Slice of Like: Milt Kahl's Character-Animation for Madame Medusa
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2014
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Many of the images and pencil tests in this video originate from a wonderful blog by the former Disney animator Andreas Deja.
andreasdeja.blogspot.com/
The music is Etude no. 2 from Trois Nouvelles Études
musopen.org/music/137/frederi... - Фільми й анімація
I like that she is "skinny fat".
You hardly see this in cartoons.
Most characters are either one or the other.
“Slim thicc”
@@kamrongoolsby3444 Not really. Slim thick usually means someone like Marilyn Monroe, Scarlet Johanson (sorry for my spelling) or Kim K maybe. Skinny fat usually means a thin figure with fat still haging from the person, not enough to make them look chubby, more like right in the middle.
@@kamrongoolsby3444 slicc? thlim? xD
shes saggy. like she used to be plus size but lost a lot of weight
i feel like nowadays its more preferred by artists to exaggerate characters to be either skinny or thick. which is unfortunate cuz that’s not how good representation comes to be lol
I love the scritchy-scratchy style of the pencil in 1970s Disney movies.
agreed
that's caused by the scanning process they used during the time.
Agree, all the Xerox Process animation is wonderfully scratchy
It's very charming.
I think it was because they had to drop the cleanup artists after walts death because they lost a lot of money, or something like that
The most horrifying and terrifying thing about her is how realistic and human she is, how much she knows on how to manipulate and take advantage of a child to gain their trait, the fact that she kidnapped Penny to use her and manipulate her to get that Diamond. Is simply horrifyingly realistic.
Penny wasn't adopted by Medusa, she either was kidnapped (highly unlikely) or taken on as a foster child, although it's never mentioned. During of the most sad scenes in the movie, let alone a Disney animated movie, is when Penny asks Medusa if she finds the diamond, would she (Meudsa) take her back to the orphanage so she could get adopted. Medusa's malicious response: "adopted? What makes you think anybody would want a homely little girl like you?"
If I remember right, the cat says something like, "she'd never get in the car with her", implying Medusa had been following Penny around for a while before she managed to convince her to get in the car, probably under false pretenses. Incredibly dodgy.
@@markbrown9458 I remember it being straight up said she got kidnapped by Medusa, the kid just wasnt completely aware that she had been.
@@markbrown9458 I could have sworn somewhere they said she was kidnapped, which is why the Rescue Aid Society was tasked to help her.
That's what horrified me as a kid... I was terrified of her evil humanity... There was a moment where she is actually bonding with Penny only to be cruel to her or indifferent a second later, and then the final betrayal. That's one reason she was such a terrific villain... Forget Hook or the voodoo guy or the gorilla hunter from Tarzan... She was manipulative and powerful.
The best Madame Medusa scene by far is when she is pulling off her false eyelashes. I was so confused as a child watching it.
I....I never realized they were fake lashes until this comment.
@@debayeuxchats5607 LOL you must have been horrified
@@CatharticCreation Only a little. ;) I was fairly young when I first saw the film, so I just chalked it up to "weird things adults might do." It's like how euphemisms just fly right over a kid's head, haha.
I always thought it so satisfying as a child 😂 that scene stuck with me too till today. Also the scene when mr. Snoops is dressed in rags while paddling away on the wooden board while laughing at Medusa threatened to be eaten by her crocs 😂 that always made me bust out laughing 😂
@@GlittleLoveMJ4ever Once, while watching the movie at a friend's house, my friend turned to me at that scene and confidently said "I'm going to do that when I'm a grown-up." I don't think she understood it either, but the concerned look her mom gave both of us is what stuck with me!
Unless...hmmm...unless she meant she was going to adopt a little girl to find her gemstones and riches? Maybe I should check up on her on Facebook...
It would be nice if the Oscars or the Academy Awards actually had an award for Best Animated Character.
Or best animation work. Like different categories for animation specific movies like they do for comedy vs drama. A best vo actor, actress, best animator that sort of stuff would be cool!
The thing is the oscar would always go to some vapid animated crap these days. UA-cam video essayists have better appreciation for great art than the oscars.
