Walt Disney Memo Suggests Systematic Training For Animators

A 1935 letter from Walt Disney himself to respected art teacher Don Graham has made its way to the Internet, and it is a fascinating read. Here, Disney suggests a systematic, almost scientific approach to training animators, which probably played no small role in the studio's ability to crank out animated films during their golden age. The part where Disney gets the most emphatic? The the portion about animating a fat person's walk.

To wit:

Start them going into the comedy angle or caricature angle of the action. For example - a fat person, with a big pot belly: What comedy illusion does he give you?

You could at the same time instruct the classes regarding the reason why he has to move a certain way (because of his weight, etc.) Present the walk soliciting discussion on:

What illusion does that person, fat with pot-belly, give you as you see him?

What do you think of as you see him walking along?

Does he look like a bowl of jelly?

Does he look like an inflated balloon with arms and legs dangling?

Does he look like a roly-poly?

In other words, analyze the fat person's walk and the reasons for his walking that way.... BUT DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'VE HAD THE GROUP BRING OUT ALL THE COMEDY THAT CAN BE EXPRESSED WITH THAT FAT PERSON'S WALK; also all the character - but drive for the comedy side of the character.

He goes on to discuss the walks of skinny people and short people, and the entire note is an illuminating look not only into the development of the studio's animation, but also Disney's meticulous and business-oriented approach to the form. It's also full of relevant advice that still applies to animation today. But the only time he breaks into all capital letters is that sentence about the fat person's walk. Aspiring animators take note. Check out a scan and transcript of the entire letter at Letters of Note.

[via Deadline]