General News

WAMG At The WINNIE THE POOH Junket

By Melissa Howland | July 15, 2011

Well, hello all of you crazy kids out there! It’s your nerd with the word, Melissa here, and I have a treat for you…

Recently, I got to attend the WINNIE THE POOH junket at Disney Animation Studios. I was like a kid in a candy store! Not only do I love movies… but I love to draw! Hooray!

We started the day with a screening of the movie WINNIE THE POOH with an introduction by the Producer, Peter Del Vecho.

Next, I got to go into the recording booth and attempt to do a voiceover for Piglet. They showed me a clip from the new film, and then I had to read the script while attempting to also see when Piglet’s mouth was moving. It was really hard, but super fun! (So, if anyone wants to hire me… I am tooootally available! Hint, Hint… Wink, Wink!) Even though I look like a complete dork… here is a clip of me attempting to do the voiceover. Just don’t make fun of me too much! LOL

After that. we were whisked away to a drawing demo with Eric Goldberg, who is the Supervising Animator for Rabbit and the Backson Song. He showed us how he draws Rabbit, and talked about his work at Disney. He actually closed his own studio to work at Disney Animation Studios. There is first film was ALADDIN, where he took on the role of lead animator for Genie and Aladdin. In the clip below, we here Goldberg talk about the animation process, his excitement for hand drawn animation, and we even get to see him draw! I am sorry that it is not clearer… the room was dark and I need to get an HD camera. Still, you can really start to see the drawing about 4 minutes in.

The next venture was a drawing demo with Mark Henn, the Supervising Animator for Winnie The Pooh and Christopher Robin. When we walked into the room, there were drawing benches and newsprint tablets sitting out. I am guessing that there were some people there who were displeased, since they very audibly started complaining with such malarkey as “I can’t draaawww….!“. I, on the other hand, could not contain my “Yesssssssss!” as I took my seat in the front row. Henn gave us step by step instructions on how to draw Winnie The Pooh while demonstrating on an overhead projector. Here is my completed drawing.

Mark Henn even signed it and gave me a gold star (after I took this picture). I love to draw! I could have stayed in that art room all day. In a way, I am a little jealous of the people that get to go through their instruction courses. That would be amazing!

Following the second drawing demo we went to a quick presentation and roundtable where Disney Consumer Products, or DCP, gave us a rundown on how they pick the images for their products. This is a full day! Whew!

The last thing that I did before leaving Disney Animation Studios was sit down and talk to some of the people involved with the film one on one. Below, you will find my interviews with Jim Cummings (Voice of Winnie The Pooh and Tigger), Tom Kenny (Voice of Rabbit), and Burny Mattinson (Senior Story Artist).

WARNING: I DO CURSE IN THE TOM KENNY INTERVIEW… JUST ONCE, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Melissa From WAMG Talks With Jim Cummings (Voice of Winnie The Pooh and Tigger : WINNIE THE POOH
Jim Cummings was (is) so fun! Not only was he very nice, but he even recorded a special birthday message for my best friend Molly (kickin’ it since age 5 son!). He went all out too! I left it in at the end for you crazy kids to enjoy. You can also hear him slip into Darkwing Duck, the Tasmanian Devil, and other voices occasionally. He will be on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON (Who is the voice of Owl in the film). Zooey Deschanel will also be a guest tonight, which makes this a “WINNIE-TASTIC” lineup!

Melissa Talks With Tom Kenny (Voice of Rabbit, WINNIE THE POOH)

Tom Kenny is one fun guy! We talked about music, the difference between voice acting and being on screen, and of course (and this is his term) the “POOHNIVERSE”. Such a down to Earth, cool guy!

Melissa Talks With Burny Mattinson (Senior Story Artist, WINNIE THE POOH)

Burny Mattinson has been at Disney Animation Studios since 1953 when he took a job in the mail room. He worked alongside Walt Disney’s “9 Old Men”, a core group of 9 original Disney animators. His stories are amazing.

Here is a picture of Burny Mattinson with the WINNIE THE POOH doll that is featured in the opening credits of the film. His wife made this doll for use in another of the Pooh films, but the opening scene had already been shot. It’s a beautifully handcrafted doll!

At the end of the day they handed me a lovely gift bag with a plush Tigger popping out. Inside was:

DISNEY WINNIE THE POOH: A CELEBRATION OF THE SILLY OLD BEAR (Hard Cover) By Christopher Finch