- Appeal in drawing- Drawings should be pleasing to look at. For example, in Moore's own work "Pluto's Judgment Day," Pluto's facial expression changes are appealing and match the character's thought process while being scorned. He seemed to be proud, surprised, angry, ashamed, and understanding all back to back.
- Staging- This point deals with character positioning, acting, and the way an animated scene is presented. In "Pluto's Judgment Day," Mickey is angry because Pluto was chasing a cat. Mickey holds the cat while scorning Pluto from one position of the shot, while Pluto took the punishment and eventually laid down at the other position of the shot. Both character's acted accordingly; Pluto was mostly ashamed and disappointed, while Mickey was angry with him.
- Most interesting way?- The animated scene should be interesting to an audience of many people. The scene of "Pluto's Judgment Day" when Mickey is scolding Pluto is done in a straight-forward but interesting way. Most of the interest for me occurred in response to Pluto's facial expressions and realistic thought process.
- Is it the most entertaining way?- This point seems to deal with the animation and acting in a scene and whether or not it will hold the attention of the audience. "Pluto's Judgment Day" is entertaining when Mickey scolds Pluto because it is realistic for a cartoon and able to be related to. Dogs often to things they should not do and they are normally scolded for it until they learn, and this scene shows part of Pluto's learning process.
- Are you in character?- The characters depend on the animator to have personality and a life of their own so the animator must think like they would in order to properly animate them. It seems as though Moore used this concept on "Pluto's Judgment Day" because at first it seems as though Pluto does not understand why he is being scorned. Pluto also chases a cat in this animated work much like many real dogs do.
- Are you advancing the character?- The character should adapt throughout the animated work and learn from past events just as humans would. Pluto adapts in the scene when he is scorned by Mickey on "Pluto's Judgment Day." He eventually listens and lays down instead of going after the cat more.
- Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?- A simple statement of the main idea makes it so that an audience can relate more and so they can understand what is happening. The idea in "Pluto's Judgment Day" seems to be that he should not be chasing cats. Mickey Mouse scorning Pluto for chasing the cat reinforces this fact.
- Is the story point clear?- A clear story point is important because normally confusion causes people to not enjoy a work quite as much. The story point goes along with the main idea in "Pluto's Judgment Day." It involves the fact that Pluto should not be chasing cats and he gets in trouble for chasing them.
- Are the secondary actions working with the main action?- Secondary actions such as blinking or small movements give life to the character, but the secondary actions should not be more eye-catching than a primary action. In "Pluto's Judgment Day," his secondary actions such as hand movements and blinking go along with his primary actions and do not overpower them. Secondary actions in this case are truly secondary and used correctly.
- Is the presentation best for the medium?- Many methods of communication exist so it is important that the presentation matches the medium. In this case, we are dealing with animation and the presentation works well. "Pluto's Judgment Day" would not work as well without visible animation, however, because of the characters bringing the animation to life.
- Does it have 2 dimensional clarity?- The original drawings on the flat surface should be clear, appealing, and easy to visually process. The drawings for "Pluto's Judgment Day" are easy to understand and clear. For example, Pluto's facial expressions are not too difficult to figure out and it is easy to see that Mickey is angry.
- Does it have 3 dimensional solidity?- The drawings should work well animated in a three dimensional environment. In the animation itself of "Pluto's Judgment Day," emotions are easy to figure out and entertaining. The images are clear and work in a three dimensional element.
- Does it have 4 dimensional drawing?- Every part of the drawing should be perfect and accounted for. The drawing should work from about every angle and animate well. From what I have seen of "Pluto's Judgment Day," the angles all work fine and, as I mentioned, the images are clear and easy to understand.
- Are you trying to do something that shouldn't be attempted?- In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, it is mentioned that an animator asked Moore how to draw Mickey Mouse from a view looking down on his head. Moore believed that it is useless to do so because it took away from the character's appeal (Thomas and Johnston 127) In Moore's work "Pluto's Judgment Day," the characters are often shown from the best angles and not from odd views such as over their heads.
- Inner feelings and emotion- Focus on characters having emotions bottled up inside and the strategic release of the emotions at particular times. For example, in Snow White, Tytla's character Grumpy storms away in an angry manner after being kissed good-bye from Snow White. However, his angry attitude soon turns to happiness and love, which slowly makes its way out and causes his anger to disappear.
- Acting with clear and definite action- This point seems to focus on the fact that if acting is unclear then it is more difficult for viewers to relate to or understand the character. After being kissed good-bye by Snow White, Grumpy storms off with his usual attitude, but his attitude slowly changes to happiness. The action is clear in this scene. This scene also shows how dynamic of a character Grumpy could be.
- Character and personality- Each character should have a unique personality, just as people do, that effects its way of acting or showing emotion. All of the dwarfs have their own
characteristics and personality in Snow White. For example, Grumpy is almost always angry and grumpy just as his name applies.
- Thought process through expression change- Expressions can show viewers how a character is internally feeling without just coming straight out and saying it. Tytla's dwarf Grumpy from Snow White normally has an angry or frustrated expression. However, when kissed good-bye by Snow White, his expression changes from an angry look to a smile. This change shows that he is happy and cares for Snow White.
- Ability to analyze- A scene must have a structure that is able to be examined by viewers.However, as he continues away his emotion changes to happiness. In this example, the structure focuses on mood. Grumpy's mood progresses from angry to happy.
For example, Grumpy's emotions have a structure when kissed good-bye by Snow White. At first, he is unaffected and continues as usual. He storms off and looks angry.
- Clear staging- A scene must be presented clearly with good character positioning and acting. The staging in Snow White when Grumpy is kissed good-bye is clear. It is easily understood that Grumpy is keeping his happiness from the kiss bottled up until finally it surfaces and takes away his anger.
- Good composition- Scenes should be set up in a visually interesting and understandable way as far as character placement, background, and included objects goes. For example, when Grumpy is kissed by Snow White, he storms off and the camera follows him. He stays centered in the camera and the background moves as he moves. The background helps the overall composition so that he is not just standing in emptiness. Therefore, the background and focus on Grumpy improves the composition.
- Timing- Actions must take place at the right time and in the right situation. Some actions even take more time than others. Grumpy originally struggles against Snow Whites kiss and then storms off angry. However, as time goes by, his bottled up happiness begins to surface.
- Solidity in drawing- Drawings should be clear and easily understandable. The drawings of grumpy storming off after being kissed are perfectly clear. They are also well made because they slowly show his emotional conversion.
- Power in drawing- A drawing should have detailed movement and should be clear. The scene involving Grumpy's kiss in Snow White has power in drawing. When Grumpy storms off he really does look angry with his stomping motion and swinging arms. However, he straightens up, moves slower, and stops doing so much motion with his arms after a while. Then he appears to be happy.
- Strength in movement- Every movement should be clear and have a reason. Grumpy's movement after his kiss has strength because of how detailed his fake storm-off ended up being. The stomping motion and powerful arm swings add to the idea of anger, along with his angry facial expression.
- Imagination- This refers to the ability to draw things or convey messages that an artist or animator has never or rarely dealt with. Imagination allows the existence of animated works such as Snow White. Without imagination, such stories and animated works would probably not exist. Even if they did somehow exist, it would be difficult to create characters and convey emotions in such a way as the work does because that emotion or an image would always have to be present to help with the creative process.
Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.
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