2. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 49 Frequently, entertaining scenes are deleted from films due to the disruption they would cause to the story’s continuity. One five-minute scene deleted from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was a musical number on the merits of soup slurping. Another deleted five- minute scene involved the dwarfs and the forest creatures making a bed for Snow White. While both scenes developed the personalities and relationships of the characters, they were deemed too distracting to the central plotline.

3. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 50 Extended explanations by a narrator or by characters can seriously damage the flow of an animated film. E.B. White had wanted 1973’s “Charlotte Web” to merely be an illustrated narration of his book, and was disappointed by what he considered the watering down of the story. The 2006 version curtailed Charlotte’s explanations, and injected bathroom humor and sarcasm instead.

4. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 51 Can animation drive the story? Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” The history of Earth, from the formation of the planet through the extinction of the dinosaurs. Ballet representing the times of the day, from morning (ostriches), through afternoon (hippos), to evening (elephants), and night (alligators). Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony” Mythological characters gather for a festival to honor Bacchus, interrupted by lightning bolts from Zeus. Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” A demon summons restless souls from their graves until driven away by the sound of church bells. What were the stories of these animated sequences from “Fantasia”?

5. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 52 True or False: “Main characters need story arcs; supporting characters get by on the strength of their personalities.”

6. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 53 A central theme in animated films is the portrayal of a character’s personality developing as the story progresses. How do these characters develop as their stories progress?

7. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fourteen: Story 54 Animated films don’t fare as well when it’s hard to see why they weren’t live action... “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” “The Black Cauldron” “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” “Treasure Planet” “The Emperor’s New Groove”

8. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fifteen: Character Development 55 To maintain audience interest and attention, characters must have personalities to which the audience can relate. Daisy Duck Donald Duck Professor Ludwig Von Drake Scrooge McDuck Huey, Dewey, and Louie What adjectives describe each of these characters?

9. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fifteen: Character Development 56 What similarities and differences are there between these four Disney ape characters? Besides stories and settings, are there other reasons for making them apes?

10. The Illusion of Life Chapter Fifteen: Character Development 57 Clothing provides an additional means by which the personality of a character may be exhibited.

11. The Illusion of Life Chapter Sixteen: Animating Expressions and Dialogue 58 The facial expressions of an animated character are rarely subtle, since the mood and attitude of the character needs to be immediately apparent to the audience. What moods are being expressed by the chameleon in each of these images?

12. The Illusion of Life Chapter Sixteen: Animating Expressions and Dialogue 59 The character moods being expressed in the face must be fortified via the positioning of various other body parts. Observe how Bugs Bunny’s ears serve as an exclamation mark, emphasizing his current mood and attitude.

13. The Illusion of Life Chapter Sixteen: Animating Expressions and Dialogue 60 Artistically, a character’s eyes are considered “the window to the soul”, providing the most prominent visual cue regarding the character’s emotions. Why do cartoon bears have eyebrows?

14. The Illusion of Life Chapter Sixteen: Animating Expressions and Dialogue 61 Shaping the mouth of an animated character to correspond to what the character is saying does not have to be precise, but a little effort for the more obvious sounds tends to pay off. What sound is the character making in each image? “AY!”“EE!” “OH!” “LA!”“WUH!”

15. The Illusion of Life Chapter Seventeen: Acting and Emotions 62 Having animated characters express extreme emotional responses to story circumstances provides a means for the audience to stay connected to the film.

16. The Illusion of Life Chapter Seventeen: Acting and Emotions 63 Lighting, shadowing, staging, and camera angles may evoke emotional reactions from an audience, when placed strategically within an animated film.

17. The Illusion of Life Chapter Eighteen: Other Types of Animation - and the Future 64 Efforts to employ a less traditional, more stylized approach to animation have met with mixed success. While the “Greek vase” style used in “Hercules” was unpopular with many, the use of CGI for the hydra scene was considered a success.