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Artist gives 6 of Disney's most beloved characters a modern twist  to explain today's world

"I thought transporting them to our modern world could help us see it through new eyes."

via Tom Ward / Instagram

Classic Disney characters reimagined for modern times

Artist Tom Ward has used his incredible illustration techniques to give us some new perspective on modern life through popular Disney characters. "Disney characters are so iconic that I thought transporting them to our modern world could help us see it through new eyes," he told The Metro.

Tom says he wanted to bring to life "the times we live in and communicate topical issues in a relatable way."

In Ward's "Alt Disney" series, Prince Charming and Pinocchio have fallen victim to smart phone addiction. Ariel is living in a polluted ocean, and Simba and Baloo have been abused by humans.

Not all the news is bad though. LeFou form "Beauty and the Beast" has finally come out of the closet and his crush, Gaston, appears to be pretty accepting of the revelation.

Although, was it really such a shock?

Ward believes that his illustration of Artur from "Sword and the Stone makes" a particularly strong point. "I also think the message of Arthur from The Sword in the Stone sitting on his phone has some resonance today," he said. "He's too engrossed in his phone to experience other opportunities and realize his true potential in life."

You can see more of Ward's work on Instagram.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

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Family

Heartwarming comics break down complex parenting issues with ease

Lunarbaboon comics tackle huge, important subjects with an effective, lighthearted touch that you can't help but smile at.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

Writing comics helped a father struggling with anxiety and depression.

Christopher Grady, a father and teacher from Toronto, was struggling with anxiety and depression. That's when he started drawing.

He describes his early cartoons and illustrations as a journal where he'd chronicle everyday moments from his life as a husband, elementary school teacher, and father to two kids.

"I needed a positive place to focus all my thoughts and found that when I was making comics I felt a little bit better," he says.

He began putting a few of his comics online, not expecting much of a response. But he quickly learned that people were connecting with his work in a deep way.

The comics series called Lunarbaboon was born, and the response to the first few was so powerful that Grady was inspired do more with his comics than just document his own experience.

"I began getting messages from many people about how they connected to the comics and it gave them hope and strength as they went through their own dark times," he says.

"When they look back…they probably won't remember what was said…or where you were when you said it. They may not remember any details of your time together. But they will remember that you were there…and that's what matters most."

"Usually the circle of people we can support, help, influence is limited to our families, friends, coworkers, random stranger at the bus stop, but with my comic I suddenly found my circle of power was much much larger," Grady explains. "I guess I decided to use this power for good."

Grady continued to draw, making a point to infuse the panels with his own special brand of positivity.

"Kids are always watching adults and they look to the adults as role models," he says. "I try to show (my kids and students) that even with all my flaws and weaknesses I am still a good person and I can still make a positive change in the world."

Lunarbaboon comics tackle huge, important subjects with an effective, lighthearted touch that you can't help but smile at.

Check out Grady's take on teaching his son about consent. (All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission.)

consent, relationship advice, father son advice, family

A comic about listening and respecting your partner.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

Here's one about parents being supportive of a gay son or daughter.

sexual orientation, parenting gay children, positive messages, gender orientation

Parents being supportive of their gay son.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

On raising girls in a patriarchal world.

adulting, education, medical field, dreams

Comic encourages girls to chase all their dreams.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

And here's a sweet one about appreciating the heck out of his wife.

motherhood, moms, childbirth, family

Mom one ups dad easily.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

Big topics. Important issues. Grady tackles them with humility and ease.

As Lunarbaboon has continued to grow, Grady says the messages of support he gets have become increasingly powerful.

He certainly doesn't claim to have all the answers to all the complexities of parenting, but he does say that "people like knowing they aren't alone in life's daily struggles. Most people who contact me just want to say thank you for putting something positive into the world."

Grady doesn't expect his Lunarbaboon comics to fix rape culture or end bigotry. He just hopes his message of love, inclusion, and positivity continues to spread.

inclusion, gender roles, social anxiety, happy

Teaching children to accept what might be different.

All images by Christopher Grady/Lunarbaboon, used with permission

"My hope is that for the short time people read it they smile and feel good," he says. "Then I hope they take that good feeling and smile into the world and make it slightly brighter."

You can check out even more of Grady's awesome work over on his website or in his newly published book.


This article was originally published on 11.30.17

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Television

Incredible video shows the genius that went into creating sounds for old-school cartoons

I'll never watch 'Snow White' the same way again.

en.wikipedia.org

Sound effects sound much different today than when we were kids.

I remember as a kid thinking I knew everything there was to know about how sound effects were made because I watched some guy on PBS show how to make the sound of thunder with sheet metal. Obviously, you needed more than one piece of sheet metal to make all the different sound effects and calamity in those old cartoons, but the gist of it was the sounds were made with imagination and by human operators.

