Were you to sit in on a discussion among the retired animators of Disney, you would hear very little about the backgrounds. As the word implies, they retreat not only from the action of the scene but also from conversation, replaced by a celebration of character which, they will tell you, should always outshine the setting.
An exception would be the “establishing shot," the scene, absent of characters, designed to give context to the story and prepare the viewer for the mood and the moment when the action will begin.
“Some of the most beautiful establishing shots," said Disney animator Ron Dias, “are in Snow White, where you see the castle, the grounds, the sky, the clouds, all setting you up for what will come. Finally, you get inside the castle to find the magic mirror on the wall, and you understand that this is where the queen lives."
The other exception would be the artistry of the late Eyvind Earle, who became a background painter for Walt Disney Studios in 1951. Although he worked on such noted films as For Whom the Bulls Toil, Melody, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, Paul Bunyan and Lady and the Tramp, perhaps his most legendary contribution to Disney animation was his revolutionary background and style for the 1959 release of Sleeping Beauty.
“If it weren’t for Eyvind, we wouldn’t have ‘Sleeping Beauty,’" said Dias, who mentored under the late artist. “Walt chose him specifically. The beginning of Disney was very European, what I call a moving tapestry. Walt wanted it to have a very Renaissance Flemish, Germanic look, and Eyvind’s unique style really fit the bill. But the characters had already been designed, and they didn’t work with such a stylized background at all. Sleeping Beauty was the only film I know of that went back to the drawing board, literally. Because of Eyvind."
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