I celebrated my newly-clean closet by actually watching the Gargoyles 10th Anniversay DVD I purchased...oh...9 months ago. Only had time to keep myelf awake listening to the commentary, though. fps readers know how much Greg Weisman and Keith David rave about the show, but I was hoping that co-producer Frank Paur would have more to offer about the overseas animation process. 100 minutes later, all I know is:

-Disney's Tokyo studios handled the animation for the 5-part pilot (yet we don't know how much footage came back from the "Additonal Production Facilities" listed in the credits.

-A shot in Part 3 with Demona hiding in the shadows of Xanatos' castle was a flub on the part of the animators. Frank admits that she was supposed to be completely obscured, but the aniamtors ran out to time to do the retake.

-There were arguments not only between Greg and Frank over the show, but between Frank and the Japanese animators. Context: unknown. Greg does reveal that the Japanese animators had something to prove to Disney. "Coming off of Ghost in the Shell and Akira," Frank notes, these animators jumped at the chance to do an action drama for the snuggly soft Disney studios. "This is manga to them."

-The animators loved how the gargoyles cloak themselves with their wings. It saved the trouble of animating them with their wings flapping about all of the time.

-The animators hated having the gargoyles run on all fours. Too complex.

-The gun (pea shooter) pointed at Goliath during Part 3's conclusion becomes a big honkin' automatic weapon at the beginning of Part 4. Greg caught me sleeping on that flub. Apparent was decided that "we need a bigger gun". (To which Frank replied, "the guntoter was really happy to see Goliath".)

-Elisa is "hot", acording to Greg. And Keith David. And all of the 10-year-old boys (and boys at heart) watching.

Labels: anime, Disney

Comments: