Here's a great "character-walk", I think by Milt Kahl. Someone else says Eric Larson. I'll let the experts argue it out. I put "character-walk" in quotes because so many walks today are merely walks - just to get the character across the room. The classic animators knew that walks were a part of the entertainment.
In the early 30s, animators would animate goofy walks just for fun, not even thinking too much about character - and I'm all for that! Anything besides merely walking to get a character from here to there like we do today. By the mid 30s, the Fleischers had started animating according to who the characters were in the Popeye series. The walks were still funny, but fit the characters specifically. In the mid to late 30s, the west coast animators began experimenting with character walks too. At Disney's they were generally less concerned with the humorous aspects of it (or were just less funny people period). Warners managed to do character walks that were funny, stylish and specific all at the same time - the best of all worlds.
Tell the story with movement, not dialogue
This Brer Fox walk from 1946 is not wacky or funny, but it sure is great. Instead of him telling us with words how confident he is that he caught Brer Rabbit; his cocksure, slow shuffling walk with his hat over his eyes tells us visually exactly how he is feeling. I think some Disney animators are more comfortable acting in silence than when they are stuck with dialogue.
Tell the story with movement, not dialogue
This Brer Fox walk from 1946 is not wacky or funny, but it sure is great. Instead of him telling us with words how confident he is that he caught Brer Rabbit; his cocksure, slow shuffling walk with his hat over his eyes tells us visually exactly how he is feeling. I think some Disney animators are more comfortable acting in silence than when they are stuck with dialogue.
http://www.cartoonthrills.org/blog/Dis/46SongOfTheSouth/BFSHUFFLSML.mov
TIMED TO THE BEAT
I tried to number the keys, but my copy is at 29 frames per second, rather than 24 so I had to transfer it back to 24. In all this process the odd frame gets dropped and some get doubled, so I will be off by a frame or so here and there. It should be a 32x per step walk if I figured it right.
But if you watch the clip and whistle along with the music you can get a better idea of how the walk works. It's 4/4 timing at 8x per beat. On the first beat of each bar , Brer Fox kicks his foot out and up. Then he bounces in place, steps back down and then crosses his legs into the next step. Each action on the beat in this pattern:
1KICK, 2 Bounce 3 bounce and step (foot contacts ground), 4 step flat and cross legs into next kick
Repeat with other foot.
It's interesting that the whole scene is to this beat - even Fox's dialogue.
"HOW DO YOU DO" -each word on the beat
"he WISHin HE NEVer BEEN BORN"
They must have played the metronome for the actor so he would speak in 4/4 time at 8x per beat.
1 CONTACT RIGHT FOOTBut if you watch the clip and whistle along with the music you can get a better idea of how the walk works. It's 4/4 timing at 8x per beat. On the first beat of each bar , Brer Fox kicks his foot out and up. Then he bounces in place, steps back down and then crosses his legs into the next step. Each action on the beat in this pattern:
1KICK, 2 Bounce 3 bounce and step (foot contacts ground), 4 step flat and cross legs into next kick
Repeat with other foot.
It's interesting that the whole scene is to this beat - even Fox's dialogue.
"HOW DO YOU DO" -each word on the beat
"he WISHin HE NEVer BEEN BORN"
They must have played the metronome for the actor so he would speak in 4/4 time at 8x per beat.
4 RIGHT FOOT FLAT ON GROUND
12 MIDDLE POSITION. LEGS CROSSING- BODY LEANS FORWARD
15 FOOT STARTS INTO KICK - BODY STARTS LEANING BACK AGAIN
17 KICK LEFT FOOT OUT - RIGHT FOOT SLIDES FORWARD
18 KICK LEFT FOOT UP - CONT. SLIDE RIGHT FOOT FORWARD - LEAN BACK
23 - SQUASH DOWN FROM LAST POSE - SLOW SLIDE
27 - STRETCH UP INTO SETTLE FROM BOUNCE DOWN
30 CONTACT LEFT HEEL
33 LEFT FOOT FLAT ON GROUND
43 FOOT MIDDLE POSITION, CROSSING OTHER LEG - LEAN FORWARD
45 START KICK AND SLIDE
49 KICK UP AND SLIDE - LEAN BACK
53 SQUASH DOWN TAKE WEIGHT
57 SPRING BACK UP SETTLE
61 CONTACT RIGHT HEEL AGAIN
This post got me to thinking about why animation and cartoons began to steer off course in the late 1940s. I'll tell you my theory later.
