Disney

MURPHY: Is part of that too that there were lots of people working on it? JOHNSTON: Yes, definitely. Back on Pinocchio there were four of us working on the character of Pinocchio. You were cast only on that character Walt thought you could do the best. After the war, the animation was divided by blocks … Read more

MURPHY: What was the first picture you worked on? JOHNSTON: “Pluto’s Judgement Day” or “Mickey’s Garden”. The first animation I did was on “Mickey’s Elephant”. I did a few sequences on “Snow White” but basically I worked as an assistant to Fred Moore. MURPHY: Did you work on “Fox and the Hound”? JOHNSTON: Yes, I … Read more

MURPHY: In your biography notes, special attention is given to how you could perceive a character or a story point and see it through. Any examples jump to mind where this happened? JOHNSTON: Well, Prince John in “Robin Hood”; Baloo in “Jungle Book”; the owl in “Sword in the Stone”; Mr. Since; Trusty and Scotty … Read more

MURPHY: And you do appreciate that! I can go back now and appreciate the finer qualities of a film I missed the first few times. John Tibbetts and I both agree that “Pinocchio” is probably the best of the Disney features. JOHNSTON: That’s because of all the hand-crafting. The economic factors forced a change from … Read more