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If the thought of waiting all the way until November for the next Disney movie — Pixar’s Coco — has you verklempt, fret not! There’s an easy way to get your dose of fresh Disney every day, delivered right to your phone. The average Instagrammer knows official Disney accounts post cool behind-the-scenes art all the time, but only the savviest have discovered that Disney employees themselves often share their work on their own accounts. These feeds are veritable treasure troves of breathtaking development work, re-imaginings of your favorite Disney moments, and even the artists’ own original characters. In short, you’re going to want to follow these Disney artists STAT.
1. @britsketch
A post shared by Brittney Lee (@britsketch) on
Brittney Lee is a visual development artist who has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2010, with credits on Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, and the short Paperman. So far, she’s probably most associated with Frozen, for which she designed many of the characters’ costumes and worked on the interior of the Ice Palace, as well as a redesign of Elsa’s hair. Her signature style is dimensional paper art, which you’ll find all over her feed in the form of Disney characters you love — she’s particularly fond of a certain little mermaid — as well as original characters of her own. For what it’s worth, she also has a super-hot husband who shows up in pictures from time to time and works at Disney too.
A post shared by Brittney Lee (@britsketch) on
A post shared by Brittney Lee (@britsketch) on
2. @bschwaby
A post shared by Bill Schwab (@bschwaby) on
Bill Schwab served as the art director of characters on Moana, was a character design supervisor on Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, and designed characters for Tangled and The Princess and the Frog. His feed is full of intriguing concept art that shows how the likes of Wreck-It Ralph, Louis the alligator, and Sven the reindeer evolved over time. Also, please note that here is an Easter egg he made look like Olaf the snowman.
A post shared by Bill Schwab (@bschwaby) on
A post shared by Bill Schwab (@bschwaby) on
3. @jason.deamer.art
A post shared by Jason Deamer (@jason.deamer.art) on
Jason Deamer is a character designer and art director at Pixar with credits on films including WALL-E, Ratatouille, Monsters University, and Finding Dory. He posts dazzling early designs of his work — he even recently shared concept art from the cancelled feature Newt — but you’ll absolutely fall in love with his adorable paintings (and anecdotes) of his young son.
A post shared by Jason Deamer (@jason.deamer.art) on
A post shared by Jason Deamer (@jason.deamer.art) on
4. @grizandnorm
A post shared by Griz and Norm Lemay (@grizandnorm) on
Norm and Griz Lemay are a husband-and-wife duo who both work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Norm is a storyboard artist who’s worked on Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana, while Griz is a character designer and visual development artist whose credits include Moana and several Dreamworks movies, such as Home and Penguins of Madagascar. On Tuesdays, the pair shares tips for other artists, but you can also find all kinds of figure drawings, storyboards for Disney movie scenes, and lots of cats. Somanycats.
A post shared by Griz and Norm Lemay (@grizandnorm) on
A post shared by Griz and Norm Lemay (@grizandnorm) on
5. @animwoodsy
A post shared by Michael Woodside (@animwoodsy) on
The main reason to follow Michael Woodside is for his delightful buffet of corgi doodles. But the animator, who’s worked on films like Zootopia, Moana, and Big Hero 6, also serves up clips of his work with deep captions that explain what went into the creation. And on Fridays, he dedicates a piece to one of his followers, often of classic characters like Stitch or Ursula.
A post shared by Michael Woodside (@animwoodsy) on
A post shared by Michael Woodside (@animwoodsy) on
6. @stubaluna
A post shared by Lisa Keene (@stubaluna) on
Lisa Keene is a Disney vet, having worked as a visual development artist and background supervisor on classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Head to her feed for fine paintings of classic characters as well as breathtaking scenic design from films such as Frozen, Moana, and Tangled. Fair warning: there are frequent videos of her goats.
A post shared by Lisa Keene (@stubaluna) on
![Crying Crying](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125834628/761539979.png)
A post shared by Lisa Keene (@stubaluna) on
7. @lorelay_bove
A post shared by Lorelay Bove (@lorelay_bove) on
Visual development artist Lorelay Bové has lent her talents to films including The Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh, Zootopia, and more. Her feed though is less of a behind-the-scenes look at her work and more of a vibrant ode to classic Disney films, as well as other pop culture icons like Wonder Woman, Khaleesi, and Princess Leia.
A post shared by Lorelay Bove (@lorelay_bove) on
A post shared by Lorelay Bove (@lorelay_bove) on
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“We do have films with some emotional bits,” director Lee Unkrich – one of the formative storytellers at Pixar – tells me in one of the most sweeping understatements of the century.
A longtime member of the animation studio’s creative team, Unkrich co-directed standouts Toy Story 2, Monsters. Inc. and Finding Nemo placing him in perfect stead to guide audiences through the conclusion to Andy’s story in 2010 sequel Toy Story 3. His efforts won him the Oscar for Best Animated Film.
