Documentary gets animated in telling of Disney's cinematic glory
Bob Gunter
Folks, today we have the opportunity to experience another “Visit with Erik” at the Panida Little Theater. Cinematographer Erik Daarstad has chosen to show the delightful “Frank and Ollie.” The film will be of interest to anyone junior high and high school age. If you grew up with the Disney characters you will not want to miss it. It is entertainment at its best and it answers the oft asked question, “How did they do that?”
Ted Thomas, son of Frank Thomas, produced and directed “Frank and Ollie” and Erik Daarstad was director of photography. Below they share, in their own words, their personal involvement with the movie and the men who made it happen, Frank and Ollie.
• Ted Thomas
Over a period of incredibly creative years Walt Disney and his artists transformed animation from a crude cartoon to one of the greatest achievements of cinematic art. The story of how these classic films were made is revealed by two star members of Disney’s original team, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.
Some of the best-remembered moments in Disney were created by these two men: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi and Thumper ice skating, Pinocchio’s nose as he lies to the Blue Fairy, Lady and Tramp sharing a plate of spaghetti, penguin waiters entertaining Mary Poppins — these are just a few of the scenes drawn by Thomas and Johnston.
The story of “the men behind the mouse” is a fascinating one, but just as remarkable is the friendship of these two men. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston met as art students at Stanford University in 1931. By 1935 they were both working with Walt Disney, helping to pioneer a new motion picture medium.
“They roomed together as bachelors, raised their families next door to one another, and were involved with every major Disney animated feature until their retirement in 1978.
n Erik Daarstad
Frank’s son, Ted, was the one that wanted to make the film about his dad and his dad’s best friend, Ollie. I had worked with Ted on several other projects and he asked if I would like to shoot the film for him. I had never met Frank and Ollie and making the film would give me that opportunity. At first, we shot the film at Frank and Ollie’s homes in the Los Angeles area. Later on we did some additional shooting on a sound stage. We made the movie in 1994 and it was released in 1995.
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston had been the best of friends ever since they went to college back in the 1930s at Stanford. When they finished college they both went down to L.A. to find work and they both got a job at Disney. They were with Walt Disney from the very beginning of his movie career. “Snow White” was their first movie and their career ended with “Jungle Book”. Frank and Ollie were among the first to create animated characters that had human qualities.
Frank and Ollie was fun to be around because they had a very youthful outlook on life. They were close to 80 when we made the film and they were kind of like two old kids that were interested in the things around them. Ollie had some property down around Julian, Calif., and there is where he had a railroad track that ran around the property. His train consisted of a small steam engine and a few cars; he also had a miniature train in the backyard of his home in L.A.. It was Ollie’s interest in trains that got Walt Disney interested in them and eventually led to the old steam train that goes around Disneyland.
Frank’s hobby was music. He played in a Dixieland jazz group called, The Firehouse Five, plus Two.
They retired after their last big film, which was “Jungle Book”. After retirement they kept busy. They wrote several books about Disney animation and about the films they worked on. They also made a lot of appearances talking about their lives and their work.
(The documentary will be shown Saturday with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. and the evening showing starting at 7:30 p.m. The series, “A Visit with Erik,” is sponsored by Mountain West Bank and the Bonner County Daily Bee. All proceeds go to the Panida Theater.)