From: tanida@esosun.css.gov (Tom Tanida)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: rec.arts.disney FAQ (part 1a)
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:04:42 GMT
Reply-To: tanida@esosun.css.gov (Tom Tanida)

Here is the rec.arts.disney FAQ for the month of September.  I hoped to
be a little farther with Part 2, but it's about 75% complete.  There
are three divisions: Part 1 has been split into two parts, posted
as Part 1a and Part 1b (you can remerge them) to keep them under 50K (although
I'm not sure how many News sites out there are limited to articles under
50K).

If you want the PostScript version, drop me a line.  Its formatting is
MUCH better than the text version.  I also stuck it into /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS
on wuarchive.wustl.edu; we'll see how long it lasts there.

-Tom
tanida@esosun.css.gov
==========================================================
Frequently Asked Questions List For rec.arts.disney, part 1
Version 1.1, last revised 9/13/92

     This is part one of the FAQ file for rec.arts.disney.  I have tried to
include the questions and threads which arise most often, as well as some
interesting facts.  Most of the information came from articles posted to
rec.arts.disney since July 1990, about the time the group was started,
although I'm missing quite a few articles from early on.  Other information
came from various books and magazines.  Your input to this list is highly
appreciated.
     The purpose of this list is to reduce the number of redundant
questions posted to rec.arts.disney.  Personally, however, I would invite
discussion of questions included in this list if this list is not complete
enough.  For example, one of the questions lists the voices of popular
Disney characters and where to find more info, but if the character is not
listed here, I would still encourage you to post and ask, especially if the
character is more obscure.  Also, I couldn't possibly write the "complete
guide to taking kids to the Disney Theme Parks" because there is no truly
complete guide.  Although I have offered some information and advice in
part two of this list (the information which is most commonly suggested), I
would still welcome discussion of the topic since everybody has their own
opinions about what rides to go on, what to see, when to go, what
restaurants to eat at in the area, etc.  Again, however, I hope that this
list will reduce the amount of redundant information posted to the net.  I
also hope this list will provide a unified source of information about
Disney related material and provide a valuable reference for all.

     This is part one of the list, consisting of general topics and
questions, as well as some time critical information.  Part two of the
list, which is contained in a separate article, contains topics and
questions related to the theme parks, as well as miscellaneous trivia.

     There are three sub-parts:
          1) A list of the questions in this part
          2) Answers to General Questions
          3) Answers to Questions with Time-critical information
          
     Send comments, corrections, suggestions, and inside information to:
tanida@esosun.css.gov.  I am sure that no matter how long I work on this
that it will never be perfect, but it doesn't hurt to try.  :-)  If you
prefer CompuServe access, I'm at 76655,344.  On Prodigy I'm xgsn74a.  On
America On-Line, I'm TanidaT64.  On the Sierra Network, I'm at mailbox 2173
(Sierra1).  (Now all I need is GEnie and MCI Mail.)

     If you would like a PostScript version of this document, which has
much better formatting, feel free to send me a request; I can either mail
it to you, or we can find a mutual FTP site.  This document was originally
created in MS Word For Windows 2.0.

Part I- Questions

General questions:
1) What are the Disney animated feature films?   Which of the films have
     been released on videocassette?
2) Where can I get a copy of {Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, other hard to
     find video(s)}?
3) Where can I get Disney-related GIF pictures?
4) What are serigraph cels?  Are they "real" cels?
5) What art galleries sell Disney cels?
6) To what degree are computers being used in Disney animated films today?
6b) Since computers are being used quite a bit in Disney films now, does
     that mean there are no "genuine" cels from the movies?
7) I heard that Walt Disney is in cryogenic suspension.  Is this true?
8) Who did the voice of {Ariel, Belle, my favorite Disney character}?
9) How do I get a job working for Disney?
10) Is Goofy a dog, a horse, or what?
11) How can I get the song lyrics to {The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the
     Beast, etc.}?
12) What are the Magic Kingdom Club benefits?
13) What are the stockholder benefits?
14) What is Club 33?
15) What are the names of Ariel's sisters in The Little Mermaid?
16) What are the Disney Stores?
17) Who are the "nine old men"?
18) Who are the current Disney animators?
19) Where can I get the movie poster for {Beauty and the Beast, other
     Disney movie}?
20) Where can I find a particular Disney book?  How can I find an original
     version of a book that Disney adapted into a movie?
21) I remember a scene from Peter Pan where Tinkerbell is dying (having
     borne the brunt of the explosion from Captain Hook's trick present to
     Peter), and the audience is asked to clap to bring her back to life.
     Why isn't it on the Disney video?

99) Where can I get more Disney info?
     - Includes books, publications, computer services, phone numbers, and
     addresses

Timely information:
1) What Disneyana shows are coming up?
2) What are some of the upcoming movie and video releases from the Walt
     Disney studios?
Part II - Answers to General Questions

1)  What are the Disney animated feature films?  Which of the films have
     been released on videocassette?

     Here is the *official* list, numbered and listed in chronological
order.  Other notable Disney films with Disney animation are included after
the list.  The factors in what constitutes an "animated feature film" are
the amount of screen time with animation on it, the total length of the
film, the quality of the animation, and what kind of a mood the person at
the Disney studios is in when they make the decision.  With each film, I
have made some notes regarding video release, Academy Awards, and other
trivia.

1) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (12/21/1937) - Granted a special Academy
          Award for screen innovation in 1938.
2) Pinocchio (11/13/1940) - Released on video (US) in 1986, the first
          Disney animated feature film to be released for sell-through.
          Won the Oscar for Best Song ("When You Wish Upon a Star"), and
          Best Original Score.
3) Fantasia (02/07/1940) - Released on video and LaserDisc (US) in 1991.
          The Academy granted a special award to Leopold Stokowski for
          "widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as
          an art form" in 1941.  The music was conducted by Leopold
          Stokowski, and the narrator was Deems Taylor.  Fantasia was
          re-released in 1982 with an Irwin Kostal conducted soundtrack and
          narration by Hugh Douglas, but was subsequently restored.
4) Dumbo (10/23/1941) - Released on video (US) in 1987.  Won an Oscar for
          "Scoring of a Musical Picture" in 1941.
5) Bambi (08/13/1942) - Released on video (US) in 1988.  Also released on
          LaserDisc.
6) Saludos Amigos (02/06/1943)
7) The Three Caballeros (02/03/1945) - Released on video (US) in 1988 (?).
          This is somewhat of a sequel to Saludos Amigos.
8) Make Mine Music (04/20/1946) - Almost like a second Fantasia, but
          featuring more popular music in 10 shorter sequences, which lack
          the depth that Fantasia had.  The excellent 'Clair De Lune'
          sequence in this film was originally intended to be included in
          Fantasia.  It also included "Casey at the Bat."  Parts of this
          film have been released separately on video, under the titles
          "Willie, the Operatic Whale" and "Peter and the Wolf".  This film
          was never reissued in its original form.
9) Fun and Fancy Free (09/27/1947) - Contained the two stories "Mickey and
          the Beanstalk" and "Bongo," each of which have been recently
          released on video.
10) Melody Time (05/27/1948) - Some miscellaneous stories, including:  a
          story based on Johnny Appleseed; "Little Toot" (a tugboat);
          "Blame It On the Samba", featuring Donald Duck and Jose Carioca
          from The Three Caballeros; and "Bumble-Boogie," a jazz version of
          Flight of the Bumblebee.  This film was somewhat of a sequel to
          Make Mine Music, and also was never re-released in its original
          form.
11) The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (10/05/1949) - Released on video
          as separate short films, under the titles "The Legend of Sleepy
          Hollow" and "The Wind in the Willows."
12) Cinderella (06/22/1950) - Released on video (US) in 1988.  It has been
          said that this was Walt Disney's favorite film.
13) Alice in Wonderland (07/28/1951) - Released on video (US) in 1988 (?).
          Also released on LD.
14) Peter Pan (02/05/1953) - Released on video (US) in 1989.  Also released
          on LD.
15) Lady and the Tramp (06/16/1955) - Released on video (US) in 1987.
16) Sleeping Beauty (01/29/1959) - Released on video (US)  in 1987.
17) 101 Dalmatians (01/25/1961) - Released on video (US) in April, 1992.
18) The Sword in the Stone (12/25/1963) - Released on video (US) in 1988
          (?).
19) The Jungle Book (10/18/1967) - Released on video (US) in 1991.  Also
          released on LD.  This was the last film that Walt Disney worked
          on, as he died prior to its release.
20) The Aristocats (12/24/1970)
21) Robin Hood (11/08/1973) - Released on video (US) for rental in 1986;
          re-released on video and LD for sell-through in 1991.
22) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) - This was a compilation
          of the three stories "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" (1966),
          "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" (1969), and "Winnie the
          Pooh and Tigger Too" (1974).  All of these have been released on
          video.
23) The Rescuers (06/22/1977)- This film was very successful in Europe
          during it's initial release, and has been released on video
          there.  It will be released on video in the US in September,
          1992.
24) The Fox and the Hound (07/10/1981)- At one time the film was stated by
          Disney publicists to be the 20th, then the 25th animated feature
          film.  The first major effort by the "new generation" of Disney
          artists.
25) The Black Cauldron (07/24/1985)- This was the first film to be released
          in 70mm since Sleeping Beauty.  Roy E. Disney, Walt's nephew,
          returned to the studios to contribute to the screenplay.  The
          film suffered from delays and a then record-cost of $25 million.
26) The Great Mouse Detective (07/25/1986) - Score by Henry Mancini.  This
          was released on video during the Summer of 1992.
27) Oliver and Company (1988)- Made $54M in it's initial release, which at
          the time was the highest box-office gross of any animated film in
          its first theatrical run.
28) The Little Mermaid (11/22/1989) - Released on video (US)  in 1990; also
          available on LD.  Won the Academy Awards for Best Original Score,
          and Best Song ("Under the Sea").  Grossed $89M in its initial
          release.
29) The Rescuers Down Under (11/23/1990) - Released on video and LD (US) in
          1991.  Disney's first official animated sequel.
30) Beauty and the Beast (11/15/1991) - Was nationally released on 11/23/91
          and will be released on video in the US at the end of October,
          1992.  Cost $30 million to produce.  It won the Academy Awards
          for Best Original Score, and Best Song (title track), and was the
          first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.
31) Aladdin (Thanksgiving 1992)
32) King of the Jungle (late 1993)
33) Pocohontas (late 1994)

Here are some notable films and shorts that didn't make the Disney studio's
official list.  Because of space constraints, many shorts have been
omitted.

