Newport Beach Film Festival Offers Rare Disney Shorts Served Up with Expert Commentary
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Roy Disney, Don Hahn and Dave Bossert Swap Stories About Disney Rarities
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Excited fans of Disney animation gathered on Wednesday, April 30, as the Newport Beach Film Festival held An Evening of Disney Rarities with Roy E. Disney and Don Hahn. The event, part of the eight day festival, promised �an unforgettable evening of rarely seen Disney animated shorts and experimental films.� The titles presented were How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007), One by One (2004), Oilspot and Lipstick (1987), Destino (2003), The Little Matchgirl (2006), Redux Riding Hood (1997), Lorenzo (2004), and Runaway Brain (1995). The evening was presented in Newport Beach�s historic Lido Theater.
There was a full house, including the balcony, as introductions were made by event producer Tim O�Day. Of Don Hahn, he said, �When they speak of the second golden age of Disney animation, his name rises right to the top.� The noted producer of The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Pocahontas next introduced Disney veteran Dave Bossert, the Creative Director of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Special Projects. Hahn prefaced his introduction of Roy Disney with the words, �For me it�s always a thrill to introduce this next gentleman.� He went on to say, �It�s really neat to work for a company where you see the guy whose name is on the door, you see him every day.� After mentioning a couple of Roy�s projects past and present, the trio took their seats amid cheers and applause.
Hahn started the evening with a tribute to Walt Disney�s �Nine Old Men� of animation. �I always thought there were a lot more than nine!� quipped Roy. Acknowledging the recent death of the last of the group, Ollie Johnston, the evening began with a short filmed tribute from the Walt Disney Company. Afterward, Roy revealed that Ward Kimball said he used to retrieve Johnston�s discarded drawings from his wastebasket. �That�s how good he was,� he concluded.
�The first short we brought along is actually the newest short the studio has made: How to Hook Up Your Home Theater,� began Hahn. The crowd�s reaction made it clear that the subject of the short struck a nerve. Roy discussed the origin of Goofy (originally Dippy Dawg), and the memorable series of vintage �How To� films in which he had starred. Making a new one, �was something that was back in the back of all of our minds,� said Roy. �I think a lot of people around the company remembered, certainly John Lassiter did, those old Goofy �How To� movies and thought maybe we ought to do another one, and do it in 2D, as much of this stuff we�re looking at tonight will be.� Mentioning that the film had been directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, Hahn pointed out that Wermers is, �actually a woman, and it�s the first short to be directed by a female at the Studio.�
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater was Goofy at his most befuddled, dealing with the complexities of choosing and installing his dream home video system. Many in the audience had seen the theatrical release of this short, originally announced as an opener for Enchanted, and actually attached to National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.
As the lights came back up, the trio commented on what a pleasure it was to see the film on the big screen, and hear the audience reaction. According to Hahn, the next film, One by One, hadn�t been shown before on the big screen. It was released as a special feature on the DVD of The Lion King II: Simba�s Pride. Its history began just after the production of Fantasia 2000, with a proposal to do another sequel with a theme of world music. �One of the directors on Fantasia 2000 was a guy named Pixote Hunt,� began Hahn. �Maurice, we call him. And Pixote came up with this idea based on some music from the Lion King.�
Dave Bossert, co-director of One by One, explained, �The piece of music is by Lebo M.� Roy added, �It�s the opening, after the intermission, opening scene in The Lion King on the stage.� He joked, �It was a time filler, really, so the audience would sit down and shut up!� Hahn explained that Lebo M was the singer who provided the memorable �call in the wilderness� at the beginning of The Lion King. (And Hahn did a pretty good approximation of that call, too.) Hahn detailed how the film�s composer, Hans Zimmer, found Lebo M parking cars and invited him to provide ideas for the music in the film. Months later, the opening cry was actually recorded in an office as the composer and singer discussed the movie�s opening sequence.
(don't forget to see LP Lotion for videos and pictures from the event)