PART TWO: DOWN TO WORK After getting the exhibition to do on Ron Clements and his thirty year
career in Disney animation (see previous post) Nick and I started
working on what we wanted in the exhibition and what we wanted it to
be. Eventually we made our first trip to both the museum, in Ron's
home city of Sioux City Iowa and on to California, where he worked and
now lived. The Sioux City Art Centre is a magnificent, large, modern facility.
Who could not like a museum whose gift shop included a flip book of
animated architect's drawings depicting the construction of the main
building? To a person, the people there were to be totally supportive
and a joy to work with over the next year. We worked out the smallest
details together for the physical show as well as content,
sponsorship, publicity and other matters. In California we met with Ron in his office at the Disney Studio and
told him what we intended to do without giving away a few nice touches
and surprises we thought he would enjoy. The support of the Disney
organization was ours, and we dealt with different departments and key
people that made everything we wanted happen. The Animation Research
Library was of major importance, as it housed all the artwork of the
company, going back to the silent era of Disney. It was a treat to go
through thousands of concept sketches, animation, backgrounds and
special art on his films. While I had visited a number of times before
it is always a special experience there. We had gone over his films
many times before leaving Ottawa and knew which scenes of animation we
wanted to see and evaluate for the exhibition. I have written articles
about the Animation Research Library that are on our website. The
staff generously brought us non-Clements artwork we asked for as well,
our favorite scenes from SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DEARFS and
others,including Frank Thomas' spaghetti scenes from LADY AND THE
TRAMP. We saw original three dimensional models, famous multiplane
glass backgrounds and much more. We selected items from the Archives,
the Photos Department and elsewhere at the studio. I was to write a long monograph on Ron that would be printed, and so
I interviewed him for countless hours in his office, in his home, even
over meals, all in an informal conversational way. Nick and I were
fortunate to meet his co-directing partner, John Musker and interview
him as well about Ron and how they work together. One day there, we
met the legendary Joe Grant who co-wrote DUMBO, created the witch in
SNOW WHITE and developed FANTASIA and PINOCCHIO among other Disney
assignments. He continued to show up to work at Disney four days a
week until his death at his drawing board a few years later. He looked
at Nick's plans and gave us some concrete advice. We visited with Ron in his home as well, and met his wife Tami and the
dogs they breed and raise. Ron very generously lent us some of his
artwork he did as a boy in Sioux City as well as an early animation
film he did about Sherlock Holmes, transferred to DVD. While not an
early version of THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE, we could see his liking
the Sherlock Holmes idiom which led to his proposing a mouse version
for his first feature. We also received some editorial cartoons he had
done for the school newspaper and other publications. Getting some of
his animation from the Disney Studio (Winnie the Pooh etc) we were
able to include artwork from his earliest years, his days as an
animator, studying directly under the best of them all, Frank Thomas,
and his work as a feature director. TO BE CONTINUED.
career in Disney animation (see previous post) Nick and I started
working on what we wanted in the exhibition and what we wanted it to
be. Eventually we made our first trip to both the museum, in Ron's
home city of Sioux City Iowa and on to California, where he worked and
now lived. The Sioux City Art Centre is a magnificent, large, modern facility.
Who could not like a museum whose gift shop included a flip book of
animated architect's drawings depicting the construction of the main
building? To a person, the people there were to be totally supportive
and a joy to work with over the next year. We worked out the smallest
details together for the physical show as well as content,
sponsorship, publicity and other matters. In California we met with Ron in his office at the Disney Studio and
told him what we intended to do without giving away a few nice touches
and surprises we thought he would enjoy. The support of the Disney
organization was ours, and we dealt with different departments and key
people that made everything we wanted happen. The Animation Research
Library was of major importance, as it housed all the artwork of the
company, going back to the silent era of Disney. It was a treat to go
through thousands of concept sketches, animation, backgrounds and
special art on his films. While I had visited a number of times before
it is always a special experience there. We had gone over his films
many times before leaving Ottawa and knew which scenes of animation we
wanted to see and evaluate for the exhibition. I have written articles
about the Animation Research Library that are on our website. The
staff generously brought us non-Clements artwork we asked for as well,
our favorite scenes from SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DEARFS and
others,including Frank Thomas' spaghetti scenes from LADY AND THE
TRAMP. We saw original three dimensional models, famous multiplane
glass backgrounds and much more. We selected items from the Archives,
the Photos Department and elsewhere at the studio. I was to write a long monograph on Ron that would be printed, and so
I interviewed him for countless hours in his office, in his home, even
over meals, all in an informal conversational way. Nick and I were
fortunate to meet his co-directing partner, John Musker and interview
him as well about Ron and how they work together. One day there, we
met the legendary Joe Grant who co-wrote DUMBO, created the witch in
SNOW WHITE and developed FANTASIA and PINOCCHIO among other Disney
assignments. He continued to show up to work at Disney four days a
week until his death at his drawing board a few years later. He looked
at Nick's plans and gave us some concrete advice. We visited with Ron in his home as well, and met his wife Tami and the
dogs they breed and raise. Ron very generously lent us some of his
artwork he did as a boy in Sioux City as well as an early animation
film he did about Sherlock Holmes, transferred to DVD. While not an
early version of THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE, we could see his liking
the Sherlock Holmes idiom which led to his proposing a mouse version
for his first feature. We also received some editorial cartoons he had
done for the school newspaper and other publications. Getting some of
his animation from the Disney Studio (Winnie the Pooh etc) we were
able to include artwork from his earliest years, his days as an
animator, studying directly under the best of them all, Frank Thomas,
and his work as a feature director. TO BE CONTINUED.
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