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• Toon Thursday: When Dad's a Disney Legend, that's a tough act to follow

  Floyd Norman looks back on the careers of Peter Kahl, John Kimball and Dale King. Each of them a talented artist in their own right. Who then had to struggle in order to escape the shadows of their far more famous fathers Read More... Posted Thursday, November 05, 2009 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, 1960s, Milt Kahl , Animation Building, design , Walt Disney Productions , Disney's Animation Building , character designer , industry veterans , legacy, A-Wing

• Toon Tuesday: What was it like to work at the Mouse Factory back in the 1950s?

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman talks about what it was like to work at Walt Disney Studios in the post-strike era. And to Floyd's way of thinking, "The Bad Old Days" were pretty darned good Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 06, 2009 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 1950s, Hollywood, Burbank, Animation Building, Disney Commissary , California, Los Angeles , instruction, artwork , 1941 , animators strike , Walt Disney Productions , sound stage, Old Hollywood, Burbank lot , motion picture, Disney artist , Dopey Drive, good times , Disney animator , The Great Depression, artists, job, Silver Lake , animated film, young animators, Disney shorts , master animator, industry veterans , job security, animation professionals, Roy Disney, production, production team , film, animated feature film, motion pictures, leader, legacy, Riverside Drive, animated feature, animation training class, animation department

• Toon Tuesday: Remembering 2-C

  Forget about 3-D. Disney Legend Floyd Norman revisits a location at Walt Disney Studios where lots of classic animation was created Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, San Diego, Comic Con International, 1950s, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Jungle Book, Animation Building, shorts , animated film, shorts unit, The Great Mouse Detective, 2009, 1966, Jack Hannah, Dick Kinney, Roy Williams, Al Bertino, storyboarding, Woolie Reitherman, Basil Davidovitch, Dale Barnhart, Ray Aragon, Sammie June Lanham, Betty Gossin, Vance Gerry, Al Wilson, Sylvia Niday, Dick Lucas, Eric Cleworth, music room, the music room, 2-C, The Black Cauldron, directorial units, Joe Hale, Riverside Drive, Mark Evanier, Quick Draw, Scott Shaw!, panel, Comic-Con, Comic-Con International, convention, San Diego Convention Center, Sergio Aragones, animated feature

• Lots of entertaining tails ... er ... tales were told at "The Little Mermaid" 20th anniversary event

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman reports from Woodbury University. Where -- last Thursday night -- dozens of WDAS vets turned out to reminisce about the development & production of this Academy Award-winning animated feature Read More... Posted Monday, May 25, 2009 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Glendale, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, California, effects shots, music , Disney animator , assignment , animated film, feature films, effects animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Academy Award winner , Alan Menken, Jeffrey Katzenberg, film, animated feature film, hand-drawn animation, WDAS, John Musker, Ron Clements, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, Mark Henn, Glen Keane, Tina Price, Andreas Deja, Ruben Aquino, Duncan Majoribanks, 20th anniversary, Woodbury University, Tom Sito, Brad Bird, Part of Your World, Kiss the Girl, Geoffrey Holder, Seven Up, Uncola Man, television commercials, Best Song, Ariel, Sebastian, Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium

• Toon Tuesday: Funky Warehouse Syndrome

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman points out an interesting paradox of the animation industry. In that artists deserve the finest facilities, but it's sometimes better if they don't actually get them Read More... Posted Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, 1970s, Pixar Animation Studios, Glendale, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Toy Story, Animation Building, young artists , animators, animation artist, design , Walt Disney Productions , Burbank lot , Disney artist , Disney backlot , backlot , Disney animator , artists, young animators, Hanna-Barbera , Hanna-Barbera Studio , 1980s, story, 1990s, production design, production team , production designer, film, motion pictures, studio, Hanna Barbera

