1962

just found that very old german movie program I treasured for so many years, memories of how it all started.

disney released 101 DALMATIANS feb.1961. I saw it in summer 1962 when I was 13 years old, in a very small provincial movie theatre in southern germany. in those days, in germany, there was only one book about animation available, the art of walt disney. too expensive for my parents. I went nearly every day to the bookstore where it was displayed, got it finally many years later. there was nothing on TV, except some amateurish looking german tv-animation. no video yet, you could buy some short very expensive disney clips on 8mm. what really bothered me though, no other kid in my neighborhood had that same funny interest, animation. I thought I was an outsider because I wanted to see ‘kids’ – stuff in the movies and was drawing all the time.

anyway, coming back to 101 DALMATIANS, there was a display window outside that movietheatre next to the train station where I took the train ( still steam-engines, beautiful – and stinky ) to the close city, where my school was. every day, for the time they showed the film, I was in front of that window and copied on my schoolpaper the main characters shown on these beautiful black/white publicity photographs. a camera would have been easier, unfortunately nobody ever bought me one. at home I did ‘clean-up’ drawings of those rough sketches. still have’em. horrible. but that’s how it started. when I saw that film, I knew what I wanted to do later, when I was older. I had no idea where to start. the dream was more important.

much later I learned more about this film, about the artists who worked on it. and I was lucky to even get to know some of them. here is some of their work – KEN ANDERSON’S and DON GRIFFITH’S architectural sketches and floorplans, as well as WALT PEREGOY’S amazing color keys.

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