To celebrate the Walt Disney Signature release of Cinderella, we had the opportunity to talk with Mary Walsh from Disney’s Animation Resource Library about her role and the film. Mary Walsh is a 25-year veteran of Walt Disney Animation Studios and has been leading the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL) and Walt Disney Ink & Paint Department (I&P) since 2007.
Laughing Place:
Can you give us a little bit of what ARL is for those uninitiated?
Mary Walsh:
The Animation Research Library is the repository for all the original artwork that was created to produce both the short and feature length films created at Walt Disney animation studios. And our collection has art in it, dating all the way back to the mid 1920s, all the way up to the present day. We have an estimated 65 million pieces in our physical collection. And then we are also the repository for all the digital board artwork from the computer generated films that we've been making primarily for the last decade and more. So a lot, a lot of beautiful art and assets.
Laughing Place:
When you see the individual element of outside of the distraction of the magic that makes it a film, you really appreciate it and your team is so knowledgeable.
Mary:
Yeah. I mean, we're really fortunate because we do, I'm glad you mentioned the team because we have such a great group of people here who come in and the ultimate mission is just to ensure that safety, security condition of the art in our care for generations to come.
And because we're not open to the public, we do, we have another part of our, what we do as well as an exhibition program where we try to take the art out into the world, into different museums to really educate the animation film lovers, what it actually takes from an art perspective. The collaboration of literally hundreds of artists working together to fulfill the filmmakers goal of what that story is through their artistry and working together as a collaborative team to actually tell that story through the art and those individual pieces of art really help, I think, tell the story of the process and that it is a very creative endeavor and not only from the artistry point of view. But, there's craftsmanship and there's a lot of technology and innovation in it as well.
So, I think that really helps to support what the Walt Disney company has been doing since inception was with Walt's vision and what we continue to do today. And the collection really helps to tell that story and share that legacy.
Laughing Place::
As someone who surrounds themselves with animation art from the twenties to today, why do you, what strikes you about Cinderella that makes it unique in the Pantheon of Disney animation?
Mary:
I think it's one of the films because the story, I think, is universal. Obviously, it comes from a very well known fairy tale that had origins even before the French version of it. So, I think there's very specific human qualities in there and the desire for, in Cinderella's case, she obviously, the situation we find her in when the story opens, is not the one she had expected it to be, but she was always looking at the positive and trying to figure out a way to make her life better and knowing that the situation was challenging, but always being proactive and positive and facing the world with kindness and understanding and respect.
And so I think that's a very human nature. And that story, the way the artist told that story through the film, I think is relatable today as it was in 1950 when it was released.
And then it's very well documented that one of Walt Disney's favorite scenes from all the films that he was a part of, was her transformation. Seeing the dress transformation scene. And I think that that bit of magic in the imagery that was used really set the stage and helped propel the story forward.
I can look back at that film and see how that is inspired current day artists because we need to look at the transformation of Elsa in Frozen, those artists knew they needed to, from a visual point of view and a storytelling point of view, make the Elsa's transformation as vivid and visceral as Cinderellas was.
Even if they weren't conscious of it, they were building on this legacy that came before them and they're all very much aware of trying to create stories and art today that will stand the test of time. Knowing the generations of artists who came before them and the skills and the traditions that they left for them.
Laughing Place: :
I watched the transformation scene last night and what struck me, perhaps as technology has improved and my TV's a lot better than it was when I was watching on VHS, was the work of the ink and paint team on that scene. There's so much detail and beauty in the colors that were chosen and the way her dress sort of glistens. As someone who has a foot in that world, can you talk a little bit about the role ink and paint played in Cinderella?
Mary:
I'm really glad you brought it up because a lot of times in the ink and paint artists probably weren't given their due. And the reality is every frame of film that we see when we go into a movie theater or we watch it on our home screens, is the handwork of all the artists and in the ink and paint, especially for the films that were produced there in that time, and Cinderella is a great example of that.
So, just the attention to detail, their ability to execute against what the art direction was with the choice of colors, the application of the ink and a special effects on the cells that resonate on screen. And when you think about how many, thousands of cells had to be created for each shot.
Just the amount of work alone was pretty enormous. And then the fact that they were able to do it in collaboration because they were the last hands on the art itself that got shot, that the audience sees, that was being generated from the goals being set both artistically and storytelling wise, from the directors and art directors.
So, again, that's a great example of the collaboration and what a collaborative art form animation is and how important the ink and paint was for what the viewer actually saw on screen and just their commitment to what they're doing and their craft and how specific they had to be with every single cell that they touched.
Laughing Place:
As part of the signature collection, one of the new features is an in Walt's World's enhanced edition where they can watch the movie with insight into the storyboards, archival photos, sketches and transcripts, which I imagine you folks played a role in.
Mary:
Every time we release one of our classic films, producers who are putting that together for either in home or digital streaming, will come to us and go through the archives with our research team to pull imagery that maybe hasn't been seen before or help support the additional story that the producers that those pieces are trying to work with. And the same was true with this case too.
Laughing Place:
Do you have any understanding of what Walt's role was in Cinderella and what Cinderella meant to him?
Mary:
Well, it was funny because it was one of those stories that as a child, I believe there are lots of comments about Walt and his comments as well too, about how important when he was growing up listening to the fairy tells a lot of it when his grandmother was with the family and read aloud to the kids and family and those things stuck with him.
I think he also believed, again, that the very basic human traits within these stories and that they will resonate with audiences regardless of their age or background. So, just something so humanistic that connects us all to it.
I think Cinderella was one of those stories as well. And, just knowing the commentary that he shares with this and the fact that it was one of his favorite films in particular, the dress transformation scene. Walt, when he was here and alive, was so involved with every aspect of the filmmaking process. So, I think his sensibility, his storytelling sensibility in particular, and just the ability to get the best out of the artists and the art direction. Everything on that film really is evident of Walt's' hand and spirit and enthusiasm for the art form, I think is really showcased at Cinderella.
Laughing Place:
Do you have a favorite piece in your collection from Cinderella that inspires you?
Mary:
That's really hard and I knew you were going to ask me that question.
There's so much, right? At least you didn't ask me what's my favorite piece in the entire collection?
Laughing Place::
Well, I can't make you pick your favorite child. That's not fair.
Mary:
I get that question quite a bit and got, I say, well that's really hard. It's like asking me to pick my favorite child. I have two kids and some days one is more favorite than the other based on behavior, but for me it's really hard.
There are so many beautiful early concept designs of both character and environments from Mary Blair. She is one of my favorite artists in the Pantheon and history of Disney animation. I think her styling, her whimsy, her ability even create very simple shapes, but to tell an emotional story in one still image is pretty impactful. I think her work in developing the settings in particular, the palace, for me, always resonate.
It was funny because in preparation for this phone call, I was looking back at some of the art and there are so many beautiful pieces of Mary's' early concept work, on the palace in particular, that really stick out for me. So, I don't know if there's any one piece, but I would say, overall, the concept art that Mary Blair brought to the table for this film are some of my favorite pieces.
Cinderella: Anniversary Edition, the newest release in the Walt Disney Signature Collection, is now available on Digital and will be released on Blu-ray June 25.