Razenoid Arcanoth someone needs to directly copy the oscars blueprint. Find relevant sponsors, instead of ‘the academy’ have a group of the best UA-cam essayists/ professors and invite everyone but the criminally overpaid Hollywood actors. Imagine if a starring role in a blockbuster earnt you 30k instead of 3Mil, that’s when actually great actors would play the roles ffs.
I'd turn it on just for that.
then turn it off again.
The Annies is basically the oscars, specifically for animation. Its the only award show i really care about - they have an "Outstanding Character Design" category
I always found Madame Medusa oddly attractive as a kid, and it had nothing to do with her character design, because her design was horrific. It was her animation. She was so lively and eccentric, and the way her animation synced with her adorable British accent is great.
I mean, I didn't have like a huge toon-crush on her, it just stood out to me as odd because I knew I shouldn't feel that way about this goggle-eyed jackal of a cartoon character.
NICKREAPER316 That happens to me with every single female Disney villain ha. Madame Medusa getting stabbed in the butt with a fork gave me a really nice feeling I didn’t understand yet as a kid. Same with Ursula’s “bawdee language!” move and Max biting her butt. They’re drawn so ugly and yet they’re so hot for it. It’s definitely their charismatic movements and voices REALLY adding appeal to their “ugly” designs. I got really attracted to Queen Grimhilde, Cinderella’s stepsisters, Madam Mim, Yzma, and Queen Narissa for similar reasons too.
I got the impression Madame Medusa was quite a looker in her youth. She might have lost something with age but not the energy and movement from when she was in her prime.
That's the result of lack of Hentai around.
@@dancinghulahoop I understand Queen Grimhidle and Madame Mim (young madam mim)... But not Yzma and especially not Cinderella's stepsisters (they're just awkward and shallow.. I could understand the appeal of the stepmother because she's intelligent and imposing. I can't the say the same for her daughters)
She looks terrifying to me as an adult
the Oscars sucks ...The animation business should make their own big celebration Award. it would be much more fun to watch
Did you hear about Annie award?
Oscars are sandwich bistro.
Would it be animated? Like, would the animators draw awesome dresses, and animate acceptance speeches?
Like...the Annie Awards...?
The academy seems more interested in nominating films to show how cultivated their tastes are rather than actually admitting what's good.
NO REFRENCES to draw Medusa??? That fact literally made my jaw hang open. That is the mark of a true master of their craft.
He’d had a lifetime of references to work from.
But I thought that Milt Kahl modeled Medusa after his wretched ex wife? Isn't that the urban legend?
@@Gobble_de_Goop is it? makes the character even better, haha!
@@Gobble_de_Goop yeah, that's true, he based Medusa on his former wife. Makes one wonder how had to be to live daily with a woman like Medusa.
i personally think madame medusa is a seriously underrated villian
She truly is! She is my favorite villain!It's sad she isn't one of the main villains like The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula ect. She totally deserves to be.
One of my favorite villains, tied with Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective☺️
60s and 70s Disney movies hit different, man. Even if they subject matter was happy, they felt more gritty and almost art house if that makes sense. Like look at Medusa and everything about her, compared to Gothel or Maleficent. She has this very grungy, vintage yet modern look because of the sketchy lines and washed out, cool colours.
They also felt a lot more like movies for all ages rather then just kids - more complex and intriguing. The muted color palette and the music used in them gave a sort of cozy, nostalgic feel, perfect for watching on a rainy day. My favourites were probably Jungle Book and Robin Hood.
Medusa was realistic and timeless. Meaning someone like her will exist in every era. :( Gothel and Maleficent just seem like descendants of Medusa.
She was such a Karen
Apparently Milt based Medusa off his ex-wife (!), while Mr. Snoops was caricatured after animation archivist John Culhane who often drove the animators with his constant visits (earning him their epithet of "Mr. Snoops"!). Interestingly, he took no offence at this; if anything, he was flattered, if not honored.
@@JD-el9eo at least he's pathetic in an iconic way lol (I watched this movie all the time as a kid and my family still quotes the "you're the boss... boss" line)
@@JD-el9eo it's honestly kind of weird how much various lines from this movie are ingrained in my subconscious, I hadn't really thought about it in like 20 years until I watched this video
Funny that people grew up watching these movies and I wasn’t even around when they came out. It’s videos like these that make me want to watch them too and share in that appreciation.