Next up is Coco, a beautifully imagined depiction of Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (English translation: Day of the Dead) following 12-year-old boy Miguel who meets generations-worth of his relatives after being transported to the afterlife, a journey which unlocks enlightening secrets to his family history.
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Coco stands tall as one of Pixar’s greatest achievements to date while sitting comfortably alongside both Toy Story 3 and the first 10 minutes of Up in the high-emotion echelons, bolstered by the profound theme at its heart: “the final death”, dying in the afterlife once forgotten by those you left behind. Unkrich reveals that Coco – six years in the making – began life as something rather different before he honed in on this philosophy, something you’d expect from a David Lynch nightmare as opposed to a glorious Pixar tale.
“Early in our research we learned about the notion of the final death – this idea that you die but then you can die again when there is nobody left who remembers you,” he says.
“At the time, we thought it was a poignant idea and it was something we wanted in the movie but after some time we came to the realisation that no, that’s the idea of the movie which needed to permeate everything in the film.”
Coco‘s prevailing themes pitch it as the rarest of family films: a tactful guidebook on dealing with impending death, best encapsulated by its theme track, “Remember Me.” Written by husband-and-wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – whose credits include comedy musicals Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon and Disney smash Frozen – the end product simply wouldn’t pack as much heft without it.
“Many things changed over time,” says Unkrich, “but that stayed fixed.”
Another vital factor in the film’s success is Coco herself, the titular elderly grandmother to Miguel who spends the entirety of the film sat immobile in her chair as her family goes about their days around her. The silent heart of this story, not to mention the source of her grandson’s motivation, the animators were tasked with breathing life into a character in the final stages of her own.
“I wanted her to be believably really, really old,” Unkrich states. “[Co-director] Matt Aldrich, our first screenwriter, described Grandma Coco in the script as a living raisin. I always loved that. I wanted her face to be a roadmap of her long life but at the same time, I also wanted it to feel like she had almost reverted into being a child again which is why we gave her braids.”
Some may unfairly question the film’s suitability for children with cinemagoers essentially unsuspecting puppets at Pixar’s emotional mercy. This argument isn’t lost on Unkrich who came to a realisation following his Toy Story 3 experience.
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![How to draw crying people disney style book How to draw crying people disney style book](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125834628/789505608.jpg)
“The whole notion of kids watching the film versus adults is interesting. Some folks told me Toy Story 3 was too intense on kids but I think what was really happening is that their kids were feeling strong emotions and parents naturally want to protect them from having those feelings. But the reality is: kids don’t have a sense of their own mortality – or most kids don’t – so they would watch that scene at the end of Toy Story 3 through very different eyes than their parents were.”
He pauses, before admitting: “Although I’ve heard a lot of surprising stories of kids crying in Coco. At the end of the day, we don’t make movies for kids, we make them for everybody – for adults and ourselves. We just make sure they’re appropriate for kids.”
Toy Story 3 sums this point up nicely, a sequel parading as a children’s film that’s in actuality a 15-year payoff aimed at twentysomethings who were children at the time of number one’s release in 1995. Unkrich was reminded of one particularly heart-wrenching scene when writing Coco‘s emotional climax.
“The first time I put music up against the end of Toy Story 3 – when Andy is giving his toys to Bonnie – it brought tears to my eyes. [The same thing happened when] I put together the scene at the end of Coco in storyboard form (no spoilers here; just bring tissues) – it definitely felt emotional to me even though we weren’t using our real actors yet.”
“I have to hold on to that because it’s then going to be years before we actually animated the scene, so I have to remember how it was emotionally affecting and not fall into the trap of wanting to change it.”
Similarly, Unkrich is hopeful that Coco will be viewed through different lenses with every passing year, much like one of the director’s personal favourite films.
“I really love the Ron Howard film Parenthood. I first saw it when I was in college and related to certain characters in a certain way. But as I’ve grown and had kids of my own, my wife and I keep coming back to it and every time that we watch it, it’s a completely different movie. We’re progressively aligned with older characters – it keeps giving. I hope Coco can be that kind of movie.
How about Unkrich himself? For someone who has drawn countless tears from people around the world, it'd be odd if he was made of stone.
“There are actually very few movies that made me cry but there have been a few that reduced me to a puddle. One of them was Terence Malick’s film The Tree of Life. I found it – for whatever reason – very, very affecting. Also, the movie about the tsunami, The Impossible wrecked me – having a family myself and wondering what you would do in a situation like that. And there was a movie not long ago called Short Term 12 which affected me because of some personal reasons. Those are three I can think of that made the waterworks really come out.”
Which Pixar film would he rate as the saddest?
“I remember when we were working on The Good Dinosaur, there’s a whole beautiful scene towards the end of the film where Spot is having to say goodbye to Arlo before heading off with this new family and I just really love that scene. I love the time that they took to slowly let it play out and let the emotion build. I’d probably say that for all of Pixar.”
Coco is in cinemas Friday 19 January
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