Magic Forces

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The man, the myth, the legend. Another day, another dream.

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These screenshots are taken from The Disney Family Album series, featuring animator Milt Kahl. Milt hadn't drawn in several years, but these sketches show Milt's unorthodox way of drawing. According to Andres Deja, “He throws in a light circle for the main mass of the character's head, but then goes straight for details.The order in which he puts lines on paper is completely absurd. He finished drawing Pinocchio's head, before moving left to define his finger, which is on fire. The connecting arm was drawn in much later. Milt's assistant said that Milt stared at blank paper on his desk for a very long time before then quickly animating his scene. He literally saw poses projected on paper, which he then "traced". This is truly a master at work.

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At Downtown Disney yesterday and stopped in at the Wonderground Gallery where I was stopped in my tracks by the stunning artwork of the talented Mr. Dave Quiggle. I love the tension of all the acute angles in the Maleficent piece, really eerily contrasting with the rounded shapes of her head and eyes.The sparse and judicious use of color and negative space really draws the eye to the flame and her vacant face. Chilling!

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I was lucky enough to be walking by Sleeping Beauty Castle at the exclusive late-night Annual Passholder Event last week when I realized that they had roped off the front of the castle in order to allow guests to take unobstructed photos in the courtyard area. With such perfect lighting and all the amazing 60th Anniversary decorations, I knew this would be a once in a lifetime photo opportunity. I wasted no time in hustling to the front of the crowd, lining up my shot and snapping this pic, which may be the best photo I’ve ever taken! (No retouching!) 

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These outstanding, vibrant watercolor illustrations above were published in Good Housekeeping Magazine. I love the use of negative space in composing this layout. Its an ingenious way to tie all of the vignettes together while not imposing any of the rules or expectations of how the ground planes, environments, and actions from the various worlds may affect each other. Just brilliantly composed and beautifully executed.

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Disney released a compilation album titled We Love Disney that brings together some big names in music to perform their own renditions of classic Disney songs. We Love Disney features names like Jessie J, Tori Kelly, Ariana Grande and Jason Derulo. A wide variety of genres are included such as pop, country, R&B, rock, and more. This album has some favorite Disney songs that are recorded in ways that are unique to each individual artist. Here’s the full track list: 

1. “Friend Like Me” from “Aladdin” – Ne-Yo 2. “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid” – Jessie J 3. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King” – Jason Derul 4. “The Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppets Movie” – Gwen Stefani 5. “Zero to Hero” from “Hercules” – Ariana Grande 6. “In a World of My Own” from “Alice in Wonderland” – Jhené Aiko 7. “I Wan’na Be Like You” from “The Jungle Book” – Fall Out Boy 8. “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas” – Tori Kelly 9. “Spoonful of Sugar” from “Mary Poppins” – Kacey Musgraves 10. “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” from “The Aristocats” – Charles Perry 11. “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from “Cinderella” – Jessie Ware 12. “Let It Go” from “Frozen” – Rascal Flatts & Lucy Hale 13. “It’s a Small World” – “We Love Disney” artists 14. “It’s Not Easy Being Green” from “The Muppet Show” – Brenna Whitaker 15. “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin” – Yuna

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Strangely, for a man who always had big dreams, Walt Disney took some of his greatest delight in the world of miniatures. For decades, he both constructed and collected a huge variety of intricate tiny objects. Sometimes those small objects inspired some much larger ideas, including attractions at the Disney theme parks. 

This model of Disneyland is referred to as "The Disneyland of Walt's Imagination". It's the Walt Disney Family Museum's million-dollar masterpiece scale model representing many things built or conceptualized in Walt Disney's lifetime. And it's a spectacular achievement that must be seen to be believed. The 14-foot diameter hand-crafted model is among the most elaborate and detailed scale models in the theme park industry and is one of the many magical and amazing treasures at The Walt Disney Family Museum, which features the life and legacy of Walt Disney. The museum is located in The Presidio of San Francisco, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco.

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I got super lucky with this amazing group of subjects...they were dressed to kill and I just happened to find them in front of the red, vintage hot dog stand which matched their costumes and attitudes perfectly!

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I love shooting portraits on Dapper Day at Disneyland...So many amazing costumes and outfits, so many accessories...so much color and style!

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I shot more portraits (with a new portrait lens!) for Dapper Day 2015 at Disneyland. These are some of the best shots of the day...more to follow!

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Love this retro Disneyland sign atop the Monorail water slide at the Disneyland Hotel. The flags complete the retro 50's vibe. Not sure if this is a throwback to the vintage sign or just an artifact of earlier times that was never updated, but I love it either way.

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I love seeing Glen Keane's unmistakable handiwork in the looser stages, such as these vis dev sketches of Ariel on display in the 360 degree Disney Animation showcase at California Adventure. He's my favorite animator of all time for two simple reasons: Ariel and Pocahontas. Thanks Glen!

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This 1957 infographic of Walt Disney's corporate theory reveals a complex web of strategic channels. The illustration might be nearly 60 years old, but it's still the basis of the brand's success. When Disney makes a movie today, the company thinks beyond the motion picture to how the story can be leveraged into merchandise, experiences, and spin-offs. It's not just a film: it's a theme park ride, a chapter in a larger saga, an action figure, a musical on ice, etc.

Today, the network is larger, there are more platforms, and the path to success can get awfully messy, but the basic strategy is the same. Instead of following the model of other studios—releasing many films and hoping for a blockbuster—Disney is select. It releases about 10 films annually and builds out the franchising and revenue-generating opportunities that come with the territory. This strategy is proof that brands ought to study their history and mine their archives. It also explains why there's no escaping Frozen.

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Check out this amazing collage of Milt Kahl drawings. Milt is often considered to be the finest draughtsman of the Disney animators. He would often refine the characters sketches from Bill Peet with the ideas of Ken Anderson. For many years the final look for the characters in the Disney films were designed by Kahl, in his angular style inspired by Picasso. He is revered by contemporary masters of the form, such as Andreas Deja, and Brad Bird, who was his protégé at Disney in the early 1970s. In the behind-the-scenes feature "Fine Food and Film" shown on the Ratatouille DVD, Bird referred to Kahl as "tough", but in a gentle way, as he often gave Bird advice on where he could improve in animation whenever he came up short. No wonder Brad has given us treasures like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles with such enviable tutelage.

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These posts have proven to be very popular, so here’s another fun one. This is a photostat of Captain Hook and Smee that was used as live action reference material for the animators. It’s really amazing how closely the talented people in charge of the photography, casting and wardrobe were able to match the character designs. So much attention to detail in every facet of the production–it’s no wonder Captain Hook was such a dimensional, fully realized villain.

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Wall-E. One of my all-time favorite character designs. How do you create a trash-compacting robot who lives on a dusty, post-apocalyptic abandoned planet that can steal your heart without saying a single word? Pure magic.

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I’m beyond excited for the upcoming Pixar film “Inside Out.” I’m a huge Pete Docter fan and I can’t wait to see what he and the Pixar Brain Trust have in store for us with this all-new, totally original IP. Most Pixar movies are emotional experiences, in that they inspire what the kids used to call “all the feels.” But this effort is an emotional experience in a more literal sense, as it delves into the mind of an 11-year-old named Riley. Living within are five primary emotions that drive her: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), and Anger (Lewis Black). Get to know all of them with these colorful, expressive and totally awesome character posters that instantly convey the emotions the character designs are drawn from.