Dance meets animation in this epic countdown! We're exploring how iconic animated dance scenes were inspired by real-life performances, from Disney classics to modern masterpieces. Get ready to see the magic behind the moves that brought our favorite characters to life!
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00:00No, I don't want a little
00:03bedtime
00:06Welcome to miss mojo and today we're counting down the best animated choreography's inspired by real life live action performances
00:22Number 10 hula Betty Betty Boop's bamboo aisle
00:265.
00:27Betty Boop This Betty Boop cartoon opens with a live
00:29action sequence of a woman hula dancing while a band of men plays behind her.
00:45That group is the Royal Samoans, known for bringing Polynesian music to a wider audience.
00:53The dancer, Lotamuru, often toured with them and inspired a later sequence in this short
01:04where her movements were reflected onto Betty Boop using rotoscoping, an animation technique
01:09where artists go over live action footage, tracing it frame by frame to make the movements
01:14look realistic.
01:15Sure, the short isn't without its problems, but it's great to see such an important
01:20piece of Polynesian culture live on through one of the most iconic cartoons of the 20th
01:29century.
01:319.
01:33Many Dance Sequences – Ballerina aka Leap This movie follows a girl who dreams of becoming
01:40a famous dancer in Paris, and against all odds, earns a spot at the prestigious Opera
01:45Ballet School.
01:54Authenticity was key to the creators, from the historical context to how the dancers
01:59moved.
02:00Naturally, a character with such big dreams would be inspired by some of the Paris Opera
02:04Ballet's most renowned names.
02:23Animators studied two danseurs-atoiles, Aurélie Dupont and Jérémie Ballingard, and applied
02:30keyframe animation, a technique where the main frames are created and the in-between
02:34frames smooth out the movement.
02:36Dupont even served as an unofficial choreographer.
02:40With such incredible inspiration, spoiler alert, it's no surprise Félicie lands her
02:45dream role.
02:528.
02:58The Dance Fight – Puss in Boots Bringing dance to life through animation is
03:03such a fascinating art that really pushes beyond what humans can do.
03:18In Puss in Boots, choreographer Laura Gorenstein-Miller partnered with director Chris Miller to whip
03:24up some super engaging choreography that combines playful cat movement with a dash
03:29of humor.
03:30One of the highlights is the cat fight scene, where dancer Mizuho Sato helps bring some
03:35fiery flamenco to the routine.
03:48The sequence begins as a hand-drawn storyboard, but Miller makes those sketches jump off the
03:54page in the dance studio with her choreography.
03:56She films the routine and sends it over to the animators, who animate her moves in every
04:01sense of the word.
04:077.
04:14Eye to Eye – A Goofy Movie If you grew up during the Goofy Movie era,
04:18chances are you can bust out the Eye to Eye choreography without missing a beat.
04:25Again, it all started with storyboards that a choreographer turned into reference films
04:39for the animators.
04:58This helped keep the dance natural and fitting, especially for Powerline's smooth moves
05:03compared to Max and Goofy's wild energy.
05:05The creators had big names like Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul in mind for the style.
05:11With real dancers bringing it to life, they were able to bring in their recognizable swagger
05:15while staying true to moves that feel right to the characters, and you can totally see
05:20it in every step.
05:286.
05:35The Silly Song – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
05:39Disney has always been a trailblazer in animation, so it's no surprise they also used rotoscoping
05:45to make their characters come alive.
06:02Walt Disney really pushed his animators to study real-life movement, paying attention
06:06to every little detail down to the smallest nuances, like how clothes flow with the body.
06:18A great example of this is in The Silly Song, where they first mapped out the dance with
06:22real people before animating it.
06:25This approach makes the scene feel lively and natural, capturing the fun energy of the
06:30They used this technique in Sleeping Beauty, too, which helped create some of Aurora's
06:45most graceful and unforgettable moves.
07:015.
07:03Dance of the Hours – Fantasia
07:05This is a love letter to ballet wrapped up in some brilliant comedy.
