Saturday, August 30, 2008

Bold in Bronze?

Years ago, after Frank Thomas passed away, I came up with an interesting yet crazy thought of how to commemorate the legacy of each of the Nine Old Men: by erecting statues of them. I thought it would be really nice if 9 statues were grouped together in a large open courtyard where people can come & see them. Or they could each be spread out around one of the theme parks or around the Walt Disney Studios Lot, so people would have to go & find each of them individually.

One idea was to have each animator standing with one or two of the characters they brought to life beside them (ex: Eric Larson holding Figaro, John Lounsbery with Ben Ali Gator, Ward Kimball with Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder, etc.). There would be small, weatherproof TV screens around them showcasing some of the scenes they animated. Below the statues, there would be little plaques with their names & a quote of theirs.

Here's an example of a variation of one of the sculpture concepts, this one commemorating Ollie. Pardon the sloppiness, I drew/colored it very quickly.

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