Ferdinand the Bull (1938) - Released on video with "Willie, the Operatic
          Whale."
The Reluctant Dragon (06/20/1941) - Released on video.
Victory Through Air Power (07/17/1943)
Song of the South (11/02/1946) - This has been released on video in Europe
          and Japan.  It won an Oscar for Best Song ("Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah").
          In addition, a special award was given to James Baskett for his
          role as Uncle Remus.
So Dear To My Heart (01/19/49) - Features Bobby Driscoll, who was the child
          actor in Song of the South, and provided the voice of Peter Pan.
          Set in 1903, it has much of the style of Song of the South in its
          mix of live-action and animation.
Lambert, the Sheepish Lion (1952) - Released on video with "Willie, the
          Operatic Whale."
Mary Poppins (08/29/64) - Nominated for Best Picture.  This was Julie
          Andrews' first movie, for which she won the Academy Award for
          Best Actress.  Mary Poppins also won for Best Song ("Chim-Chim-
          Cher-ee"), Best Score, Film Editing, and Special Visual Effects.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (10/07/71) - Won an Oscar for Special Visual
          Effects.  This has been released on video.
Pete's Dragon (11/03/77) - Released on video in 1991.
The Small One (1978) - A short film directed by Don Bluth.
Tron (1982)- Significant for its use of computer graphics and effects.
          This was released to the rental markets on video some time ago.
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - Available on video.
Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983) - Available on video.
The Brave Little Toaster (1988) - Released on video in 1991.
DuckTales: The Movie (1990) - Released on video.  Although full length,
          this isn't included because it did not meet "classic" animation
          standards (whatever that means).
The Prince and the Pauper (11/23/1990) - This was released in the theaters
          with The Rescuers Down Under.  It was released on video in 1991.

     Many films have been released in Japan and elsewhere on LaserDisc, and
such versions can be obtained via US dealers.  Films in this category
include: Lady and the Tramp, Song of the South, Dumbo, Sword in the Stone,
Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins (in letterboxed format).  Here are a couple of
dealers who may carry these titles:
     Laser Land
     1035 S. Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd.
     Campbell, CA
     (408)-253-3733  (San Francisco Bay Area)

     Laser & Video
     8780 Warner Avenue #9
     Fountain Valley, CA  92708
     (800)-342-9715  (mention you're looking for an import disc)

2) Where can I get a copy of {Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, other hard to
     find video(s)}?

     In general, the "premium" Disney animated feature films are released
for a limited time.  Like The Little Mermaid, that "limited time" may be a
matter of two years and 8.5 million copies, but after Disney decides to
stop taking orders and all the copies are sold, they are not replenished.
The only way to get the videos are: to search smaller, more obscure video
stores that might have some left over; to buy from somebody who has one and
is willing to sell (check out your favorite Disneyana convention- there are
often sellers there); to buy one from a used video store where somebody, by
some offbeat chance, has sold it to the store; to buy one from a place that
rents videos, and has multiple copies of the video you want (you might have
to negotiate with the owner); or to rent it and keep it and take the
extraordinarily high charge and whatever other penalty video stores dole
out for people who don't return their videos.  It might be hard to find a
good copy of an older film.
     Films known to be out of print: Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and
the Tramp, Cinderella, Fantasia (although this can still be easily found).
Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid have just about disappeared.
     Will Disney re-release the movies?  It's all up to speculation.  Some
contemplate a video re-release every 7 years or so, like the movies
themselves into the theaters; I've heard "official" Disney sources say
"never again," but similar sources have said that Fantasia would never be
released onto video, and that became the best selling video and LaserDisc
of all time.  Only time will tell.

3) Where can I get Disney-related GIF pictures?

     This question is not as simple as it sounds.  There are plenty of
Disney GIFs floating around, but there isn't any official way to get them.
Here are some common methods, however:

Internet FTP-  There isn't any "official" site for Disney GIFs.  Many GIFs
          sites have some in their collection.  tezuka.rest.ri.cmu.edu
          (128.2.209.227) has quite a few GIFs dedicated to the Disney
          Afternoon.  Others include: garfield.catt.ncsu.edu (152.1.43.23;
          GIFs, Disney related text files); calvin.nmsu.edu
          (128.123.35.150; some questionable quality Disney Afternoon
          digitized music); emx.cc.utexas.edu (128.83.186.11, some GIFs).
          There are also a few at wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4),
          although you might have to search.  If you know of others, please
          send me their name (and IP address, if you have it), and I'll
          mention them here.

alt.binaries.pictures - This newsgroup will carry uuencoded versions of
          GIFs.  The biggest problem with this method is that not all news
          sites carry this group.

CompuServe- CompuServe has several graphics forums that carry Disney GIFs.
          One is the FLORIDA forum, which has a couple of Disney-dedicated
          sections.  Others include the COMART (Computer Art), QPICS (Quick
          Pics), and GALLERY (Graphics Gallery) forums (type GO GRAPHICS to
          see them all).  The biggest problem with CompuServe is that
          connect time is $12.80/hour at 2400 baud, and $22.80/hour at 9600
          baud.  This can make the GIFs quite expensive.
               As a side note here, I'd like to mention that in early 1990,
          all Disney GIFs were removed by CIS (CompuServe Information
          Services) due to legal concerns (they removed the GIFs
          voluntarily- not because Disney pressured them to do so).  After
          a period of time had gone by, Disney GIFs were allowed onto the
          forums again, as they had made an agreement with Disney that
          allowed CIS to carry GIFs of Disney characters, and gave Disney
          the right to disallow any given images at any time.  I have yet
          to witness a GIF be posted then pulled by Disney, but you never
          know.

America On-Line- AOL has quite a few GIFs that I haven't seen elsewhere,
          contributed by it's members.  This service is an "up-and-coming"
          alternative to Prodigy.  It costs $4.95/hour (with a $5.95
          monthly minimum that includes one hour of free service).  The
          user interface is quite nice (based on the GEOS software), but
          the file transfer protocol looks like some kind of Kermit
          implementation or derivative (read: SLOW), and you don't get a
          choice of protocols to use (you have to run their proprietary
          software, like Prodigy).

