stated that it was "a deal I wanted badly, and (Disney) needed badly". He believed that Disney Animation needed new leadership, and as part of the buyout, CEOs Ed Catmull and John Lasseter were named president and Chief Creative Officers, of Feature Animation as well as Pixar. In 2007, Lasseter renamed Walt Disney Feature Animation to Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sadly Roy E. Disney died December 2009. Since this time the studio has soured and carried its name, being one of the greatest animation studios on the planet.
The Studio Itself
Much like Pixar, the Disney Animation studio is full of fun unique things. This again includes statues and crazy animation pods and rooms full of merch and art. But something I love about the studio is the research sections. Each film the artists go and look at inspiration items and old concepts if creating a sequel to create new art. This archive includes loads of very old and valuable art pieces.
Another feature I love is the traditional equipment they are all provided with to create huge concept pieces which look insane. There is so much traditional art done mainly due to the fact Disney Animations used to hand paint all the backgrounds of films in water colour until 2005.
Another feature I love is the traditional equipment they are all provided with to create huge concept pieces which look insane. There is so much traditional art done mainly due to the fact Disney Animations used to hand paint all the backgrounds of films in water colour until 2005.