Madame medusa was the scariest villain for me. Sending an orphan down a cave? No sir not for little me
It's funny that for me, these concepts are much more disturbing as an adult than it was when I was a kid. Same with the whole donkey scene in Pinocchio, I find it more disturbing now as an adult, same with the concept of that whole island with child slaves.
@@Andres33AU The donkey scene was madly disturbing to me as a child, and I've had a hard time looking at the animals ever since. However, I agree that there are a ton of concepts in many Disney movies that are way more disturbing to me now than they were when I was a kid. Madame Medusa is definitely a frightening villain, especially in that she managed to kidnap Penny in a way that most child kidnappers do.
@ Squiddle woddle What about Frollo or Chernabog?
I want to point out that in customer service, we are told to smile when we answer the phone because the tone of the smile will come across in the sound of our 'hello' At the 3.00 mark, you can see her smile just before she speaks. This is just another small detail that was included into her character study and is so genius. Its shit like this that make's the live action Lion king so flat. Because NONE of these nuances are in that movie.
Agreed!
that’s so dystopian making you smile…
2:21 Let me guess, he also animated Madame Mim in The Sword In The Stone ! It’s the exact same shaking of hands and little jump. Love it, always been intrigued with these two characters.
Watch the montages on UA-cam
I know!! That little hand shake and the hopping looked so familiar to me even though I’ve never seen this movie before. It’s cool how an animator can have a “style” of movement.
Heck, the “beautiful” form that Mim assumes during her song even resembles Medusa to a degree. Like with the latter, I wonder if Kahl modeled it after his ex-wife as well.
Oh, he didn't have models, per se, but he used his ex-wife and an animation historian as inspiration.
Did she become his ex-wife because of this movie??? XD
ex-wife Karen*
Damn, he must have been really salty about the divorce.
... (O O) so that's why it's so realistic. The body, the neck, the clothes, the mannerisms. Just looking at her makes you accept that she's narcissistic and had a very unhealthy lifestyle, aside from her age. I- I thought she modeled after a memory of an abusive authority figure like a mother or aunt (i don't mean to offend his mother, tho. It's just that it's not uncommon for some to secretly have had abusive parents or an abusive childhood).
^she was not fat nor old when they married…it was her first marriage so she would’ve been a teen to 24 tops. I think it was just meant to be cruel and exaggerated. She didn’t wear falsies either or have a witch face. 🤷🏻♀️
7:40 i love how that wobbly walk cycle is in almost every movie Milt has worked on
that and the head wiggle. you can almost reliably identify every character he had his hands on
And the spinning hands gesture! He always finds a way to incorporate that kind of erratic movement in his works.
I love the design choice that when Medusa cleans off her makeup & eye lashes she has almost no facial features! Absolutely fascinated me as a child, and it was the first time I learned of false eye lashes 😂
She is one of the most synesthetic characters to have ever been drawn. Take out the sound and you can still hear EXACTLY what the sounds used were.
According to Mitt Kahl, Geraldine Page nailed all of Medusa's lines in one take!
The Disney we miss.
It’s not the same company. All the people who made it great don’t work there anymore. Now it’s just parasites leeching off their work
1:28 I knew I wasn't the only animator who made weird faces when animating! When I draw a character's face (specifically when they are beginning to transition from one calmer face to more pronounced face), I often partially mimic the face of the character. Sometimes I can't even control it. I just make the same face as the character until I finish drawing that frame.
Me too! I'm not an animator but I do portraits. Must be something about how brains are wired. I can't help but make matching faces when I'm drawing facial features or thinking about conveying emotions in a person's face. Maybe that's why I'm developing wrinkles a little early! Lol
This is actually a very common thing to do for animators. Since you don't always have a live model handy, using your own face to mimick emotions is key to create good expressions. It's also gives you a guideline as to what facial muscles move when in what order and direction. In a different documentation, an animator one said that an animator needs to be somewhat of an actor to, because at times they will need to actualy execute the required motion to make certain that it looks natural on film.
