Another character Harald Siepermann worked on for Walt Disney’s Tarzan was the neurotic elephant Tantor.
Harald Siepermann first started with the character in March 1996, when he had just arrived at the Walt Disney studio in Burbank. At that time actor Woody Allen was considered as voice for the elephant. “When I started to work on Tantor, he was to be voiced by the ultimate neurotic Woody Allen,” commented Siepermann. “So I was looking for some resemblance in my first sketches.” Siepermann started with the young version of Tantor, and brought in a high cuteness factor in his designs by giving him a tiny trunk, big eyes and big ears. Below are some of Harald Siepermann’s early designs.
After these initial designs, Siepermann put the elephant aside and continued with other characters like Clayton, Professor Porter and Jane, but picked up on Tantor again in October 1996 from his studio in Germany. In the meantime actor Wayne Knight was cast as voice for the elephant. Again Siepermann incorporated the neurotic characteristics of Tantor in his designs, but also his kindness. In several illustrations he drew the head tilted, one eye bigger than the other, a crooked mouth, a trunk bulging at the bridge and a small curl at the end, and two tusks each pointing in a different direction. Below are some of Harald Siepermann’s designs that focused more on the adult version of Tantor.
Sergio Pablos was assigned as Supervising Animator for Tantor and further develop the character. “I remember talking about Tantor to him one cherished afternoon,” commented Siepermann, “and we spent hours praising the work of André Franquin and his red elephants from one of his Spirou comics.” Since Harald Siepermann worked infrequently at the Burbank studio, “Harald and I kept missing each other,” remembered Sergio Pablos. “But the day we finally met, I could not wait to tell him how much I loved his work. To my surprise, he seemed equally appreciative of my own work, and we hit it off immediately. I do remember those conversations and how we both discussed about how to make an elephant that was unique and interesting, while avoiding falling into the very tempting solutions implemented in The Jungle Book elephants.”
