Director: Hendel Butoy
Featured Music: Dimitri Shostakovich (Piano Concerto nº 2, Allegro, Opus 102)
Piano: Yefim Bronfman
Art Director: Michael Humphries
Ballet Choreography: Kendra McCool
Animators: Tim Allen, Doug Bennett, Eamonn Butler, Darrin Butts, Sandro Cleuzo, Steve Hunter, Ron Husband, Mark Kausler, Sang-Jin Kim, David Kuhn, Roy Meurin, Gregory G. Miller, Neil Richmond, Jason Ryan, Henry Sato, Jr.
 

Description:

Inspired by sketches created in the 1940s by a Disney story artist working on an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, director Hendel Butoy discovered he had the perfect plot to go with this lively classical composition. Computer-generated imagery blends seamlessly with traditional hand-drawn animation in this delightfully entertaining tale. The story follows the adventures of a brave tin soldier who overcomes incredible odds to rescue a beautiful ballerina from a sinister jack-in-the-box and win her heart.

Production Notes:

Combining the music of Shostakovich with a classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen was a stroke of inspiration that happened quite by accident. The musical selection had long been a favorite of Roy Disney (and his wife, Patty) and he had sent it to Butoy to get his thoughts on the matter.
It was a concerto that Patty and I both liked and we used to play it quite a bit when our children were little, says Disney. Our third daughter, Abigail, used to get up and hang on to the shelf that the speaker was sitting on and just bounce up and down to the music. There is a very rhythmic movement with a little snare drum motif to it that had kind of a march to it that she particularly liked. I thought that this would be a piece of music kids could clearly latch on to.
Butoy recalls, As I was listening to the music, I was looking at a newly published book of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, which featured archival illustrations from the 1940s by a Disney artist. I started flipping through the book as the music played and thinking, ‘that works, that works, boy this is going to end just right’. It was almost as if the music was composed for the scenes themselves instead of the other way around. I mentioned my discovery to Roy and Tom (Schumacher). From there we went to the Studio’s Animation Research Library to pull the original sketches. We photographed the images of film and set it to the music. It worked so well. It was one of those once in a lifetime things where something just seems to click right from the start. The music and the story went together so well. Everyone was amazed.
From an art direction standpoint, Butoy and art director Mike Humphries set out to give the piece an older feel in terms of color and mood. CGI would be used for the three main characters, but the look would support the richer, more traditional artistic vision for the piece. Steve Goldberg was responsible for overseeing the CG area and helped to create new tools for the artists. Animator Sergei Koushnerov played a key role in designing the characters during the pivotal visual development stage.
One of our aims was not to make the animation look computer generated but still give it a 3D quality, explains Butoy. Among the big breakthroughs that Steve Goldberg and the technical team came up with was a ‘follow-through’ program. For example, the animator would create the performance for the ballerina and the computer would help to move the dress and hair in response to the character’s actions.
Humphries observes, Color reflects emotion, so I used color to develop the characters’ personalities as well as to create the mood for the environment. If the character becomes more menacing, we give him a brighter, more intense color. We use softer more romantic colors for the quiet moments. In the scene where the jack-in-the-box becomes very angry and grabs for the ballerina, we do a dramatic color switch that goes to reds and oranges with more dramatic shadows. When the tin soldier goes out the window, we change to a much cooler colors like deep greens and purples to reflect the different mood.
With regard to the CG animation, Goldberg says, There was a bit of concern in the beginning as to whether or not we could make the ballerina move like a porcelain toy doll and still retain the movements of a real dancer. Our CG team studied footage of ballerinas as a starting point for creating the animation. We had to make sure we were giving the animators enough controls for all the actions and emotions they needed to convey. For example, the jack-in-the-box had to be able to go from a really broad smile to a menacing grimace and frown. This film really represents the first time that we’ve done our main characters as CG elements. One of our big challenges was making sure that they fit in with all the other hand-drawn and painted elements. We worked hard to make sure they all meshed together.

Musical Background:

Shostakovich gave the first performance of his Piano Concerto No. 2 on May 10, 1957, in Moscow. The Russian born composer wrote the piece for his teenage son, Maxim, on the occasion of the boy’s 19th birthday. The opening bursts with energy and exudes the confidence of youth. It is in sharp contrast to the dark and tragic themes that typically loom in the composer’s music. This one is a sparkling and boundlessly optimistic piece.
Considered one of Russia’s most publicized and provocative composers, Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg in 1906 and studied music at the conservatory there. A talented piano player, he occasionally helped support his widowed mother and two sisters by playing background music in movie theaters.  At the age of twenty, he had emerged as a boy wonder with his dazzling First Symphony. This was followed by “Ode to October,” his second symphony, which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 1917 Revolution. For a time, however, the Soviet government charged that his work was “formalistic,” which meant he was too influenced by the Western world. With the fall of Stalin his reputation began to rise.
In 1937, his Symphony No. 5 was regarded as a major success and one of his finest works. But after the war, politics once again reared their ugly head when his music was branded bourgeoisie and degenerate. Despite the ups and downs of his reputation in his native country, he was honored by Russia numerous times.
For the record, Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies, making him the first important composer since Beethoven to write more than nine. His music encompassed everything from dark, massive symphonies that explore the depth of human cruelty and suffering, to light music. He was known for his inspiration, wit and superb craftsmanship. The Russian experience is always present in his music.
In 1960, the composer contemplated suicide and made his Eighth Quartet a musical suicide note full of explanatory musical quotations. He died in Moscow on August 9, 1975.