BAMBI

1942

Dumbo was a great success because of its story, characters, and beautiful sequences, but most of all because of its great animation, more cartoony and exaggerated than previous features. But for Bambi, Walt Disney wanted the studio's animators to animate every single animal as accurately as possible, hence the long pre-production of the film (it was set to be Disney's second animated feature).

Dumbo was a film where budget was very limited and the studio had to make the most of what they had. But for Bambi, the studio decided to spend more on visual effects and more time studying animal behavior to get everything just right.  The result was definitely worth it. A perfectly animated film with gorgeous backgrounds and beautiful characters.

DUMBO

1941

Based on the book by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, and adapted for the screen by  Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, Dumbo was Disney's fourth feature film. And it kind of saved the studio after the poor reception of Fantasia and even Pinocchio.

Even though the movie runs only 65 minutes and had a budget three times smaller than previous feature films form Disney, Dumbo works on the characters' great personalities and awesome animation.

FANTASIA

1940

Have you ever been in one of those exercises where you're suposed to close your eyes, listen to the music, and see where your mind takes you? Watching Fantasia is like going inside the mind of the Walt Disney Studios during one of these sessions.

Fantasia is the third feature film from Walt Disney, and the longest one, with 124 minutes (despite some of the songs being shortened for this movie). It is also the first movie (not just from Disney) to enjoy stereo sound (called Fantasound) which was developed specifically for this film. 

This time, I asked some friends to help illustrate some of the stories from the film.

PINOCCHIO

1940

Even though many people thought it would fail, Snow White was a great success. And so, Walt Disney had a new challenge to overcome: making a second feature film that would be as great as the first one. That movie would be: Bambi. Preproduction started in 1936, but very quickly, Walt Disney realized that he didn't quite know how to make that particular movie. So they went on to make Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo before going back to Bambi.

Inspired by the original character, Pinocchio was originally a cocky and unlikeable puppet. So, when Walt saw the first animation tests, he decided to start all over again. Everything was changed, from Pinocchio's design (redone by Milt Kahl) to the general story, having Pinocchio be more human than puppet, and including Jiminy Cricket.

SNOW WHITE

1938

The story goes that the first movie that Walt Disney ever saw was a silent adaptation of Snow White. The year was 1916. So when he got a chance to make his own feature film, he decided to make an animated version of this well known Brothers Grimm tale. 

The original staff was made up of 200 workers, but by the end of the movie's production, numbers had increased up to 800 people.

DISNEY CHALLENGE!

Disney Animation is a very important part of our lives. More than some people care to admit. 

They've had some awesome features, and some not so great ones. But still, if you try to think of your fav movies of all times, it's highly probable that one of Disney's animated films will end on your list.

Have you ever thought of your fav Disney Animated movies?? What would be your top 5?

I thought about this some days ago, and decided that my top 5 would be (in no specific order):
Peter Pan

Lion King

Mulan

Emperor's New Groove

Beauty and the Beast

These are obviously the ones that I saw the most during my childhood, and continue to watch these days. But there are probably some excellent movies that I've forgotten about, and even some that I haven't watched. 

So I decided to watch every Animated movie done by Disney (using this list) and see if my Top 5 would change.

After watching each movie I will be posting an illustration based on that particular movie, and hopefully some interesting facts and vids about said film.

So, if you have 5 minutes, think of your fav movies and write them down on the comments!

Thanks for stopping by!