I was going to use a bird's nest for hat. I still used the magic wand my father gave me, created naturally by beavers. And wear wooden shoes. If you saw my park show in LA, the costume was close to this. I played this character for a while but have simply evolved into someone different now as an artist.
Bakshi is a real wizard. He is all about the message: what he is saying as an artist. He paved the pathway of animation, proved that it’s not just for kids, and made it a respected medium for grown-ups. Bakshi taught me about heart in art, how to believe in your work, freedom, expression, breaking rules, having fun, enjoying process, and being yourself.
“Live action writers will give you a structure, but who the hell is talking about structure? Animation is closer to jazz than some kind of classical stage structure.” - Ralph Bakshi I love to sketch tricks I’m working on and let my imagination wander - then I might circle things and find flow between them to make set lists, etc. My dream was to have only one card trick and make it magical. I chose the princess and pea because it was the shortest fairy tale I could find. I was working with a rain stick, and beds were the stacks of cards. It’s back burner but I would love to come back to it some day. Those opening words are so magical: “Once upon a time...”
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