Too Funny For Words

We believed they were real, and since we lived with them day after day, every facet of their personalities became so well defined that they would rebel if we tried to force them into an attitude or a bit of acting that was not consistent with their character.

All it took was the ability to observe and understand what was basically funny about it. That special knowledge insured that when the incident appeared as a gag in film sometime later, the audience always felt it was a familiar situation, something with which they could personally identify.

Any comic should have moments when he's clever so that he's not a stoop. It's not funny to make him an imbecile.

Play it straight. If you're mugging to the audience you lose the humor, if you are clumsy while earnestly trying to do something that's funnier.

Walt's philosophy of good and evil, compassion for the little guy, shyness, morality, courage, and determination struck a very popular chord wherever his pictures where shown. Walt wanted his villains to be threatening but intersting. He much preferred that they be vanquished through some clever trick, smart move, or even something that made them look ridiculous. He never made films solely for children, believing that we should use only material that was funny to everybody.

Pathos is the very heart of comedy. In 1934, The Flying Mouse caused real concern in the audience because of the hero's poignant predicament. Producing convincing pathos combined with comic relief that stemmed from believable acting was golden with audiences. Pathos gives comedy the heart and warmth that keeps it from becoming brittle. As the animators found ways to portray humor through the inner feelings of the characters, the audiences became more involved with each new personality and more concerned with his welfare.

Audiences easily identify with universal childhood experiences, such as being ridiculed for how you look. When Elmer the elephant tries to get rid of his embarrassing trunk it wasn't just a gag, it was a relatable feeling of frustration. When he finally found how important his trunk was in saving the life of his girlfriend, the audience laughed and savored every warm moment with him.

The early shorts seldom had a script, since they were essentially the development of a single idea: Minnie kidnapped by Peg Leg Pete and Mickey coming to her rescue; a picnic in the country broken up by ants, mosquitoes, or a storm: Pluto falling in love with a sophisticated Show dog. As they worked to add more gags and build situations, a general structure of beginning, middle, and end began to evolve.

After a long period of quiet staring at the boards that are okay, but not good enough, Walt would choose 3 sketches from the hundreds on the board, and begin to build them into a new and entertaining continuity. The continuity of the film meant nothing if the individual sequences were not entertaining.

Richpersonalities always have a rich potential for sustained, memorable situations, and Walt insisted we should always "go with the thing that's coming off." If it is funny, stay with it, add more gags, stretch out the humor, squeeze every last ounce of entertainment out of the predicament before leaving it. Continuous building on a basic predicament with an established character became the sole story line of many of the most successful shorts. The Pointer was around the single idea that a good hunting dog "whatever happens, don't move"

Flippant dialogue will not get a laugh from any character unless he has been established as having a strong, clear, appealing personality. He can be sour, critical, or even a villain, but the audience must know who and what he is.

An inappropriate addition of any kind could spoil an interesting situation. The trouble with King Midas was that we were obviously trying to be funny instead of letting the characters be themselves in the most interesting manner. It is often difficult to recognize whether a gag is really appropriate to either a character or a situation. It is never easy to think of a gag, and when a good one has suddenly been found there is a strong temptation to use it at once, without regard to how it might affect that part of the picture.

There are several ways a gag can be inappropriate. It might be something a certain personality should never do, or it might slow the prgress of the story by being too long or overdeveloped. It also could be misleading or confusing, or even repulsive to certain segments of the audience.

We had a story that called for a big dog who always made a mess of things. Many dogs would fit this description, whether appealing or ugly, stupid or bright, etc, they would all fit the script, but they would not be equally funny doing the same things. Special gags would have to be written for each to find the humor inherent in the different types.

Donald is a hothead and is going to get mad if things go wrong: Plot is curious and this is going to lead him into trouble. The humor for both comes from predictable persnality reactions in funny story situations. Both Donald and Pluto only dig themselves in deeper by their actions.

People relieved their own frustrations through Donald, particularly enjoying the fact that he was funniest when he had created his own problems. The mere fact of a character's being quick to anger is not funny in itslef. Walt and his crew had to be sure that Donald started each day expecting things to go well, and that he showed his belligerence only after something had been done to him, to which he had made the wrong response.

It's funny because it's true. People laugh (are entertained) in recognition of feeling similarly to how the character feels.

The character did not have to make a funny face when his sincere reaction to a situation was so strongly communicated. However, it was not funny unless the dog was thinking and trying to figure htings out and letting the audience see his problems as he saw them.

They also had to feel that the figures they were drawing really existed and had sensitive feelings and that an audience woudl enjoy knowing about them. When the scenes came from the heart, they had an implied realism that went beyond the rules and practice of ordinary animation. There was often more humor in the entertaining relationships among the characters than in the actual gags, but such scenes can be just as enjoyable and possibly remembered longer than the "gut" reaction to broader comedy. (believe completely in the characters, they are not a model you are pushing around, they are a person you know and understand revealing what they want to do to you 1 frame at a time)

The humor in the situation (meatball scene: Lady and the Tramp) was found when convincing actions started bringing the scenes to life. (In other words the character's reacting true to character, just like we would react in a similar situation)