The Disney BBS - A bulletin board, run by Disney.  It's number is:
          (818)-567-4027.

4) What are serigraph cels?  Are they "real" cels?

     Serigraph cels are not real cels.  The serigraph process involves
creating a master cel by hand
and then using a serigraph machine, which lays down the colors, to make
copies.  It is a normal art process (meaning that serigraphs are "art"),
but in general, I wouldn't invest in serigraphs hoping to make huge amounts
of money like those who deal with real cels.  The current rate for Disney
serigraphs is $250 for "limited-editions" of 2500 pieces.  They are
generally unnumbered.
     Disney has also released a line of hand-painted cels and backgrounds,
around the price of $2000-3000 each.  These too are NOT cels- they are
painted by artists in the Disney Studio Art Program.  These are *numbered*-
i.e. you can see a number on the cel that looks like "322/500", which means
that the one you are looking at is number 322 out of an edition size of
500.  Some of the releases in this program include:  a scene from Fantasia
(Ben Ali Gator holding the Hyacinth Hippo aloft); a excellent Lady and the
Tramp (Lady and the Tramp at the spaghetti table); a scene from Pinocchio
(the Blue Fairy looking at both Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio on Gepetto's
bench); a scene from 101 Dalmatians (Pongo, Perdita, and puppies watching
TV).  I believe only the cels are hand-painted; the backgrounds are
lithographed (reproduced).  There are others as well.
     Here is a description of the different cel types sold by the Disney
Art Program taken from a brochure on Disney animation art from the
Disneyana store on Main Street at Disneyland:
     Production Cels - Original production cels are colorful paintings on
acetate, created by studio artists, then photographed and actually used in
a film or television program action sequence.  Disney Art Editions offers
these one-of-a-kind cels taken from more recent feature films and
television programs.
     Hand-Inked-Line Limited-Edition Cels - Since few production cels from
earlier animated features and shorts exist, Disney recreates cels of the
most classic moments in limited editions.  Hand-inked-line cels are made
using traditional animation techniques, exactly as the production cels were
originally made for so many classic Disney films. This includes tracing an
animation drawing onto acetate by hand with different color inks and hand-
painting it with gum or acrylic-based colors formulated exclusively in
Disney laboratories.  The work is done by a small cadre of Disney artists
who have kept this almost-forgotten art alive.  Some hand-inked-line cels
are also combined with backgrounds.
     Xerographic-Line Limited-Edition Cels - Xerographic-line cels, instead
of being hand-inked, are created by transferring the original animation
drawing to the acetate cels by a special six-step xerographic process, a
refinement pioneered by Walt Disney Studios in the late 1950s.  101
Dalmatians was the first feature film to be created entirely with this
revolutionary process.  Many of the cels are then enhanced with hand-inked
lines before being painted with Disney colors and combined with a
lithographic background.
     Serigraph Cels - Serigraph cels, or sericels, recreate images of
Disney's famed cast of characters.  To produce a sericel, Disney artists
create a hand-inked, hand-colored painting or model of Disney characters,
which is then transferred to the acetate cel by a silk-screen printing
process known as serigraphy.
     Notes from the brochure glossary:
     Cel:  An outline, or line drawing, of a character and sometimes
certain special effects, either hand-inked or xerographically transferred
onto a clear sheet of cellulose acetate.  The image is then painted on the
back side of the sheet.  Cels are mostly in two standard sizes: a 12-field,
about 12 by 10 inches; or 16-field, approximately 16 by 12 inches.
     Background:  A painting of a scene to be used as a background for the
animated action.  Thousands of cels may be photographed over a single
background to create one scene in an animated film.  A production
background is one actually used in a film.
     Cel Set-Up:  One or more cels overlaid on a background.
     Animation Drawing:  A pencil drawing on animation paper, created by
the animator and used as the basis for an image on a cel.
     Storyboard Drawing:  A drawing or story sketch made for the
storyboard, which conveys visually the original plot and action.  The
storyboard serves as a preliminary guide for those working on the film.
     Publicity Cel:  A cel not actually used in a film, but created instead
solely for publicity or promotional purposes.
     Limited-Edition Cel:  A cel created specifically for the collector
market in a pre-determined quantity.
     Model Sheets:  Drawings of a grouping of characters or a single
character in a variety of attitudes and expressions, create as a reference
guide for animators.

5) What art galleries sell Disney cels?

     Before I give you the list, I'll say a few words of advice about cel
collecting that echoes what many people have said on rec.arts.disney over
the years (or months):   Buy only what you like.  Don't get caught up in
"auction fever."  Many cels may not be worth close to their asking price.
Make sure you check the condition of the cel closely.  Cels that involve
popular scenes and characters, and have good views of the characters (e.g.
frontal view, both eyes showing) will be worth more.  Shop around.
Negotiate.
     If you're interested in more advice, I'd recommend getting a copy of
Storyboard magazine.  For info about getting this magazine, see question
#99 below.
     There are several types of cel set-ups available (listed here in rough
order of cost, from cheapest to most expensive): Full reproductions (e.g.
serigraphs, or hand-painted reproductions, such as those discussed in
question #3); actual movie cels with no backgrounds; actual movie cels with
lithographed (reproduced backgrounds); and actual movie cels with real
backgrounds.
     Some galleries also carry drawings, storyboards, etc.
     There are actually quite a few galleries.  Many are owned by people
who are simply interested in the field, like you and me; they're not
necessarily "big time" operations.  Here is a list I've drawn up (by no
means complete).  I've only listed phone numbers so that you can call and
get information regarding addresses/catalog pricing/etc.  Many places have
free catalogs.  I personally can't vouch for any of them, as I haven't
ordered anything except catalogs from any of these places (you might just
want to post to rec.arts.disney, and see what others who have had
experience buying cels might suggest).  Most of these were obtained from
Storyboard magazine.  I welcome additions to this list.

