There may be no better example of emergence of cinematic genius than to watch this and then see "Snow White."
This is a study in human modelling, in the context of dwarfs and nature. Its after the style of the Betty Boop work that controlled expectations on the animated screen with a little bit more grace. But it still features thin figures with cartoon movements rather than human ones. It was done as a test for Snow White.
Almost nothing here was used in that later project and its a good thing. There is nothing attractive about it at all.
But I can still see a serious attempt at finding that vocabulary of movements that seems human but isn't, looks natural and warm but is abstract and seems to capture a version of womanhood without referencing sex. Its only hinted here and perfected in a way later. I'm not at all sure if we can know whether in Snow White Walt and company touched something we knew, or whether he created something that we grew into with our ideals and imagination. I believe it is the latter, which makes this experiment more interesting.
Suppose he would have stuck with what he had here. Would we have grown around it and adapted a wholly different vision of innocent perfection?
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
This is a study in human modelling, in the context of dwarfs and nature. Its after the style of the Betty Boop work that controlled expectations on the animated screen with a little bit more grace. But it still features thin figures with cartoon movements rather than human ones. It was done as a test for Snow White.
Almost nothing here was used in that later project and its a good thing. There is nothing attractive about it at all.
But I can still see a serious attempt at finding that vocabulary of movements that seems human but isn't, looks natural and warm but is abstract and seems to capture a version of womanhood without referencing sex. Its only hinted here and perfected in a way later. I'm not at all sure if we can know whether in Snow White Walt and company touched something we knew, or whether he created something that we grew into with our ideals and imagination. I believe it is the latter, which makes this experiment more interesting.
Suppose he would have stuck with what he had here. Would we have grown around it and adapted a wholly different vision of innocent perfection?
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.