Disney World After Dark: A Dinosaur

Gertie the Dinosaur is an animated film by Winsor McCay. Gertie debuted at the Palace Theater in Chicago in 1914 as part of McCay’s vaudeville act. The performance involved McCay appearing in front of a projection screen and interacting with the animated Gertie through a series of tricks that included McCay tossing an apple (which he palmed) which the dinosaur caught. The film concluded with McCay moving behind the screen and then reappearing in cartoon form. He then climbed up on Gertie’s back and together they rode off the screen.

To produce his film, McCay drew thousands of frames on 6 ½ by 8 ½ inch rice paper. He hired his neighbor, John Fitzsimmons, an art student, to draw the backgrounds. Several now standard techniques were employed in the creation of the film including registration marks to maintain alignment and cycling of some previously drawn sequences.

While Gertie the Dinosaur is not the first animated film ever made, it is the first using “keyframing”. Keyframing is a technique in which every frame is directly modified or manipulated by the creator. In McCay’s case, he drew the key frames first then went back to draw the in between frames. It differs from traditional hand-drawn animation where a “key” artist would draw a series of key frames that would then be passed to an assistant, or “in-betweener” to complete the scene.

Gertie can be visited on the shore of Echo Lake. She stands as a tribute, not only to the earliest days of animation, but also to the “California Crazy” architectural style. You can also find a nice ice cream of extinction where she resides.

More to follow…

Note: for more on Gertie and on Disney’s Hollywood Studios, be sure to listen to WDW Radio Show episode 117 for May 3, 2009. Jim Korkis joins my friend Lou Mongello for a look at the park and the stories behind the stories.

Off The Road

...well, back from the adventures of last week. Mrs. Doc and I have returned from our journey "North to Alaska". We're busy getting back into the routine of life and trying to shed a few pounds after being forced to enjoy a seemingly endless supply of food. We've unpacked, we've been back at work a few days, and now the downloading of photographs begin.

I am sure that a few references to this recent adventure will find a way into The Disney Obsession. But I will share these two quick tidbits with you:

1) Did you know that Juneau, Alaska is the only state capital that cannot be accessed by road? You get there either by plane or boat.

2) I could live in Alaska if it weren't for the fact that is it 4210.29 miles to Walt Disney World. That is based on Juneau to Lake Buena Vista, in case you were wondering. That is 75 hours and 23 minutes if you drive straight through; providing you don't miss the ferry at Skagway or run into traffic in Fargo.

More to follow...

On The Road

...well, actually it is more like "On The Sea". Mrs. Doc and I will be experiencing the wonders of Alaska this next week. Look for periodic updates on Facebook or the occasional Tweet whenever we make landfall.

Wherever the Memorial Day holiday takes you, be it across the world, across the country, across the state, across town, or simply as far as your own back yard, please have a Magic Journey.

See you real soon!

Where In The World

It seems that taking a week off from Where In The World was half of what the doctor ordered. If you have been keeping up, you know that there were two photos that were out there. Now there is one. One, until I add a new one at the end of this post.

The steering wheel first appeared on April 18th, not only as a Where In The World segment, but also as a bit of a teaser for a new series called "Disney As Art." This past week we received this from Glenn Watts, "Is that the Disney Epcot Outpost delivery truck?" Well, Glenn, that is exactly what it is. It is the steering wheel found inside the truck setting outside the Refreshment Outpost between China and Germany. Congratulations Glenn!

So, one down. We'll let the "No. 1 Toys" stay out there for a while longer. But to keep it company, I give you this. Care for a bit of refreshment?

Disney World After Dark: A Tree - Part II

Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde calls it, "a technological marvel, but it's also a symbol of the beauty and diversity and the grandeur of our animal life on Earth. It's a celebration of our emotions about animals and their habitat."

I call it spectacular!

Where In The World: In Need of An Update

Good evening friends. This past Saturday has come and gone and The Disney Obsession didn't post a new installment in the Where In The World series. We felt that since many of our friends have spent the last few weeks either in Walt Disney World, travelling, or in one case, moving, we would let the current two photographs suffice for one more week. That gives everyone a few more days to take a look around your memories of the parks and discover where you would find these objects.

Now for some of you, the memories should be rather fresh.

More to follow...

P.s. Might I suggest you download "Live in NYC" by The Dana Fuchs Band and enjoy a wonderful Joplinesque vocalist.

Disney World After Dark: A Tree - Part I

This is the first of two Disney World After Dark installments that will feature the Tree of Life. The photograph featured above was taken at dusk. Next week we'll look at the Animal Kingdom icon at night.

For a little about the Tree of Life, let's read from The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

"The Tree of Life is one of the most amazing pieces of art ever created by WDI. It's beautiful and meaningful, and captures the essence of this park at a glance. It's a poetic statement of the majesty of nature, the stunning diversity of animals, and our respect for our place in the world, and underscores the ideal that all of these elements can co-exist harmoniously. In our story, the animals are not carved into the surface - they're grown out from it. As one approaches the Tree and the animal forms begin to reveal themselves, it becomes clear that there is almost no tree at all. That tree is the animal kingdom."

More to follow...

Note: excerpt from The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom, by The Imagineer's, pg. 34.