Deja's career with Disney began as roughly as his trip to Baton Rouge (which involved a harrowing plane ride). One of his first assignments was on the movie
The Black Cauldron, one of the company's more forgettable releases from the early 80's. When discussing the film, Deja made it a point to mention that one of the reasons for the film's lack of impact was that it was stiff - essentially going against the concepts that stood at the center of his lecture. Soon after, Deja was assigned to work on
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, an experience that allowed him to really focus on animation, especially when the animated elements interacted with the live action elements. As an example, Deja brought up a scene where a weasel held a real gun in his hands. During filming, the prop was held by a puppeteer who, as Deja put it, got a little too animated with the gun's movements. When it came to syncing the animation with the prop's movement, the animators had to be extra careful to make sure the two elements worked together; otherwise it would blow the illusion.
When discussing other projects he worked on, such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Deja stressed some of the other elements that helped to make characters so memorable. The Little Mermaid's King Triton, for example, was seen as more of a father figure, allowing Deja to draw on his own childhood experiences to bring life to the character. After showing some early concept sketches for Beauty and the Beast, Deja discussed the concept behind the film's major villain, the handsome Gaston. Although Deja had envisioned Gaston as a classic Disney villain, complete with a goatee (which, as all Star Trek fans know is a sure sign of villainy), there was actually a clever bit of juxtaposition at play. The good-looking Gaston could visually be perceived as a hero, though in reality he was in fact a beast on the inside. Deja also showed off a series of rough animations and early concepts for Jafar. While showing the sketches, he pointed out that even the smallest of details can tell a lot about a character, such as Jafar's long, spider-like hands.
At the core of Deja's presentation was one key message - love what you do. Even when discussing some of the less-exciting aspects of his career, it was always easy to tell that he is, first and foremost, a fan of animation. While a skilled technical artist, without a love of his craft, his characters would just be organized lines on paper.