Those mirror neurons firing : D
Not just animators, pretty sure most people do this especially when drawing faces.
@@ayacyte443 That's a big yes.
Gods, I miss when Disney used to have a soul
ok boomer shut up
As an artist, it almost brings a tear to my eye. The sheer beauty of her ugly mannerisms, and the timing of her facial expression is a sight to behold. Glad I found this video, as I haven't seen the Rescuers in 20 odd years
Madame Medusa is my favorite Disney villain and she's soooooo underrated. She's terrifying because she feels so real. Like this is what bad people are like in real life, not in fairy tales. And her character design is so unique in it's realism and every aspect of it is so intentional. She's not so exaggerated into one stereotype like how Ursula=fat or Cruella=skeletal. She looks like a real person you could easily meet if you went to the right seedy parts of town.
Also there's the fact she is willing to wildly fire a shotgun in the middle of her living room...
Milt did all the animation on her, not just the keys but the inbetweens and cleanups too.
DreamstateAwake Beg to differ. He actually did have assistants, great ones (Dale Oliver, Stan Green, Floyd Norman, etc)
Elijah is right. I animated at Disney Feature Animation for 30 years. Milt had numerous assistants over the years. It was considered an honor to be his assistant. He wanted the best... and he got it (he was quite the task master and quite the curmudgeon). By the way, Elijah... Dale Oliver was Frank Thomas' assistant, though it's possible he did some inbetweening for Milt in the early days. Dale was the best. I learned a lot from him.
@@Rick_Hoppe dude that is so interesting, you could have your own UA-cam channel!
I love The Rescuers! It gets overlooked far too often, in my opinion.
I've heard that initially, Cruella was going to be the villain in the film. While that would have been awesome, too, I would hate to think of us being robbed of Medusa!
Having seen both films, I always thought that Medusa was a cousin to Cruella.
Cruella is much more better not gonna lie! I saw some sketches of her and she's wearing crocodile skin, that would be iconic if only disney decided to go on that route
Cruella is much to classy for stepping through the everglades on search for a Diamond. Cruella would just buy it under the Counter from someone like Medusa... or steal it from her.
They both have fantastic taste in automobiles.
@@jcs1275 Too bad they drive like maniacs!
I LOVE her art style! She is definitely one of the greatest Disney villians. She is so much like a real life narcissist, sometimes sweet with the mask and mean without it
She looks like everyone's crazy eccentric tia.
And Snoops looks and sounds just like a supervisor I had once.
If the movie came to life, I'd want Joan Cusak to play her🙃
I cannot agree with this more. As a trainee animator, I'd love to even be able to have the dream of walking up to the stage with my team and voice actor(s) to collect our award. An award for a character we spent months trying to capture. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. You were actually shared on our Animation's group page on facebook, and now I am a set fan of your work. I even scrolled through your tumblr! haha! Great work man :) Keep it up! Can't wait to watch you grow! And if you need any animation help give me a shout.
I know! Despite the names listed at the beginning or ending of a movie, I don't think they give animators enough credit! I LOVE how much life they put into a character to bring he or she to life!
I'm biased, but it's not just the animation, but Geraldine Page brings Madame Medusa to life, and she's the primary reason why Medusa was such a great villain, and why I really liked the character.
5:07 - I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in an earlier comment, but there's one thing about the technical animation in this scene which isn't mentioned in the video - namely that Milt is not only animating Medusa as we see her directly, but is also animating her reflected image in the mirror and every expression on her face - reversed - in perfect synchronisation for the entirety of the scene. That work requires a level of skill which very few animators have even come close to reaching.
I wish more movies were animated in hand-drawn style. I get why it isn't- it's expensive and time consuming, but it looks amazing
This kinda inspired me to go for a sort of animation job, it's so pretty even if the character was desgined to be ugly I find it so beautiful and I want to see other people say that more.
Joe Flynn, the voice of Mr. Snoops, died on July 19, 1974, from drowning shortly after completing this role, making this his last role and a posthumous one, too.
He also appeared posthumously in the live action film "The Strongest Man in the World" (1975), opposite Kurt Russell.
Pause video.
Dot key (.) and comma key (,) to frame to frame.
