While the Creative Talent Network (CTN) provides great opportunities for students, professionals, and enthusiasts to get to know each other and hone their craft in the art of animation. Often, the expo provides an opportunity for screenings of independent short films and even rare finds from major studios.
This is precisely what happened during the most recent CTN Expo over the weekend, in which a panel moderated by former Disney animator, director, and producer, Dave Bossert took the the main stage. While the main focus of this panel was to showcase two shorts by independent animators, Buckets City by Dave Quion and Amy & Frog by Paul Willaims, a special surprise was teased as a third screening. Whispers and rumors very early on in the weekend suggested, and then later confirmed, that this third short would be a rarely seen piece from Walt Disney Animation Studios, One by One, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The fact that this short was packaged with two other shorts for this panel is honestly quite fitting, as One by One, as Bossert explained, was originally set to be part of a third installment of Fantasia that was in development at the studio following the recent Fantasia 2000.
Using a song developed for The Lion King, Lebo M’s “One by One,” the short opens on a colorful feather that is seen by children in a South African town. Using this (and a windblown piece of newspaper), the children are inspired to then collect goods around town and create their own colorful kites to take to the skies. After working together and having fun, all the kids take their kites and release them into the sky, with each colorful creation flying free.
While released on its own on physical media shortly after its production, just watching this short oozes Fantasia energy. It has no dialogue, it follows the music, and it has a bit of a message (one of unity).
Originally directed by Pixote Hunt, with Bossert himself taking the reins after Hunt’s departure from the studio, One by One also features a bit of a who’s-who of traditional animators at the studio at the time, including Tony Bancroft (known for his work on Pumbaa and Kronk, among others) as well as David Pruiksma (known for his work on Mrs. Potts and the Sultan in Aladdin, among others).
The song, originally cut from the production of The Lion King, did make it into the stage production, but outside of that, was largely unknown at the time. Described as “a freedom song,” the lyrics roughly translate to a message about staying strong, not being held back, and succeeding together one by one.
As Bossert explained, One by One was originally slated to be part of a third installment of Fantasia. While Bossert noted that many people (especially on the internet) referred to the collective film as “Fantasia 2006,” he liked to refer to it as “Fantasia World” due to the fact that each segment/short celebrated the music, style, and culture of various countries and regions. Three segments were finished, but were never compiled into the scrapped film. Along with One by One, these were:
- The Little Matchgirl – Directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King) this short followed the darker tale of the Hans Christian Andersen story, and had a Russian influence set to Nocturne from Borodin's String Quartet #2. Notably, this was the last production to use the revolutionary CAPS animation system.
- Lorenzo – Directed by Mike Gabriel (Pocahontas), this short followed the story of a spoiled cat whose tail developed a mind of its own. Set to an Argentine tango, "Bordoneo y 900", as performed by Juan José Mosalini and his Big Tango Orchestra.
- Destino – though Bossert didn’t mention this one specifically during the panel, it is widely known that after decades of work and being unearthed by Roy E. Disney while developing Fantasia 2000, the third Fantasia would have seen the debut of this Disney/Dali collab in the Concert Feature anthology series. Developed by Disney Legend John Hench back in the 40’s and sitting basically at a standstill until 1999, The seven-minute short follows the story of Chronos and his ill-fated love for a mortal woman named Dahlia, with a soundtrack that includes music by the Mexican composer Armando Dominguez.
Bossert also mentioned that storyboards were completed for another segment, also to be directed by Mike Gabriel, featuring Japanese Kodo Drummers, and that boards were partially completed for a segment focused on India featuring a soundtrack of sitars, as well as a segment that focused on Aboriginal Australia that would serve as the opening of the film.
Obviously, we never got the third iteration of Fantasia, which was in production at the height of the tensions between then-CEO Michael Eisner and Roy E. Disney, with Bossert calling the project “a political hot potato.”
If the film itself got canceled, then why do we have these completed shorts like One by One? While we don’t have an official answer, it is believed (and shared during the panel) that there were already existing contracts for 2D animators who opted not to gravitate toward computer animation, and the shorts were completed to let those contracts run out. This was early on in the ‘00s, and the studio was already moving toward more 3D computer animation, including projects like Chicken Little, and the canceled 2D/3D hybrid, “My Peoples.”
All of this does not mean all is lost though, as One by One is easily accessible on physical media – as long as you have a special edition copy of The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride on DVD or subsequent releases. Appropriate considering the short uses an abandoned song from The Lion King. While I can’t emphasize enough the importance of physical media for a multitude of reasons (note that I did NOT say this short was on Disney+), because of this release, I’m sure One by One can be found somewhere (albeit unofficially) on the internet with a simple search.
I should also note that The Little Matchgirl can be found on Disney+ as well as DVD and Blu-Ray releases of The Little Mermaid. Lorenzo can be found on the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection Blu-Ray, and Destino can be found on the Fantasia & Fantasia 2000 Special Edition Blu-ray disc, as well as on the standalone Fantasia 2000 Blu-ray. It is also featured on its own standalone DVD for sale at several Dali museums, and is also available on Disney+.