     Gallery               Phone
     All American          (800)-872-8850  (Fair Lawn, NJ)
          Collectibles
     Animation Alley       (800)-772-8666, (714)-776-8666  (Anaheim, CA)
     The Animation         (416)-928-2357
          Celection
     Animation Source      (203)-776-7111  (New Haven, CT)
     ArtWorks              (800)-535-5070  (Alexandria, VA)
     C.A. Brooks           (516)-487-3556  (New York, NY)
          Animation Art
     The Cartoon Art       (800)-245-6633  (Indian Wells, CA)
          Store
     Cartoon Kingdom       (609)-243-9960  (Princeton, NJ)
     The Cel Block         (800)-334-8799  (New Hope, PA)
     Circle Gallery        (several branches, including the Disneyland Hotel
                           complex)
     Cricket Gallery       (800)-BUY-CELS  (Atlanta, GA)
     Collector's           (818)-785-4080  (Studio City, CA)
          Paradise
     Gallery C             (919)-828-3165  (Raleigh, NC)
     Gallery In Motion     (800)-788-0445  (Kansas City, MO)
     Howard Lowery         (818)-972-9080  (Burbank, CA)
     Leslie Brooks         (718)-279-3861  (Little Neck, NY)
     Lewis Gallery         (805)-584-8462  (Simi Valley, CA)
     Lynne Novick          (609)-653-0770  (Linwood, NJ)
     Magic Moments         (603)-883-9770, (603)-888-3457  (Nashua, NH)
     Marina Fine Arts      (310)-305-7678  (Marina Del Rey, CA)
     Mike Cluff's          (805)-927-1250  (Cambria, CA)
     M.j.Manfred           (412)-561-6665  (Pittsburgh, PA)
     Mostly Art            (203)-348-6270  (Stamford, CT)
     Phillips              (212)-570-4830  (New York, NY)
          Collectibles
     Russ Wolkoff          (818)-752-1755  (Los Angeles, CA)
     San Francisco         (800)-8DAFFY8, (415)-441-8900  (S.F., CA)
          Animated Art,
          Inc.
     Saturday Morning      (518)-482-5405
          Animation
     Scott & Leslie's      (714)-538-6893  (Orange, CA)
     Seaside Art           (919)-441-5418  (Nags Head, NC)
     Silver Stone          (310)-598-7600  (Long Beach, CA)
          Gallery
     Stabur Corp.          (800)-346-8940, (313)-425-7940  (Livonia, MI)
     Stay Tooned Gallery   (708)-382-2357  (Barrington, IL), (708)-234-3231
                           (Lake Forest, IL)
     Sweatbox Art          (408)-225-9698  (San Jose, CA)
     Toys To Go            (215)-649-2555, (215)-649-8444  (Ardmore, PA)
     Vintage Animation     (213)-393-8666  (Santa Monica, CA)
          Gallery

     Cels are also sold at the Disney theme parks.  Serigraphs and cels are
sold at the Disney Stores (see question #14).  The Disney Store was selling
a line of production cels with reproduced backgrounds from The Little
Mermaid.

6) To what degree are computers being used in Disney animated films today?