07:25To pull it off, Disney's animators again studied real dancers, like Russian ballerina
07:30Irina Baranova, to capture authentic movement.
07:34Even George Balanchine's water nymph ballet in Goldwyn Folly's helped shape the choreography.
07:39Although Balanchine wasn't technically on-boarded as a choreographer, he actually stopped by
07:44the studio during production.
07:46Each animal's movements are carefully crafted, with different critters showing off unique
07:51styles that add to the visual gags.
08:08Disney wanted the ballet to be performed seriously, letting the humor shine through the contrast.
08:13The final result is not only technically magnificent, but also a beautiful tribute to classical
08:204.
08:33Mumbles Dances – Happy Feet
08:36Happy Feet takes inspiration to the next level.
08:39Most animated dance scenes are based on real dancers, but here, the dancer had to become
09:00the penguin.
09:01Savion Glover, one of the greatest tap dancers ever, didn't just inspire Mumbles moves,
09:07but he was Mumbles moves.
09:16Director George Miller had a vision, and believed that only Glover could truly embody the essence
09:21of this dancing penguin.
09:23To achieve this, Glover took a deep dive into the world of penguins, studying how they hold
09:28themselves.
09:41He then blended that with his own suave style.
09:44Finally, he donned a motion capture suit and gave us the choreo that would become Mumbles
09:49signature style throughout the movie.
10:023.
10:03One of a Kind – Vivo Dreamworks initially pitched this movie
10:24about us singing Kinkajou to Lin-Manuel Miranda after his hit musical In the Heights.
10:29Though they ultimately dropped it, Sony picked it up, reuniting some of the In the Heights
10:34team to write the story and songs.
10:36You can definitely feel that vibe in both the music and choreography, especially in
10:41the opening number.
10:43Choreographer Calvin Hodge assembled a team of dancers to map out everyone's movements,
10:48from the titular Kinkajou to anyone passing through the shot.
11:02Every single character had carefully planned steps, with hints of hip-hop and Latin dance
11:07throughout that helped bring the lively Havana setting to life.
11:232.
11:24Hey Mele, No Lilo – Lilo & Stitch With much of the story set in Hawaii, Disney
11:30used this opportunity to pay respect to the state's indigenous Polynesian culture.
11:36One way they did this was by studying the moves of actual hula dancers and incorporating
11:41them into the movie.
11:56Hula dancing is such an important tradition in Hawaii, so the creators wanted it to look
12:00as real as possible, making sure anyone well acquainted with the style would appreciate
12:05its authenticity.
12:06The team spent a day with a hula dance troupe, filming their movements and explaining to
12:11their animators the importance of getting every little detail right.
12:15We let them know that you watch that video very, very carefully and anything you see,
12:19you put on the paper.
12:20If there's a hand movement, a head movement, if they looked a certain way, you put that
12:24on paper.
12:25It's a beautiful sequence and a true homage to Hawaii's culture.
12:561.
12:57We Don't Talk About Bruno – Encanto One thing we have seen in recent years with
13:02Disney is that they truly understand the power of movement to tell a story.
13:07This was also true in Encanto, where movement played an integral role in the storytelling
13:12while celebrating the family's heritage.
13:14A prime example is We Don't Talk About Bruno.
13:27Choreographer Jamal Sims explains that many of the moves were created during vibe sessions
13:31with dancers and blended different Latin dance styles.
13:34I created a skeleton crew of Latinx dancers that came on board and we would get into the
13:42room and we would just start vibing and the choreography started to come together.
13:47Once again, the process begins with storyboards for context.
13:51Then choreographers delve into the character traits to create movements that are true to
13:55them.
13:56Once filmed, animators add final touches to ensure a seamless flow.
14:01The Madrigals may avoid talking about Bruno, but we can't stop talking about this dance.
14:06How do you think the animations compared to their live action counterparts?
14:25Let us know in the comments.
14:36Do you agree with our picks?
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