In this interview, FT Podcasts producer David Campbell
chats with Darrell Rooney. Darrell has worked on a number of high-profile
productions including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tron and Hotel
Transylvania, and directed a number of animated Disney sequels including The
Lion King 2. Here, he looks back on his storied career.
DC: Darrell, you’re one of the most enduring animators
in the industry, with your body of work dating back to the late 1970’s. Was
working as an animator always the dream?
DR: I have been drawing since I was three years old.
My siblings and I would sit down together and draw. We had drawing games we
played together, and I would even draw my own animals because my Mom wouldn't
buy me a bag of toy animals one time. I also remember I could see Olive Oyl in
my imagination, so I kept telling my relatives I could draw her. I tried to but
couldn't. My hand to eye coordination had not developed yet.
DC: Your earliest credit is as an assistant animator
on Animalympics, forty years ago. Tell us about your training as an
animator, and do you remember working on this film?
DR: I graduated from Sheridan College's Classical
Animation Program in 1978 with High Honours. We learned all phases of production
at Sheridan, so I knew how to fill out an exposure sheet, how to time an action
with a timing chart, how to animate, do layouts and even paint cells when I
graduated. I remember Lisberger Studios and Animalympics very well. I
was Roger Allers' assistant animator for the production and we have remained
friends ever since.
DC: Your first encounter with the Walt Disney Company
was working on Tron as an effect’s animator, a film that really changed
the game when it comes to computer generated animation. What was the experience
like working on that film? Did you have any idea at the time it would go on to
be considered one of the most ground-breaking works in Hollywood history when
it comes to special effects?
DR: While I was working at Lisberger's on Animalympics,
Steve Lisberger was developing Tron. I actually modelled for Flynn in
some concept art and photography for the film. When Steve took the project over
to Disney, I eventually followed and joined the Special Effects Animation Team
there. My invisible claim to fame is that I added all the light sources in each
scene inside the Computer World. The kodalith frames appeared too flat when
shot a second time with EFX animation added, so a light source was added to
each scene. I was very good at it. So good that it is imperceptible. Tron
was so much fun to work on because we were on the Disney lot. That was a dream
come true for me. I had wanted to work at Disney for as long as I can remember.
I got to know everyone there. Tron was so ground-breaking; we certainly
knew it was a very special film at the time. But, spoiler alert: there was as
much traditional hand drawn EFX animation as there was computer generated
animation in the film. Tron is really a hybrid film.
DC: You are also credited on two of Disney’s biggest
films of the early 1990’s: as a pre-production script developer on Beauty
and the Beast and as a writer on Aladdin. I was wondering if you
could shed some light on your involvement in both of those films, and did you
know at the time that you were in the middle of what many people have come to
dub the Disney Renaissance?
DR: Beauty and the Beast was so invigorating to
work. How did I get hired to develop it? The golden boy of the moment at Disney
was director Jerry Rees, and he recommended me. So, they hired me. I had free
reign to develop the characters and plotline as I saw fit. There was a script
that existed, and they weren't happy with it. I just knew what to do to tap it
over into classic Disney storytelling. First thing I did was change the name of
the lead character. In the script her name was "Beauty". No character
would be comfortable saying that on screen, it would just be awkward. So, I
changed her name to "Belle". It means beauty in French, so it was a
natural. I brought in my writing partner Rebecca Rees and we invented Gaston Dr
Gauche as the villain. We got the Beauty and the Beast characters and
storyline developed to a certain point where it was ready to go to script. But
the studio did not want to allow us to write the screenplay. Instead they
brought in someone of meagre talent to do the assignment.
Aladdin... I still don't
know why I have a writing credit on this film since they wouldn't give me that
credit on Beauty and the Beast. I had much more input and impact on that
film than Aladdin. The film's main problem during the boarding phase was
that the character of Aladdin wanted two things; he wanted to make his mother
proud of him and he wanted the girl. And in a Disney animated feature the girl
is always a princess. It confused Aladdin's goal. It divided his goal and made
it hard to grasp his need. What was necessary was to pick one of those goals
and toss the other. All the development story artists kept butting their heads
against this problem while boarding out their sequences. We just knew we had to
lose the mother in the storyline. He had to get the girl. That was the movie.
But the directors (who I absolutely love) were in a quandary because songwriter
Howard Ashman had written a beautiful song "Proud of Your Boy" that
he really wanted in the film.
We all knew were in the beginning of the Second Golden
Age of Animation. It had started with the success of The Little Mermaid
and just kept growing. We were all enthralled to be getting our chance to
shine. There was a momentum in the air, and it was an exhilarating time to be
in animation.
DC: You made your directorial debut on the 1997 Disney
short The Three Little Pigs: what was it like sitting in the director’s
chair for the first time in your career?
DR: I loved becoming a director. It uses every skill
set you have so I found it immensely satisfying. I couldn't wait to get to work
every day. Isn't that remarkable. It also pointed out my areas of less skill.
Like discussing music, and music cues. I always struggle with that. It doesn't
come effortlessly to me like the visual side does.
