NEW BOOK!!

I got the e-mail this morning that my order has arrived. WOOHOO!!

"Character Animation Crash Course" by Eric Goldberg. I have been waiting for this book ever since I first heard about it on The Animation Podcast. Luckily, it wasn't that long of a wait. Eric Goldberg is one of the modern greats in character animation. Some of his most notable characters are the Genie from Disney's "Aladdin" and Phil from "Hercules". He is also a very talented director. He was the director of "Pocahontal" and two sequences in "Fantasia 2000", "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Carnival of the Animals" (the flamingo with the yo-yo).

I was fortunate enough to meet Eric Goldberg in 2000. He was a guest speaker at the Disney Institute 3rd Annual Animation Event. It was such a treat to hear him and his wife talk about directing "Carnival of the Animals." He also talked about his career in animation and what it was like animating the Genie. When I heard he was going to be there, I packed up as many of my animation books I could into my little suitcase. I think I needed one suitcase for clothes and another just for all my books.

A funny story about this autograph session. Theye both signed my Fantasia 2000 book along with a lithograph (pictured above) from the movie. Their daughters, Jenny and Rachel, were also there signing autographs. Eric said that when they started production on "Rhapsody in Blue", their youngest daughter Rachel looked just like the little girl from the film. So they named the character Rachel. Her older sister Jenny was also included in the film. If you watch "Rhapsody in Blue" when they do the montage of the little girl doing everything wrong, there's always a blue haired girl doing everything right. They named that character Jenny Blue. When the girls were signing autographs, Jenny had blue streaks in her hair. When it came time for them to sign my book, Jenny could not find a picture of her character. But I did. I pointed it out to her that her character was in the same shot as Rachel. She was so excited to find out she was in the book.

One of these days I'll have to upload all the pictures and autograph of all the animation celebrities I got to meet at those events. They were so much fun and inspiring.

Also, go to The Animation Podcast and download the latest podcast. It is an interview with none other that Eric Goldberg. This is part one of his interview and it chronicles his early days working with Richard Williams and Pizzaz Studios in London. He also tells the story of when he was a young boy and on the game show "To Tell the Truth". This guy is a joy to listen to. He has one of the greatest laughs I have ever heard. A close second to Burny Mattinson.