ORLANDO, Fla. — Like many kids who grew up in Central Florida, Michael Woodside had an annual pass to Walt Disney World. But little did he know that his family’s frequent visits to the theme parks would lead him out of this galaxy and to a “Strange World” as part of Disney’s most recent feature film.
“My family and I would go to MGM Studios, now Disney’s Hollywood Studios,” said Woodside, who graduated from University of Central Florida in 2008. “At the time they had a tour for how to make an animated movie (called) the Magic of Disney animation where Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite would walk us through the process. And that to me was like so eye-opening to see that ... you could draw for a living.”
Using what he saw at the theme park as inspiration, Woodside went on to create his own hand-drawn films at home, using the family’s glass dining room table and a light from below as a makeshift lightbox.
