MYP Design: Distance Learning with Disney Animation

Design lessons for Distance Learning!  This series of posts will enable you and your students to study Disney Animation in a Distance Learning setting!  We'll show you how Whitby's Class of 2021 used this method successfully research the Golden, Silver, and Renaissance Eras of Animation.

With these trivia pages and assessment questions, Design teachers and students in IB schools around the world can easily plan 8 lessons that span over 50 years of feature films.  This page is a resource where student animators can discover new techniques, learn about innovative animators, and understand filmmaking strategies.

This project began in April of 2020 and was completed in June of 2020, all through distance learning planned by the Middle School Design Department of Whitby School in Greenwich, CT.

To kick off the adapted Animation unit with @whitbyschool 7th Graders, we begin by "Inquiring & Analyzing." Students ask questions such as:

• How has American animation evolved since its inception?
• How can the design of a studio influence its programming?
• Which animated films should be preserved in the National Film Registry?

Our first focus is @disneyanimation during The Golden Era, with the film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)." In our first video below, 7th grade students share trivia answers for the documentary, "The Making of Snow White: Still the Fairest of Them All (2001)." Thanks for visiting this MYP Design project page, and best of luck with your animation research! -Phil Lohmeyer (@philliplohmeyer), 5/10/20

Why do YOU think Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) has been preserved in the National Film Registry?

"The film is being recognized because of the beautiful animation and the intriguing storyline. It was the first feature film made by Walt Disney that had both color and sound, and was therefore a breakthrough for the studio.  One day, Disney called all the animators to a meeting, where Walt actually acted out all of the characters, their movements, and songs- This shows his devotion to the film. As an animator myself, this film has taught me that hard work pays off and that everyone in an animation team has a purpose and something to add to the film.” -Anika B.

Why do YOU think Pinocchio (1940) has been preserved in the National Film Registry? 

"Pinocchio is recognized because it impacts many other movies, especially because of the message. Many people worked on the film, but I want to tell you about one person in particular, Wolfgang Reitherman. He was was a director, and producer, and started as an animator at Disney Studios. He was part of the Disney animation group called, 'The 9 Old Men.' As an animator myself, Pinocchio has taught me to animate important lessons.  One example from Pinocchio is to not lie. This has made many kids be much more honest which is a very important attribute." -Alex M.

Why do YOU think Cinderella (1950) has been preserved in the National Film Registry?

"Cinderella shows how powerful collaboration is, and when it works well it can really feel like a film is drawn by one person. Also, It is a great display of sound effects and music, which is very important when there are no words.  Many people worked on the film, but I want to tell you about Mary Blair, a very skilled concept artist on the film.  Animators still to this day want to study her work. It was a big part of the style of the movies because she was responsible for the the color, which brought the movie together." -Arianna N.

Why do YOU think 101 Dalmatians (1961) should be preserved in the National Film Registry?

“I’m here to nominate the film 101 Dalmatians for preservation, because it was unique and different.  It innovated and took risks, but still delivered what people loved and expected from Disney.  This was clearly shown with the new Xerox process, instead of the same old art style.  This proved how good Disney studios was at handling change.  Bill Peet was a key storyboard artist on 101 Dalmatians, and he never stopped trying. As an animator myself, this film has taught me to innovate and discover my style." -Luca Z.

Why do YOU think The Little Mermaid (1989) should be preserved in the National Film Registry?

“I nominate the 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid for preservation. The film should be recognized because of its style and story.  As an iconic animator, Mark Henn took on many lead characters, such as the main character Ariel.  Due the underwater setting, Mark had to adjust to a new scenery, setting and style of drawing. One was the limitation on holds, also known as slight changes in poses over a number of frames.  My main takeaway is knowing that nothing is impossible to adjust or change to.  Thanks and I hope you will consider selecting The Little Mermaid for preservation!" -Gianfranco F. 

Why do YOU think Aladdin (1992) should be preserved in the National Film Registry?

"Learning about the making of Aladdin might help my future animations because of some of the techniques that the animators used. In the documentary, I really like the way they show the animation as a rough draft, and then refined, and then in full color. Also I want to tell you about one person who worked on the film, Eric Goldberg.  He animated the hilarious and memorable character, the Genie, and made him come to life. As an animator myself, this film has taught me to include humor in my animation, to keep my audience interested. Thank you on behalf of Disney Animation!" -Vasilisa B.

Why do YOU think the National Film Registry is important to study?

“The purpose of the National Film Registry is to preserve revolutionary and important films. They range from classics such as Snow White, to sound experiments, and other films which changed the industry for the better. Learning about the National Film Registry can help me with my future designs, because the films put in the registry are generally revolutionary, and changed filmmaking.  Today we will hear about some films that have been preserved by the Library of Congress, and some other films that have not been preserved, but that we think should be." -Brandon N.

How can students study for this Criterion A Summative Assessment?

This rubric should be distributed to students at the start of the unit, so they know exactly what is required of them for the assessment.  Instead of a traditional printed study guide, for this Distance Learning unit we piloted a Google Slides version.   This a system helps to streamline the tasks required by middle school design students, and help them to stay organized.

Special thanks to Steph Diedrich, who pioneered the first draft of this Google Slides workbook back in 2018!  His draft of these first 4 slides, especially the conscious tradeoffs on text placement, font size, etc. were a huge help.  Our discussions on prioritizing usability over aesthetic when needed were priceless.  Thank you Steph!

Use this link to access the workbook, which makes exclusive use of pages from the book WAVE THE FLAG: Project Management with Mr. Lohmeyer's Design Flags.  This book was created during the Summer of 2017, in the Shippan Point section of Stamford, CT.  The workbook version was drafted in the Fall of 2018, and the first four pages finalized in the Spring of 2020.  Use this workbook to study, and makes copies of your own to help students easily submit their assessments!