Today, the sounds found in cartoons and movies are different. They're not necessarily worse, but they're certainly different to the created-for-the-moment sounds of yesteryear.

A rediscovered video demonstrates exactly how the sounds of old Disney movies were made and it's truly fascinating. The video is presented side by side, showing the elaborate setups that made the sounds next to the parts in the cartoon they coincided with. Interestingly, many of the sounds you hear in today's animated movies are created similarly to the way they were made back in the day, so why do they sound so different?

The sound effects you hear in animated movies now are enhanced using better quality recording devices and also by additional layers that are added by the sound editors as well as digital effects that alter the sound, making it sound more rounded and complete. Foley artists are in charge of creating and recording the sound effects, and they're made one at a time and then layered on top of each other in a process that is similar but different than the old-school ways.

Sound effects back in the day relied solely on the people who made the sounds. There weren't computers to layer additional noises to fill it out, yet they made it work. Check out the fascinating side-by-side video below.

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disney
Innovation

Someone realized these scenes from different Disney movies are identical and you can't unsee it

@fred035schultz/Twitter

Have you ever been watching a Disney movie and had a bit of deja vu? Not just that "Oh, this movie has that familiar Disney look and feel" feeling, but more like, "I swear I've literally seen this exact scene before in another movie"?

If you've watched a lot of Disney films, you actually have seen the same scenes repeated in different movies. People have been pointing out parallel sequences on social media and it's got some folks super freaked out.

Check it out:

Watching that "Jungle Book" and "Winnie the Pooh" sequence, there's no denying it's exactly the same animation template, just with different backgrounds and characters. But how? And why?

Disney has actually been recycling its animation for various movie scenes since it created Dumbo in 1941. Floyd Norman, a veteran Disney animator who has worked on Disney films as far back as Sleeping Beauty in 1959 and as recently as Mulan and Toy Story 2, weighed in on the reason for reusing animation sequences, saying:

"It was done probably to save time, save money. Although I don't think it saved much time and I don't think it saved much money because it was much more of a hassle to go dig this old footage out of the archive. It would've been easier to just sit down and animate a new scene than to go back and try to retrofit all this old stuff to something new. We're looking back to the 1960s and 70s when people weren't thinking how films would change, how media would change, and how people would be able to look at these various films and compare one film against another."

This video by Cartoon Hangovers shares various recycled Disney scenes and explains why they were reused, showing how it all began with animators tracing over live footage of real actors to create more realistic animation in Disney's first full-length feature film, "Snow White."

Every Recycled Disney Shot & Why - Snow White, Frozen, Toy Story, Moana and More - Cartoon Hangoveryoutu.be

Despite the eventual mega-success of the Disney empire, the company's beginnings were not so rosy. "Snow White" was a surprise box office hit, but follow-up films "Pinocchio," "Bambi," and "Fantasia" went way over budget and were considered losses for the studio. "Dumbo" was a success, but then WWII hit. That's when Disney really got started with resuing animation.

The main reason was purportedly to save time and money. According to Floyd Norman, Walt Disney himself probably never even knew or noticed that animators were recycling scenes. He was focused more on the big picture and not so concerned with the technical processes of the animators.

The practice of reusing scenes continued, with "The Sword in the Stone" and "The Jungle Book" in particular snagging lots of scenes from previous Disney projects. But there are lots of well-known examples, including "The Aristocats" reusing scenes from "101 Dalmations," and "Robin Hood" stealing scenes—and even parallel characters—from "The Jungle Book" (Ever notice how similar Little John and Baloo are?) and other Disney films.

These Disney films from the 60s, 70s, and 80s can trace their recycled animation primarily back to one director–Woolie Reitherman. He's not the only one to utilize the reuse of animation, but he's best known for it. He basically didn't see a reason to reinvent the wheel.

However, the practice didn't necessarily save time or money. Floyd Norman has pointed out that it's a lot of work to go through old footage, find what you want, and remake it into a new animation. In some ways, it would be easier just to animate from scratch.

Even newer Disney movies have reused scenes, though more often not, those serve as an homage to the original films that made the newer films possible. Such is the case with the dancing scene at the end of "Beauty and the Beast," which mirrors the one at the end of "Sleeping Beauty."

So no, it's not your imagination—there is no shortage of Disney scenes that are repeated in different Disney films. No one is complaining, of course, with Disney having made dozens of beloved productions enjoyed by billions of people. Perhaps recycling scenes is even part of what gives us a sense of familiarity when we watch a Disney movie.

At the end of the day, animators are magicians. Whatever tools they use to make the magic happen, so be it.

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