Frank and Ollie

Theodore Thomas's 1995 documentary is about Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of Disney's first-generation lead animators. The pair were the last surviving members of the group known as the Nine Old Men, and the character acting in many films, from Bambi and Pinocchio to Lady and the Tramp and The Jungle Book, came off their pencils. The director, Theodore Thomas, is Frank Thomas's son, and that closeness sets the documentary's tone: the account of the work and the account of a sixty-year friendship run through each other. For anyone interested in animation, the most valuable passages explain how a character's feeling gets drawn. There is no critical distance; the film is openly a tribute. Who it's for: viewers interested in animation history and the classic Disney era. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an account critical of the studio, or who will find the technical detail excessive.