Rhett Wickham: Great Animated Performances: Profiles of Modern Masters
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JOHN MUSKER
Put the tape recorder closer to him (indicating Ron) I’m loud and he’s much softer.
RHETT WICKHAM
Okay. So you just finished doing the Aladdin DVD Commentary?
RON CLEMENTS
Monday we did the commentary and then Tuesday they had a sort of cast reunion. Leonard Maltin was the host. We had a kind of a retrospective.
JM
It took place on the Aladdin stage, where they normally do the Aladdin show. So they had a backdrop of like flats or mosques or whatever, you know the Arabian thing.
RC
Eric Goldberg was there, and Will Finn and Randy Cartwright.
JM
Alan Menken was there.
RC
Alan Menken. Leonard Maltin hosted. Scott Weinger who did the voice of Aladdin
and then Glibert Godfried came in at the end.
JM
So I think somehow it’s going to be a framing device, if I understood that correctly, like they’ll have us sort of talking and then as we start to talk then maybe they’ll have a menu that will take you to the music or animation.
RC
They had little guidelines they wanted to make sure we hit. Leonard had the guidelines so that we would talk about the film. They made it … it … it turned out to be more of an elaborate thing because they would stop…
JM (to the point)
I had audio problems.
RC
There were “technical problems�? so they would just stop and say “Make sure we get this, and get this.’ We had to retake a few things.
RW
Oh, that’s fun. Nothing like retakes to keep it spontaneous…
JM
Yeah! It was funny. We had to do our entrance … well, three times anyway. They had some harem girls walking out with us, and then on take two we would hear them go (in a flat, emotionless tone) “We need more pizzazz.�? So they’re sort of doing this shimmy thing as we walk out, and we’re like …like My Left Foot…I don’t know! So we’re “Oh, we’ll try to stay out of your way.�? And then they’re like (flat tone again) “When you walk out we need more clumping. More clumping.�? And we’re “Oh, okay, clumping! …. what’s clumping?�?
RC
They just wanted us together a little more, not in a single file-
JM
Yeah. So (mumbling quietly) “Clumping, clumping …�? But they had a steady cam guy with the whole rig drifting back and forth with the video they were shooting! I think it was video. Was it video? I don’t know, maybe it was film.
RC
I think it must be video, but I don’t know-
JM
Yeah, but it was a steady cam, though! So anyway, that was fun. The DVD comes out in Octoberish? Is that right?
Hearing John talk about the steady cam is like hearing a kid describe the most exciting and coolest thing he’s ever experienced. There’s something very funny and very charming about seeing these guys get such a kick out of something live action film and video directors take for granted.
RW
Yes, October. I think so.
JM
Yeah, yeah. They were trying to get Robin-
RC
Trying and trying-
JM
We had done this piece…Eric Goldberg had helped us pull together some of his outtakes into a thing that he was going to animate, like outtakes of Robin Williams.
