Disneytoon Studios, Disney Blogger Day 2

In part 1 of my series of posts on my recent trip to California, I toured Walt Disney Studios for the Disney Blogger Day Event and watched an exclusive screening of Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue {it’s out onto DVD tomorrow, September 21st!}. The second day of my trip, which is was such a huge and eventful day that I’m going to have to break it into 2 blog posts. Right now I’ll share my experience at Disneytoon Studios, where we really got an amazing look into the making of the new Disney movie, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue!

At Disney Toon Studios, we had a chance to speak with a lot of people who were involved in the production of Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. The time spent there was broken into sessions, and in each we got to meet someone new and learn about their part in the making of the movie.

My first session of the day was to learn the intricate details around 3-D computer animation. This was done in one of the movie theater’s. This session was led by Director Bradley Raymond and Animation Director, Sheryl Sardina Sackett. During this time, we were shown how, through the work of computers, you can turn a 2D feature into 3D. Comparing images from the original drawings of Tinker Bell from so long ago, it was shown exactly how they are able to animate her into the 3D. Yet, they wanted to ensure that her look, demeanor and personality stayed the same form so long ago when she first appeared in Peter Pan. I was amazed to know that the animation of Disney movie takes months and months – to years to complete. It really is such a detailed process, I would have never guessed that so much precise work went into animation. For instance, the scene where Lizzy took her first flight around her bedroom, with Tinker Bell – that short scene took 3 weeks to complete. Each position, right down to each hair is carefully thought out and placed. Just astounding!

My next session was with Ritsuko Notani, the Character Designer who worked on Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. There in the design studio I learned that Tinker Bell actually has 4 outfits, one for each season. For Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, being Fall – Tink had a number of Fall collections, before they decided on just the right one for the movie. Ritsuko Notani started drawing for us, and her sketching was just inspiring! It’s was amazing to see how each and every part of a character is studied to ensure that the emotion is portrayed, right down to shoulder shape and finger placement. Now, I {and I’m sure you as well} never think about these things when we are watching an animated movie. And, that is exactly the goal behind Disney Animated Films, to bring you into the magical world and be a part of the experience, not realizing that each and every aspect of the film is purposely laid out and planned.

Art Director, Fred Warter is the man who designed the entire set for Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. As a young boy, he build miniature houses and furniture with his Mother, and now he still enjoys making small scale creations for Disney- to design and bring a set to life. He designed the Fairy House for the movie, a very well-thought out process {see the theme behind Disney movies? It’s no wonder they takes years to create!}. Fred made so many different prototypes of the Fairy House until they chose the decided house. It was really interesting to see, in photos on the wall – the entire process behind creation. The movie takes place during a specific time in London, so each acorn to box of the house is relative to what would have been found or available in the area at that time.

Next, I was onto the session for the Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue, the gaming products. I already wrote a post on the Pixie Hollow, the online game and the DS game, so make sure to check it out.

And last, I was able to see a complete Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy rescue product line. From toys to bedding – there was plenty of merchandise targeted to keeping that magic alive long after the movie has ended. I was really interested in the line, since my daughter would love to have this product {and knowing her, probably all of them}. I got a ton of great Christmas gift ideas, and since I have returned home, I have started to see this very product being added to store shelves.

My day at Disney Toon Studios was indeed amazing. Meeting with various Disney staff and the creators of the movie was a once in a lifetime event. I felt very fortunate to be privy to all the information. Just walking down the hallway and seeing the art and sketches for the movie was breathtaking. One disappointment was that we were not allowed to take photos inside Disney Toon Studios. I do understand why, yet I would have loved to have shown you what I actually seen. By the end of my time there, I admit – I was in tears. Just being apart of this experience tugged at my heart, a very overwhelming experience.

And this was just the morning!! The afternoon was full of events for the Beauty and the Beast, so stay tuned for another post on Disney Blogger Day!

My airfare to California, hotel accommodations, transportation and incidentals such as meals, internet and phone calls {to check on my beautiful babies at home} were provided by Disney Studios. This post was written, as always, with my opinion – and mine only.

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