Good Bye Snow White's Scary Adventures

According to the Orlando Sentinel, today is the last day of Snow White's Scary Adventure in Walt Disney World.  So farewell!

 

 

They Made the Magic: Richard Creedon

Happy birthday to writer on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Richard Creedon born in 1890.

They Made the Magic: Albert Hurter

Albert Hurter was born May 11, 1883 in Zurich.  He studied architecture and then later moved to Berlin to study art.  In1912, after his father's death, he spent four years in New York and Paris eventually getting a job in 1916 s an animator with Barre-Bowers Studios where he worked on Mutt and Jeff.  He spent some time in Mexico and eventually come to Southern California working as a draftsman.  It was in 1931, at the age of 48, when he joined te Disney Studios working on characters, gags, settings, and storyboards.  He was assigned to Ted Sears story department along with Pinto Colvig and Webb Smith.  His sketches were imaginative with strange animals, scenery and costumes.  Hurter became the studio's first inspirational artist.
Hurter was some of the first artists assigned to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Hurter drew characters and backgrounds.  Hurter was considered an authority on the look of Snow white.  He sketched the scene of Snow White surrounded by the dwarfs in the glass coffin that brought celebration to tears during the premiere, his sketches suggested the dwarfs riding the deer to warn Snow White, and tying Sneezy's beard around his nose to stop the sneeze.  Hurtuer was one of the three artists that brought the European flair to the film (Tenggren and Hovarth being the other two).
He went on to work on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, The Reluctant Dragon, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp.  He died in 1942 and in 1948 Walt Disney had Simon and Schuster publish a collection of Hurter's work called He Drew as He Pleased.

Disney Movie Rewards

Disney Movie Rewards has released a new exclusive reward.  A Snow White inspired apron.  Redeemable for 1,000 points.

They Made the Magic: Roy Atwell

Roy Atwell was born May 2, 1878.  He worked in vaudeville, appeared in 20 Broadway productions, stared in silent short films, and a few when sound came about.  He was well known on the radio singing and writing songs.  He provided the voice of Doc for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Some of Doc's well known traits are based off of Atwell's act in vaudeville; spoonerisms (swapping first syllables of words) and malaprops (mispronouncing words so they have a different meaning).  Atwell passed away in 1962.

They Made the Magic: Maurice Noble

Maurice Noble was born May 1, 1910.  He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California and began a career in advertising (designed the Red Door for Elizabeth Arden) but went to work for Disney in the 1930's.  He was hired as someone who could handle the watercolor renderings for the backgrounds and the first job they gave him was painting an apple with a wormhole in it.  He worked on a variety of the Silly Symphonies.  He went on to work on Snow White and also worked on Bambi, the Rite of Spring sequence of Fantasia and Dumbo (as color coordinator).  During the time working on Snow White Noble relates:
"I had a room that was sort of cater-corner over from Walt's and he could look over in my window and I could look in his window.  I was working on the final sequence when the Prince awakens Snow White, and I'd be there sometimes to eight, nine, ten, eleven o,clock at night." Walt's People Volume 5
Noble was one of the artists who left Disney Studios during the strike.  During World War II, Noble worked with Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and Chuck Jones in Frank Capra's US Army Signal Corps unit.  After the war, Noble joined Jones and they worked together for more than 50 years.
Noble passed away May 18, 2001.  For a more detailed look at Noble check out this article from Animation World Magazine.

They Made the Magic: Fred Spencer

Fred Spencer was born May 1, 1904.  He joined Disney in 1931 and worked on Mickey Mouse shorts, eventually working on a Mickey Mouse Comic.  In 1934 Spencer focused on Donald and a year later complied an analysis of Donald to be used for other animators including model sheets and notes about personalty.  

Spencer worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, notably animating the scene of Dopey trying to catch the soap.  

He worked on several other shorts but Spencer died November 11 1938 in a car accident.