You're welcome.
oh neat, I didn't know you could do that on youtube
Wow nice, now I could use this to analyze animation and shits. Thanks
@@jadrianmc3420 How do u do it?
@@praisemachonisa4022 On your keyboard just press . and ,
if you think it doesn't seem to be working just pause the video first then try spamming the . or ,
hey, neat! thank you
I honestly want to see a fight to have Oscars for production positions in animation- best picture, best characters, best art, best animator, and so on; even Oscars for TV animation. Animation is as worthy of any medium of film and whatever snoots that are the judges need to lose their seats and check list cheat sheets to allow true artful features to shine.
"Animation is a kids thing (and my own children are too smart for it)", "I'm too embarrassed to be seen watching an animated feature"... basics to actual comments Oscar voters make, and it makes me angry
oscars belong in the trash can
This is wonderful. I've always loved this movie. The music is so creepy and the control of Grealdine Page to be soft but menacing and change from mad to quiet is brilliant. I'm not a scary movie fan but I can't deny how memorable this movie is.
This is brilliant! I've never been able to truly put into words why I love Madame Medusa's character so much beyond just the voice acting...you nailed it! Fantastic analysis :)
The character model for Madame Medusa kinda looks like a precursor to Ursula. I really love how expressive Milt Kahl's character animation is. It's exaggerating in a charming way.
I remember I was so scared of her when I was a kid.....but I kind of wanted to be her too.
I really wish this channel still uploaded. : (
Even as a kid, I always loved the scene where Medusa complains to Snoops about "having to get the Devil's Eye" and intimidates him over his unwillingness to bully and intimidate Penny into doing what she wants.
The fluidity and precision of her movements, the way she shook her head while pining over the diamond, spun her fingers around to accent her talk about forcing Penny to stay into the cave.
When I was little I didn't know who was responsible for how she was animated, but I was a big fan of that moment. Big kudos to Milt Kahl and his skill.
Its always 24 frames a second, but its not usually 24 drawings a second, sometimes it is if the shot is filmed on 1s, if its 2s its 12 drawings a second as you said, but what a lot of people don't know, is in the slow scenes where the incriminates of movement are small, you can shoot that on 3s, which is 8 drawings a second, each of the 8 drawings has 3 frames taken of it, 8X3 = the 24 frames a second. Now sometimes if your going in and out of holds, you can even slip in a 4 or a 5, and than go right into a 3, it really depends on the increments of movement. Miyazaki uses 3s and 4s all over the place, sometimes too much, but if there is more detail and shading on the characters you almost want less drawings of them because the shading can jitter on the character. Roger Rabbit was almost all filmed on 1s, 24 new drawings going by every second a lot of work. But this more rubbery style of animation leaded to this effect. Drawing stuff like Record of Lodoss s war with complex shading would be almost impossible to always do on 1s.
Counter Strike: Japanese animation is usually on 3s. Disney Feature Animation is never on 3s. I love Miyazaki, but animation on 3s strobes a bit. Persistence of Vision in human sight is about 10 frames a second. This is why 2s aren't noticed by the viewer (1/12 of a second). 3s is just outside persistence of vision, so it strobes. The strobbng is forgivable in Japanamation, but not in Disney feature animation.
@@Rick_Hoppe You know, Hanna-Barbara's animation is almost always on 3's (ESPECIALLY Yogi Bear). Meanwhile, you're right, Disney Feature Animation is always on either 1s or 2s.
Damn, it's sad that this gets recommended 6 freaking years after this dude has left the channel
I haven't seen this since i was a kid. crazy nostalgia.
Milt Kahl is the J. S. Bach of animators - the single best artist in his craft, and whom all subsequent ones study.
The way she pulls her eyelashes off has stuck with me my entire life.
Aethelwulf same here, funny thing, when I was a kid I tried to recreate the same thing except with my real eyelashes 😂
@@angell8632 Ouch
not to mention that incredbile Milt Kahl head wiggle he puts in every performance, it seems. Because he *could* just move the head up and down. *OR*, he could show off and put incredible acting detail into every character performance. A legend.
I had the Rescuers story book and record when I was a kid. Madame Medusa was such an intense character on that record. Stripped of her visuals you can really hear the cruelty in her voice.
