Newport Beach Film Festival Offers Rare Disney Shorts Served Up with Expert Commentary
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John Hench, still at work at the Disney Studio was brought on board, and all the artwork was pulled from the library. After making sense of the story, it was sent on to the Disney Studio France for completion under the direction of Dominique Monfery. The seven minute film resulting was universally acclaimed, gaining the approval of the Dali Museum, and garnering an Academy Award nomination. (�Should have won!� said Roy, to the crowd�s approval.)

Dave Bossert mentioned how gratifying it was to work with John Hench. �When we finally showed him the finished film,� he proudly asserted, �he said, �That�s it.�� Hench did point out one mistake, though. The Frenchmen on bicycles who come out of the palm of the hand should be wearing stones, rather than baguettes, as berets. �He rather liked the baguettes, instead,� Bossert concluded. Roy then let the crowd know they would not run the film twice. Apparently, many audiences, mystified by Dali�s imagery, had made such a request over the years.

Destino, which has had a limited release, is a mood piece about love, loss, and baseball. On display are Dali�s obsessions of the mid-40s: melting shapes, ballerinas, negative space, and ants. The dreaminess of the soundtrack is complemented by the stylized images, laid against shifting backdrops of simple rocky crags and ever deepening shadows.

�That was nutty!� declared Hahn impishly as the lights came back up. As the applause died down, Roy said, �I am really happy to finally be able to announce that Home Video is putting that together on a DVD which is due out fairly soon with a one and a half hour documentary on the relationship of Walt and Dali and surrealism and the making of the film, with a considerable amount of detail. I just saw it myself the other day�it�s great.� As a new round of applause died down, Roy said, �Finally! It only took sixty years.� He confided, �Our problem was that Michael Esiner didn�t like it.� Bossert revealed, �He actually wanted to sell the artwork off.� Roy agreed, adding, �He was going to sell the artwork and get it off our hands.� As the trio began to joke about the subject, Hahn declared, �Look at the time! So much to talk about, so little time��

The next short in the program was The Little Matchgirl, directed by Roger Allers, and also considered for inclusion in a new Fantasia. �Great story, Hans Christian Andersen, the Emerson String Quartet performs the music by Borodin, String Quartet in D Major,� Hahn said. He described it as a bittersweet film, not just for its subject matter, but for the time it represented. �This was kind of an exit movie for many people who worked at Disney Animation at a time when there was a feeling that hand drawn animation had seen better days.� He went on, �Some of the most wonderful artists at our studio touched this film, and in a sense it was-- up until just a few years ago when John Lassiter and Ed Catmull came to the company-- this really was kind of a farewell film to hand drawn animation.�

Added Roy, �It was extremely sad to see.� He pointed out that like many Hans Christian Andersen stories, it had a sad ending. (�Like Little Mermaid did, and we fixed it,� he added with a twinkle.) This was again a bone of contention with studio head Michael Eisner. After claiming, �We don�t do that in our movies,� Roy asked if he remembered Old Yeller: �We shot the dog!� As the crowd roared with laughter, Hahn said, �Just that quote makes it worth having come tonight.� Bossert added, �I think there�s five different endings to this movie, and I think that Don and I and Roy were probably on it for several years.� �The three of us were definitely the last dogs out to turn the light out on this one,� Hahn agreed, �And it got nominated for an Academy Award, which is a great treat.�

The sensitively made The Little Matchgirl filled the screen with watercolor images of old Russia. The familiar story of a poor peasant girl, freezing in the snow as she tries to peddle her matches, was beautifully complemented by Borodin�s music. The heartbreaking ending was softened by the final image of the little girl�s grandmother tenderly leading the sleepy girl away, as the gently falling snow filled the screen.

Hahn introduced Redux Riding Hood as �lighter fare.� He explained that director Steve Moore, of Walt Disney Television Animation had an idea to retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The 1997 release featured the voice of Michael Richards of Seinfeld (�Before his unfortunate remarks at the Comedy Club,� Hahn hastily noted), as well as a guest cameo voice by the one and only Fabio.

Redux Riding Hood is a wild and woolly version of the classic fairy tale. The Wolf, now settled down as a humble garage mechanic with his wife Doris, a sheep, is still smarting over his inability to capture and devour Little Red. Indeed, everyone still mocks him for this. For her part, Doris wonders if she should have married her first love, the short-statured but loyal Leonard Fox, now the owner of a successful software company. The Wolf�s solution to all his ills is the invention of a time machine, the better to go back and right the situation with Little Red. But hilarious complications ensue, and after again running afoul of the Woodsman (voiced by Fabio) as well as a gun toting Grandma, the Wolf returns again and again, leading to the creation of an army of his sad sack selves, and the eventual departure of Doris (via the time machine) to a better life with Leonard Fox. As the end credits rolled, there was a collective sigh from the audience. Among the performers in this little-seen gem were Mia Farrow as Doris, June Foray as Grandma, Don Rickles as the Wolf�s overbearing boss, Adam West as Leonard Fox, and Garrison Keillor as the Narrator.

(don't forget to see LP Lotion for videos and pictures from the event)