Monday, February 18, 2013

Jungle Book Recording Session Break



There aren't many people I recognize in this casual setting. In the back is Milt Kahl, arms raised, in the center smiles Ollie Johnston, arms crossed, and I believe Ken Anderson sits on the right with his head half obscured by someone else. (Perhaps Floyd Norman can identify the rest.)
The boards show Anderson's designs for King Louie and Baloo, dressed in drag disguise. 
So the voice artists being recorded that day might have been Louis Prima and Phil Harris, who performed the Sherman brothers' song "I wanna be like you!", one of the highlights of the film.
It looks to me the location could be Sound Stage A or B on the Disney lot.
In later years I was present for many recording sessions there, which involved my characters.
Seems like we had better catering than what I see in the photo. Beside coffee there was never a shortage of fresh fruit, bagels, cookies and sandwiches.
And that was necessary, because those recording sessions could last for many hours.
For final dialogue directors and animators prefer to choose from a number of takes, to pick out the one that sounds just perfect.

Looking at this photo is like time travel, a moment during early production from a film that would change my life.

A closer look at some of Ken Anderson's character designs for this hilarious sequence.








More Jungle Book production art can be found in Pierre Lambert's wonderful coffee table book,
Le Livre de la Jungle: