How many drawings in a storyboarded sequence? Well, here’s one. Sequence, that is. At the end of “Lilo & Stitch,” we were cataloging and packing up our story drawings. We got to talking about how thick the piles were. Eventually someone suggested we take a picture of the drawings for one sequence. We used the floor of a large open meeting room in the Florida studio, and brought in a scissor lift as a platform for the photographer. Then we spread out the drawings. We were all surprised just how large an area they covered. Bela Temesvary shot the picture. Then he suggested I sit in the middle of them for posterity.

Now, if you’re still reading, bear in mind that this is not just one sequence from the film, but one VERSION of one sequence. Sharp-eyed observers will note that this is the obsolete chase sequence that featured a 747. That version was dropped after September 11. So this entire thing wasn’t used. Nor is this the first version of this sequence – I boarded it at least once before this. So this is probably version 2. I boarded it again from scratch at least one more time after this one was scrapped.

It’s important when talking about a traditionally animated film to clarify that these are not animation drawings, as some people have mistakenly assumed. I’m not an animator; I work in story. So these drawings were for story pitches and the story reel.

Most people board on Cintiq now, but I still do it on paper. It’s nice to have original drawings to sit on at the end.

#chrissanders #liloandstitch #disney #animation #storyboarding #tbt