THE JUNGLE BOOK: Mowgli gets Twitterpated!

This amazing JUNGLE BOOK background immediately follows Mowgli's first glimpse of the fairer sex, which prompts Baloo's warning: "They ain't nuthin' but trouble!" Mowgli then winds his way through (across) the pan B/G for a better look. All the key JUNGLE BOOK elements are here: dangling vines, ferns, palm fronds, and the ubiquitous aquamarine color palette. Note the texture of the tree in the center, and the lovely contrast of the single tropical flower on its gnarled branch. Another B/G that is lavish without being overdone, filled with detail but with great taste and just enough restraint to not overpower the character animation.

CHIP 'n' DALE:Two Chips and A Miss

Here's a look at four wonderful backgrounds by an unsung Disney artist named Ray Huffine. The opening features a bird's-eye view of a Manhattanesque skyline. Second, the same skyline seen from a nearby park, with Chip 'n' Dale's penthouse at the top of the tree on the right. Third is the entrance to the Acorn Club, and finally, the interior of the nightclub. Floor show, anyone?

MARY POPPINS:Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Here are two versions of the background from the MARY POPPINS "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" song sequence. With the animated Pearlie Band digitally removed, we can savor the wonderful chalk drawing texture in both of these. While apparent in both, it is even more pronounced in the second. (That's Mary's carousel horse at the far left of the second B/G.)

THE JUNGLE BOOK:The Man Village

These backgrounds are from the scene where Mowgli first spots the little girl and the "man village." Included here is the initial long distance shot, and a secondary view (close-up) of the pathway.

SNOW WHITE: Dwarves' Cottage at Dusk

This pan background from SNOW WHITE appears as the animals flee from the cottage, on hearing the dwarves singing their arrival home from the mines. It was quite a job assembling this, as the animals scurry across the screen I had to retouch them out, one at a time, and there were a lot of the adorable little critters! Then there was the usual layering and color balancing.

The end result of two days work is re-creating a pan B/G that no one has seen in seventy years. Lovely, isn't it?

WARNER BROTHERS:The Road Runner and Coyote!

Here are some of the charming Warner Bros' backgrounds from the ROAD RUNNER AND COYOTE cartoons. They are wonderfully evocative in spite of their simplicity. I smile every time I look at these. How about you?

LADY AND THE TRAMP:Joe's Italian Kitchen

Here's a peek into the kitchen that served up the most romantic meatballs in animation history. With Tony and Joe popping into the doorway and their ensuing Italian serenade, we never got a clear view of the kitchen. Until now! It is nostalgic, isn't it?