663: Tom Bancroft | From Hobby to Veteran Disney Animator

When you have a motivation beyond career building, what you do becomes a mission. Veteran Disney animator Tom Bancroft (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” “Mulan,” “Mary Poppins Returns”) is the founder of Pencilish Animation Studios, the world’s first, brand new crowd-owned animation studio - where fans become the owners.
Its vision is to create high-quality animated projects that connect with audiences of all ages. Tom, having animated on a number of top box office hits, has created characters in some of the most popular and profitable animated features of all time. To this day he continues to freelance with Disney’s theatrical division.
Dive right into the episode and hear from the master, the journey that led him from a passionate hobby to a veteran Disney Animator.
Things you will learn in this episode: 
[00:01 - 07:16] Opening Segment  

I introduce today’s guest, Tom Bancroft

Tom gives us some background on his story

The start of the love for animation

Growing up in competition with his twin

Tom talks about the decision to turn this into a career

[07:18 - 20:19] From Hobby to Veteran Disney Animator 

Tom shares the influences on his style 

A student of animation and illustration

Living through the ‘hey-day’ of comic books

The influence of Mad Magazine

Tom talks about getting work with Charlie Brown

The connections that led to it 

Getting taken seriously as an animator 

Getting an internship at Disney

The feeling of making the jump to big time animation 

Going into the second renaissance of Disney

[20:20 - 37:49] Movie Making from an Animator’s Perspective 

The importance of good communication in complex animation 

The key is storyboards

Communicating intention in each frame

Leaving room for artist interpretation 

The example of Mulan

When things don’t work when put together 

Catching things early on 

From Disney to Big Idea

Feeling a calling 

The opportunities that came

The new dynamics

A word from our sponsor

[37:50 - 54:39] Tom Bancroft on Future Projects and Building Your Network

Tom talks about his project Pencilish 

The vehicle of launch

Animated IP 

The testing element 

The distribution model 

How to get involved?

Links below

Who you know or what you know?

They go hand in hand 

Tom’s thoughts on CGI vs. cartoon animation

2D is not dead

[54:40 - 59:47] Closing Segment

ThE RaNDoM RoUnD

How to engage with Tom

Links below 

Final words 

Tweetable Quotes: 
“I felt a calling… and because of that I think I had a motivation that was beyond just career building or ladder climbing. I was going for a different reason, it was almost a mission to me.” - Tom Bancroft
Resources Mentioned: 

Invest in Pencilish

Connect and engage with Tom on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Feeling inspired? Be sure to visit https://www.pencilish.com/ and get involved with everything happening. 
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