     There seems to be a lot of confusion on this issue, partly because
Disney seems to be trying to remain at least a little secretive about the
exact processes they use.  But here's some information obtained and
consolidated from various sources, including the periodical Computer
Graphics World and some reference books on Disney animation and computer
graphics
     Much of the computer graphics work is done by the artists at Disney's
Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) department in Glendale, CA.  There were 14
animators and software engineers there for the production of Beauty and the
Beast (they're listed in the credits).
     Computers are used for several different purposes in Disney animation.
One purpose is to process the colorization of the "cels" (I put that in
quotes because while there still are pre-production cels, they don't look
like the final product- more on this in a moment).  Another purpose for
computers is for the generation of backgrounds.  A third purpose is for the
generation of certain types of animated objects.  A fourth purpose is for
simple modeling.  There are probably others.
     The colorization and compositing of the characters is the most notable
use, as it represents the biggest change in the state of the art of Disney
animation.  In the past, the animators would draw an image on the cel, and
pass the cel on to be carefully colored by hand.  (Note that after Sleeping
Beauty, however, Disney animators drew on paper, frame by frame, and had
their drawings transferred to cels via a xerography process to be
individually colored.)  Note that, in general, consecutive cels would use
the same colors (i.e. although a particular character wouldn't always be
the same color during the entire film depending on light and shadow, or
other Disney magic, the next frame of animation is often times very similar
to the frame before it).  This represented a lot of redundancy.
     With modern computer graphics, this process can be eliminated,
speeding up the rate of output significantly.  The title for the new system
is CAPS, which stands for "Computer Animation Production System."
Animators' drawings are transferred directly to a computer, where the
computer colors the image based on color models.  This is not an automatic
process, but a given palette can be repeatedly applied by the computer
artist far more quickly than an artist can color a bunch of cels by hand.
The last scene from The Little Mermaid (Ariel and Eric kissing) used the
process.  Most, if not all, of The Rescuers Down Under, and all of Beauty
and the Beast used the process.  This is *not* to say there is no coloring
of cels; models are needed for the computer.  In addition, there is still
quite a bit of cleanup work done by hand (though most of the final cleanup
in done on computer).
     There are other advantages of the process as well.  Since the images
are effectively digitized in a computer, they can be manipulated and merged
at will.  The impressive multiplane (3D) effect at the opening of Beauty
and the Beast, where the camera travels through a forest past an animated
waterfall took advantage of the CAPS process; in the past, a multiplane
effect would be difficult at best.  For example, the final scene in the
"Ave Maria" sequence from Fantasia, involved building a horizontal camera
crane, moving the camera along a track "through" panes of glass on which
the images of the forest, cathedral, and sunburst at the end, with the
panes of glass being yanked out of the way when they became out of focus.
Since then, multiplane techniques have improved, but none of these is as
easy as simply using a computer to move and blur images in pseudo-3D space.
Other advantages of CAPS include:  the ability to easily blur images that
are "out of focus" relative to the camera position, to blend (e.g. the
blush on Belle's cheeks) and to intricately shade the characters (e.g.
Belle and the Beast dancing in the ballroom- you were watching them, not
the spinning background, right? :-) ); and to combine images of different
sizes seamlessly (i.e. you can draw the image at any size and
enlarge/shrink to fit as necessary).
     Other miscellaneous benefits include access to a wider range of
colors (if you've used any 24-bit color computer paint/DTP program on a
Mac or PC, you can see how this works- you get 16.7 million exact colors
versus whatever number you can come up with just mixing paint), and the
coloring of the lines that border the characters (note the black lines
that border the characters in films after Sleeping Beauty- a Xerox process
was used that introduced this- it was something that annoyed Walt Disney
when it was introduced, but it helped speed up the production rate).
     Another significant use of computers is the generation of backgrounds.
Although 99% of the backgrounds are painted (and colored) by hand (and then
entered into the CAPS system), there are some notable exceptions.  (Note
that for a background, it's not necessarily better to color by computer
since an artist can paint with a brush just as well, if not better, and
there isn't a lot of redundancy since the same background is repeatedly
used; incidentally, there were 1300 background created by 14 artists for
Beauty and the Beast.)  The most notable exception to date is probably the
ballroom in Beauty and the Beast.  The spinning ballroom sequence was first
choreographed using Wavefront Technologies software on an SGI machine, then
modeled in 3D using the Alias software and finally rendered frame by frame
using the Renderman software (probably using some form of distributed
processing, or at least rendering different images on different computers).
The animators' drawings of Belle and the Beast were then merged normally
using CAPS.  In addition, a computer-rendered table was used in the "Be Our
Guest" sequence (the scene where Mrs. Potts is singing, with little tea-
cups circling her).  The staircase that Ariel runs down before first seeing
Eric with Vanessa in The Little Mermaid also was generated via computer.
     Yet another use of computers is for certain types of 3D objects.  The
modeling and rendering process is similar to that of the Beauty and the
Beast ballroom.  Some examples include: the gears in The Great Mouse
Detective during the chase scene at the climax; the carriage in The Little
Mermaid, external views of the villain's vehicle, and the Sydney opera
house in The Rescuers Down Under; the dancing forks on the cake chandeliers
in the "Be Our Guest" sequence in Beauty and the Beast.
     A final, minor use of computers, would be for simple modeling.  For
example, the ship at the beginning of The Little Mermaid was wireframe
modeled on computers, but was drawn by hand.  I'm sure the Disney artists
have found other ways to use computers to assist them, much in the same way
they might use clay models to visualize various objects, such as the
characters themselves.
     (I'd be interested in hearing about other uses, by the way.  In fact,
if there's a Disney artist out there reading this who has anything to add
to this description in general... :-) )

6b) Since computers are being used quite a bit in Disney films now, does
     that mean there are no "genuine" cels from the movies?

     Unfortunately, the answer is no, there are no more original, hand-
painted production cels that were used directly for on-screen images in any
Disney animated feature film after The Little Mermaid.  Hand-inked cels are
created as color models during the production process, and hand-inked cels
will probably be created for the purpose of auctioning backgrounds (note:
if you look closely through the Sotheby's catalogue for the recent Mermaid
auction, it is advertised as a background auction, not a cel auction).  For
the Sotheby's auction for Beauty and the Beast, Disney will be auctioning
genuine backgrounds with one-of-a-kind cels created by hand by Disney
artists based on the directing animator's drawings.  See also question #4
for a discussion of cel types.

7) I heard that Walt Disney is "cryopreserved"/"in cryogenic suspension."
     Is this true?

     No, this is an "urban legend," although a joke goes "Yes- he's in
suspended animation" :-).  Walt Disney died at 9:35 am on December 15,
1966, of lung cancer.  He was cremated (quite the opposite of being frozen,
ironically) and is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.
His parents are buried there as well.
     This rumor did not come about completely out of the blue, however.
Some of the reasons this rumor started were: there was a significant time
period between the time of Walt Disney's death and the public announcement
of his death; Walt himself is said to have shown an interest in cryogenics
in his final years (ref. the book Disney's World, see "Books" in question
#99, below); and even his animators have been quoted to say that it's an
interesting thought that Walt might someday return to "set things straight"
in the company.

8) Who did the voice of {Ariel, Belle, my favorite Disney character}?

     I can't include the voice of *every* Disney character here, but here
is a comprehensive list of the most popular characters.   One good
reference to the Disney movies is The Disney Studio Story, by Richard
Holliss and Brian Sibley, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, 1988, ISBN
#0-517-57078-5. (See also "Books", in question #99, below).  If you're
looking for the voice of a more obscure character, just post.  You can also
ask me (tanida@esosun.css.gov); I *might* be able to find out if it's not
*too* obscure.  :-)

This list is in approximate chronological order (by appearance).

