Disney movie has

Minnesota connection

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

MORGAN -- A California movie editor who helped create the Disney animated adventure "The Emperor's New Groove," has roots in Minnesota.

Morgan native Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland, 43, the daughter of Don and Eileen Ziegenhagen, was raised on a farm between Morgan and Sleepy Eye.

After graduating from Morgan High School and St. Cloud State University, she journeyed to Los Angeles where her aunt Joan Gordon, and her husband worked in the movie industry.

The rest is history as she climbed the ladder to work with Disney.

"She's done pretty well for a small-town girl," said her uncle, Doug Ziegenhagen, of rural Morgan.

Indeed.

Ziegenhagen-Shefland began working in Los Angeles studios. She moved on to TV commercial post-production work.

Those jobs led to editing the television series "Northern Exposure" and "Quantum Leap."

Her first Disney job was cutting sound effects for "The Lion King."

She edited live action for a decade, but she enjoyed the amount of creativity for an editor with animation productions.

The "Emperor," which employs animation and comedy, is an outrageous story that takes place in a mythical mountain kingdom in Latin America.

An arrogant, young emperor is transformed into a llama in the middle of the jungle.

The emperor's only way out of the jungle and back to the high life is with the help of a good-hearted peasant.

Ziegenhagen-Shefland performed editing opposite the way most editors ply their trade.

The majority of the editing was done before any pictures were made.

First, she helped cut the dialogue, creating the story.

Then voice talents recorded lines repeatedly until everybody was satisfied with the results. The recording process is a very laborious process in which actors read their lines by themselves.

Ziegenhagen-Shefland's next job was to put the lines together so it sounded like things happened at the same place and time.

The latest Disney production has another Minnesota twist.

Tim Allen, of Elk River, animated the movie's lead character.

Allen drew cartoons in his youth.

He worked for several Twin Cities advertising agencies before journeying to Los Angeles to do animated television commercials in 1984.

Disney hired him for a couple free-lance jobs, then hired him full-time.

Allen did detail work for the characters in "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King."

The most enjoyable part of his job is when characters come alive in his head and he can explore them.

He also dreams about directing movies.