Disney's Dirty Little Secret: The Dark Side of Recycling Frames

In the early days of animation, producing animated films was a costly and time-consuming process. One way that Disney attempted to save money was by reusing animation frames from previous films. This meant that rather than creating new animation from scratch, they would take previously used frames and incorporate them into the new film, with some modifications to fit the new context.

This process, known as "recycling frames," was used in several early Disney films, including Robin Hood and The Jungle Book. Some YouTube videos showcase these reused frames, pointing out similarities in movement and character design between different films.

While this practice helped Disney save money and time, it also resulted in some criticism from animation purists who felt that it compromised the integrity of the films. However, recycling frames is no longer a common practice in modern animation, with studios opting for more advanced and efficient techniques.