Banjo The Woodpile Cat - Production

Production

This film was started as a side project, while Don Bluth was still working at Disney. He invited several other young animators, to his house on nights and weekends, to discover secrets of animation, that he felt had been lost, at Disney. Eventually, he resigned from Disney, along with 17 other animators, to finish this film, and begin The Secret of NIMH. That bold walk-out, caused a delay in the release, of Disney's The Fox and the Hound, that was in mid-productoin at the time. The story, is partially based on one of Don Bluth's real-life experiences, whilst living on a farm. The family's cat, who lived in a woodpile nearby, disappeared only to return to the farm, and stay there several weeks later. During the filming stage, it was considered to become a feature-length film. It included a fleshed-out villain: a scared, cigar-smoking cat named Rocko, who bears similarities to Warren T. Rat( from An American Tail) and carface( from All Dogs Go to Heaven). A termite, that saves Banjo, from a group of young children, in Salt Lake City, later became Digit in An American Tail. The tone of the film, was darker and more akin to All Dogs Go to Heaven, and the climatic battle, between Crazy Legs and Rocko, was inspired by Disney's The Jungle Book (1967 film). However, it was found that padding the film, and adding darker elements, didn't strengthen the storyline, so the filmmakers, kept the film, as a short. It was considered, to be a Christmas special. It would've featured, a live-actioned Sparky Marcus, talking to Santa Claus, and in the animation, it had more of a Christmas theme. Don Bluth recalls, "We forced Christmas into it, and it didn't work." However, Crazy Legs briefly wearing the Santa Claus suit, the wintry landscapes, and the decorations, are still evident. Don Bluth, pitched this film, during pre-production, to then-studio head, Ron W. Miller, as a future property, for Disney. Seeing no value in it, Miller turned it down. The rain and snow effects, seen in this movie, are re-used live-action passes, thrown away by the Disney studio, in favor of, cheaper, and, faster, techniques.