DC: I really need to ask you about what was easily my
favourite film when I was a child, and that is The Lion King 2. When was
it that you were first approached to helm this project, and what made you say
yes to it? It must have been quite an intimating task considering the
monumental success of The Lion King.
DR: I had originally signed on to direct Lady and
the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure and was thrilled with the idea of telling
the next chapter in the story of these characters I loved so much. I felt like
I really understood how to protect the integrity of the original film and its
franchise. I guess I did a good job because Disney asked me to come in and help
on The Lion King 2. It wasn't coming together. So, I looked at it, read
the script, and talked to everyone involved to understand what the goal of the
film was. I realized that "Simba's Pride" was actually his shadow
side - the residual effect of the trauma of his childhood loss unconsciously
controlling his adult life. I wanted Pride Rock flipped to the other side to
subtly represent that. That was the key to it all for me, and probably the
thing I am most proud of about the film. It is the spine that the rest of the
movie hangs on. The studio agreed with my approach wholeheartedly. Once I was
involved, I became very passionate about the film, so the studio decided to
push back the schedule on Lady and the Tramp 2 until I finished The Lion
King 2. It was a thrill to work on and the hardest thing I ever did. But I
just knew what to do to make it unique and intelligent. I've always thought it
was a great companion piece to the first film.
DC: What are you most proud of about that film, and
conversely is there anything that you would go back and do differently on it if
you had the chance?
DR: I've already said what I'm most proud of about The
Lion King 2 - finding the visual metaphor to represent Simba's shadow side.
The thing I was most frustrated by were the studio production restrictions of
the division I worked in. Sequels were not done at feature animation then. They
were done at Disney Toon Studios, where TV animation was, and budgets were
managed like a TV schedule. The worst thing was that I was only allowed 10%
retakes on all the animation for the entire film. It was truly frustrating, and
I was often very disappointed in the final results of certain scenes. For that
reason, I don't enjoy watching the film at all. I see how it could be better in
almost all scenes. I did the best I could under the restrictions of the division,
but I never thought it served the franchise as well as it could have and should
have. I'm glad it has fans though.
DC: Two quick fire questions: favourite character and
favourite song from The Lion King 2?
DR: Zira. And I adored Suzanne Pleshette. She
delivered everything I expected she would. I love all the songs in the film,
but I do have a special place in my heart for Zira's villainous
"want" song called "My Lullaby". The reason is because it
comes closest to being realized on screen as I had imagined it in concept.
DC: You went on to direct Lady and the Tramp 2:
Scamp’s Adventure and Mulan 2 for Disney. What was it that kept you
coming back to continue these stories for the company?
DR: What kept me coming back was that I loved what I
was doing. I was thrilled to be directing at Disney. I was living the dream. It
was a sensational time. I always thought there was a logical second story to
tell with these amazing Disney animated features.
DC: We’re entering the era of Disney + now and the
company needs content Darrell: if asked, what sequel would you want to go and
direct nowadays for Disney?
DR: I would have wanted to do the live action Lady
and Tramp. I thought it was not "on brand". I could have made it
like a live action version of the original film in tone and look. But they
didn't ask me. Having said that, wouldn't it be fun to do something with Peter
Pan.
DC: You’ve been a storyboard artist on all instalments
of the Hotel Transylvania series: for those that don’t know what exactly
is the role of the storyboard artist, and what has you experience been like
working on this franchise.
DR: The role of a storyboard artist is to be sort of a
mini director. Your job is to take a scripted scene and visualize it for the
director. It’s kind of like a comic strip, the difference though, is that you
define the acting, the visual gags, the camera set ups and moves, and where the
cuts are. Then the director adjusts to his liking because your job is to help
the director visualize the movie he is in charge of. It’s their movie, you are
there to help.
I love the Hotel Transylvania films. Each film
has something special about them. The second one was very difficult to work on
because Sony had Adam Sandler's Production Company producing the film. They did
not see eye to eye with the visionary director Genndy Tartakovsky, so they
installed their own "assistant directors" on the film to watch his
every move. It was a very unpleasant work experience. The third film was a
dream to work on. Genndy did not have to deal with Adam Sandler's production
company on this one. The result was he had full expansive reign on the film.
The result is evident in the finished film. It is easily the most inventive of
the three films.
News flash by the way: Hotel Transylvania 4 is
in development right now in 2020. It is going to be sensational. The idea is
fresh and brilliant. It could easily stand alone as its own film. It is going
to be a very, very special film.
DC: What does the future hold for Darrell Rooney: any
projects you could tell us about just now?
DR: I have a project of my own I have been developing
for the last few years. It's an animated feature called Watchdogs: Dog
versus Squirrel. I have generated a ton of artwork for it and have only
just started pitching it around town. I also love Old Hollywood history and
co-wrote a book on MGM movie star Jean Harlow called “Harlow in Hollywood"
a few years ago. I have it in the back of my head to write a prequel to it
called "Harlow Before Hollywood".