Prod. 2006 - Dumbo (XVIII)
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Directed by Bill Roberts and John/Jack Elliotte, assistant director Earl Bench, layout Al Zinnen.
This 1st draft dated 2/28/41.
Animation of silhouetted clowns by Art Babbitt, two effects scenes by Josh Meador and Art Palmer.
Note the names of the dancing clowns in scene 2: Ollie and Frank!
It is Ollie who knocks over the bottle that *SPOILER ALERT* gets Dumbo seeing Pink Elephants! Who knew...
If you want to hear a bit of the first song, here is a track from a production acetate I have, recorded in January 1941:
posted by Hans Perk at 8:00 AM
4 Comments:
How ironic it is that Art Babbitt is animating this! For years all the historians have said this is nothing but a mocking of the stirke effort, but I think we can now close the case on that entire idea.
Anyone else come to notice the specifics of "Palmer water"?
It seems that Bernie Wolf is done with the clowns, and interesting that Art Babbitt does the clowns, I wonder if Wolf did any other scenes?
Bill Roberts/John Elliotte and Al Zinnen are appearing much more in later sequences than earlier sequences when it was Wilfred Jackson and Terrell Stapp.
Zartok, my thoughts exactly.
The first four of scenes aren't in the final film it seems, although there is one shot before scene 5 in the final film (whether this was completely new or is just the final parts of scene four I don't know).
Also it seems that in scene 17 or 18, (I really can't tell the difference, they're the same as far as I'm concerned), some of the animation of the clown silhouettes is cycled (I bet Meador just animated the table, the bottle and maybe Ollie the clown, then Roberts and Elliotte just reused Babbit's earlier animation for the other clowns).
I also find it curious that when the clowns walk by the opening in the tent, that we still see them as silhouettes but we see the table and bottle in a non-silhouette form. Whether this was because of budget or time, is anyone's guess.
Its really just a set-up piece this sequence is. It sets things up for the next sequence (the alcohol entering the water) and a few later (when we see the clowns next act). Nothing special but needed for the films story.
There's an angry clown in plaster from the "Big Town" sequence that looks like Bernie. But it might be Howy Swift, like those deceitful Camels!
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