• Toon Tuesday: Jim Fletcher, Disney Artist and the Ultimate Hollywood Fan

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman launches a new series at JHM by talking about a co-worker of his who really did seem to know everyone who was anyone in Tinsel town Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, 1970s, Hollywood, Disney Commissary , Old Hollywood, Floyd Norman, Hyperion Studios, Hanna-Barbera , Hanna-Barbera Studio , 1990s, childrens books, Jim Fletcher, Chicago Institute of Art, Tinsel town, Gregory Peck, Edward G Robinson, Ed Wynn, Edgar Bergen, A-Wing, Freddy Hellmich, Fairy Crew, Des Plains, Illinois, CBS, Jack Benny, The Jack Benny Show, Hollywood Museum, preview, fundraiser, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Toluca Lake, UPA, Hanna Barbera, Format, Encino, Bill Walsh, Ruth Roman, Art Babbit, Margie Belcher, Gower Champion, Linda Darnell, Debbie Reynolds, Margaret O'Brien, Jane Withers, Charlotte Rae

• What can Walt Disney Animation Studios do to save itself? Ditch digital

  Floyd Norman is back with a column that's sure to cause some controversy. Since this Disney Legend is now suggesting that WDAS should abandon production of CG animated features and instead concentrate on reviving its hand-drawn animation unit Read More... Posted Monday, February 02, 2009 12:00 AM | 25 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, CG, Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, hand-drawn animation, digital animation, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, WDAS

• Steve Jobs: A Tough Act to Follow

  As stories continue to circulate about the Head of Apple's health problems, Disney Legend Floyd Norman looks back to the 1960s. When another company you may know suddenly had to deal with leadership & succession-related issues Read More... Posted Monday, January 19, 2009 12:00 AM | 9 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 1960s, Pixar Animation Studios, Diane Disney Miller, Apple , artists, Walt Disney World, 1990s, pop culture, innovative, popular culture, Phil Schiller, vice president, keynote, keynote address, San Francisco, MacWorld, MacWorld Expo, MacWorld 2009, Steve Jobs, Steven P Jobs, Epcot, June, Ron Miller, CEO, Silverado Vineyards, Napa, Napa Valley, Silicon Valley, garage, innovative products, leader, legacy, 1966, visionary leaders

• Toon Tuesday: Looking Back on Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" -- Part Deux

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman concludes his series on the development & production of this 1996 Walt Disney Pictures animated feature Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, traditional animation, female animators, Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Disney movie, Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, animated film, young animators, feature films, top animators, opening scenes , sequence, Michael Eisner , story, Walt Disney Feature Animation, story team, storyboard, song sequence, screening, sequences, Esmerelda, 1996, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Canada, UK, Paul Brizzi, Gaetan Brizzi, Burny Mattinson, Festival of Fools, Kevin Harkey, Kathy Zielinski, James Baxter, Chris Sanders, Roy Conli, Brenda Chapman, gargoyles, Pasadena, Quasimodo, Phoebus, Brizzi Brothers

• Toon Tuesday: Looking Back on Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" -- Part Un

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman begins a new series about the development & production of this 1996 Walt Disney Pictures animated feature Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 11, 2008 12:00 AM | 13 Comments Filed under: animation, Comics, Disney, movies, Glendale, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, Son of Faster Cheaper, development , Floyd Norman, Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, Disney artist , Disney animator , animated film, layout artist , storyman, Michael Eisner , story, Walt Disney Feature Animation, story team, art direction, Roy Disney, layout, layout crew, Church, religious, Esmerelda, Euro Disney, Euro Disneyland, 14th century Europe, Europe, 1993, 1996, sophisticated, Airway, Sanctuary, Judge Claude Frollo, Hellfire, Disney Publishing, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, childrens books, Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, Peter Schneider, Thomas Schumacher, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, David Goetz, Roy E Disney

• The Elephant in the Room -- Part 2

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman concludes his look at "Wild Life," the CG project that Walt Disney Animation Studios developed but ultimately abandoned in late 2000 Read More... Posted Monday, October 13, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, CG, Hollywood, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Apple , Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, Afrokids.com, design , artwork , development , television , Disney movie, Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, music , sketches , assignment , animated film, sequence, character designer , storyman, elephant , diva, story, digital , Walt Disney Feature Animation, 2000, story team, Wild Life, storyboard, fashion mavens, fashion maven, glitzy, Howard Baker, satirical, fashion, Kitty Glitter, Ella the Elephant, sketch, production design, green-lit, screening, Roy Disney, production, sequences, production team , Techno Rock, costume designer, H.B. (Buck) Lewis , Craig Kellman, production designer, Hans Bacher , screenwriter, scratch track, talent, character actor , Alan Cumming, Red Pittstain, Academy Award winner , Kathy Bates, Magda, Debra Messing , pop diva, story issues, color storyboards , polish, computer applications, Adobe PhotoShop , Adobe Illustrator, Apple laptop, workstation, Northside, Northside facility, executive decision, stealth project, studio managers, Louie , Casablanca, Studio 54, Pygmalion, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, blockbuster, teen markets , Middle America , club scene, central focus

