Peter Pan
Kerry Gets Tinkerbell Attention in Re-Release of Peter Pan
"They filmed all of my acting and my pantomime because she didn't talk,"
said Kerry. "They would take that film, movie film, and [director]
Mark Davis would do key cells. And then the animators would draw Tinkerbell
doing what I did. Think about it for a minute. You have a fellow like Mark
Davis who has been designing Tinkerbell for who knows how long? He must
have been on the project at least four or five years and he would change
her, one day like this, another like that. But when it came right down and
Mark had decided what he wanted to do for Tinkerbell, he's a guy. And he's
not a dancer and he's not a little petite thing, so it makes sense to get
somebody who is a dancer, an actor and a mime and put her before the camera.
So how does the shoulder move? How does the hand fly up? How did she walk
on tippy toes? How does she get out of the keyhole? He could have sat there
and really worked and sweated and figured it out, but having a reference
model gives them a much broader enhancement of what the character can do.
So they use reference models and they can trace one frame and then go from
there to do what they have to do. They did that with horses, all kinds of
animals. That's why the Disney stuff is so great."
Luckily for Kerry, she didn't have to do the flying for real. "I almost
did. It's an awful, ugly contraption. I was nervous about it. I really didn't
want to do it but having been in show business since I'm four years old,
and you always do what you're told, you don't have any recourse to say no
thank you. At least, that's the way I was brought up. I tried it, got into
it once and oh, really, I was so nervous about it. But I didn't show it.
I'm a good actress. So we broke for lunch and after lunch, Mark said, 'Margaret,
we're not going to have you fly.' He dismissed some of the prop men that
were supposed to be there. I said, 'Why not?' I thought maybe they had figured
out that I didn't want to and he said, 'Well, you know, at lunch, we realized
that Tinkerbell works at a different rhythm than anybody else in the movie.
Tinkerbell does not glide when she flies. She darts. She flips. So we couldn't
use it anyway." And I said, 'Oh, pshaw. Oh well, that's a disappointment.'
And went on about my business."
Of course Disney continued to use Tinkerbell as their spokesmodel ever since,
so Kerry still sees herself in films and advertising. She's even semi-famous.
"One of the delightful things that happened, I was over at the third
floor at the [Frank G.] Wells building where they were going over story
ideas for the new Tinkerbell movie. And I had a very nice little dress on
and somebody said, 'You know, your legs look just like Tinkerbell's.' I
said, 'Wait a minute, they are Tinkerbell's?' and I lifted my skirt just
gently just above the knee. And they said, 'At 78 you still have legs like
Tinkerbell's?' And I said, 'Why not? She and I are ageless.' So many people
that I'm with and of course I live in the entertainment capital of the world
here in Glendale and Burbank, we're surrounded by animators and people in
the business. So I'm with them and they will introduce me to their friends
to say, 'This is Tinkerbell.' And I explain quickly so they don't think
little men in white coats are coming to take me away, and they say, 'Oh
my gosh, you look like Tinkerbell.' Little by little by little, people do
recognize me but my son says, 'Mom, you're famous, just nobody knows it.'"
Kerry just hopes that all the little Tinkerbells will finally get to see
her original work. "You know, the little children who dress up like
Tinkerbell, at Halloween. They don't know where Tinkerbell comes from. When
you get them the DVD or you take them to see the movie, or both, that's
Tinkerbell, where she came from. They don't know and it's like watching
children see something, an old friend and they go, 'Oh' and laugh and have
fun. How else are they going to know where their favorite came from? So
it's important I think as Tinkerbell to give them that joy. And I say that
when you watch the movie, think of it as a happy magic movie. There's a
lot of dark magic movies out and that's fine. I have no problem with it.
But here's one of the vintage Disneys, the best animation that was ever
put on the screen, and it's so happy. It just is- - it gives you a great
feeling as you leave the theater. You're smiling and you're remembering
the songs. It's really, really terrific."
Peter Pan Platinum Edition DVD is available March 6.
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