franco y ollie

What a rare gift: a longtime male friendship this genuine & kind. Whenever they tell a story, they have their own specific parts & lines, knowing where to jump in & finish each other's thoughts. It's also a decent telling of the behind-the-scenes story of Golden Age Disney, uniquely capturing the intricate art of character animation. A must for Disney fans, but any viewer will inevitably gain a new appreciation for the skilled art of animation...& fall in love with these dudes.

"Their friendship changed the face of animation." What is interesting is that these two were planning on anything but becoming animators much less becoming innovators in the profession. They met at Stanford as college students and took road trips to a distant college to do nudes because Stanford would not allow "such behavior" in their art department (imagine that today). Somewhere during these trips a lasting friendship was built between them. The "painted for dinner and played piano for beer" along the way on these trips and seem to have made many friends in the places they frequented as well. Their lack of fear, presence of love and capacity to laugh at themselves opened one door after another. I was amused time and again to see them model the characters they created. It was also quite interesting to see how they climbed inside of their characters and brought them to life. It was apparent to me that they enjoyed what they were doing and in-so-doing were blessed to be eternally youthful. I am hard pressed to think of another friendship that would allow two human beings to share so much without petty jealousy getting in the way. Their wives were incredibly understanding about the childlike ways and seemed to understand what a blessing their husbands were, not only to their family, but to the world in general. There is not a country on the face of this earth that has not seen one of their characters, I would suppose. I would also gather that they have touched many millions of young hearts over the years. A young heart, by the way, need not be in a young body. That was apparent in this film as well. I will never see Disneyland the same, because behind each of the characters that I see, I will imagine the facial expressions of these two men. I will remember that one got his best ideas while shaving and developed the ideas while walking on a worn path in his front yard. They did talk about artistic frustration brought on by the fact that they were so involved and connected to what they do. It was also interesting to note that their release from tension was also artistically motivated and expressed through music and model railroading. I thoroughly enjoyed this viewing and will never forget the wisdom chiseled into the faces and depth sparkling from the eyes of these two wonderful human beings.

The problem with documentaries is that, short of "The Sorrow and the Pity" and "Nanook of the North," most of them are only interesting if you have a fascination with the subject. Me, I'm into dinosaurs, flight, and movies. But I guess most of all I'm interested in animation, so "Frank and Ollie" is right up my alley, even though it could be argued that a movie like this (written, directed, and produced by Frank Thomas' son, Theodore) isn't really important or in any way art.

First of all, this isn't really a Disney picture, despite the fact that Disney released it--there is not the same tone of self-congratulatory propaganda (i.e. Disney is Great/Remember the Magic) that Disney-done documentaries such as the Making of Fantasia featurette from the Fantasia DVD (in which, other than the descriptions of the techniques, the only interesting thing actually said is that Leonard Maltin used to watch the Rite of Spring section in Science class) tend to have. This is evident in the first few minutes of the movie, when various nude drawings the animators drew in college are shown. This is as much a documentary on the two animators (as mundane as some of their details may be) as it is about Disney.

One of the most interesting things revealed by Frank and Ollie is how all the animators used to draw caricatures of each other to get their creative juices flowing (and to blow off steam).

Again, a movie like this is only interesting if you enjoy the subject. I don't like basketball, so I don't care for Hoop Dreams. But if you enjoy animation of any sort, "Frank and Ollie" might just suit you fine, too. 9/10.

'Frank and Ollie' is the touching story of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the original Disney animators. Lifelong friends and collaborators they tell the story of how their beginnings at Disney animation and the classic films they worked on together. Using archival footage, interviews with Frank and Ollie's respective wives and current Disney animators, the film brings to life the rich picture of the unique and enduring friendship of these talented animators.

A study of the personal and professional relationship of Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who started at the studio in the 1930s and worked together on 23 films.

Watching Disney documentaries and being enchanted with the tributes it has paid to the professionals behind great works, simultaneously watching Frank and Ollie (two more than fraternal friends, excellent designers) and the Sherman brothers (two musically talented brothers, but not They got along well and separated for years) wonderful masterpieces, well-deserved tributes, sincere, transparent, necessary and passionate works... A beautiful union that generated great successes.