Book Review: Drawn to Life Volumes 1 and 2
Focal Press, Don Hahn Edits Animator Walt Stanchfield's Lectures
May 12, 2009
In the early 1970's, Disney animators Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield put together the Talent Program at the Mouse House. Realizing the fabled Nine Old Men were reaching the end of their careers with few young animators to replace them, the Talent Program was designed to pass on all the animation maestros had learned while they still had the chance.
Stanchfield – who had worked for Charles Mintz and Walter Lantz before joining Disney to work on 1949's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad – rapidly became one of the most popular teachers within the talent program. He influenced a virtual who's who of modern animation: Pixar director Brad Bird (Ratatouille), Pixar co-founder/Disney creative chief John Lasseter, director Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH), Pixar animator Joe Ranft, writer/directors John Musker and Ron Clements (The Princess and the Frog), animator/director Glen Keane (Rapunzel), plus animators Andreas Deja, and Mark Henn.
Now producer Don Hahn (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Lion King) has compiled all of Stanchfield's lectures into a two-volume set called Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes. It's an essential volume of animation wisdom, teaching not only the techniques involved in great animation but discussing artistic philosophies and practices as well.
Don Hahn Edits Walt Stanchfield Lectures into Drawn to Life: 20 Years of Disney Master Classes
Despite the "Master Class" sobriquet, these lectures are clear enough even to be understood by the animation ignoramus (guilty wave). Stanchfield has an easy, folksy style that's easy to understand, and accompanies his points with countless sketches that effectively illustrate his ideas. Hahn is smart enough to keep his editing as unobtrusive as possible, although (minor quibble) he should have kept a closer eye on the spelling.
Whenever possible, Stanchfield (and Hahn) was smart enough to grab sketches from some of the other Nine Old Men to illustrate his points. Milt Kahl – legendary among Disney animators for never producing a bad drawing – is one of the most frequent donors. Hahn also included pieces from non-Disney cartoonists like Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts) and Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse) whenever appropriate.
In addition to valuable lessons on animation technique, Stanchfield gives great advice on maintaining healthy attitudes in and out of the animation studio. Whether it's the importance of constantly sketching (hey, practice makes perfect, kids!) or always thinking positive in order to keep depression from hurting your creativity, Stanchfield shares some of the tricks and tips that kept him going in the face of adversity. He even offers a charming lecture on the importance of good diet and plenty of exercise (animators being a notoriously indolent lot) in order to keep the creative flow happening.
Not surprisingly, Stanchfield steals more than a few philosophical riffs from fellow teacher Ollie Johnston, whose 1981 book The Illusion of Life remains the gold standard of animation textbooks. Not having read that tome (animation ignoramus, remember?), this reviewer isn't qualified to discuss how many concepts in Drawn to Life overlap with Johnston and Thomas' classic book, but Stanchfield's clear and relaxed teaching manner is pretty much worth the price of admission right there.
The Final Analysis
These books aren't the same thing as having Walt standing over your shoulder, critiquing your work. But, unless you own a time machine (Stanchfield died in 2000) or have a mountain of cash, this is as about as good as it gets. Considering that other animation mavens have been charging upwards of $1,000 for DVDs of their master classes, it's good to see this wisdom available at a price we mere mortals can afford.
If you're serious about pursuing a career in animation – or just want to improve your cartooning skills – the question isn't whether or not you should get these books. At $30 each, can you afford not to get these books?
Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes gets a 10/10.
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