On last week’s column, the first’s stage of evolution for Walt Disney cartoon, Mickey Mouse was introduced. Comparing the recent cartoons to those we watched on televisions or in cinemas, the cartoons back then were portrayed in a much simpler format. The cartoon’s storylines were also short and easy to understand. What is the second stage of evolution for Walt Disney’s cartoon? Having added sound to animated cartoons, Walt Disney now looked towards another frontier: colour. Today’s column will be on the first Walt Disney’s official colour cartoon – Silly Symphonies Theatrical Cartoon Series “Flowers and Trees” during 1930.
Flowers and Trees was first released to film to be produced in full-colour three-strip Technicolor process. During the past, the films were produced in two-colour Technicolor process. Technicolor is not a type of colour film. It is a process in which a specially modified motion picture camera recorded the same scene through coloured filters on three different strips of film. These strips were then processed separately and used to “print” colours onto each finished print of the film sent to theatres. If a movie studio wants to make a film in Technicolor, it has to lease the company’s unique movie cameras as well as a team of two experts to help operate the complicated machine.
The three-strip Technicolor process is filmed three times through red,blue, and green filters to produce three black and white records. This responded not only to blue and violet light but also to yellow and red light, thus making possible an accurate black and white record in a scene. The blank stock will be rolled three times in order to pick up the three vital colour dyes - magenta, cyan, and yellow. In this way twenty-six animated features were made between Flowers and Trees (1932) and Robin Hood (1973), including all of the most celebrated full-length Disney features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Fantasia (1940), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953).
To be précised, Flowers and Tress was not the first colour cartoon during those days but Walt Disney. That honour should belongs to “The Debut of Thomas Cat” made by Earl Hurd for the Bray Studios in 1920. The original work (Flowers and Trees) was started in black and white. The black and white footage was scrapped when the decision was made to try Technicolor process.
What do you think? Colourful cartoons are much more comfortable for your eyes to watch on screen? It does not strain your eyes too, I am sure.
Flowers and Trees is a 8-minute-length of film. It was also the first winner of the new Academy Award category: Best Short Subject: Cartoon. The story begins with an evil tree slump starts a forest on fire due to jealousy towards a tree couple.
Lastly, on the next issue, it will be about Walt Disney cartoon's third stage of evolution in 3D animation! Stay tuned for more!!!
Ng Min Kim DMC08
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