Jim Hill : Toon Tuesday: Klay Hall tinkers with Tinker Bell

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Toon Tuesday: Klay Hall tinkers with Tinker Bell

This sitcom vet talks about how he tried to make the Disney Fairy who stars in "Lost Treasure" much more like the version of Tink that Marc Davis drew for "Peter Pan" back in 1953

This wasn’t what Klay Hall signed on for when he initially signed up with DisneyToon Studios.

By that I mean: This CalArts graduate is probably best known for directing smart-ass animated sitcoms like “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill.” In fact, it was Hall’s work on DreamWorks Animation’s “Father of the Pride” that initially put him on Mickey’s radar. That made Klay seem like the very best possible candidate to direct DisneyToon’s next home premiere, “Chicken Little 2: The Ugly Duckling Story.”

But then The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar Animation Studios. And with John Lasseter and Ed Catmull now calling the shots, DisneyToon Studios suddenly got out of the unnecessary sequel business. Which is how Hall found himself knee-deep in the Disney Fairies franchise.

Now you’d think that a sitcom smart-ass would have some trouble transitioning to this sort of directorial assignment. But as it turns out, Klay was a huge fan of classic Disney animation. So much so that – while he was attending CalArts – Hall actually befriended and/or corresponded with three of The Nine Old Men: Marc Davis, Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl.

So to now be asked to be part of the team that would be charged with turning Davis’ 2D pixie into a 3D Disney Fairy … Well, that was obviously a pretty daunting task. But it was also one that Klay was willing – even eager – to tackle.

“You have to understand that Tinker Bell – almost as much as Mickey – is the character that people most closely associate with The Walt Disney Company,” Hall explained in a March 2009 interview with JHM (Klay and “Lost Treasure” producer Sean Lurie were in Orlando at that time, helping to open the then-brand-new Pixie Hollow exhibit at Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival). “She flew over the Castle at the start of the old Disney television show. And she still flies over the Castle during the fireworks shows at all the Parks. So this was a character that we just had to get right.”

John Lasseter particularly insisted on Klay and his “Lost Treasure” team get all of the details right in regards to Tinker Bell. At one point he even suggesting that Hall consult Marc Davis’ old model sheets for this character so that they’d then get the shape of this Pixie’s eyes just right.

“John’s been very hands-on when it comes to the ‘Disney Fairies’ films,” Klay continued. “He’s always pushing us to make sure that Tink’s character is genuine. That there’s always some connective tissue between these new movies and Disney’s original ‘Peter Pan’ film.”

Toward that end … Hall was happy that – in “Lost Treasure” – he got to make Tinker Bell a lot more like the version of this sprite that Marc Davis originally drew. Which means that this pixie has a temper.

“Because last year’s ‘Tinker Bell ’ was more of an origins story, we didn’t get to explore Tink’s personality. We had to introduce the world of Pixie Hollow and all of the other Disney Fairies. So there just wasn’t enough time,” Klay said. “But with ‘Lost Treasure,’ now that the world’s been established, we now get to play around a bit with these characters. Show people what Tink is really capable of.”

Which – in this case – means losing her temper. Which results in the rare moonstone scepter accidently getting destroyed. Which then puts all of Pixie Hollow in peril.

In order to set things right, Tinker Bell must journey across the sea north of Neverland. Where she encounters trolls, explores a long-marooned pirate ship as well as discovering what a treasure a true friend can be.

If “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” sounds like it’s more an adventure than the previous Disney Fairies film … Well, there’s a reason for that. Hall (who’s the father of two sons, Luke & Jack) deliberately set out to make “Lost Treasure” the sort of film that would also appeal to boys.

“Tink’s always been something of a tomboy,” Klay concluded. “By sending her off on this quest, we’re hoping to broaden the appeal of ‘Lost Treasure.’ Have the whole family be entertained by this new Disney Fairies film.”

So – yeah – on paper, Hall may appear to be far outside of his sitcom comfort zone. But given that – in a 2002 interview with Animation Magazine – Klay said that the cartoon character that he’d most like to be is “ … Peter Pan, the guy who never grew up … “ I’d say that Hall will be perfectly happy spending the next few years in Neverland, guiding the next three Disney Fairies films (including the recently announced 5^th installment in this series, “Tinker Bell and The Race through the Seasons.” Which will be released in the Fall of 2012) through the production process.