I loved that woman.
I needed someone to provide this level of analysis on one of the most underrated Disney villains and you satisfied that need. Thumbs up
I've yet to watch The Rescuers but his work in The Sword and the Stone is fantastic, particularly Mad Madame Mim
Oh my God, the amount of work behind this animation... It's just crazy!
Me a dentistry student watching a character animation break down: interesting. :3c
The construction of Madame Medusa's face is already a tour de force on its own.
I regret that this guy only made three videos. I would dearly love to see more this.
I studied animation at university for five years and I thought I should let you know that my professors showed us this video in a lecture once. I'd say that makes you an honorary animation professor :) Great stuff!
My childhood friend used to say I was penny I never understood because to me all adults were like that lady ... now that I’m older I see how horrid my mother was lol that’s what my friend meant...
for whatever reason, the desk she sits at to answer the phone always seemed amazing to me as a kid. there was just something about how it was drawn that mesmerized me
3:49 I wouln't say the prime reason for posing is time restraints (hence the need for more animators to help out). Posing is a key way to make the action _read_ to the audience. In fact, even great live-action actors will use posing to clearly communicate to the audience. It's much better to present a series of ideas to the audience this way so that they have time to digest what is happening and what it means for the character.
ik this video is pretty old but i'm so happy that i'm not the only one who thought her animation was mesmerizing to look at
by the looks of it this channel had many more videos, where have they gone? i thoroughly enjoyed this one
The rescuers was my favorite growing up. No wonder. The artists did so well. Art takes a very long time to perfect. But this is good inspiration for me.
I'll miss his style of animations. They were top notch. His passion for his career paid off. These movies will live on for generations.
I had this movie on vhs as a kid and watched it over and over again. The most distinct memory I have of it though, was always how
energetic Madame Medusa was and how she would emphasize key words with her facial expressions. I guess this is why lmao
I use to love pretending to be her! Poking my stuffed animals in the nose saying "You're tooo saw-ph-tt" lol
As an adult I understand why these 70s Disney movies were not popular. They’re definitely movies for adults! I’d recommend if you haven’t seen the rescuers in a while go and watch it. The design of the animation and the way the movie flows is beautiful.
This was my very first movie in cinema in 1977. Boy was I scared of her. But until today this is one of my favourite Disney movies. This was a time where they were pretty organic and alive. I personally think that the upcoming of computerized animations took a lot of the soul and individuality of the characters.
watching this made me appreciate animation even more
I love Bronze Age Disney. The movies were really cut down and put on a shoestring, but these immensely seasoned and talented animators made them stand the test of very difficult times.
*I love Medusa*
Problem is when the movie gets translated in another language, then all the craft put on a single pronunciation get lost and maybe even disturb (see maybe chinese vs english)
Six years later, I'm dearly appreciating this video 💗.
This is one of those movies that always stuck out to me as a kid and stuck with me as an adult. I need to go back and re-watch it. See if I feel the same.
Wasn't Madame Medusa inspired by Milt Kahl's ex-wife in part? If you go to the Disney wikia online, you'll find her under the "inspiration" category on Madame Medusa's page. Maybe that's why she had this energy and unique style to her--Milt based her off of a real life person that he knew quite well.
I love Disney's earlier animations. Some of them have way more ( animated ) emotion put into them than their more recent stuff. There's something about tradtional animation that makes it feel more, well, animated.
Absolutely beautiful, what an incredible talented guy!
Man, I could not appreciate the effort going into animations like these when I was younger, I always thought the cleaner stuff was better, like Lion King, Little Mermaid etc.
Milt Kahl's really is fantastic :') Thanks for making this video
I know understand why she looked so odd when talking, she was animated basically speaking in English so it looked weird in Spanish dub!!
Omg I can't even imagine trying to read her lips in a different language haha
I always loved The Rescuers as a child. I always was intrigued by Madam Medusa and Snoops and the drawn style of the whole film.
We studied this scene at animation school, yet the sheer brilliance of her animation is hard to pinpoint.
@@JD-el9eo This whole movie was beautifully animated but she is the star attraction for sure. My favorite scene, though, is with Brutus and Nero and the pipe organ; the animation blows me away!
