THE SWORD IN THE STONE: Merlin's Entrance at Mim's

Merlin makes a magical entrance in THE SWORD IN THE STONE through this doorway at Madam Mim's cottage. With the sparkly whirlwind, it's easy to miss the background within a BG, including a very spooky tree trunk reminiscent of the SNOW WHITE scary forest scene. Here, all the details appear together, unobstructed.

Disney's RATTLED BY RATS (1925)

Disney represents the pinnacle in sophisticated animation. It's easy to forget that the art form was completely re-invented by Disney artists during the decade prior to SNOW WHITE (1937).

These backgrounds are from Disney's RATTLED BY RATS (1925). It is downright amazing to think animation art this primitive paved the way for the studio's future brilliance.

But Walt was innovating even in his silent films, combining live action with animation, which ultimately led to classics like MARY POPPINS.

"The old Maestro" actually animated the first six Alice comedies himself. Their modest success allowed him to hire more artists.

I'm not sure exactly when Walt quit animating, but it's not impossible that Walt himself might have drawn one or more of these BGs!

JUNGLE BOOK: Lush Underbrush

From the JUNGLE BOOK scene where Mowgli searches for a better look at the little girl, here is the re-created pan background. Gorgeous! The lush tropical landscape is beautifully executed. Note: the three large leaves in the right foreground (which were effecively animated using the multiplane camera layers).

THE LEGEND OF COYOTE ROCK (1945)

One wonders if the Warner Brother's cartoon artists looked at Disney backgrounds like this, while doing pre-production design for the Road Runner cartoons...

THE SWORD IN THE STONE: The Village Inn

THE SWORD IN THE STONE: Castle Corridors

Chip and Dale: WORKING FOR PEANUTS (1953)

This shows how modern Disney could get in the 1950s. Very clean graphics... refreshing and stylistic.