Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hidden in the Crowd

A while ago I re watched a sequence from "Rescuers", it was the section where Bernard and Bianca are at the airport on their way to find Orville.
The human crowd scenes are not particularly well drawn or animated here, but all of a sudden I noticed a young couple moving up the escalator. It was just one held drawing, yet those two were drawn exceptionally well.
I knew this was a Milt Kahl drawing, but what was it doing here amongst all the other human characters, who were handled by a lesser animator?

This is what I think probably happened:
Milt saw the scene in a sweatbox screening and "objected" to the original drawing of the couple. So he re drew them....beautifully!
It is a solid illustration, done with a lot of care. Both seem lost in their own thoughts, probably thinking about the flight ahead. I just love the way her right hand holds on to his arm, it's sooo nicely staged.
Her whole figure looks simple and elegant, with the weight on her right leg. And look at how heavy her hand bag feels. 
His pose is equally balanced, the body weight is on his left leg. There is a nice feeling of thick fabric for his jacket and thin fabric for his pants.
I could go on....

Yep, I do love Milt Kahl drawings, and I know you do, too.