Is there a special formula for Disney animation films?

Manila (CNN Philippines Life) – Before Disney became the powerhouse of animation that she is today, she suffered monumental losses due to a series commercial flops in the 70s until the mid-80s.

In 1989, Disney released a film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic, "The Little Mermaid", which became the animated film the most profitable of the year, surpassing "The Land Before Time" and winning the Oscar for best film. Score and best original song (for "Under the Sea"). An unexpected heroine, Ariel ushered in what is now known as Disney Renaissance.

In addition to the iconic songs of "The Little Mermaid", the one that stood out in the meantime was the color choice for Ariel – the red hair that shone even more In contrast to the greens and blues of the sea. [19659002] "One of the things we try to avoid as much as possible is all kinds of stereotypes or clichés. At that time, the discussions were: "Of course, sirens are blondes." But who decided that? Why would they be blond? ", Says Mark Henn, Ariel's supervising animator, who was here in Manila to promote his latest work as a 2D animation supervisor in" Ralph Breaks the Internet. "

The choice of colors for Ariel's hair was an innovative idea at that time, but it turned out to work well with the rest of the backdrop " The little Mermaid". Screenshot of DISNEY MUSIC / YOUTUBE

From the success of "The Little Mermaid", the studio will produce more lively musicals in the coming decades, fortifying its place in the world of animation. Henn continued to lend his ideas and talent to Disney by adding to his work Belle ("Beauty and the Beast"), Jasmine ("Aladdin"), the young Simba ("The Lion King"), Mulan and Pocahontas. His work, especially on the main characters, has been described to have subtle expressions and light touches, which makes his animations more powerful because they are able to capture real human emotions.

. And I've always found that the main characters have probably the most interesting trip, "he says.

" I love the moving moments. I like very three-dimensional characters. As a facilitator, this gives you a lot to work. "

Although he's also worked on larger-than-life characters, like Roger Rabbit, he says that subtle animation is the one he gravitates the most." J & # 39; I tend to like more subtle animation because that's what I think our audience identifies with, "he says." That's what makes the movie more interesting. " Disney animation so special and unique because people can identify with these characters. "

"I love emotional moments. I love very three-dimensional characters. As a facilitator, this gives you a lot to work, "says Mark Henn, the veteran Disney animator, whose work includes animations for iconic Disney heroes such as Jasmine (" Aladdin "), Belle (" Beauty and the Beast "), Mulan and Pocahontas Photo courtesy of WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

Over the past two years, Henn has also supervised the animation of the animated film "Frozen". He said that the scale of success of "Frozen" is apparent to that of "The Lion King." About the reason he thinks that's the case, he says that like all other Disney movies, it's mostly because of how the audience can follow the characters' journey by proxy

heads, and you can encourage them. You can follow, "he says." In Simba's case, people could easily identify with this young cub, but he displayed a lot of emotions and his thinking was very similar to that of many of us. "

He explains that when they make movies, the main goal is to find characters with whom people can identify, characters who are credible in their situation.

"You want to be able to encourage the heroes, to boo the villain, to laugh at the acolyte," he says. "Frozen", according to him, had everything kind of elements that all the other movies had to one degree or another.

Henn says there's no special formula that Disney follows to make sure that ### 39, an animated film becomes largely commendable. "We never know how things are going to happen," he says. "We work hard to do our best and do the best. their film possible. "

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Mark Henn is also the supervising animator of Disney's upcoming film," Ralph Breaks the Internet, "which opens on November 21, 2018 .