That pipe music, especially when it was just these one deep deep notes (I believe while you saw the shot of their eye through the pipe organ) made it REALLY difficult for me to sleep at night cause it scared me so much x}🙈 I’ve always been quite sensitive to sounds. I think to this day (and I’m 23 😂) i’d be afraid to watch this scene with the sound on 😂
@@JD-el9eo - Agreed; "mediocre villain", my butt..! For what it's worth I think one of the reasons Medusa can be overlooked is closely related to what I believe makes her special - if not almost unique - in the canon of Disney villains; namely that as a character she is unusually human and "three-dimensional" compared to most of the rest, and as such rewards repeat viewing and thought. OK, so she's not turning boys into donkeys, murdering a princess with a spinning-wheel or turning puppies into a coat... But she's perfectly willing to drown a vulnerable child in pursuit of wealth, and on a more subtle level takes pleasure in casually telling said vulnerable child that she isn't attractive enough to be worthy of a loving family.
I think the only other example of a Disney villain working on multiple levels in a similar manner is Scar in "The Lion King" (it follows that Andreas Deja reveres Kahl's work especially) - and even then, Scar amuses himself knowing that his verbal cruelty towards Simba mostly goes over Simba's head, whereas Medusa knowingly and deliberately sets out to break Penny's spirit and has no scruples about doing so.
@@JD-el9eo - All correct! This is what I mean by "rewards repeat viewing and thought" - the more times you watch the more you notice aspects of her actions which are both consciously and instinctively cruel on top of her more obvious mania and insanity.
This movie is probably my favourite of the entire Disney animated canon - I've lost count of the number if times I've seen it over a period of about thirty years and what you've written has made me realise things I hadn't considered yet! For one thing it hadn't consciously occurred to me that hiding the diamond the way she did meant that her intended final act towards Penny involved taking away the last thing Penny had in the world - her teddy bear.
Also another thing you've made me consider... Before the mice and their friends get involved, Medusa is pointing a loaded shotgun towards both Penny and Snoops as she's backing towards the exit - watching it as an adult and thinking about what you said ("when Penny does try to escape, she shoots at her"), the realisation hits that if she hadn't fallen backwards over Bianca and Bernard's improvised trip wire, Medusa may well have intended to leave no witnesses; she'd almost certainly have no scruples about murdering her accomplice and their child captive just to be certain no-one could tell the authorities. Medusa exhibits an all-too human pathology of switching between cold, calculating intelligence and manic rage, and she's equally terrifying - albeit in different ways - regardless of which mood she's in.
I also agree that the notion of any child falling into Medusa's clutches doesn't bear thinking about; however in this case I think it's worth pointing out that Penny isn't as helpless as Medusa seems to have assumed - and it's just as well, because the movie would be far less interesting if her character were written as a stock "cute and helpless kid". We in the audience know from Rufus that in spite of her self-esteem issues, Penny is kind, loyal, resourceful, willing to take risks for those she loves (e.g. swiping a couple of extra ginger snaps as a treat for Rufus, knowing it might get her in trouble) and intelligent ("Penny wouldn't get in [the car] with *her*! [Medusa]"). Before we even see Penny outside of flashbacks, we know that she's outsmarted Snoops enough to send messages in bottles and has tried to escape more than once ("It's that poor ... young'un. She's trying to run away *again*") - plus it's implied that were it not for Brutus and Nero, she might have succeeded. Penny is not meekly awaiting rescue, she's trying her best to rescue herself and messaging for help to even the odds - Bianca, Bernard and the swamp critters play a significant role in defeating Medusa, however the plan they're working to is mostly Penny's own (whenever Bianca or Bernard suggest what they could use or mention problems, it's Penny who comes up with the solutions).
Now I'm biased because my favourite Disney era is the "dark" period of the late '70s to mid-'80s, and I know that makes me a weirdo. But to my mind "The Rescuers" in particular deserves to be considered as up there with the best movies the studio ever made - not only because the remaining "Nine Old Men" plus the incoming generation turned out animation of exceptional quality (in spite of wobbling morale and budget limitations), but on top of that the writing and characterisations showed skill, subtlety and maturity - and the soundtrack and songs were pitch-perfect. I suspect the degree to which it exhibits emotional maturity and subtlety - to an extent which was extremely unusual for Disney - is part of the reason it has been underappreciated. For what it's worth, the only other Disney animated movie I think has come close in that respect is "Lilo & Stitch".
