In August, in a nondescript warehouse in North Hollywood, two lions of Disney animation were debating an intricate shot in their new movie, "Moana." With the studio's quaint, hat-shaped Burbank building under construction, "Moana" directors Ron Clements and John Musker had relocated to this industrial space, where a sign on the wall indicated that animation on the film was 88% complete.
Like Anna and Elsa or Bambi and Thumper, Clements and Musker are a key duo in the lore of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Together they directed movies associated with the studio's post-Walt, late 1980s and 1990s renaissance, "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," and led a hand-drawn revival with 2009's "The Princess and the Frog."
"We disagree a lot," Clements said, explaining his relationship with his directing partner of 40 years. "We bicker all the time."
"I don't think we bicker," Musker bickered. "It ends when one of us gets tired of arguing, or we let [Disney chief creative officer] John Lasseter decide."
With "Moana," which Disney will release Nov. 23, Clements and Musker have just made their first primarily computer-animated film, and they've done it with a team of animators who largely grew up on their hand-drawn work.
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