MULAN ANNIVERSARY – An Interview with Tony and Tom Bancroft #DisneyOzEvent #Mulan
During my trip to California, I had the pleasure of meeting Tony and Tom Bancroft, or as they introduced themselves, The Bancroft Brothers.
Tom and Tony Bancroft, identical twin brothers that have been in the animation/cartooning industry for over 30 years each. Both attended California Institute of the Arts to study traditional animation before being accepted into a Walt Disney Feature Animation internship in 1988 (during the making of The Little Mermaid). Both brothers worked at Disney animation for about 12 years.
First we had a lovely Chinese themed lunch inside the Hyperion Room located on the Walt Disney Studio’s lot. The Hyperion is an original building from the studio’s first location in Hollywood, and was moved to the Burbank location.
Once lunch was over we met the Bancroft brothers and right off the bat, I knew I would love them. They were so energetic, and funny and super passionate about their work with Disney. I enjoyed watching them interact, and even draw some of my favorite characters.
Both brothers were pretty artistic throughout their lives. Both were founders of the art club, then both were interested in comic strips, always having Disney in mind as where they wanted to end up, and that they did. After many years working apart, but both working for Disney, the brothers came together on the film Mulan.
Having 7 daughters between them, the brothers wanted to make a different kind of princess than what had been portrayed in other Disney movies. They wanted her to be a different kind of heroine. That she was. Mulan became this strong and brave character that remained true to herself throughout the film, never-changing for anyone. Which is a great message for all young children to stay true to themselves no matter what.
For the character of Mushu, they wanted someone who was polar opposite of the Asian world. First they tested Richard Dreyfuss in the role, but ended up going with Eddie Murphy, who definitely brought the character to life. I can’t even imagine Mushu as anyone else.
To design Mushu, Tom researched Asian Dragons, and found them very different from the typical dragon. Asian dragons are very thin, and have a lot of elements like catfish whiskers, features from camels and cows, horns like a goat, and even scales and fins like a fish. Tom added most of these elements to make him as authentic as he could.
The release of MULAN Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on 3/12/13, is very special to the bothers, not because it is their movie, but because the world gets to see the quality of the film and the sound as it was in 1998. Blu-ray allows us, the viewers, to see how the film looks to the creators when they animate it. When a film is released in theaters, the resolution isn’t as crisp as it is when they make it in the studio, but now with the Blu-ray, it is true to life.
We were treated to a hand-drawn one of a kind sketch by both Tom and Tony of Mushu and Cricket. My son wants to be an animator when he grows up, so what an amazing treat it is to have this from Disney’s best:
If you have the movie, or will be purchasing it today, check out the scene when Mushu first meets Khan, the horse. If you look in the background, you will see a painting that is in the shape of Mickey.
To get more insides scoops about the movie, the Bancroft brothers and more, buy the MULAN Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD today.
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Disclosure: I was provided with an all expense paid trip by Disney in order to bring you this information. All opinions and experiences expressed are my own. This is accordance with Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of. Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