@@JD-el9eo - Just to give you an idea of how much I love this movie : ua-cam.com/video/sMP99VCev28/v-deo.html
Madame Medusa was definitely one of my favorite designs and also I know that Kahl designed her after his ex but the energy she gives off is just one thing I miss in animation where a character seems just as human as the viewer .
Not a classic? Sure it is..
The more you study Madame Medusa it becomes clear that she’s the missing link between Cruella & Ursula. Wonderful creation.
You are officially the only animation UA-cam person who truly appreciates and understands what makes character animation great. There are so many subtleties in Madame Medusa, I see something new every time I watch her scenes! Let me guess, too - unlike all the other whiners who complain about the xeroxing technique allowing for nearly pencil test level sequence to appear on screen for all the world to see, you can see the beauty in them, and how they are often so much better than how flat and lifeless they can become when the wrong lead clean up key hacks into them. A lot of hugely inflated egos ruined a shit tonne of great scenes toward the end of the trad features run at Disney. It was a shame to see how far from the animators' original flow it could get.
I adore that rough pencil drafting left on the frames. Ultra clean lines be damned. DAMNED.
I learned to read because of this movie, I had the movie on record accompanying a book and spent hours listening and trying to follow along
Who knew I'd be watching this the morning after checking out some old Disney movie out of boredom? Glad you're giving the spotlight to Medusa's animation, it was about the only thing keeping me from turning off the film
The way they animated the boat Medusa was driving makes it seem as if it was CGI. That’s talent.
i loved this movie for her character animation !
its wild because when youre a kid youre drawn to stuff like that without actually yet being able to appreciate the technical craft of it
Perfect choice of movie, animator, character, and scenes to illustrate your points - one of my absolute favorite examples of the best character animation.
It's like the characters are moving to music. Some sort of happy Jazz. So much bounce and slide.
I felt when watching it that it looked rotoscoped but her proportions are so exaggerated that when I thought about it, it didn’t make sense
His work on The Rescuers and Sword in the Stone are some of my favorite Disney animation. It is so wacky and emotive, human yet absolutely insane. What an eye for detail, and such an unattractive yet captivating style both movies use. I was surprised to see that he does not hold credit for Cruella, as Madam Medusa reminds a lot of her. That car chase in 101 and Medusa`s ”boat ride” comes to mind.
If only CGI had never been invented and we could return to the beautiful, living drawings of skilled character animators who put their heart and soul into every frame.
This tidbit about some character being handled by one animator entirely reminded me of Sergio Pablos (director of Klaus), he handled the animation of Doctor Doppler in Treausre Planet, and you can immediatly see it in the animation of Jesper.
GOD, i ADORE these old animations that've been done frame by frame, flip by flip, so smoothly done and beautiful. I wasn't even born and I'm in love! I don't think there will EVER be enough of this old animation films. You can see the level of passion they received and love they've been given.
This type of loose-lined animation inspires me so much. I'm no good at clean line animation so most of the time when I animate for fun I do it in a sketchy style and never do a cleaner version. This style is so pleasing to me and I think I've definitely taken inspiration from it over the years, it was always my favourite as a kid too. Idk I just love how free and expressive it is. Don't get me wrong tho, I love looking at clean animation too! I just have a bias I think lmaoo
Great video! I can definitely see that the design/animation of Izma from Emperor's New Groove took some inspiration from her.
I could easily watch this for hours. Thanks for a brilliant critique and Medusa appreciation.
4:50 not all animated series were done on "ones" (single frames for everything), much of it was done on "twos", enabling holds and timing changes. In many cases animations were 12+ fps with the inclusion of ones for quick and very dynamic scenes.
Geraldine Page, who voiced Medusa, was the model Milt used. She was a great actress, a great plumber of emotional depths, a sublime comic actress with impeccable timing. he based his work on her. watch "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962).