Darrell Rooney Interview

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".