Mickey Mouse: Walt Disney himself did the voices of both Mickey and Minnie
          in the early cartoons, including "Steamboat Willie."
          (Incidentally, "Plane Crazy" was Mickey's first cartoon,
          "Steamboat Willie" was the first cartoon with sound.)
Donald Duck: Initially voiced by Clarence Nash.  First appeared in "The
          Wise Little Hen."  Nash also voiced Donald in Mickey's Christmas
          Carol (1983), so he's been around for some time.
Goofy: Pinto Colving
Chip and Dale: (?)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Snow White: Adriana Caselotti; Prince:
          Harry Stockwell; Wicked Stepmother: Lucille La Verne
Pinocchio - Pinocchio: Dickie Jones; Jiminy Cricket: Cliff Edwards
Dumbo - Timothy: Edward Brophy; Stork: Sterling Holloway; Jim Crow: Cliff
          Edwards
Bambi - Thumper: Peter Behn; Bambi's Mother: Paula Winslowe
Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros - Joe Carioca: Jose Oliveira
Make Mine Music - Willie the Whale: Nelson Eddy
Song of the South - Brer Rabbit: Johnny Lee; Brer Bear: Nicodemus Stewart;
          Uncle Remus/Brer Fox: James Baskett.  The boy (Johnny) was played
          by a young Bobby Driscoll.
Fun and Fancy Free - ("Mickey and the Beanstalk")- Giant: Billy Gilbert
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - Ichabod was narrated and sung by
          Bing Crosby.  Toad: Eric Blore; Cyril (the horse): Pat O'Malley
Cinderella - Cinderella: Ilene Woods; Stepmother: Eleanor Audley; Fairy
          Godmother: Verna Felton.
Alice in Wonderland - Alice: Kathryn Beaumont; White Rabbit: Bill Thompson;
          Cheshire Cat: Sterling Holloway; Queen of Hearts: Verna Felton
Lambert, the Sheepish Lion (short)- Narrated by Sterling Holloway (Dumbo,
          Alice In Wonderland, Jungle Book).
Peter Pan - Peter: Bobby Driscoll; Wendy: Kathryn Beaumont; Captain
          Hook/Wendy's Father: Hans Conried; Mr. Smee: Bill Thompson
Lady and the Tramp - Lady: Barbara Luddy; Tramp: Larry Roberts;
          Peg/Darling/Siamese Cats: Peggy Lee
Sleeping Beauty - Aurora: Mary Costa; Phillip: Bill Shirley; Maleficent:
          Eleanor Audley
101 Dalmatians - Cruella DeVille: Betty Lou Gerson; Pongo: Rod Taylor;
          Perdita: Cate Bauer; Roger: Ben Wright; Colonel: J.Pat O'Malley
The Sword in the Stone -Wart: Ricky Sorenson; Archimedes: Junius Matthews;
          Merlin: Karl Swenson; Madame Mim: Martha Wentworth
Winnie the Pooh: Initially voiced by Sterling Holloway (who you'll see pop
          up quite a bit in this list of Disney voices).  The first two
          Pooh stories (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the
          Pooh and the Blustery Day) were narrated by Sebastian Cabot (The
          Jungle Book).  Other voices: Christopher Robin: Jon Walmsley;
          Tigger: Paul Winchell
The Jungle Book - Mowgli: Bruce Reitherman (son of the director, Wolfgang);
          Baloo: Phil Harris; Bagheera: Sebastian Cabot; Kaa: Sterling
          Holloway; Shere Khan: George Sanders; Colonel Hathi: J. Pat
          O'Malley
The Aristocats - Duchess: Eva Gabor; Thomas O'Malley: Phil Harris;
          Roquefort (mouse): Sterling Holloway: Scat Cat: Scatman Crothers;
          title song sung by Maurice Chevalier
Robin Hood - Robin: Brian Bedford; Little John: Phil Harris (The Jungle
          Book, The Aristocats); Prince John: Peter Ustinov; Sir Hiss:
          Terry Thomas; Allan-a-Dale (rooster): Roger Miller; Maid Marian:
          Monica Evans: Sheriff: Pat Buttram; Friar Tuck: Andy Devine; Lady
          Kluck: Carole Shelley
The Rescuers - Bernard: Bob Newhart; Bianca: Eva Gabor; Madame Medusa:
          Geraldine Page; Penny: Michelle Stacy; Mr. Snoops: Joe Flynn;
          Orville: Jim Jordan
The Fox and the Hound -Tod: Mickey Rooney; Copper: Kurt Russell; Big Mama
          (owl): Pearl Bailey
The Black Cauldron - Voices included: John Hurt; Freddie Jones; Nigel
          Hawthorne
The Great Mouse Detective - Basil: Barrie Ingham; Dr. Dawson: Val Bettin;
          Ratigan: Vincent Price
Oliver and Company - Dodger: Billy Joel; Tito (Chihuahua): Cheech Marin;
          Georgette (poodle): Bette Midler
The Little Mermaid - Ariel: Jodi Benson; Sebastian: Samuel E. Wright;
          Ursula: Pat Carroll; Eric: Christopher Barnes; Scuttle: Buddy
          Hackett
The Rescuers Down Under - Bernard: Bob Newhart; Bianca: Eva Gabor; McLeach:
          (the) George C. Scott; Wilbur: John Candy; Jake: Tristan Rogers;
          Cody: Adam Ryen
Beauty and the Beast - Belle: Paige O'Hara; Beast: Robby Benson; Mrs.
          Potts: Angela Lansbury; Luminere: Jerry Orbach; Cogsworth: David
          Ogden Stiers; Gaston: Richard White; Lefou: Jesse Corti; Maurice:
          Rex Everhardt; Chip: Bradley Pierce; Wardrobe: JoAnne Worley
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp - Aladdin: Scott Winger; Genie: Robin Williams;
          Princess Jasmine: (speaking) Linda Larkin, (singing) Lea Salonga;
          Abu, the monkey: Frank Welker; Jaffar: Jonathan Freeman;  Iago:
          Gilbert Godfrey; Sultan: Douglas Seal

