美国国家公共电台 NPR At 81, Disney's First African-American Animator Is Still In The Studio

At 81, Disney's First African-American Animator Is Still In The Studio

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We want to introduce you to an animator whose work might be more familiar than he is. For decades, Floyd Norman has been animating¹ films and TV shows ranging from Disney classics, like "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Jungle Book"...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WAN'NA BE LIKE YOU - THE MONKEY SONG")

GREENE: (As King Louie of the Apes, singing) Now, I'm the king of the swingers, oh, the jungle VIP.

GREENE: ...To modern Pixar classics, like the "Toy Story" films.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOY STORY")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) To infinity² and beyond.

GREENE: And he was involved in many, many more. At 81 years old, Floyd Norman still does animation³ work for Disney, a place where he has plied⁴ his trade off and on since he became the studio's first African-American animator on staff back in the 1950s. But Floyd Norman's love of art began long before his job at Disney. He talks about this in a new documentary about his career that's called "An Animated⁵ Life."

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "FLOYD NORMAN - AN ANIMATED LIFE")

FLOYD NORMAN: Any empty surface was a blank canvas for me. So my poor mom had to clean my scribbles⁶ off the wall because I was drawing on everything.

GREENE: Floyd Norman was growing up in Santa Barbara, Calif., a place that he says sheltered him from much of the racial tension and segregation⁷ of that era.

NORMAN: We lived in a Pacific paradise. I didn't know it at the time, but my experience as a child was probably a good deal different from many, many people. We had access to everything, you know, good schools, concerts, theater.

GREENE: No racism⁸ at all, you didn't feel that?

NORMAN: Absolutely not, none whatsoever⁹. I mean, that sounds odd when you think of 1950s America, but I didn't experience that in Santa Barbara.

GREENE: That's why Floyd Norman says he wasn't in the mindset of many African-Americans, assuming they could never get a job at Disney.

NORMAN: I think the thought just never occurred to a lot of young black talent to apply for a job in the film industry. And it wasn't just Walt Disney. I'm sure the same thing happened at other film studios as well. It just - there was a perception there that opportunities were not available for people of color.

GREENE: It was 1955 when Floyd Norman was hired as Disney's first black animator on staff.

NORMAN: There were about a half dozen of us who came to work at Disney that same week. And we came from different parts of the country. We were all from different backgrounds. And so we were Asian, Latino. We were black. We were white. Nobody thought about that because that was not the issue at hand. Nobody thought of themselves as being a trailblazer for their race or their group. We were just a bunch of young kids looking for a job.

GREENE: Now, many have described the films that were produced by Disney at that time as racist¹⁰, often lampooning¹¹ minority groups, including African-Americans. But Floyd Norman downplays that view.

NORMAN: There just wasn't the same sensitivity there, you know, we have today. So a lot of this happened. It's unfortunate, but that was just the times in which we lived. I don't think we should go back and try to erase¹² the past. This was part of our history. This is part of what happened. And so we should be able to deal with that.

GREENE: I even think in later years, like something you worked on, "Fat Albert," right?

NORMAN: Right, right.

GREENE: I mean, that you could even argue was lampooning the African-American community in some ways, even that late.

NORMAN: Well, yeah. Well, keep in mind that Bill Cosby, who created "Fat Albert," was simply reflecting on his childhood, growing up in Philadelphia and the fun he had growing up and some of the zany, wacky characters he grew up with. And one of those kids happened to be a chubby¹³ kid they called Fat Albert.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME")

MICHAEL GRAY: (As Fat Albert) Hey, hey, hey. It's Fat Albert.

NORMAN: It was just making fun of ourselves. And there's nothing wrong with that, you know. It's nothing wrong with poking¹⁴ fun at yourself. I think when others do it, it might be viewed as insensitive. But I see nothing wrong with poking fun at yourself. And as a cartoonist, that's what I do every day.

GREENE: But when Floyd Norman turned 65 years old, still at his creative peak, Disney forced him to retire, though he never really went away.

So did you feel underappreciated at the moment they let you go?

