Once upon a time, veteran Disney artists Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston whistled while they worked, helping to craft a masterwork of animation.
Around the world, belligerents were arming to the teeth while America tossed in the throes of the Great Depression. In 1936, the vision of one man was about to make history as he prepared to launch an army of a different kind on an artistic journey into the unknown. The stakes were high when Walt Disney put the very existence of his cartoon studio on the table as he began production on the first feature-length cartoon: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Sitting in ringside seats for the main event were a couple of 24-year-old artists, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, nervously awaiting the opening bell. Today, Thomas and Johnston are noted as two of the fabled Nine Old Men of the Disney Studio who presided over the creation of some of the world's most famous films. So great is the artistry and timeless storytelling inherent in such Disney classics as Snow White and Pinocchio that they are the only products of Hollywood's Golden Age that still have a viable theatrical life 50 years later.
Following their retirement from the rigors of the studio's animation department, Thomas and Johnston collaborated on a massive volume detailing the art of animation at the studio, entitled Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. This year marks two milestones for the men, the Golden Anniversary of the masterful Snow White and the publication of their second joint effort, Too Funny For Words: Disney's Greatest Sight Gags. Thomas and Johnston are a likable, funny team who enjoy talking about the world they inhabited for more than 50 years — the world of animation at the most famous cartoon studio in the world.
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