Episode 129 - Disney: A Tale of Technology and Innovation (Live at the British Film Institute) (with Chris McKenna)

Once Upon A Time: A Disney Day.

The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!

Episode 129 sees Chris flying solo in this conversation recorded live at the recent Once Upon A Time: A Disney Day held at the British Film Institute in London back in July, which was part of the Making Magic: 100 Years of Disney two-month season that ran throughout 2023. Discussing the Disney studio’s longstanding relationship to technological innovation is returning special guest Chris McKenna, current Head of Creative Operations at the VFX studio Moving Picture Company, who featured on the earlier Dumbo (Tim Burton, 2019) episode of the podcast. In this discussion panel, Chris talks further about his work on several of Disney’s “live-action” remakes, including The Jungle Book (Jon Favreau, 2016), The Lion King (Jon Favreau, 2019), Lady and the Tramp (Charlie Bean, 2019), and the recent The Little Mermaid (Rob Marshall, 2023), where he worked as Head of Layout and Animation at MPC. The duo reflect on Chris’ own history and how he got involved with this latest cycle of Disney features; whether or not to use the original animated film as a reference point; and the many challenges of adapting the Mouse House’s beloved animated classics for new audiences. They also field questions from those gathered together in NFT1 on everything from digital creativity; the links between realism, reception, and the potential loss of ‘magic’; and the collective labour involved in producing blockbuster computer graphics for the latest Disney’s animation.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**

**As featured on Feedspot’s 25 Best London Education Podcasts**

Suggested Readings

  • Pallant, Chris. 2011. Demystifying Disney: A History of Disney Feature Animation. London: Bloomsbury.

  • Telotte, J.P. 2008. The Mouse Machine – Disney and Technology (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantWALT DISNEY, TECHNOLOGY, ANIMATION, HOLLYWOOD, STYLE, VISUAL EFFECTS