Jim Tyer Storyboard

Run, don't walk, over to the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive, where they have a complete Jim Tyer storyboard for an unproduced Terrytoon called Blood is Thicker Than Water. The material includes the script and you can see how Tyer broke it down. Some of the drawings are in blue pencil and others are finished, such as the drawing above.

The writer, whoever he was, clearly had Song of the South in mind. Two of the Uncle Remus stories are referenced here, the tar baby and the "born and bred in the briar patch" sequence. The ending of the Terrytoon is forced, but Tyer's great, cartoony drawings are so much fun to look at that they make up for the story the same way his animation saved the finished cartoons.

Links Addendum

Stephen Worth has informed me that my link to ASIFA-Hollywood was out of date. I've updated the link to the main site as well as the Animation Archive on the right.

Tom Sito has informed me that I've neglected to list his blog. As Tom has accepted many of my corrections, it's only right that I accept his. For those who don't know him (which is probably a tiny minority of the animation industry), Tom has worked on films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt and Osmosis Jones in roles that included animator, story artist, director, raconteur and general bon vivant. He also served as the President of The Animation guild for several years. His blog is a compilation of the day's historical events with a special interest in animation.

And David Nethery was good enough to point out that my link to The Animation Guild blog was also busted, so I've fixed that as well. Speaking of David, I've added a link to his blog, too.