NORMAN: Not underappreciated, but disappointed - disappointed because I wanted to continue to work. You see, creative people don't hang it up. We don't walk away. We don't want to sit on a lawn chair. We don't want to go out and play golf. We don't want to travel the world. We want to continue to work. And so I was disappointed when I realized I was age 65 and my career was essentially¹⁵ over. Well, it wasn't over because I found out I was able to continue to work.

GREENE: You did. And you kept coming to Disney and actually somewhat...

NORMAN: (Laughter) I guess I did.

GREENE: ...Coined the term floydering (ph), which I guess is what happens when Floyd is loitering. Tell me what exactly that was referring to.

NORMAN: Well, that's correct. I had the opportunity once I retired¹⁶ from full-time¹⁷ employment. I came back to the Disney studio to work as a freelancer¹⁸. And so most freelancers¹⁹ work at home, and they bring their work in once the job is completed. Well, I decided²⁰ I didn't want to work at home. I missed the camaraderie²¹ of the big studio. I missed talking to people. I missed being around the action. And so I decided I wanted to just stick around Disney. So I...

GREENE: You weren't going anywhere.

NORMAN: (Laughter) I found an empty office, and I moved in. I was probably in violation²² of some rule or law or whatever, but there I was.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FLOYD NORMAN - AN ANIMATED LIFE")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Everyone knows who Floyd is. Hey, it's Floyd Norman. Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: You know, somehow it gets out that Floyd Norman's here. And people will come sidling up.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: He's like an ambassador for this business.

NORMAN: So I guess my position is somewhat unique. I don't know what you would call me. Maybe I continue to floyder (ph) at Disney (laughter).

GREENE: (Laughter) The filmmakers of "An Animated Life" say that Norman's floydering (ph) and his longevity²³ in the animation business reminded them of a non-animated movie character, Forrest Gump, because his work pops up through decades of animation.

As you look back at your life and career, I mean, what do you make of that?

NORMAN: Well, that's interesting, especially having had the opportunity to meet and work with a guy like Tom Hanks, who played Forrest Gump.

GREENE: Oh, wow. OK. Then you have some special insight.

NORMAN: Yeah. It's kind of special to me, having worked on the "Toy Story" films and...

GREENE: That's very cool.

NORMAN: ...Being involved with "Saving Mr. Banks." But Forrest was the guy who just sort of showed up everywhere. And so a lot of people have looked at me when it came to the animation business, where I was a guy who was showing up at Hanna-Barbera, showing up at Pixar, at Disney and just popping up all over the place.

And that's because I love this business. And I never wanted to be apart from it. So in that sense, I guess I have been sort of the Forrest Gump. Hopefully, you know, there to help and to encourage, but never wanting to be too far from the business because I love it so much.

NORMAN: Floyd Norman, it has been a real pleasure talking to you. Thanks so much.

NORMAN: Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure as well.

GREENE: The documentary, "An Animated Life," opens in selected theaters tonight.

1 animating   

v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
• They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句

2 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

3 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

4 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

6 scribbles   

n.潦草的书写( scribble的名词复数 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下v.潦草的书写( scribble的第三人称单数 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• The scribbles on the wall must be the work of those children. 墙壁上的涂鸦准是那几个孩子画的。 来自辞典例句
• There are scribbles on the wall. 墙上有胡乱涂写的字迹。 来自辞典例句

7 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

10 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

11 lampooning   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Larry Ellison is a prime choice for such lampooning because-married, thrice-divorced multimillionaire is larger than life. 拉里·埃里森写那么一篇讽刺性的文章的初衷是因为他生活无羁，且是一个三次结婚三次离婚的亿万富翁。 来自互联网

12 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

13 chubby   

adj.丰满的，圆胖的

参考例句：

• He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。
• The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。

14 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

18 freelancer   

n.自由职业者

参考例句：

• He has great interest in working as a freelancer.他对做个自由职业人很感兴趣。
• It's not always easy to make it as a freelancer.做个自由职业人，要能时常感觉满足，可不容易。

19 freelancers   

n.自由作家，自由记者( freelancer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A lot of proof-reading is put out to freelancers. 校对工作有很多是请外人做的。 来自辞典例句
• Its benefits plan for freelancers is highly competitive in the industry. 在本行业内它的福利方案是很有竞争力的。 来自互联网

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

22 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

23 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。