When it’s September 1st and it’s the fall blogs time to shine

“You know how long it took me to save that money?” “Exactly! Which is why a little woman of your background would have had her hands full, trying to run a big business like that. No, you’re better off where you’re at.”

What Tiana has taught me, quite sadly (and probably what Disney didn’t really intend) was that hard work wasn’t good enough to overcome systemic racism. Tiana got a feel good ending, but I feel like her story has been told many times in real life without a happy ending. There are people who work extremely hard, but never being able to catch up due to the color of their skin.

So here is Tiana, muscles tense with labor, tired and contemplative, and struggling against the system that prevents her success.

This is probably the most symbolic of all the Disney paintings I’ve done so far - the verticality of the walls, the position of her shadow looming over the segregation signs, Tiana sitting right between the divide, and the nearly imperceptible lean of her body to the right.

Tiana is the ninth in my Disney Woman Series.

Prints are available at my shop!

I just laughed SO HARD

Always be an Esmeralda (insp) -

but should you find yourself serving her oppressors, or any evil, always be a Phoebus.

How do you do? My name is Deems Taylor, and it’s my very pleasant duty to welcome you here on behalf of Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski, and all the other artists and musicians whose combined talents went into the creation of this new form of entertainment, Fantasia. What you’re going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists.

Good News/Bad News: The Last 2D Animators at Disney are Doing Projection Mapping for Walt Disney World

The Good News: Legendary Disney animators Mark Henn (Tiana, Jasmine, etc.), Eric Goldberg (Genie, Phil, etc.), and Randy Haycock (adult Simba , young Hercules, etc.), are animating characters from Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Moana, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, etc. USING THE CLASSIC, HAND-DRAWN METHOD for an upcoming Walt Disney World show, Happily Ever After, scheduled to debut May 12.

Besides the usual fireworks and pyrotechnics, Happily Ever After will feature the now de rigueur projection mapping on Cinderella’s Castle – only it will be done in glorious hand-drawn animation! What a wonderful way to keep kids aware of this now pretty-much-extinct Disney tradition!

The Bad News: Disney is wasting these legends on temporary theme park shows, when they could be using them to train a brand new generation of animators in the fine art of hand-drawn animation! Traditions like this MUST be passed down from one generation to the next, or else the intricacies and subtleties of the art form will be lost. Textbooks and video tutorials can only capture a fraction of the knowledge that these ‘old Masters’ have to share. It would be a shame if this knowledge died with them.

GIFs: Tiana animated by Mark Henn, Ursula animated by Eric Goldberg, Aladdin + Jafar animated by Randy Haycock 

Mickey Mouse, 1942

My dear, we may be evolved, but deep down, we’re still animals.

LEAKED: Cars 3 - Monster Driving School 

CURSED IMAGE

Your Highness… If I may, that is, it would give me the greatest pleasure, if you would do me the honor of letting me lead you through this… the first… Dance? Yes, dance.

I would go most anywhere to find where I belong

Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.