Disney Legend Seeks to Redefine Disney Animation in New Film

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Andreas Deja in front of Disney characters

Credit: Inside the Magic

With its recent focus on modern animation techniques, Disney Animation seems to have almost forgotten the artistry of the past. However, Disney Legend Andreas Deja is bringing that magic back with new footage from MUSHKA.

Andreas Deja with Scar
Credit: Inside the Magic

If you don’t know his name, you definitely know the characters he’s created. Deja is the pen behind such iconic characters as Scar, Gaston, Hercules, and Lilo, and he even spent many years animating the master mouse himself. His newest project, MUSHKA, uses the same techniques classic Disney fans crave, including the last composition of the late Richard Sherman.

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With so many critics and spectators claiming that Disney has gone “woke” with its recent releases or that the studio has lost its touch, Deja shows that there are artists and creators who still know how to create new worlds in the medium. Nowhere is that more brilliantly demonstrated than in the footage below.

MUSHKA Challenges Disney Animation

MUSHKA is the Disney Legend’s directorial debut and is a short film that has spent ten years in development. The heartwarming tale of a young girl and her adopted Siberian tiger comes with a nostalgic flavor anyone who grew up with traditional Disney classics should recognize.

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“Mushka’s Lullaby” is the feature’s primary composition, and it comes with the same enchantment that saturates every Sherman Brothers tune. The animated footage accompanying it also comes with a similar hand-drawn artistry reminiscent of something like One-Hundred-and-One Dalmatians (1961) or The Jungle Book (1967), making it a feast for the eyes and ears.

On the video’s YouTube page, Deja makes the following description:

“Presenting a music video celebrating the beautiful and evocative song ‘Mushka’s Lullaby,’ one of the final compositions by legendary Disney songwriter Richard M. Sherman (Academy Award®-winner for ‘Mary Poppins’). From my hand-drawn directorial debut short Mushka, as the end credit song, the haunting and memorable tune, sung by versatile vocalist Holly Sedillos, is part of the film’s poignant orchestral score created and arranged by noted composer Fabrizio Mancinelli.”

“Created by the short film’s editor and co-producer, Roger Viloria, the music video showcases the lullaby accompanied by film clips, combined with behind-the-scenes clips of recording the song, featuring Sedillos, and the orchestra who recorded the award-winning Mushka soundtrack on the Synchron Stage in Vienna, with a 60-piece orchestra.”

The music video is hauntingly beautiful, and it will undeniably have a massive reaction once it hits screens. The question is, how will the house of mouse react?

What Disney Needs to Learn

Mushka and their owner in Deja's new film.
Credit: Andreas Deja

While the recent success of Inside Out 2 (2024) seems to be setting things on the right track, any onlookers from Walt Disney Animation Studios should take notes from Deja. Even this brief footage speaks volumes about what MUSHKA does right.

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It’s a simplistic story with an emotionally driven plot line, adorable and identifiable characters, and a song that pulls at the audience’s heartstrings like there’s no tomorrow—something modern Disney may or may not have forgotten.

Interested parties wanting to track the progress of this upcoming masterpiece can follow Andreas Deja’s official blog (found here) or visit MUSHKA’s production site (found here). Until then, we can only wait until the tiger is released in theaters or on streaming.

Do you think Disney is being shown up by one of their own? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

 

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