• The Elephant in the Room -- Part I

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman returns with a detailed look at "Wild Life," an innovative animated feature that WDAS developed as a follow-up project for "Dinosaur" but ultimately abandoned in late 2000 Read More... Posted Monday, October 06, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, CG, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, John Cawley, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, design , development , 1941 animators strike , motion picture, Floyd Norman, Mr. Fun's Blog, music , book, artists, sketches , drawings , assignment , animated film, sequence, storyman, elephant , singing, dancing , diva, pop icon , story, love, revenge, intrigue, digital , Walt Disney Feature Animation, animation historian, Charles Solomon, bookshelf, 2000, story team, Wild Life, storyboard, song sequence, 1990s, send up, American pop culture, pop culture, pop heroes, Andy Warhol, fashion mavens, fashion maven, Anna Wintour, Diana Vreeland, pop, glitzy, glamorous, The Devil Wears Prada, co-director, Howard Baker, innovative, groundbreaking, satirical, shallow, superficial, popular culture, trends, fashion, style, Kitty Glitter, Ella the Elephant, sketch, Head of Story, Darryl Kidder, art direction, production design, storyboard assignment, shutdown, fully rendered, green-lit, production designers, digital characters, up on reels, screening, Roy Disney, Monsters, Inc.

• Toon Tuesday : Here's to the real survivors

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman pays tribute to all those animation veterans who have hung in there through the tough times Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, traditional animation, CG, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, Hollywood, Glendale, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, Animation Building, 1956, television show, shorts , young artists , animators, animation artist, director, layoffs , Walt Disney Productions , writer/director , television , television series , Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, Disney artist , Disney animator , artists, young animators, Survivor, desert island , craft services , drawing board, shorts unit, Rick Gonzales, cutbacks, layout artist , character designer , Hanna-Barbera , Ruby-Spears, pink slip, industry veterans , MGM Animation , Visual Arts , Bob Clampett, Bob Clampett Studio , 3400 Cahuenga Blvd , Hanna-Barbera Studio , television animation , Filmation, 1980s, Granada Hills , Dave Michener, storyman, The Great Mouse Detective, Michael Eisner , Orlando , CGI , digital bandwagon , job security, animation professionals, third world potentates, overpaid gig, old survivor, real survivors

• Toon Tuesday : Getting a head with Blaine Gibson

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman pays tribute to a master animator & sculptor. Who -- due to his soft-spoken nature -- often doesn't get the attention that he deserves Read More... Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, Hollywood, Glendale, WDI, Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineer, Imagineering, Disneyland, theme park, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, 1957 , Animation Building, Frank Thomas, shorts , young artists , effects animators , 1940s , 1961, special effects , effects shots, Mr. Fun , blog, Mr. Fun's Blog, Blaine Gibson , attraction, limo, media event , Disney Blu-Ray , Blu-Ray , Disney animator , Pirates of the Caribbean, Good Fairies , Flora, Fauna, Merryweather , 1930s, farm boy , Colorado, college, Depression, The Great Depression, artists, sketches , drawings , job, Greyhound, bus, train, Silver Lake , Hyperion Studios, assignment , drawing, apprentices , animated film, phases of production, messenger boys, Traffic Department, young animators, Disney shorts , feature films, effects, effects animation, plum scenes , master animator, top animators, clean-up, clean-up crew , opening scenes , Pongo, Roger, personality, movement , sequence, Walt Disney World, Montecito , Santa Barbara , George W Bush , bust , WDW, The Hall of Presidents, animation treasure

• Toon Tuesday: The curious case of Elizabeth Case

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman returns with a story about “Big Liz,” the Mother of the Beat Generation. Who – as it turns out – was once a Disney animation artist Read More... Posted Tuesday, May 20, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Sleeping Beauty, female animators, 1950s, Burbank, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, California, animators, animation artist, Disney history , Walt Disney Productions , Burbank lot , Floyd Norman, Mr. Fun's Blog, Disney artist , B-Wing