Walt Disney Presents the Super Cartoon Camera (1937)

In 1937, Walt Disney Studios shot Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with a new-fangled camera, the multiplane camera, which allowed cartoon animation to take a quantum leap forward. Thanks to this new “super cartoon camera,” animated scenes suddenly looked more realistic and three-dimensional. You only need to watch this presentation by Walt Disney himself (recorded in 1957) and you’ll see what I mean. Disney shot many of its classic feature films – PinocchioFantasiaBambi, and Peter Pan – with the multiplane camera, and it remained in production right through The Little Mermaid, filmed in 1989. Today, only three original Disney multiplane cameras survive.

A big thanks to Sergey for sending this vintage clip our way. If you see a good piece of open culture, don’t hesitate to send it our way

Related Content:

How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made

Disney’s Oscar-Winning Adventures in Music

Donald Duck Wants You to Pay Your Taxes (1943)


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