How Disney Recycled the Exact Same Movement Sequences in Their Early Animated Movies

Fred Schultz quite astutely pointed out on Twitter that scenes from two very different classic Disney films looked very much alike. The films The Jungle Book (1967) and Winnie the Pooh (1977) show the respective lead characters of Mowgli and Christopher Robin moving in exactly the same way despite the differences in their environments, plots, and dialogues.

While this seems new, the use of recycled biomechanic movement templates was a common practice at Disney, particularly in the early days of animation. Cartoon Hangover explained this practice in fairly comprehensive manner.

Have you ever found yourself watching a Disney movie, like Frozen, Moana, or Snow White, and thought to yourself, “Hmmm…this all looks…familiar somehow”? Well, guess what – you have! Join Jacob and Cartoon Hangover as we walk you through every recycled Disney shot (almost) and talk about why.

The son of a Disney animator confirmed that this to be the case as well.

via Boing Boing

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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