CLOWN OF THE JUNGLE (Disney, 1946)

Walt Disney presents...

a cartoon starring Donald Duck!

CLOWN OF THE JUNGLE title card:

Credits, including layout by Yale Gracey and B/G art by Thelma Witner:

You can watch it on YouTube:

I couldn't figure out how to do the first, opening pan B/G because of the moving multiplane layers in the foreground.

But I managed to re-create the second pan B/G, and the nearly-infinite length of this pan B/G easily qualifies it as a contender for the longest piece I've ever digitally re-created...

Here's a closer look at the left side of the pan...

And the right side (birds are obviously cel overlays):

and more B/G art from this film:





I love the subtle and somewhat abstract design of this mid-tree leafy view:


Notice the brilliant angled horizon here:

I was able to digitally remove Donald and the Aracuan bird, but that shadow refused to budge!


This pan is a right-to-left shot, and as you can see the crazy Aracuan bird appears in very first frame (on the right)...

Here's a close-up view from another shot/segment:

and that's THE END!

Shadow Begone!

Recently I posted a batch of B/G art from the 1946 Disney short CLOWN OF THE JUNGLE. There was a particular background in which I was able to remove the characters, but one shadow never went away.

Well, guess what?

I was delighted to receive by email that same background, with hand-painted retouching (I assume via Photoshop), shared by artist Peter Moehrle! He is a truly master at animation background art, with a dazzling style and a resume to match. Among his credits, he trained all the background artists on Disney Studio's LILO AND STITCH in the fine art of watercolor backgrounds. He also worked on MULAN. He is the real deal, a genuine animation background artist, with Disney studio credits (and others).

Here is a small version of what I was able to achieve, my "semi-original," coupled with Peter's beautifully retouched version.

Thank you Peter!