Monday, July 29, 2013

Fred Moore from the Back

As far as I'm concerned there aren't enough photos of Fred Moore around.
This is the guy who changed the look and feel of character animation during the 1930s in a big way.
The photo above was taken in Fred's office at the Disney Hyperion Studio. It looks like Walt is dropping by with guests Leopold Stokowski and Deems Taylor, and Fred is giving a demonstration on how animation works by flipping a scene with Mickey from The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

This was the time when Mickey's design changed, and he was given pupils for the first time.
You can see the character has come a long way since the early black and white films.
There are plenty of graphic cheats going on in this model sheet from 1938, but who cares, there is ultimate appeal in every single sketch!

The next image shows Fred decorating a board with centaurettes. That board served as a backdrop for a filmed drawing class as part of the feature film The Reluctant Dragon. The photo was taken on one of the sound stages of the new Burbank Studio.


  1. Fred Moore died so young. One can only wonder what other contributions he would have made to Disney if he had lived longer.

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  3. Natalie, you are so right. Just imagine where Disney Animation would've gone had Fred Moore survived and Bill Tytla had stayed at Disney!

  4. what do you mean when you say graphic cheats going on in the model sheet?

    1. Mickey's ears never turn in perspective, they just slide on top of his head.
      His nose is upright in profile, it is horizontally flat in a straight on drawing.
      Stuff like that.

    2. Tytla tried to come back in the late 60's and was politely told there was no room. Thanks fer sharing these!

    3. "Tytla tried to come back in the late 60's and was politely told there was no room."

      I'm concerned that's what'll be said to me someday soon.

  5. He's a very appealing cartoonist. Thanks for sharing the photos!

  6. Hallo Andreas,
    ich hoffe das ist in Ordnung wenn ich hier einmal meine e-mail hinterlasse für einen persönlichen Kontakt. Würde mich über eine Antwort freuen^^

  7. lets say that Fred Moore in the earlys of disney studios was The Man.but soon the great ones would come up,like Milt Kahl,Frank Thomas.and Fred saw this guys growing there and getting better day by day.

    the point is: was Fred Moore the first to start thinking animation about concerns which influenced the nine old men and the way we think today? who was Fred Moore mentor?

  8. Fred is my favorite! I love his work on Brave Little Tailor. Appeal was his specialty for sure.

  9. I heard they went through hell when they needed to do those cheats in 3D on Epic Mickey.

    Btw, this blog is amazing. I'm already burning up the inspiration got from Illusion of Life, so this is a great discovery for me as an animator.
    And Scar, combined with Jeremy Irons voice was really something. I remember hating him so much as a kid ^^

  10. "Hmmm..." quoth I, not a moment ago. "I wonder what insightful and sophisticated posts Mr. Deja has in store for us today."


    "Welp. nothing like a good vintage tush, I suppose."