Animation at Disney has come quite a long way since the early days of the black-and-white Steamboat Willie! Now, animators on films like Zootopia analyze the microscopic details of the creatures they create before animating them using specialized computer programs.
In Disney’s early days, though, animators didn’t have access to these advanced computer programs. Performers would act out the film, and animators would later trace over this live action footage frame by frame, which is known as rotoscoping. Just think about the time that went into that!
When creating Alice in Wonderland, Walt Disney made even more use out of this live action footage by using it for voiceover. Instead of using the recording booths that are commonplace today, they took the raw audio from the footage, right down to the clanking of utensils at the Mad Hatter’s tea party!
This video shows actors Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna acting out the Mad Hatter’s tea party, playing the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, respectively. It’s incredible to watch the side-by-side footage of the live action and the final film to see how this movie magic all came together.
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