Interview: Robert Sherman on The Aristocats
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Q: What�s your fondest memory of
your work with Walt Disney?
A: Playing & singing �Feed the Bird,� (Tuppence
a Bag) for Walt on Friday afternoons after a busy week. We�d always talk about
what we were working on and then Walt would look at me and say �Play it!� He�d
look out the North window of his office and when I was through playing he�d say,
�Have a good weekend boys� and send us home. I�ll cherish that memory forever.
Q: How many arguments did you have
with Walt Disney, concerning the songs and the way they were sung and played?
A: Arguments? You don�t argue with Walt
Disney! You take another stab at it!
Q: How involved was Walt when it
came to composing the songs and music to those films? How was the nature of your
collaboration with him and washe very critical, sending you back to the �drawing
board� more than once?
A: Walt had a seat-of-the-pants approach
on what he wanted musically. We kind of �read� the boss and had a very high
batting average, but there were occasions when he felt we had just written the
wrong piece for the situation he wanted. We invariably listened to what he
wanted � he was very descriptive in what he wanted and we could read him. We�d
go back to the drawing board and work out what he wanted. He was a great
inspiration, but a tough taskmaster.
Q: Have you ever rescued songs �from
the trunk� and used them in other projects than the one they were originally
intended for?
A: Many times! Many a song has been
rescued from the trunk. �The Beautiful Briny Sea� in BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS was
originally written for a dropped sequence in MARY POPPINS. �Trust In Me� in THE
JUNGLE BOOK was a theme originally written for that same deleted sequence in
POPPINS. There are several others � too numerous to mention.
Q: Why does Maurice Chevalier sing
in French in the last verse?
A: My guess -- in certain foreign
countries, the added touch of having it in French seemed appropriate.
Q: Who is your favorite Disney
songwriter (other than yourself), in other words, to whom do you see yourself
passing the reigns?
A: I was very flattered, not too long ago
when Alan Menken remarked to me that he was very influenced by the work Robert &
I did when we worked on the Disney Lot. I think he�s the current master composer
of story-telling songs in entertainment.
Q: What was the friendliest thing
Walt Disney ever said to you?
A: �How�d you boys like to work for me,
here at the studio?� �and shortly before he died, �Keep up the good work,
Fella�s.�
Q: Do you have or did you ever have
cats?
A: My brother had a cat once. She made me
sneeze all the time, unfortunately.
Q: This (THE ARISTOCATS) was the
last feature film started by Walt Disney before his death in December 1966. How
was Walt at the end of his life?
A: Up until six weeks before he passed
away, no one knew he was even slightly ill. He was vigorous and energetic
whenever I saw him and that was quite often. He was very much involved in THE
JUNGLE BOOK � at all the story meetings. He was certainly in top form,
creatively. Our involvement in the songwriting process on THE ARISTOCATS didn�t
begin �til after Walt was gone, but his leadership was sorely missed.
Q: What is your inspiration when you
do you music? What do you think�character, person or something else?
A: Story, character, situation� Story,
character, situation�Story, character, situation��that�s what gives you
inspiration!
Q: What kind of relationship do you
have with your music? Do you love it when you hear one of your songs, regardless
of which one it is and in what context, or is it the other way around? Or
something in between?
A: I�m very fond of my songs, when
they�re performed well�at any time of day�night�morning�or anything in between.
They�re like an extension of myself and if you look in a mirror, and you�re all
washed-up & dressed nicely � you feel pretty good about yourself. In the
converse, if it�s a terrible performance of something I�ve written, I can get
very sick to my stomach.
Q: Of all the animated films you�ve
made the music for, who�s your favourite character � except Rocky the Rhino, the
deleted JUNGLE BOOK hero?
A: I think Tigger. Tigger�s my favorite
character. I feel he�s the most like me. I�m told that he�s my alter-ego.
Q: Have either you or Robert
collaborated with other songwriters, or have you �kept it in the family?�
A: Over our long career, there was period
when Robert & I did not work as a team � in the �50�s, when I was in the
service. But after that 5 year period, we closed ranks and for the most part,
have been a duet over the years. Occasionally, as with Kenny Loggins on the
song, �You�re Heart Will Lead You Home� in THE ITGGER MOVIE, we have
collaborated with a third writer, but that�s very rare.
Q: The animation genre in Hollywood
evolved a great deal over the last decade. With the huge success of
computer-animated movies, it was said that traditional animation was dead. What
is your opinion on that?
A: First of all, computer animation is
certainly a tremendous and viable medium today. But the warmth and personality
derived from 2-D animation, in my opinion, cannot be surpassed. Certain stories
lend themselves well to 3-D animation and I won�t labor this with naming them,
but in my bones, I still respond more emotionally to the artists feel in 2-D.
You feel the �actor� in the animator more personally�it�s hard to explain.
Q: Can you tell us something about
INKAS THE RAMFERINKAS
A: INKAS THE RAMFERINKAS � is the story
of a prehistoric bird, and is a pet-project of Bob�s & mine that his youngest
son, Robbie, is producing.
Q: How do you feel about modern
Disney�where the music element is disappearing?
A: Depending on the story, I don�t feel
that the music is disappearing. I feel if the story demands songs, they�ll have
songs. If it doesn�t demand songs, you�ll have underscore.
Q: We�ve said so many things about
the Disney product, how do you feel about your time at the Walt Disney Studios?
A: I consider every one of the Disney
films that Bob & I worked on, to have been the luckiest break any two
songwriters could have ever had. They all aimed at quality and timelessness.
That�s why they live over the years.
Discuss It
-- Posted February 5, 2008
-- Interview courtesy of Walt Disney Studios