My favorite Zazu scenes are the ones that introduce him in Scar’s lair. These establishing scenes are wonderful for a number of reasons, starting with how his weight quite apparently differs from Scar’s. There is a feel to his movements that automatically delineate him as lighter and les dense. It isn’t merely a matter of comparing sizes; it’s the almost tangible feel for his actual volume and mass. He is lighter on his feet, quicker in his moves, and altogether more fragile, in spite of his hefty ego. Take note of how he feels heavy with the added weight of Lion drool when Scar spits him out, coated in slime. Without the effects animation the action would still give the perfect illusion of this character bogged down under the weight of something.

His large bill - made marvelously flexible without ever losing its sense of being distinctly harder than the rest of him - responds to gravity as a bird’s light and hollow bill would. On the same hand, it is not a mere beak - small and fragile. It has substance appropriate for a hornbill, and it also serves as one of Zazu’s ever-shifting centers of gravity.

All of these things show the depth of understanding about birds in nature that Woodbury brought to Zazu. Research applied to practice. Not as easy as it sounds.

Ultimately, it is the acting in these scenes that shines the brightest. Zazu’s thoughts are on screen, showing us - rather than telling us - what he’s thinking and carried through with each action. Emotional life is the engine that moves this machine. He is a complete thinking and feeling personality. No movement seems random; every shift of his weight from one leg to another is an organic move that springs forth from his intentions.

The gem of these scenes, for me, is the acting and animation for the dialogue “Yes, well, as slippery as your mind is…�? Zazu is tucked safely between Mufasa’s front paws, and with his wings serving effectively as arms - each feather acting as a digit on a hand, the animator begins the action with a picture-perfect pose. Wings/arms move to fold across his chest as his head pulls up and his neck elongates - displaying the superiority he is feeling. His eyes are closed, and his beak settles into a smug and satisfied little grin that telegraphs the sub-text of “so there!�?

Eight frames - five drawings - the first two on ones, the last three on twos. Subtle, simple, perfect. Next, his head tilts down and he shakes his little beak in disapproval, and opens one eye up to Scar as if punctuating his disapproval, and then the other eye, pointing with one wing and snapping his beak closed. This portion of the phrase is 29 frames to itself and mostly on twos except for one little drawing - #19 (also frame #19 as it comes between the 18th and 20th frames - which are drawing 17 and 20) and then slips in two more drawings on either side of drawing/frames 32 & 34 before finishing off on twos as he hits the P in “sliP’ery.�? These three drawings are an excellent example of knowing exactly when to add a drawing in order to make a phrase better - by which I mean more specific to the character. These drawings actually are critical for making Zazu think and not simply move about. They finish the attitude that the key drawings or extreme poses of this phrase seek to tell us as an audience. This is the thinking and the feeling Woodbury hopes that we ‘get.’ And we do! Now comes the sweetest part of this nugget - a little waddle that consists of a simple shift of weight from one leg to another as Zazu takes two steps forward, crouches down and lifts himself up off the ground to take flight. All the while he is speaking and keeping his eye contact with Scar. Watch as Zazu’s words as much as his muscles seem to lift him off the ground. The move of the head and the wide, exaggerated vowels on “As your mInd Is..�? particularly on the two I’s - almost propel him forward and get tossed ahead of him. The character is quite literally throwing his words at his object of derision. It tells us so much about how Zazu operates and what his weapon of choice is: language. The follow-through and overlapping action of his tail and crest are the kind of skillful details that round out the action and..well, call me a geek but I just love this little phrase of animation.

(c) Disney Enterprises

So where does Ellen Woodbury go from here. Her subsequent performances are all truly wonderful, but she has not yet again been showcased as well. Still, she delivers unique and specific performance after performance and there’s great reward in that. Before we conclude the afternoon I take this chance to ask her about what she sees in her own future.

RW
So here you are, mid-career as it were. What does it look like from where you are now? Is the industry still as exciting and challenging to you? Are the hopes and desires different at all?