Latin American Animation Day pays homage to legend

The late Bill Melendez holds some of his famous “Peanuts” drawings at his studio in 2000 |Photo courtesy of ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD.ORG

Latin American Animation Day showcased short films from Mexico, Chile and Brazil, including “Inner Workings,” a Disney short film directed by Brazil-born Leo Matsuda.

As a tribute to the late Bill Melendez, there was a section showing his various works for Disney, Warner Brothers and Charles Schulz.

Tom Sito, a friend to Melendez, spoke about the various projects and styles Melendez typically did for his assignments. Sito is a professor of animation at the University of Southern California and has done work for Disney such as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and many other projects.

“In the 1950s, Melendez had done some of his best work during his time. This is during the time he began working with Schulz. He had done the voice of Snoopy for the show and the movie, in ‘The Peanuts Movie (2015)’ he is the voice of Snoopy, they used his original recordings,” Sito said.

Some of the projects Melendez completed during his career include “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Piggy Bank Robbery,” “Bambi” and “Pinocchio.”

A few shorts that were presented at the event include Mexico: “Muros no Fronteras” and “Poliangular”; Brazil: “Plate,” “Sinias Do Sim” and “Camino Gigante”; Chile: “The Bear Story” and “Gift.”