Pencil tests

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Pencil tests have always been a crucial part of the process when creating animated movies. Unfortunately, studios have not always done a great job preserving either the footage itself or the original pencil drawings made on paper. Today, these are highly sought after — partly because they represent a valuable heritage worth preserving, and also because they sometimes include scenes that were cut from the final film or were simply tests.

They also represent a form of minimalism, as they consist solely of raw pencil lines without coloring or other elements. These drawings come directly from the animators’ hands, without having gone through cleanup by others before being filmed. Originally, these drawings were photographed onto film.

But after films like Robin Hood and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (which was made up of previously produced shorts), the industry stopped using photographic film for pencil tests. Starting in 1976, Disney and later other studios began using a device called the Lyon Lamb machine — a videotape recorder used for pencil tests. This sped up animation production considerably, as results could be viewed immediately (https://flipanimation.blogspot.com/2015 ... -lyon.html). Disney later developed its own videotape machine called the Scene Machine, which was superior to most other devices on the market and was probably used until digital techniques took over.

Most likely, The Rescuers was a transitional film that used both photographic film and videotape for pencil tests. The problem is that while pencil tests stored on film could be preserved, those recorded on videotape were not always kept. Because tapes could be reused, earlier recordings were often recorded over as a cost-saving measure. So unless the original paper drawings were saved, much of the pencil tests from this era are probably lost forever. What remains is just a small amount of what was originally produced.

It’s not new that Disney hasn’t always preserved its materials. In the past, cels were either thrown away or reused, and more recently, all but one of the Pixar machines used for the CAPS process have been discarded — with that one likely already suffering from bit rot.

I remember a now-deleted article about The Great Mouse Detective in which the author emphasized how videotaped pencil tests sped up the production process. But as mentioned, video had already been in use for many years, so either the author wasn’t aware of this, or they were referring to an improved form of videotape recording introduced specifically with that film — though I haven’t been able to find more information about this.

It would therefore be interesting to know how much of the pencil test footage from this era that still exists today, either as footage or original paper drawings. Few current or former Disney employees seem to have this knowledge. Tina Price is probably one of them, but when I asked her on Facebook (just a few days earlier she posted: "I love learning! Who's with me on this? I want to hear from you. We got this!"), my comment mysteriously disappeared — possibly deleted by her.

This kind of information deserves to be preserved for future generations, in my opinion. Perhaps others have relevant knowledge and are willing to share?