The 'parents' of the Little Mermaid visit Madrid to present 'Tiana and the Frog'

The legendary duo of Disney directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, 'fathers' of characters like the 'Little Mermaid', 'Alladin' and 'Hercules', passed through Madrid this morning to present the factory's latest blockbuster: 'Tiana and the Toad'. Spaniards María González and Lorelay Bove have worked in the film, which will be released on February 5.

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Alladin, Hercules…) and the animator Andreas Deja passed through Madrid this morning to present the latest blockbuster from the Walt Disney Studios, Tiana and the Frog. The film marks Disney's return to the traditional concept of animation in terms of narration and aesthetics of the work. Oscar-winning New Orleans composer Randy Newman (Toy Story, Bichos, Monsters, Cars) has been in charge of composing the soundtrack for this project produced by veteran Peter Del Vecho.

Like many of Disney's most popular fairy tales, it combines elements of magic, fantasy, adventure, feelings, humor and music. The setting of the film, New Orleans, and the strength of the princess's character, imbue the film with emotion and texture. Seeing the result, there is no doubt that John Musker, Ron Clements and Randy Newman have put all their talent and creative energy at the service of this 'classic' project of the multinational.

A perfect duo

John Musker and Ron Clements were essential in the emergence of a second golden age of animation at Disney. This era began almost two decades ago with The little Mermaid, and now they have created the Studios' new big fairy tale. The two have created an original story that is strongly rooted in fairy tale tradition, and packed with humor and emotion set to exceptional music.

John Musker and Ron Clements have directed and produced five feature films for Disney, including The little Mermaid y Aladdin. They have also acted as story creators and/or scriptwriters. Musker began his career at Disney in 1977, after studying character animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). He started as an animation assistant to continue with the animation of Tod and Tobby.

Clements joined Disney through the Talent Development Program and continued as an apprentice for two years under Frank Thomas, one of the legends of Disney animation. He went from assistant to animator/screenwriter with titles like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (La película de Tigger), The rescuers, Pete's Dragon, Tod and Tobby y The Black Cauldron.

Two Spanish animators in the project

For the Tiana and the Frog project, two Spanish animators have worked as a staff of Walt Disney Animation Studios: María González and Lorelay Bove. They both grew up with the Little Mermaid and have now had the opportunity to work hand in hand with its creators.

María González, Spanish by birth, moved to the US when she was only seven years old. After studying Biology, he realized that his true calling was art and design, joining Disney in 1989. In Tiana and the Frog he has supervised the color design and composition with special attention to all the color elements of the production (e.g. backgrounds, EFX, and characters) to ensure they are all part of the same visual universe.

For her part, Lorelay Bove was born in Spain and grew up in Andorra until she moved with her family to Los Angeles at the age of fourteen and is fulfilling a childhood dream of being an artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. A graduate of Cal Arts, she interned at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville. Her impressive portfolio caught the attention of Disney recruiters who brought her into the studio in August 2007. In Tiana and the Frog, Lorelay Bove has been in charge of doing the visual development, the characters and color costumes, including the design of some of the film's dresses as well as props, backgrounds and design of the end credits.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIB5xThGLcU[/youtube]

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