Other voices:
Darkwing Duck- Jim Cummings
Gosalyn (Darkwing Duck)- Christine Cavanaugh
Winnie the Pooh, Tigger (New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)- Jim Cummings
Uncle Scrooge (Mickey's Christmas Carol, DuckTales): Alan Young
Roger Rabbit: Charles Fleischer

Theme parks:
Sam the Eagle (from "America Sings"): Burl Ives
Robot-Pilot from "Star Tours": Paul Reubens ("Pee-Wee Herman")
Ghost Host ("Haunted Mansion"), narrator from "Adventure Through Inner
          Space": Paul Frees
Singing Statue in Haunted Mansion Graveyard (among others at Disneyland):
          Thurl Ravenscroft

9) How do I get a job working for Disney?

     Of course, the answer to this depends on what you want to do.
     All Disney employees go through a training program which introduces
them to the Disney philosophy and some of the history of the company.
     If you're looking for a summer job at Walt Disney World, consult with
"Central Casting," located near the Disney Village, where you can get an
application.  Or you can write to "Professional Staffing", c/o WDW, at the
address in question #99 below.  At Disneyland, go to the customer relations
desk near the fire station on Main Street.  If you do get a summer job,
you'll probably be making minimum wage (and shaving regularly, since facial
hair is not allowed if you're in the public eye- although animators at WDW
seem to be an exception).
     To get a job at the Disney Store, simply request a job application,
preferably from the store manager.  They aren't always hiring, but like
most retailers, will hire more employees for the Christmas Season.  When a
new Disney Store is opened, a "Casting Call" advertisement is placed in the
local paper, and they will interview 300-400 people for 20-25 positions.
When a position becomes available, the hiring ratio is 15-20 interviews for
one Cast Member.  For more information on what's it's like to work at  the
Disney Store, see question #16, below.
     If you're interested in animation, you need to be talented and lucky.
It helps if you attended the California Institute of the Arts ("CalArts"),
which Walt Disney helped found, and currently has 900 students and five
schools (art, dance, music, film video, theater).  I suspect Disney
currently helps to fund CalArts.  If you didn't attend CalArts, some other
prestigious school of art with some animation training will probably do
(some of the animators were hired out of the University of California at
Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and the Art Center at
Pasadena).  If you do get a job as an animator, you'll probably start out
by working on "tweening" (i.e. drawing cels that lie in sequence between
the cels produced by the primary animators), so you won't have a lot of
creative freedom, and you'll probably be quite busy (i.e. working longer
than 8 hour days on a regular basis).  Show promise, get noticed, and the
sky's the limit.  At the very least, you get your name in the credits.  :-)
     An address to try writing to regarding employment opportunities with
the studios would be:
               Walt Disney Studios
               1400 Flower Street
               Glendale, CA 91221

10) Is Goofy a dog, a horse, or what?

     Goofy is a dog.  He originally started life as "Dippy Dawg" early in
the history of the Disney studios, in both comic strips and short films,
but evolved into "Goofy" by 1934.
     This begs the question "well, if Pluto is a dog too, then why don't
they act the same (e.g. why does Pluto not talk, why doesn't Goofy walk on
all fours, etc.)?"  My answer to that is because that's the way Walt wanted
it.  :-)  Pluto is more of a pet to Mickey; Goofy is simply more
individualistic and anthropomorphised.  In addition, they're both different
breeds of dog. :-)  (I won't even get into the thread about how Goofy dated
Clarabelle Cow.)

11) How can I get the song lyrics to {The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the
     Beast, etc}?

     Some of the lyrics to The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are
available via anonymous FTP at garfield.catt.ncsu.edu.  If you can't FTP,
send me e-mail (tanida@esosun.css.gov) and I can mail them to you.
     Otherwise, you can order the sheet music from the Hal Leonard
Publishing Corporation, 7777 West Bluemound Road, P.O. Box 13819,
Milwaukee, WI 53213.  There is also The Illustrated Disney Song Book which
is published by Random House, Inc., of New York, NY, with the ISBN #0-394-
50745-2.  It contains the lyrics (and piano music) to many of the most
popular Disney songs.  There is a "New" Illustrated Disney Song Book as
well (bibliographical reference at the end of this question).  In addition,
the address to the Walt Disney Music Company is given in question #99,
below.
     There is quite a bit of Disney music available on CD and cassette; if
there is a demand for it, I'll add a list of Disney music to this list.
Disneyland/Buena Vista Records and Tapes (Burbank, CA 92521) is the
"official" label that distributes the majority of the music.

The New Illustrated Disney Songbook, introduction by Steven Spielberg
     Abrams, New York, 1986
     ISBN 0-810-90846-8 (Abrams)
     ISBN 0-881-88467-7 (Hal Leonard)
Notes: For voice and piano; includes chord symbols and guitar chord
diagrams.  Presents in sheet music format about eighty songs from such Walt
Disney movies as "Cinderella," "Dumbo," and "Mary Poppins."  215 pages.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney