Filmography: Ferdinand the Bull (1938)

I am catching up on my scanning duties here at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, and today we digitized this 1938 storybook based on the Oscar winning Disney short subject, Ferdinand the Bull. This oversized book is very close to the look of the actual cartoon, and I wonder if perhaps Claude Coates might have been the one who painted it.












Looks like some little fingers have gotten to that cover! Thanks to Archive Supporter, Jennifer Roth for sharing this with us.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
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EVENT: Little Mermaid Reunion May 21st

ASIFA-Hollywood Proudly Presents
The Little Mermaid Twentieth Anniversary Reunion
Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Bl, Burbank, California
Thursday, May 21, 2009 7-10 PM


Special guests for the panels will include the film's writers and directors John Musker & Ron Clements, animators Andreas Deja (King Triton), Mark Henn (Ariel), Duncan Marjoribanks (Sebastian), Reuben Aquino (Ursula) and Tina Price (CAPS system and early CGI). The panel will be moderated by animator Tom Sito.

Reservations are not required for this event. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of ASIFA-Hollywood and students of Woodbury admitted free; non-members $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Parking is free. Woodbury University is located at 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91510-7846.

Proceeds from this program will benefit the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

This event is made possible by a generous grant from the Walter Lantz Foundation
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Theory: Our Dreams of the Future

THE FUTURE OF THE DISTANT PAST
Last week, I posted an article on James Montgomery Flagg's "Nervy Nat", a comic strip that ran in Judge magazine from 1903 to 1907. The page below was part of that post. It depicts a trip to Venus by zeppelin. For the past few days, I've been thinking about this comic and what it says about the way mankind's vision of the heavens has changed in the past century.


In previous generations, outer space was thought of in terms of symbolic mythology. Mars was the god of war- Venus, the goddess of love. The stars in the sky formed the shapes of the signs of the Zodiac. The concept of traveling to another planet was unthinkable- as fantastic as the trip to the underworld, purgatory and paradise in Dante's Divine Comedy. When people of the past envisioned what the inhabitants of other planets might be like, they conceived of gods and spirits who lived lives like those of the heroes and villains found in fables and ancient myths.

In Disney's 1957 television program, "Mars And Beyond", director Ward Kimball explored this concept...


People On Other Planets
"Mars & Beyond" (Disney/1957)
(Quicktime 7 / 13.3 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.


Around the turn of the 20th century, mankind's conception of the world underwent a huge shift. Advances in technology were occurring at an unprecedented rate. These changes affected the way people lived their lives and the way they thought about their place in the universe. Technology was enabling people to travel faster, further and more comfortably than ever before. For the first time, ordinary folks were able to travel all around the globe. People began to think there might be no limit to the number of amazing changes technology was going to bring to them in the next hundred years.

They were right.


By the midpoint of the 20th century, things that had seemed unthinkable a generation before had become commonplace... trains, planes and automobiles carried people to every point on earth. Electricity powered a wide range of household appliances. Television, phonographs and radio enabled pictures and sound to be captured and broadcast to every household in America. The lives led by the average family in the year 1950 would have seemed like wild, futuristic dreams to the generations that preceded them.

But society wasn't through dreaming.

CHESLEY BONESTELL'S TRIP TO VENUS

Chesley Bonestell was trained as an architect. He designed the art deco facade and gargoyles for the Chrysler Building in New York, and was the first to create an architectural rendering of what the Golden Gate Bridge would look like spanning the opening of San Francisco Bay. In the late 30s, he created matte paintings for movies like Citizen Kane and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. But an interest in astronomy soon led him to his most well known work: illustrations depicting space travel.


In 1944, Bonestell created photorealistic paintings of Saturn for Life magazine that caused a sensation. This led to a series of illustrated articles which were eventually collected in an anthology titled, The Conquest of Space. Bonestell worked with George Pal as a designer on Destination Moon and War of the Worlds. When the famous scientist, Wernher Von Braun was preparing a series of articles for Colliers on the topic of manned space exploration, Bonestell was his first pick to illustrate. Von Braun had dedicated himself to informing the American public that space travel was not just a dream- it could become a reality- all that was needed was money and will. Remember those two things... I'll be coming back to them in a moment.


Here is an article from the March, 1950 issue of Coronet magazine. Illustrated by the "father of modern space art", Chesley Bonestell, this fantastic vision of a vacation trip to Venus in the year 2500 doesn't just offer suggestions for what sort of technology might exist; it shows how that technology might be incorporated into our everyday lives.















ANIMATION EXPLORES DISTANT WORLDS

Director/animator Ward Kimball (far right) saw Bonestell's illustrations in Colliers and encouraged Walt Disney to produce a television program based on Wernher von Braun's vision of the future. Disney, Kimball and von Braun came together to create three episodes of the Disneyland television series- "Man in Space", "Man and the Moon" and "Mars and Beyond".

In this segment from "Mars and Beyond" the Disney animators speculate on the strange forms alien life might take...


Life Forms On Other Planets
"Mars & Beyond" (Disney/1957)
(Quicktime 7 / 11 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

It's impossible to overstate how important the Disney space shows were to the American space program. President Dwight Eisenhower requested a copy of "Man in Space" to screen for his top military officers to convince them that space travel was indeed possible. Six months after "Mars and Beyond" aired, congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act which established NASA. The launch of Russia's Sputnik satellite in October 1957 might have been the immediate impetus for the swift passage of the funding for the program, but the groundwork for the concept behind NASA was laid by Wernher von Braun and Walt Disney.

THE MEN WHO TOOK US TO THE MOON


Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun
Clearly, scientists like Wernher von Braun and politicians like Eisenhower and Kennedy were responsible for America's space program. But it took more than science and funding to put man on the moon. It took will. The awe inspiring imaginary vistas of Chesley Bonestell and the fantastic animation of Ward Kimball and Walt Disney became our collective dreams. The day after "Man in Space" aired, every man, woman and child in America had the same fantasy in their head- the burning desire to go to the moon. The visions created by these artists and filmmakers became reality because they crystallized and energized our collective will.

Animation has the power to mobilize society to do great things.

THE FUTURE OF THE PRESENT
If you've read through this half century of history I've laid out for you, I'm going to reward you by poking pins in a few of your childhood sacred cows- the futuristic visions of the latter part of the 20th century.


"So Bad It's Good?"
I've read several places on the internet about the concept of retro futurism. This is one of those post-modern, ironic ideologies that looks back at the visions of the future from the past as some sort of quaint, naiive thing. The problem with this outlook is that it ignores the fact that the fantasies it mocks were responsible for putting man in space.


"Obsolete Future?"
If the visions of Von Braun, Disney and Bonestell are now considered "camp", what sort of imagery have we replaced it with?

Our modern conception of futuristic fantasy has been dragged down to banal reality by people with nowhere near the imagination of the futurists of the past. If movies represent our collective dreams, then let's look at what we are dreaming about...


"Today's Future?"
Instead of idealistic heroes like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, space is populated by jaded, long-haul truckers like Han Solo and the squabbling crew of the Nostromo in Alien. Stanley Kubrik succeeded in turning a space station into a boring 21st century DMV waiting room in 2001. The world of the future isn't a beautiful city of glass and steel where people live in climate controlled safety- in Blade Runner it's a crowded downtown ethnic marketplace with weather that would make Seattle seem like a tropical paradise.


"Has our imagination gone soft?"
Space ships are no longer sleek, chrome plated rockets with exotic tail fins- they're flying shoeboxes with a bunch of dirty breakfast cereal glued all over them. Robots aren't complex humanoid machines whose prime directive is assisting their owners in any way they can- they're trash cans on wheels that make annoying beeps and blorps, or time-traveling thugs in leather jackets riding motorcycles.

Aliens aren't fantastic creatures made of crystal that chew the landscape into wild filagrees like in "Mars and Beyond", or even super-intelligent beings who will help us solve all the world's problems with their advanced technology. They're medieval monsters with scales like a dragon that lurk in the shadows, or parasitic worms that crawl inside us to devour us from the inside out, or rubbery magical midgets covered with wrinkles and warts. Science has been replaced by pseudo-religious concepts like "the force". Aliens in Close Encounters don't just have the technology to make Richard Dreyfuss mold mountains out of his mashed potatoes, they can even make toys come to life!

Cynicism and magic are the order of the day- no room for scientific inquiry and ambition...


"Is this what life on other planets looks like?"
If these are our collective visions of the future, I sincerely hope that our dreams never come true. Perhaps we should consider dreaming a higher quality of dream. Let's bring back the futurism we were cheated out of and start building a future that's worth inhabiting.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
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Interview: Bob Givens-Walt And The War

UPDATE: Nearly two hours of this interview have now been made available exclusively to members of ASIFA-Hollywood. Members, please check your email for downloading instructions.


Here is the second part of our interview with the legendary layout man, Bob Givens. Will Finn, Mike Fontanelli, JoJo Baptista, Michael Woodside and I were treated to nearly three hours of fabulous stories relating to his six decades in the animation business, and we are sharing his great stories with you here on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive blog.

You'll notice that the kinds of stories that Bob relates here are quite different from what you might have read. When I first met Bob, I asked him if he had read any of the books written on the subject of animation history. He was blunt. "A lot of it is bologna. Those books are written by people who weren't there... people who have never set foot in an animation studio." This is a sentiment that I've heard expressed by a lot of the "old timers" I've had the privilege of being able to speak to. But not many of them are left. We're all lucky to have this opportunity to virtually sit at the feet of a "golden age" animator and hear about his experiences in his own words.

Here is the first clip for today...

Bob Givens On The War And Censorship (11.11.08)
(Quicktime 7 / 9 minutes / 20.8 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

I have also posted a choice clip to YouTube so you can post it to your own blogs and send it to friends...

Bob Givens on Working For Walt (11.11.08)
(YouTube / 10 minutes)

Feel free to embed this YouTube video in your own blog or website. Please link back to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive blog in case your readers would like more information.

RELATED MATERIAL

John Wayne & Judy Garland in Lancaster, CA
The Lake Norconian "Orgy"
Mentor Huebner's Film Concept Work
David Swift at IMDB
History of the First Motion Picture Unit

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be making available extended segments of this interview exclusively for members of ASIFA-Hollywood. The first two hours are now available for downloading. ASIFA members, please see your email box for downloading instructions. If you aren't a member yet, you should be.

Many thanks to Bob Givens for sharing his experiences with us, to Mike Fontanelli and Will Finn for taking time out of their busy schedules to speak with Bob, and to Michael Woodside and JoJo Baptista for producing this video.

In case you missed it, check out... Bob Givens Interview Part One: Grand Old Man Of Animation

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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An Animation Salon: What Is An Animated Film?

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. Our first two presentations there are The ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival on Saturday, October 18th, and the Don Hahn Alchemy of Animation booksigning fundraiser on Monday, October 20th.

AN ANIMATION SALON


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
I've been asked to present a series of screenings at Woodbury, the first of which will take place as part of the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival. This series will be aimed at professionals and students of the medium, and will consist of informal discussions on topics related to animation filmmaking. We'll have guest speakers, rare films from the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, panel discussions, audience participation and networking sessions. The goal is to create an animation salon to bring together the creative spirit of the animation community and foster the interaction of the membership of ASIFA-Hollywood.

The first program, which will take place on October 18th at 10 am will address a fundamental question...

What is an animated film?
Many people view animation as a genre. Like "westerns" and "science fiction", animation has come to follow a few tightly defined sets of conventions...


Anime generally involves stylized human characters with large sparkling eyes, big spiky hair and long thin limbs. Characters produce large sweat drops when under stress and strike static poses against backdrops of effects animation in dramatic situations. These characters inhabit futuristic or magical worlds and do battle using otherworldly forces in violent, complicated stories that frequently span multiple films. The character designs are usually based on realistic proportions and the overall stylization is very detailed and complicated.


The Funny Animal style is the staple of American animated short subjects. Star characters perform along with a supporting cast of comic foils consisting of anthropomorphized animals and childlike humans. Storylines are very simple, constructed from a basic beginning and end bookending variations on a theme performed in slapstick pantomime. Designs are round and simplified and the setting of the action usually takes place in rural environments, exotic locations relating to the theme of the cartoon, or idealized suburbs.


Feature Animation style consists of fairy tale settings with princesses, princes and evil villains. Comic relief is provided by anthropomorphic animals who perform pantomime derived from the funny animal style. Stories usually involve an innocent lead character being threatened by a villain and befriending comic relief characters that help him or her overcome the foe. Designs for lead characters are generally very realistic, with cartoony side characters, and the settings derive from storybook illustration.

There have been exceptions to these generalizations over the years to be sure, but these are the characteristics that most people think of when they hear the word "animation". Is animation a genre? Do animated films have to adhere to these categories? How did these classifications come about? Let's take that last style, feature animation, and see where it got its start, and where it might have gone if animation had followed a different path...

THE GODDESS OF SPRING 1934

Here we have "ground zero" for the feature animation style. "The Goddess of Spring" was Walt Disney's experiment in constructing a prototype for his first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It consists of a fairy tale (Pluto and Persephone) set in a magical woodland populated by cute animals and helpful dwarfs.


The lead character is a realistically designed princess. Les Clark, who animated many of the scenes featuring the character of Persephone, was disappointed with the results. The acting in the film is primitive, much like the acting in melodramas, and it was difficult for the artists to control the realistic proportions of the lead characters.


The story was largely dictated by the overall themes of the original fable, but Disney's focus is on the beautiful girl dancing in a wood full of friendly animals, the threat by the devilish villain and the eventual happy ending that returns everything to normal again.


In key poses, the drawing of the lead character is quite good; but in motion, her features crawl all over her face, and her limbs resemble rubbery spaghetti, rather than flesh and blood arms and legs.


The villain, Pluto is the prototype for the Disney villain- thoroughly evil and melodramatic. He is as two dimensionally evil as Persephone is two dimensionally good. Similar characters can be found in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians and The Little Mermaid, as well as the recent film Kung Fu Panda. The relationship of Persephone and the dwarfs is echoed by the relationship of Pluto and the demons in Hades, just like Briar Rose's animal friends and Maleficent's goons in Sleeping Beauty.


The scenes are laid out with the characters in profile, moving left to right and right to left, as if the characters are performing on a stage in front of a painted backdrop. There is very little indication of depth between the characters in the scenes of Pluto and Persephone and they maintain a "stage distance" from each other while delivering their lines. This makes the stilted acting and melodramatic poses look even more mannered.


The film ends with an abrupt "picture postcard" happy ending, just like most Disney films. The real focus of the film is on the wild musical number in Hades. The happy ending is just the period on the end of the sentence, not the point of the picture itself.

Goddess of Spring
(Disney/1934)
(Quicktime 7 / 21.5 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

JOIE DE VIVRE 1934

Here is a French animated cartoon released the exact same year as "Goddess of Spring" which illustrates similar themes depicted in a totally different way. I was introduced to this film by cartoonist, Milton Knight, who pointed out its unique animation style to me. In 1930, Anthony Gross, a French printmaker and painter was inspired by Walt Disney's cartoons to create his own animated films along with Hector Hoppin. Like "Goddess of Spring", "Joei de Vivre" is a retelling of a traditional fable... in this case a sophisticated version of Perrault's Cinderella.


Instead of working from designs from children's illustrated books, this film incorporates elements from French art nouveau posters, the fine art of Matisse and visual ideas from the Post Impressionists and Italian Futurists. The choreography is very imaginative, and constantly plays with the movement of the two dimensional abstractions in three dimensional space. Like Disney's films, the effects animation is particularly impressive.


The dreamlike atmosphere of the film comes from the total integration between motion and music. Unlike Disney's film, "Joei de Vivre" does not require draftsmanship that exceeds the ability of the animators. The motion is stylized to suit the design, and vice versa. The film exhibits a strikingly unique conceptual unity.


This film starts and ends with dynamic images of modern power plants and trainyards, with a calm dreamlike center that takes place in a wooded glade. Structurally, it's like a mirror image of "Goddess of Spring" which begins and ends with pastoral scenes with dynamic scenes in Hades in the middle. Instead of abduction, "Joei de Vivre" deals with escape.


There is no stereotypical villain, melodramatic acting or stilted rhyming dialogue trying to put across plot points. Instead, it's a simple story of a boy struggling to pursue two girls on his bicycle, teaming up with them at the end to tame technology and escaping together into the clouds. The reactions of the boy to the girls is much more natural and believable than the mannered stage acting of Pluto. The situations all make perfect sense without having to be explained in words.


This film is more symbolic and less dependent on plot or traditional narrative than "Goddess of Spring". It's more of a visual poem than it is a literal visualization of a children's fairy tale. The music functions to set the mood in this film much more than in Disney's borderline kitsch pseudo-operetta.


What would animated features be like today if this was the model instead of "Goddess of Spring"? Why aren't there more films that tell stories in more visual and abstract ways? Would animation be better if films rethought aspects of style for the story being told instead of repeating elements from previous films? Is the animated film really a genre? Or are there other styles and stories suitable for the medium that just aren't being told?

Joei De Vivre
(Anthony Gross & Hector Hoppin/1934)
(Quicktime 7 / 19.9 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

This is just one of the subjects we'll be covering at our first Animation Salon at Woodbury University. We'll be screening and discussing a program of animated films that illustrate the width and breadth of styles and techniques possible in animation. If you are interested in the art of animation, you won't want to miss it.


The ASIFA-Hollywood
Student Animation Festival
October 18th, 2008
Screening starts at 10am
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Photo: Walt Tickling The Ivories

My sister in law sent me this fun picture she clipped for me from Santa Barbara magazine...


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Illustration: Mabel Lucie Attwell's Peter Pan and Wendy

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about children's book illustrators.


There often seems to be a disconnect between the illustrators Walt Disney hired to do inspirational artwork for his films and the designs he actually ended up using. On Snow White, Disney hired the amazing painter, Gustaf Tenggren; but his instructions to him were to paint in the style of Arthur Rackham. For Peter Pan, he hired the illustrator David Hall, but the film itself doesn't resemble his work at all. Instead, it seems to be a "Disneyfication" of Mabel Lucie Attwell's illustrations for the 1921 edition of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan & Wendy.

Attwell was born in 1879 and received some education at the Regent School of Art and Heatherley's School of Art in London, but she grew bored with her academic studies and dropped out to focus on her own interests... painting cherubic children and fairies. Her work wasn't very warmly received at first by galleries and agents, but when her first batch of paintings sold out in three days, they became much more enthusiastic. Attwell illustrated greeting cards and children's books, the most famous of which we are featuring today, Peter Pan & Wendy.

Disney didn't appropriate Attwell's baby faced characters, but he did use some of the same details of costume and setting, and placed the emphasis of his visual storytelling on many of the same elements. Attwell's designs lean a bit too heavily on formula, but there is a distinctive delicate appeal to her style. Enjoy.














Please let me know in the comments if you found this post to be useful.

If you enjoyed this article, see also... Little Verses Part One and Part Two and The New Golden Song Book Part One, Part Two and Part Three, Felix Lorioux's Tom Thumb, Puss in Boots, Fables De La Fontaine Part One and Part Two, Le Buffon des Enfants, Rojankovsky's Frog Went A-Courtin', Tibor Gergely's A Day In The Jungle, Gustaf Tenggren's The Little Trapper, Uncle Remus Stories Part One and Part Two.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Illustration: Harper Goff in Coronet Magazine

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for more jaw dropping images from classic illustrated books and magazines.


Illustration by Harper Goff
Today, in honor of Presidents Day, we present another batch of illustration from late 40s Coronet magazines. This group of images isn't interesting so much for their style as much as their authenticity. With a clarity of staging reminiscent of production designs for classic motion pictures, these paintings vividly show the value of careful research into period costume, props and decor. The first batch is a history of medicine by Leslie Saalburg. The last is a review of classic children's literature by Douglass Crockwell. But the most interesting is the middle feature, Carl Sandberg's "Blood on the Moon" illustrated by Disney imagineer, Harper Goff.

Harper Goff was born in 1911, and studied art at Chouinard Art Institute. He was an accomplished illustrator, working for Colliers, Esquire and Coronet. Goff was employed as a set designer for Warner Bros on classic films like Sergeant York, Casablanca and Captain Blood. He met Walt Disney in a model train store in London, and was invited on the spot to join the Disney staff.


Goff's first assignment was to storyboard a True Life Adventure story dealing with undersea life, but expanded the idea into a feature film adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Goff's designs for the submarine and its plush interiors were the most striking part of the film, resulting in an Oscar for Art Direction and Special Effects. Goff played banjo in the Disney studio Dixieland jazz band, "The Firehouse Five" and was the designer of the World Showcase at Epcot. He passed away in 1993.

MEDICINE ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
by Leslie Saalburg








SANDBURG'S BLOOD ON THE MOON
By Harper Goff









A TREASURY OF LITERARY CLASSICS
by Douglass Crockwell







Thanks to Rich Borowy for donating these great vintage magazines to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

If you enjoyed this post, see... Casey Strikes Out In Coronet, Bugs Bunny in Coronet Magazine December 1945, Milton Caniff in Coronet Magazine, Dispatch From Disney's Part One and Part Two, Mid 30s Colliers Illustrations, Mid 30s Advertisements, Late 40s Colliers, Lawson Wood: The Monkey Artist, John Held Jr, Ward Kimball in Escapade, Complete Guide To Cartooning On Magazine Cartoons Part One and Part Two, and Rube Goldberg's Side Show.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Update: John Sutherland's Rhapsody of Steel

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 7 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great cartoons to study.


We received a surprise in the mail today from Archive supporter, Kevin Kidney- a DVD of John Sutherland's landmark industrial film, Rhapsody of Steel. For more information about this great film, see our previous post.


This is a very large file, so allow yourself some time before clicking on the link.

Rhapsody of Steel (Sutherland/1959)
(Quicktime 7 / 22 minutes / 50.5 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

If you found this article to be interesting, see also... John Sutherland's Rhapsody of Steel, Artzybasheff's Machinalia, The Alvin Show Pilot Storyboard, Jules Engel's Alvin Show Color Keys, UPA Done Right, Early 50s UPA Model Sheets, Herb Klynn The Shrimp, and Grim Natwick's Post UPA Commercials.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Cartoons: Casey Strikes Out In Coronet Magazine

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for more jaw dropping images from classic illustrated books and magazines.


Today, we present another batch of illustration from late 40s Coronet magazines, including work by Douglass Crockett and Vera Bock. Last time, we featured Bugs Bunny. Today, it's Casey At The Bat. Enjoy!









CASEY AT THE BAT






Thanks to Rich Borowy for donating these great vintage magazines to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

If you enjoyed this post, see... Bugs Bunny in Coronet Magazine December 1945, Milton Caniff in Coronet Magazine, Dispatch From Disney's Part One and Part Two, Mid 30s Colliers Illustrations, Mid 30s Advertisements, Late 40s Colliers, Lawson Wood: The Monkey Artist, John Held Jr, Ward Kimball in Escapade, Complete Guide To Cartooning On Magazine Cartoons Part One and Part Two, and Rube Goldberg's Side Show.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Filmography: John Sutherland's Rhapsody of Steel

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.


Today we scanned a read-along storybook adaptation of John Sutherland's industrial film, Rhapsody of Steel (1959). Sutherland's studio was very influential in the mid-1950s, employing some of the best designers in the business. This film is no exception. Legendary stylists Eyvind Earle (Sleeping Beauty, Pigs is Pigs) and Maurice Noble (Duck Dodgers, How The Grinch Stole Christmas) collaborated on Rhapsody of Steel, and you can see evidence of both their hands everywhere in these pages. (Earle in the landscapes and textures, Noble in the bold primary and secondary colors...)

Time Magazine said of this film...

Rhapsody of Steel, a 23-minute animated cartoon that cost $300,000, is one of those rare industrial films with enough specific quality and general interest to play the commercial circuits. In the next few months it will be shown as an added attraction in several thousand U.S. movie houses. Made by former Disney Staffer John Sutherland, Rhapsody sets out to tell a sort of child's history of steel from the first meteor that ever hit the earth to the first manned rocket that leaves it, and most of the time Moviemaker Sutherland proves a slick entertainer and a painless pedagogue. Unhappily, the music of Oscar-Winning Dmitri Tiomkin, who is probably the world's loudest composer, bangs away on the sound track like a trip hammer. But the picture's pace is brisk, its tricks of animation are better than cute, and the plug, when the sponsor slips it in on the final frame, is modestly understated: "A presentation of U.S. Steel."

I have included a Quicktime of Rhapsody of Steel at the bottom of this post, and you can find many other John Sutherland fIlms at Archive.org. This book suffers from little tiny pictures and oceans of white space, so I've enlarged a bunch of the pictures so you can see them better.























Courtesy of Archive supporter, Kevin Kidney, here is a video of the film for you to view...

Rhapsody of Steel (Sutherland/1959)
(Quicktime 7 / 22 minutes / 50.5 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

Here's a great post by Michael Sporn on Eyvind Earle.

If you found this article to be interesting, see also... Artzybasheff's Machinalia, The Alvin Show Pilot Storyboard, Jules Engel's Alvin Show Color Keys, UPA Done Right, Early 50s UPA Model Sheets, Herb Klynn The Shrimp, and Grim Natwick's Post UPA Commercials.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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2007 Review: 2 Grim Natwick

As the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive completes its second year in operation, it's time to review the accomplishments of the past year. Here's a countdown of the ten most important subjects we've covered in 2007. See if your list matches mine. (View the complete list.) Click on the links to read more on this topic.



NUMBER 2: GRIM NATWICK

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is pleased to present an exhibit of material from the collection of legendary animator, Grim Natwick. If you are in the area, stop by to see the exhibit.

Grim Natwick is undoubtedly one of the most influential animators who ever lived. His career spanned the entire history of animation- from its earliest days in New York to Richard Williams' Cobbler and the Thief in recent times. Grim worked at many of the major studios- Hearst, Fleicher, Iwerks, Disney, Lantz, UPA, Jay Ward, Melendez and Richard WIlliams. He animated in every style, but was able to maintain his own personal flavor, regardless of whether he was animating for modern studios like UPA or cartoony ones like Fleischer. If one had to define the single element that set his animation apart, it would have to be that his characters always seemed to have a genuine spark of life.

Grim was a friend of mine. I spent many entertaining afternoons with him on his porch, listening to his memories of "the old days". Grim remembered everything. I once mentioned the name of an assistant animator he worked with at Fleischer. Grim not only recalled working with him more than half a century before, he remembered his bowling scores! When Grim passed away at the ripe old age of 100, his family asked me to organize his artwork. Whenever Grim left a studio, the contents of his desk was emptied into boxes and sent off to his storage locker in Missouri. When all of the boxes arrived for sorting at his apartment in Santa Monica, I was astonished to find thousands and thousands of drawings- amazing examples from a career that spanned more than 75 years.


The drawings that were most precious were the gag drawings and caricatures that grew on the walls of the studios like leaves on a tree. There were also many important sketches documenting Grim's thought process- the roughs that were usually thrown in the trash after a job was completed. These are the drawings that make up this exhibit. I hope this exhibit gives you a clear idea of who Grim Natwick was as an artist and as a person. -Stephen Worth

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THE ONLINE EXHIBIT CATALOG

• Introduction: Grim Natwick's Scrapbook


• Part One: Grim's Early Years In New York (Hearst/Krazy Kat/Fleischer)
• Anatomy Studies
• "Swing, You Sinners" (1930)
• "Mariutch" (1930)


• Part Two: The Golden Age of Animation (Iwerks/Disney/Lantz)
• Disney's Offer
• Natwick on Iwerks
• Iwerks Model Sheets


• Part Three: The Modern Era (UPA and beyond)
• UPA Model Sheets
• Post-UPA Commercials


• Part Four: The Greatest Animator Who Ever Lived (Studio Gag Drawings and Caricatures)

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Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK
An Exhibit Presented By The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
Now Showing, Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

Follow this series of posts over the course of this coming week. I think you'll be amazed at the versitility and creativity of this great artist. Stop by and see the exhibit soon.

Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Go To Number 1 on the list of Top Ten Subjects of 2007

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

Stumble It!

2007 Review: 3 Clair Weeks

As the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive completes its second year in operation, it's time to review the accomplishments of the past year. Here's a countdown of the ten most important subjects we've covered in 2007. See if your list matches mine. (View the complete list.) Click on the links to read more on this topic.


From Clair Weeks' Goodbye Book 1952 February 1st, 2007
NUMBER 3: CLAIR WEEKS

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the family of Disney animator, Clair Weeks. Weeks was a missionary's son, born in India, who moved to America in the early 30s and ended up working as an assistant animator on Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Here is the book Weeks was given when he applied for work as an artist at Disney...


From the Disney Artist Tryout Book February 6th, 2007
Weeks' wife made a scrapbook of material related to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the family recently donated it to the permanent collection of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive...


From Clair Weeks' Snow White Scrapbook December 21st, 2007
After the success of Snow White, Disney relocated his studio to a newly built facility in Burbank. Here is a magazine from Clair Weeks' scrapbook detailing the building of the studio...


From History: The Building of the Disney Studio April 27th, 2007
Weeks was Marc Davis's assistant on Bambi, working closely with him on the animation of the animals in the forest. During the production of the film, Disney instituted a training program where the artists studied animals from life. Here is a collection of Weeks' animal studies...


From Instruction: Clair Weeks Animal Studies March 2nd, 2007
During WWII, Weeks took a leave from the Disney Studios to serve in the military. To keep him informed about the activities at the studio in his absence, Disney sent him this pamphlet...


From Dispatch From Disney's 1943 Part One
July 11th, 2007 and Part Two July 26th, 2007
Weeks returned to the studio after the War and was soon promoted to animator. He worked on Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, but decided to leave the studio to travel the world in 1952. Upon his departure, he was presented with this book, containing autographs and sketches from the entire staff...


From Clair Weeks' Goodbye Book 1952 February 1st, 2007
In 1956, Weeks was invited by Information Films of Bombay, India to set up the country's first animation studio as part of the American Technical Cooperation Mission. Weeks' pioneering influence is still felt in the burgeoning animation business in India...


From Clair Weeks- Pioneer of Indian Animation August 17th, 2007
Many thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing his fascinating story with us.

Go To Number 2 on the list of Top Ten Subjects of 2007

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

Another Christmas Gift: Snow White Scrapbook

The 1937 Disney Studios Christmas card
Today is the 70th Anniversary of the premiere of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. So it's fitting that today the family of Disney animator, Clair Weeks donated a scrapbook of material related to the picture. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I'll be digitizing this material properly after the holidays. We all owe a huge debt of thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for donating this treasure to the collection of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.



The ticket envelope and program for the
premiere, Carthay Circle and Radio City Music Hall
runs, and the invitation to "Walt's Field Day",
the wrap party for Snow White.


Feature on the voice actors of Snow White
from Screen Guide Magazine.

Good Housekeeping article
illustrated by Tenggren.

Life Magazine

Esquire Magazine review by Gilbert Seldes,
along with the 1937 and 1938 studio Christmas cards.

Popular Science focuses on the mechanics
of the animation production process.

One of Time Magazine's most famous covers.

Liberty Magazine along with a scrap
of Snow White fabric.

Life Magazine profiles Marjorie Belcher,
the rotoscope model for Snow White.

Stage Magazine

Great two page spread on the people
behind the scenes from Movie Pix.

Hirschfeld's scathing pan from
the New York TImes is flanked by
a mask of Grumpy!

Ann Miller and Lucille Ball
model hats inspired by the dwarfs.
I doubt any women actually wore these!

Hollywood Magazine for a nickle
and a Snow White ham!

Post Toasties, Tek Toothpaste premium
and a wildly off model paper doll book.
There's a lot more in this book that I didn't have time to photograph. Check back after the New Year for more posts on this topic. Many thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for contributing this important material to our musuem.



If you found this interesting, you'll want to check out our previous posts about material from the collection of Clair Weeks... Clair Weeks: Pioneer of Indian Animation, Dispatch From Disney's Part One and Part Two, The Building Of The Disney Studios, Clair Weeks Goodbye Book, the 1938 Disney Artists Tryout Book and Clair Week's Animal Studies.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

Exhibit: Grim Natwick's Scrapbook Index

Feel free to bookmark this page as a "jump page" to read the articles on Grim Natwick in order.

• Introduction: Grim Natwick's Scrapbook


• Part One: Grim's Early Years In New York (Hearst/Krazy Kat/Fleischer)
• Anatomy Studies
• "Swing, You Sinners" (1930)
• "Mariutch" (1930)


• Part Two: The Golden Age of Animation (Iwerks/Disney/Lantz)
• Disney's Offer
• Natwick on Iwerks
• Iwerks Model Sheets


• Part Three: The Modern Era (UPA and beyond)
• UPA Model Sheets
• Post-UPA Commercials


• Part Four: The Greatest Animator Who Ever Lived (Studio Gag Drawings and Caricatures)

Please help us spread the word about this exhibit. Tell your friends. Post about it to your blogs. Thanks!
.

Stumble It!

Exhibit: Grim Natwick's Caricatures And Gag Drawings

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.


Grim Natwick with his "kid assistant",
Chuck Jones (Iwerks/1933)

PART FOUR: THE GREATEST ANIMATOR
WHO EVER LIVED
Like most animators, Grim Natwick had a unique sense of humor. He was famous for his limericks, scribbled in on the margins of his animation drawings. Here are a couple of doozies by Grim...

I've broken my friendship with Babbitt
Because of his slovenly habit
Of eating out loud
And I've never been proud
Of his nibbling bones like a rabbit!

"It's true!" said the painter to the prude
"I sketch all my ladies in the nude
A dress is OK
For a window display
But on my girls, it wouldn't improve."

A nail sitting Hindoo said "I
Have perched here and gazed at the sky
Till I've punctured my hide
Fillagreed my back side
I'm damned if I've ever known why!"


Grim prized his studio gag drawings above all the others in his collection. He described how they came to be for me one day...

"At Lantz, we all worked very hard. But occasionally, we would need to take a break and have fun. One of us would draw a quick caricature of one of the other animators, or do a cartoon on a funny situation that had taken place. He'd tiptoe out into the hallway and pin it up on the board and sneak back to his desk. Pretty soon, someone else would come along and see the drawing and run back to his desk to answer the gag, pinning up their sketch on the board alongside the other one. By the end of the day, the board would be covered with funny drawings. We'd pull them all down and start all over again the next day."

THE ANIMATOR & HIS ASSISTANT
A Series Of Studio Gag Drawings From UPA NY (ca. 1955)
As an "animation historian", I've never been as interested in the dates and figures related to animation as much as the process- and how it felt to be a part of a golden age studio. These sketches give a clear indication of that, better than words could ever tell...











CONCLUSION
Well... It says "conclusion" up there, so I better get to telling you why Grim Natwick was the greatest animator who ever lived. I don't know how many readers of this blog have had a chance to digest all of my articles from this week. It certainly has been very difficult to summarize a career as long and varied as Grim Natwick's. I had always intended to write a book on Grim, but the weblog may actually be the best format for telling his story.

Books on animation history are usually organized by studio. If you read Leonard Maltin's great book, Of Mice & Magic, Grim Natwick's name is sprinkled throughout six chapters. That might give you the idea that Grim was a marginal figure who moved around a lot. But when you read his life story chronologically- not inserted into six separate chapters- you realize that Grim's life story IS the story of the history of animation. The history of animation isn't the story of studios and characters- it's the story of the artists whose talents created the magic up there on the screen.

Grim Natwick was the greatest animator who ever lived. But I still haven't told you why yet!

Grim loved to tell long, convoluted stories that would inevitably ramble back around to his point. Here's a story like that...

ASIFA-Hollywood heard that Grim was in town and was celebrating a birthday, so we threw a party for him. As he was blowing out the candles, Grim announced that he was pleased to spend his 100th birthday in such fine company. Everyone in the room gasped. No one had any idea that it was Grim's 100th birthday. The room burst into applause. Antran Manoogian, the president of ASIFA-Hollywood drove Grim home after the party. In the car, Grim was uncharacteristically quiet and sheepish. He finally said, "Young man, I have a confession to make... I told everyone that I was 100, but I'm only 97." Antran laughed and promised Grim that ASIFA would throw him an even better party in three years- the best birthday party ever.

Antran kept that promise. when Grim turned 100, ASIFA threw a huge celebration at the Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City. Hundreds of people attended, including co-workers from every studio Grim ever worked with. Grim described it as "the most illustrious gathering of animators since Winsor McCay's testimonial dinner in the late 1920s". At the end of the evening an announcement was made for all of Grim's former coworkers and assistants to gather on the stage for a photo. Animator, Michael Sporn recently posted this photo...



Three of Grim's former assistants were chosen to address the audience that evening... Walter Lantz (Hearst), Chuck Jones (Iwerks) and Marc Davis (Disney). All three spoke of Grim's generosity and friendship. They credited Grim with teaching them their trade and inspiring them to become better artists. Those three men weren't alone in that. Dozens of other great animators... Bill Littlejohn, Irv Spence, Willard Bowsky, Berny Wolf, Tissa David, Shamus Culhane- too many to mention- all traced their own accomplishments back to Grim's example when they were just starting out. Grim's "kid assistants" went on to form the artistic core of every major animation studio in the United States.

Grim is the greatest animator who ever lived, not just for his own accomplishments, but for what he shared with the people he worked with. Animation was never just a job to him. It was his passion. He instilled that passion in his assistants, and those assistants went out into the world and became great themselves. Grim Natwick was the catalyst who made the entire history of animation possible. That's why he is the greatest animator who ever lived.

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EXHIBIT CATALOG: GRIM NATWICK'S CARICATURES & GAG DRAWINGS


Top Row: Caricatures of Grim (left to right) Self caricature* (ca.1926/Hearst) / Self caricature with assistant, Chuck Jones* (1933/Iwerks) / Caricature of Grim on studio outing to Catalina by Chuck Jones (1933/Iwerks) / Caricature of Grim in his fancy suit (ca. 1942/Lantz) / Caricature of Grim at his "studies in Vienna" possibly by Art Heinemann (UPA ca.1955)

Middle Row: (left to right) Two sketches depicting the love/hate relationship between Emery Hawkins and Grim Natwick* (ca. 1944/Lantz) / Bill Nolan at the Krazy Kat Studio* (ca. 1926) / Studio gag drawing (ca. 1959/Robert Lawrence) / Studio gag drawing* (ca. 1936/Disney)

Bottom Row: Tony Sgroi and "Bugs" Hardaway (ca. 1947/Lantz) / Manny Gould* & Sammy Stimpson* (ca. 1926/Krazy Kat Studio) / Bill Nolan with a cold* (ca. 1919/Hearst) / top: Dick Lundy* (ca. 1936/Disney) bottom: Freddie Moore* (ca. 1936/Disney) / Studio gag drawings* (ca. 1929/Fleischer) / Caricatures of Jack Carr* (ca.1923/Krazy Kat Studio)

* denotes a drawing by Grim Natwick

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Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK
An Exhibit Presented By The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
Now Showing, Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

Stumble It!

Exhibit: Grim Natwick In The Modern Age

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.

PART THREE: GRIM NATWICK AND MODERN ANIMATION


It's important to keep in mind Grim's age when you look over his career. When he animated Snow White, he was one of the oldest artists at the Disney studio- 49 years of age. When his former assistant from Iwerks, Stephen Bosustow convinced him to join UPA in 1950, he was sixty. Most animators of his generation were thinking of retirement, or coasting on their past accomplishments until their pensions came through... but not Grim. He dove into the stylistic revolution of UPA with both feet. Grim animated on the early Magoo cartoons, as well as one-shots like "Rooty Toot Toot" and "Gerald McBoing Boing". In the early 50s, he was sent to New York as the keystone animator for UPA's East coast office, where he animated many commercials and industrial films for the company, along with his assistant Tissa David.


When UPA NY shut its doors, Grim worked at various New York commercial studios like Ray Favella and Robert Lawrence Productions. He animated on the first television cartoon series, Crusader Rabbit, and later took in work from Jay Ward and Bill Scott on the George of the Jungle program. He freelanced for Melendez and Duane Crowther's Duck Soup Producktions, eventually settling in with director, Richard Williams. He animated on Raggedy Ann & Andy and travelled to the UK to teach while working on Cobbler & the Thief. He continued to draw into his early 90s, until his failing eyesight made it difficult.

One afternoon, as I sat with Grim on his front porch, he casually mentioned that he had been told that there were machines that animated- computers. He wondered aloud "how they manage to get the machines to hold a pencil" and expressed an interest in finding out more about it. So I called my friend Charlie Gibson, who was a partner at Rhythm & Hues in Hollywood. I arranged for Grim to take a tour of their studio the following week.

When we arrived, we found the entire staff of R&H standing in the lobby waiting for us. Charlie showed Grim their machine room and demo reel, and sat him down at a workstation to see how wireframe characters are posed. After a few minutes working with the mouse, Grim leaned back in his chair and said, "I've seen some amazing things here today that I never would have imagined possible. I don't pretend to understand everything I've seen, but I have a basic idea of what you do here. I have just one question to ask you... When I animated Snow White or Mickey Mouse, I had certain tricks to put the personality of the character across... a gesture, the raising of an eyebrow, a bit of acting... How do you do that sort of thing with your computer?"

The room went silent. Charlie paused for a moment and replied, "Well, Grim, you just put your finger on the thing we struggle with every day... Computer animation is still very new. We're constantly learning as we go. To answer your question, we study classic cartoons to learn those secrets from great animators like you."

In the space of an afternoon, Grim had gone from "How do they get the machines to hold a pencil?" to putting his finger on the main issue facing CGI animators. He was truly a remarkable man.

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EXHIBIT CATALOG: GRIM NATWICK IN THE MODERN AGE


Top Row: A Selection Of Natwick Animals (left to right) Chicken character designs from "Solid Ivory"* (Lantz/1947) / Lion doodle (after Jones' "Inki & The Lion")* (ca. 1947) / Tiger studio gag drawing* (ca. 1944) / Character design for Lantz Wartime cartoon (ca.1943) / Concept for children's book* (ca. 1947)

Middle Row: 1950s Commercials (left to right) Character design (ca.1959) / Self caricature of layout artist Art Heineman (UPA ca.1952) / Studio gag drawing depicting an animator being replaced by children cutting out paper dolls (UPA ca.1952) / Model drawing of Bert Piels (Piels Beer) by Tissa David from Grim Natwick animation (UPA ca. 1955) / Model drawings from unknown commercial by Tissa David from Grim Natwick animation (UPA ca.1955)

Bottom Row: Studio Gag Drawings Self caricature by Bill Melendez (ca. early 60s) / Studio gag drawing depicting Bill Scott explaining to a West coast animator how to dress like an East coast animator (UPA NY ca. 1952) / Three studio gag drawings by Bill Scott depicting the relationships between Grim Natwick, John Hubley and Scott (UPA NY ca. 1952)

* denotes a drawing by Grim Natwick

Next Chapter: THE GREATEST ANIMATOR WHO EVER LIVED (Studio Gag Drawings & Caricatures)

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Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK
An Exhibit Presented By The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
Now Showing, Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

Stumble It!

Exhibit: Grim Natwick- Golden Age Animator

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.

PART TWO: GRIM NATWICK IN ANIMATION'S GOLDEN AGE


In California, Walt Disney had seen some of Grim Natwick's animation of Betty Boop in "The Bum Bandit" and sent his brother Roy to New York to convince him to join them in Hollywood. Ub Iwerks had just left Disney to form his own studio, and an experienced animator was sorely needed to take his place. Roy Disney made Grim a remarkably generous offer, but Grim wasn't sold on going to work for the Disney brothers. He spoke to his friend Ted Sears on the West coast and was advised that Walt Disney was just a businessman- Iwerks had been the real creative core of the studio. So Grim decided that Iwerks' new studio was the place for him.


Click to read Disney's offer to Grim.
Several of Grim's former assistants and co-workers from Hearst and Fleischer were already working for Iwerks. Grim phoned Ub and offered his services, agreeing to work for less than half what Roy Disney had offered him. When Grim arrived at Iwerks, he was so accustomed to leading the crew of young animators, he hit the ground running. Ub had lost interest in animation at this point, and willingly handed over the day to day direction of the cartoons to Grim, while he focused on tinkering in his workshop behind the studio.

At Iwerks, Grim got the opportunity to direct, making a clear mark on films like "Jack Frost", "Room Runners", "Stratos Fear" and "Aladdin's Lamp". But he always loved a challenge. When Grim heard that Disney was planning a feature length cartoon based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he knew he had to be a part of it. Ub offered him a full partnership in the studio to entice him to stay on, but money wasn't Grim's primary concern. Animation was. Grim reluctantly said goodbye to his friends at Iwerks and joined the Disney studios.


Grim's first animation for Disney was the female lead in "Cookie Carnival". He received great praise from Walt for his work, and was assigned the female lead in the upcoming feature, Snow White to animate. Grim was given some of the studio's top assistants to work with- most importantly, Marc Davis, Les Novros and Jack Campbell. By the end of the picture, he had animated over 120 scenes, with six assistants working under him, producing as much as 35 feet of finished animation a week!

Grim's tenure at Disney was not without turmoil, however. Ham Luske had been promised the character of Snow White before Grim arrived at the studio, and he considered Grim's assignment to be an incursion on his territory. Although Luske had the directing animator credit on the film, he had little direct interaction with Natwick's unit. There was considerable tension on the lot between Walt's boys- the animators who had been with Disney for years- and the East coast animators who had been hired for the feature. Grim paid no mind to it, focusing on his work, but the bad feelings would eventually boil over.

Grim's assistant, Jack Campbell showed promise and wanted to animate, so he was allowed to move to Luske's unit as an animator. There are three Snow Whites in the finished picture... Luske's, Campbell's and Natwick's. Luske's girl is doll-like and close in style to the female leads in the Silly Symphony series (the scene with the bluebird in the forest is a good example), Campbell's girl showed a strong influence of rotoscope (the scene at the wishing well). Natwick's Snow White is the most lifelike and alive (the sequences where she investigates the Dwarf's cottage, the house cleaning scenes, the dancing scenes and the "Someday My Prince Will Come" sequence).


While Grim was putting in many hours of unpaid overtime, Dave Hand, the director, had promised a him bonus if the picture was a hit. But when the bonus checks went around, Grim was passed over, despite the fact that he was one of the key animators on the film. He contested the oversight with the paymaster and requested a copy of the draft to make a list of the scenes he had animated. He was disgusted to find that Luske's name had been substituted for his own on scenes Grim himself had animated. When Max Fleischer called to invite Grim to join him at his new studio in Florida, Grim left Disney without a second thought. The paymaster had arranged for a token bonus, but Grim didn't even bother to pick it up.


Looking back on the situation many decades later, Grim felt that perhaps he should have swallowed his pride and stayed on with Disney to work on Fantasia and Pinocchio. Gulliver's Travels wasn't Natwick's best work. He didn't have the support of talented assitants like Marc Davis, and the application of the rotoscope was much more limiting than it had been at Disney. But after the political struggles at Disney, the Fleischer Studio felt like home, and Grim enjoyed the company of his co-workers.


Grim Natwick Concept Drawing
For "Flies Ain't Human" (1941)
One afternoon, Max Fleischer visited Grim in his office and asked him to animate a sequence of Betty Boop for "old time's sake". He explained that Betty had been a great asset to the studio, but the series had run its course, and this was to be the final Betty Boop cartoon. (The cartoon in question was most likely "Musical Mountaineers".) Max expressed his appreciation and offered to make a gift of the character to Grim upon the completion of the film. Not knowing anything about the legalities of transferring ownership of a property, Grim did nothing about it. But years later, he read in the trades that the rights to Betty Boop had been sold by the Fleischers to King Features Syndicate for a great deal of money. Grim sued, but he had nothing in writing and lost the case. Although some writers have tried to belittle Grim's contribution to the creation of Betty Boop, saying that his part was minimal, history bears out the fact that the character was 100% the creation of Grim Natwick.


World War II made it difficult to find work as an animator, but Grim's old friend Walter Lantz was producing animated training films for the War Department. Grim returned to Hollywood to work for Lantz, where he had the opportunity to reunite with longtime friends like Shamus Culhane and Dick Lundy. In fact, Grim picked up his lunchtime game of horseshoes with storyman "Bugs" Hardaway right where they had left it when he left Iwerks ten years earlier! Lantz's friendly, family atmosphere appealed to Grim, but he didn't become complacent. He reinvented his style to suit the brash, slapstick style of animation at the time, and succeeded in creating some of the finest animation ever produced at Lantz.


Lantz Animators in 1944 (Back Row: Paul Smith, Grim Natwick, Sidney Pillet, Bernard Garbutt Front Row:Les Kline, Shamus Culhane, Pat Matthews, Dick Lund, Emery Hawkins)
Grim's earliest work at the studio included "Take Heed Mr. Tojo" starring Hook, and "Enemy Bacteria", one of the most successful Wartime training films. His great animation for Dick Lundy and Shamus Culhane stood out in films like "Who's Cookin' Who", "Bathing Buddies", "Ski For Two" and "Solid Ivory". In his autobiography, Walter Lantz cited Natwick as the best animator he ever had the pleasure of working with.

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EXHIBIT CATALOG: GRIM NATWICK GOLDEN AGE ANIMATOR


Top Row: (left to right) Girl doodles* (ca. 1936) / Snow White Animation Rough* / Left: Character designs from "Funny Face"* (1933) Right: Animation drawing from "Stormy Seas"* (1932) / Studio gag drawing from Iwerks / Tracings from Natwick Animation of Wally Walrus from "The Beach Nut" (1944)

Middle Row: (left to right) Girl doodle (ca. 1936) / Girl doodle (ca.1940) / Studio gag drawing depicting Ub Iwerks as a boy playing hookey from school* / Studio gag drawing for Art Turkisher* / Character designs from "Enemy Bacteria"*

Bottom Row: Character design for Miss X from "Abou Ben Boogie"* (1944) / Caricature of Lantz Ink & Paint girl / Character designs (ca. 1940) / Character design for "Sliphorn King of Polaroo" (1945) / Animation drawing from "Abou Ben Boogie"* (1944) / Animation drawing from "Who's Cookin' Who?"* (1946)

* denotes a drawing by Grim Natwick

Next Chapter: GRIM NATWICK IN THE MODERN AGE (UPA and beyond)

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Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK
An Exhibit Presented By The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
Now Showing, Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

Stumble It!

Exhibit: Grim Natwick In New York

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.

PART ONE: GRIM NATWICK'S EARLY YEARS


Grim Natwick's career in animation began in 1917 at International Film Service Productions, managed by Gregory LaCava. The studio was owned by William Randolph Hearst, who wanted to exploit his comic strip characters in the new medium of the animated cartoon. LaCava had been lured away from Raoul Barre's studio where he had been working as an animator. His organizational skills were put to good use setting the studio on the right track, but he was having trouble finding experienced animators. He did however, know of a great draftsman who was working as a sheet music illustrator- a classmate from art school...

LaCava enlisted Grim to help out for "for two weeks or so" until he could locate experienced animators. Grim's first task was to animate a racehorse in a Happy Hooligan cartoon. He spent more than a week on the sequence experimenting and struggling, and at the end of the two weeks, he was ready to quit. But LaCava told him that Hearst would pay him the unheard of amount of $100 a week if he would stay on. Money talked, and ultimately, Grim took to animation like a duck to water. The two weeks ended up stretching into over seven decades.

Around 1920, Grim took a few years off to study art in Vienna- drawing from life, landscape painting, portraiture- a full classical art education. He returned to New York a much stronger artist than he had left. International Film Service no longer existed, but Bill Nolan had organized a studio to produce Krazy Kat cartoons. The series bore little resemblence to George Herriman's classic comic strip. The animation was done using the "slash system" and animators were expected to not only assist their own scenes, but to ink them as well. The artists at the Krazy Kat Studio at this time included some of the best in New York, two of whom- Walter Lantz and Jimmie (Shamus) Culhane- would work with Grim again much later in his career.

In 1929, Grim joined the Fleischer Studios. Fleischer had just made the transition from silent films to sound, and was abandoning the high contrast inked look of the Out of the Inkwell cartoons for a more rounded style with a full range of gray tones. Disney had just raided the studio for talent, taking several key animators, including Dick Huemer, back to California with him. A few months later Ted Sears headed West. Grim was left with a group of inexperienced, but enthusiastic and talented young artists. He quickly whipped the crew into shape and provided the Fleischers with some of the most imaginitive animation ever produced at the studio. We've featured two cartoons from this period here in the past... Swing, You Sinners and Mariutch, both from 1930.

One day, Dave Fleischer handed Grim a photograph of singer, Helen Kane and asked him to design a caricature. Fleischer had found a sound-alike, and planned to use her in the upcoming Talkartoon, "Dizzy Dishes". Grim exaggerated Kane's wide eyes and rosebud mouth, creating a slightly coarse, but strikingly original design. A few weeks later, Dave asked Grim to design a girlfriend for Bimbo to star as the "fair young maiden" in a cartoon adaptation of the popular song, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor". Grim streamlined and refined his caricature of Kane for the part. But Dave Fleischer objected, insisting that since Bimbo was a dog, his girlfriend should also be a dog. Grim quickly sketched Betty Boop's head on a four legged canine body. He held up the drawing next to the pretty girl design, and asked, "Which would you rather have as your girlfriend? A girl? Or a dog?" Dave laughed and agreed that the pretty girl was the right choice.

---

EXHIBIT CATALOG: GRIM'S EARLY YEARS


Top Row: Animation From Hearst & The Krazy Kat Studio (left to right) Drawing from "Judge Rummy" cartoon* (ca. 1918) / Concept sketch for unproduced series based on Cliff Sterrett's "Polly & her Pals"* (ca. 1926) / ibid* / ibid* / Self portrait of Grim Natwick* (ca. 1926)

Middle Row: Animation From Fleischer (left to right) Animation drawings from "Mariutch"* (1930) / Animation drawing from unknown film* - Animation drawing from "Mariutch"* / Animation drawings from "Swing, You Sinners"* (1930) bottom dwg- collection of Kent Butterworth / Character designs for Bimbo* (ca. 1930) / Character designs for Bimbo in "Barnacle Bill The Sailor"* (1930) / Caricature of Grim Natwick by Rudy Zamora - Self portrait of Grim Natwick* (ca. 1930)

Bottom Row: Anatomy Studies After Bridgeman* (ca. 1920)

* denotes a drawing by Grim Natwick

Next Chapter: GRIM NATWICK, GOLDEN AGE ANIMATOR (Iwerks, Disney, Lantz)

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Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK
An Exhibit Presented By The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
Now Showing, Tuesday through Friday 1pm to 9pm

Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

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Exhibit: Grim Natwick's Scrapbook Introduction

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.


The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is pleased to present an online exhibit of material from the collection of legendary animator, Grim Natwick. If you are in the area, stop by to see the exhibit.

GRIM NATWICK'S SCRAPBOOK

INTRODUCTION

Grim Natwick is undoubtedly one of the most influential animators who ever lived. His career spanned the entire history of animation- from its earliest days in New York to Richard Williams' Cobbler and the Thief in recent times. Grim worked at many of the major studios- Hearst, Fleicher, Iwerks, Disney, Lantz, UPA, Jay Ward, Melendez and Richard WIlliams. He animated in every style, but was able to maintain his own personal flavor, regardless of whether he was animating for modern studios like UPA or cartoony ones like Fleischer. If one had to define the single element that set his animation apart, it would have to be that his characters always seemed to have a genuine spark of life.

Grim was a friend of mine. I spent many entertaining afternoons with him on his porch, listening to his memories of "the old days". Grim remembered everything. I once mentioned the name of an assistant animator he worked with at Fleischer. Grim not only recalled working with him more than half a century before, he remembered his bowling scores! When Grim passed away at the ripe old age of 100, his family asked me to organize his artwork. Whenever Grim left a studio, the contents of his desk was emptied into boxes and sent off to his storage locker in Missouri. When all of the boxes arrived for sorting at his apartment in Santa Monica, I was astonished to find thousands and thousands of drawings- amazing examples from a career that spanned more than 75 years.


The drawings that were most precious were the gag drawings and caricatures that grew on the walls of the studios like leaves on a tree. There were also many important sketches documenting Grim's thought process- the roughs that were usually thrown in the trash after a job was completed. These are the drawings that make up this exhibit. I hope this exhibit gives you a clear idea of who Grim Natwick was as an artist and as a person. -Stephen Worth

---

THE ONLINE EXHIBIT CATALOG

• Introduction: Grim Natwick's Scrapbook


• Part One: Grim's Early Years In New York (Hearst/Krazy Kat/Fleischer)
• Anatomy Studies
• "Swing, You Sinners" (1930)
• "Mariutch" (1930)


• Part Two: The Golden Age of Animation (Iwerks/Disney/Lantz)
• Disney's Offer
• Natwick on Iwerks
• Iwerks Model Sheets


• Part Three: The Modern Era (UPA and beyond)
• UPA Model Sheets
• Post-UPA Commercials


• Part Four: The Greatest Animator Who Ever Lived (Studio Gag Drawings and Caricatures)

---

Assistant Archivist, Joseph Baptista views the exhibit.
Many thanks to the Walter Lantz Foundation for providing the facilities for this exhibit, and to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library for providing the mattes.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
,

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History: Clair Weeks- Pioneer of Indian Animation

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.


Bambi II?
Today I am presenting an interesting bit of history from the collection of Disney animator, Clair Weeks along with an exciting update since we last featured this topic. Read on for details...

Weeks was born in India, the son of a Methodist missionary- a source of humor for his co-workers at Disney. (See caricature, right.) He spent 16 years at the Disney Studios, working on Snow White, Bambi and Peter Pan. In 1956, Weeks travelled to Bombay, India on the invitation of Information Films of India to set up and train the country's first animation studio as part of the American Technical Co-Operation Mission. What started as a one year project expanded into almost a decade of service abroad working for the US Agency for International Development. Weeks toured Southeast Asia and headed up a communitactions office in Katmandu, Nepal. He made films and audio-visual programs that aided in the social development and economic growth of third world countries.

I know very little about Weeks' work in India, but a scrapbook donated to the archive by his family provides some tantilizing clues. I contacted the chapter of ASIFA in India asking if they had any information on Weeks, and the Vice President of ASIFA-India, Prasad responded...

The studio Weeks helped to train some animators for was the Films Division of India (FDI). The stint of Clair's there apparently lasted for about 18 months, during which they made a film called The Banyan Deer. I spoke to Rammohan, who was one of the students in 1956, and is generally acknowledged as one of the father figures of Indian animation to get these details. Clair apparently also taught in the late sixties or early seventies at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. One of the students at that point, Nina Sabnani heads the Animation Department there now.

Since this article was last posted, ASIFA-Hollywood has transferred a rare 16mm film showing Weeks at work at FDI in India. It's fascinating to see behind the scenes in the earliest days of Indian animation.


Cartoon Division of FDI (FDI/1956)
(Quicktime 7 / 13.8 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

Here are some scans from Weeks' Indian scrapbook. If anyone has any information on the film or the people in the photos, let me know in the comments below and I will add it to this post.

THE BANYAN DEER (1957) STORYBOARD






TREND MAGAZINE ARTICLE




PRODUCTION PHOTOS

19 April, 1958: Sitting: S.L. Badami (Deputy Chief Producer), Ezra Mir (Chief Producer), Clair Weeks (Key Animator Instructor), Dr. B.V. Keskar (Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting), D.L. Kothari (Controller of Administration). Standing behind: G.K. Maharesh (Production Manager), G.K. Gokhale (Animator), S.M. Junnarkar (Editor), G.H. Saraiya (in dark pants, Director)





19 April, 1958: D.L. Kothari, Clair Weeks, Dr. B.V. Keskar, Ezra Mir. Behind: H.R. Doraiswamy (Camera Assistant), S.S. Varma (Animation Cameraman)





Many thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing this important material with us, and thanks to Steve Stanchfield of Thunderbean Animation for transferring the film footage.

If you found this interesting, you'll want to check out our previous posts about material from the collection of Clair Weeks... Dispatch From Disney's Part One and Part Two, The Building Of The Disney Studios, Clair Weeks Goodbye Book, the 1938 Disney Artists Tryout Book and Clair Week's Animal Studies. Also, see... Walt Disney Goes To War, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla and Musical Timing Rediscovered.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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History: Dispatch From Disney's Part Two

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.



Here is the last part of a pamphlet that was part of the Clair Weeks collection. Titled "Dispatch From Disney's", this 1943 publication was distributed to Disney employees who were serving in the war effort. This half contains an article from Oliver Wallace describing how he was inspired to write "Der Fuhrer's Face", some doodles by Roy Williams on life as an Air Raid Warden, a feature on the Disney Studio exercise coach Carl Johnson, news on the South American tour, and detailed information on the Disney wartime training films. If you missed it, check out part one of Dispatch From Disney's.


























Many thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing this important material with us.

Make sure to check out the first part of this booklet... Dispatch From Disney's Part One

If you found this interesting, you'll want to check out our previous posts about material from the collection of Clair Weeks... The Building Of The Disney Studios, Clair Weeks Goodbye Book, the 1938 Disney Artists Tryout Book and Clair Week's Animal Studies. Also, see... Walt Disney Goes To War, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla and Musical Timing Rediscovered.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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History: Dispatch From Disney's 1943

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.


Here's a fascinating pamphlet that was part of the Clair Weeks collection. Titled "Dispatch From Disney's", this 1943 publication was distributed to Disney employees who were serving in the war effort. The first section includes an introduction by Walt, an article on the power of animation to educate by Major Alexander P. de Seversky (author of Victory Through Air Power), a cartoon feature by Roy Williams, and newsy info on Disney artists T. Hee, Freddie Moore, Frank Thomas and Woolie Reitherman.


The last part contains an article from Oliver Wallace describing how he was inspired to write "Der Fuhrer's Face", some doodles by Roy Williams on life as an Air Raid Warden, a feature on the Disney Studio exercise coach Carl Johnson, news on the South American tour, and detailed information on the Disney wartime training films.







































Many thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing this important material with us.

If you found this interesting, you'll want to check out our previous posts about material from the collection of Clair Weeks... The Building Of The Disney Studios, Clair Weeks Goodbye Book, the 1938 Disney Artists Tryout Book and Clair Week's Animal Studies. Also, see... Walt Disney Goes To War, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla and Musical Timing Rediscovered.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Biography: Ward Kimball- Escapader Cum Laude

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.


OK. With that picture above, you probably think I've gone off the deep end! But look a little further... This "girlie" magazine from the late fifties has incredible cartoons and illustrations... and an article on the incomparable Ward Kimball!


How the wildest "Old Man" ended up in a men's magazine is anybody's guess. But the article captures Kimball at his peak. And the great illustrations and cartoons in the magazine itself (including a Searle influenced trip to Europe by Schoolhouse Rock designer, Bob Eggers) express the joyful exhuberance of the era. As an added bonus, there's an ad for the Famous Artists Course featuring the inspiring life story of illustrator, Albert Dorne. Enjoy!















Thanks to archive supporter Gary Francis for sharing this gem with us.

If you enjoyed this article, you'll also want to check out... An Interview With Playboy's Eldon Dedini, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla, Tytla At Terry: Mighty Mouse Meets Jekyll &' Hyde Cat 1940, The Pencil Test of Art Babbitt's Best Scene, our Profile of Carlo Vinci, and Remembering Berny Wolf

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Event: An Evening With Andreas Deja Follow-Up

Last night at the Van Eaton Gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA, we had a rare opportunity to gain insight into the career and working method of one of animation's top talents... Andreas Deja. Andreas covered a huge range of subjects and shared his thoughts and passion for hand drawn animation with a packed house of enthusiastic fans, professionals and students of the artform.


On a big screen, Andreas peppered his talk with sketches, memoribilia and photos from his personal collection, and drew on the overhead projector to illustrate the concepts he was discussing.


After his talk, Andreas generously met with the audience and signed autographs on the great artwork assembled by the Van Eatons. He offered encouragement and advice to the students in the audience, like the contingent from Laguna College of Art and Design pictured above.


Many thanks to Andreas, the folks at the Van Eaton Gallery and the great group of people who came out to support the archive project.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Link: Will Finn's Letter From Ward Kimball

STUDENTS! READ THIS LETTER!


Here is perhaps the best tip you'll get all year... Ward Kimball's advice for young animators. Thanks to Will Finn for sharing this!
.

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Event: An Evening With Andreas Deja

Tell Everyone You Know!

AN EVENING WITH ANDREAS DEJA



A BENEFIT FOR THE ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD ANIMATION ARCHIVE, Thursday June 21st, 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Andreas Deja, one of the most talented and well-known of contemporary Disney animators will be making a special appearance for an evening of animation and fun at Van Eaton Galleries! Andreas' animation has had a huge impact on American popular culture over the past couple of decades.... Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are among the most popular and successful animated features of all time. Andreas will be sharing his behind-the-scenes stories, showing examples of his work, and answering your questions in this unique program.

Event Exclusive! By special permission from Walt Disney Studios, and with the help of Collectors Editions, Andreas has created a Limited Edition Giclee especially for this event! Be one of the first to own this beautiful piece of art featuring some of his most famous characters! Limited to only 200 pieces, this very special Limited Edition, (image above), can be signed by Andreas, and will be available by PRE-ORDER, as well as on sale at the event. Proceeds will be going to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive Project. Call 818-788-2357 to Pre-Order today!

The walls of the Van Eaton Gallery will be packed with original production artwork, including some of Deja's own production work and his original wire sculptures. It will be a rare opportunity to add a very special piece to your collection. A portion of all sales on the evening of the event will also go to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Project.

Seating Is Extremely Limited!

Tickets $10:00 in Advance and $12:00 at the Door
All proceeds go to The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive
To purchase tickets and for more information, call 818-788-2357.

Don't Miss Out!

ABOUT THE CAUSE

The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization, has embarked on an ambitious project to create an animation archive, museum, and library for the benefit of the animation community, students and general public. Located in Burbank CA, the archive is currently building a database of images, filmographic data and biographical sketches. More info at http://www.animationarchive.org

Sincerely,
Van Eaton Galleries Staff
13613 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
http://www.vegalleries.com/old_site/index.html

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History: The Building Of The Disney Studio

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.



Normally, I only do three articles a week, but a posting at Hans Perk's AFilm LA spurred me to digitize a magazine I've been meaning to scan for a while. Here it is, along with links to Hans' postings on the subject.

Among the collection of Clair Weeks was a publication from 1939 dealing with the construction of Disney's studio in Burbank. It's a fascinating look at the way the Disney operation was structured at the peak of its success. The end of the article is taken up with a detailed description of the production process at Disney. (Note: There's an error in the order of the steps in the section on story- the script was transcribed from the storyboard, not the other way around. And they discuss voice recording out of sequence as well.)






Now that you've read the article, click on these images to see Hans Perk's images of the Burbank lot...


Aerial view of Burbank before Disney's studio is built.


Aerial view of the Disney studio.


Helen Jordan's photos of the studio under construction.


The newly completed animation building in 1939.
If you found this interesting, you'll want to check out our previous posts about material from the collection of Clair Weeks... Clair Weeks Goodbye Book, the 1938 Disney Artists Tryout Book and Clair Week's Animal Studies. Also, see... Walt Disney Goes To War, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla and Musical Timing Rediscovered.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

3.19.09
.

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Pinups: Eldon Dedini's Satyrs and Nymphs

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 9 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great pinup art.


You can't beat Christmas in the country.
A while back, we posted a group of Playboy cartoons by Eldon Dedini. Today, we present more of this artist's amazing work, along with a video interview of Dedini in his studio discussing how he got his start.

Eldon Dedini is best known for his magazine cartoons from Esquire and Playboy. But early in his career, he was an editorial cartoonist for local newspapers, and a story man for Walt Disney.

Archive supporter, Ken Kearney lives close to the Monterey area, where Dedini lived and worked for many years. In 2005, he produced an interview video, which he generously donated to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive for our biographical database. Here is a clip from Ken's video where Dedini tells how he got started as a cartoonist and his experiences as a story man with Disney on Fun & Fancy Free and Donald Duck cartoons like Dumbell of the Yukon.



Eldon Dedini Interview (Ken Kearney/2005)
(Quicktime 7 / 14.2 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

DEDINI IN PLAYBOY
Here is a feature on Dedini's famous "Satyr & Nymph" comics from Playboy, followed by some higher resolution images of individual cartoons...







We forgot the picnic basket!


I'd like you to meet my father,
but I don't dare. You know how
even old satyrs are!


It's not that I didn't believe in Santa Claus-
It's just that you've shattered my image
somehow...
For more info on the great cartoonists who worked for Playboy in the 1960s, see these posts... Eldon Dedini Part One, Erich Sokol, Kurtzman & Elder's Little Annie Fanny, Doug Sneyd and Phil Interlandi.

If you're a fan of Dedini, you will want to get Fantagraphic's great book, An Orgy Of Eldon Dedini. It comes with a DVD documentary called "Dedini: A Life In Cartoons" Check it out!

I'm not sure if Ken is offering these for sale, but if you would like to inquire about ordering a DVD of Ken Kearney's Dedini interview, email, kenkearneystudios@hotmail.com.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

2.10.09
.

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Media: More 50s and 60s Album Covers

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.



Here are some more great album covers from the colleciton of Archive volunteer, Eric Graf. Check out our Previous Post of album covers too.










For more LP art, see... 50s and 60s Album Covers

For more amazing illustration for kids, see our postings on Little Golden Books

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Illustration: Uncle Remus Stories Part Two

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.



Here are more scans from "Uncle Remus Stories", loaned to us by archive volunteer, Eric Graf. These wonderful illustrations are by Al Dempster and Bill Justice. For more images from this great Giant Golden Book, see... Uncle Remus Stories Part One

As always, if you'd like to see more of this book, let me know in the comments below.













If you found this to be useful, see also... Uncle Remus Stories Part One, Little Verses Part One, Part Two and The New Golden Song Book Part One, Part Two and Part Three, and Huckleberry Hound Builds A House.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Illustration: Early 50s Disney Christmas Cards

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.

1948


No, you're not suffering from some sort of holiday flashback... It's almost Valentine's Day, not Christmas! Today, we digitized a batch of wonderful 1950s Christmas cards from the Disney studio from 1948 through the mid-1950s. The designs on these cards are so much fun, it makes you wish the films themselves looked this cartoony.

You might wonder why I chose today to post Christmas images. This illustrates a point that I need to make every once in a while... The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project Blog is NOT the archive itself. It is only a forum for us to report the progress of the project and show examples of the sorts of things we were working on that particular day. Today, we digitized Christmas cards... tomorrow it might be an illustrated children's book from the 1920s... the next day a clip from an animated cartoon by Paul Terry... there is no order implied or intended. The order comes in the way keyword searches link material within the database itself.

The other thing to keep in mind is that for every image you see here on this blog, there are dozens and dozens that we don't post. Our database has grown into the terabytes. There's no way that we will ever be able to post all of it online. My hope is to eventually syndicate the archive as kiosks at university libraries, studios and ASIFA chapters all over the world. But that's quite a ways in the future!

I want to thank the family of Clair Weeks for sharing these great cards with us. See the bottom of this post for links to more treasures from the Weeks collection.




1949





1950





1951





1952





1953





1954





1955





1956




Many thanks again to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing these with us.

For more treasures from the collection of Clair Weeks, see... History: Clair Weeks' Goodbye Book and History: 1938 Disney Artists' Tryout Book

See you at the Annies!
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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History: Nat Falk's How To Make Animated Cartoons Part Five

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.

Here is the conclusion of Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons". This section contains lessons on how to animate. There are some great examples here taken directly from cartoons by Terry, Lantz, Fleischer and Mintz. If you missed the first chapter of this rare book and would like to start from the beginning, see... Nat Falk's History of Animation. The rest of the chapters are linked at the bottom of this post.

HOW TO ANIMATE













For more from this rare book, see Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons" Part One: History of Animation, Part Two: The Cartoon Studios, Part Three: How Cartoons Are Made and Part Four: Drawing For Animation.

For more drawing lessons, see The $100,000 Cartoon Drawing Course, Bill Nolan's Cartooning Self Taught and Willard Mullin On How To Draw Animals.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Cartoons: Cartoon Lions

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 7 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great cartoons to study.

I have to apologize... I've been so busy today in meetings, I don't have time to do a full post. But I'm working on a good one featuring more material from the Clair Weeks collection that I promise I'll finish on Saturday. In the meantime, here are a few quick lion scans and links to go with John K's interesting post, The Disney Lion: Evolution and Devolution.


Chuck Jones animation layout from "Inki & the Lion"


Connie Rasinski's King Loony XIV from "Nutty Network"


Bill Nolan draws the King of Beasts in "Cartooning Self Taught"


Tibor Gergely Golden Book illustration from "A Day In The Jungle"


Willard Mullin on Drawing Animals


More of Connie's Lion!
Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

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History: Disney's Artist Tryout Book

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.


Today, we scanned another fascinating document from the collection of Clair Weeks. This is the "Disney Studios Artist's Tryout Book" from 1938. It provides a valuable overview of the production process and description of the various job categories. You will definitely want to print this out and study it carefully.

Here are some quotes from this booklet that you might find interesting...

STORY MEN must be able to draw. The stories are not written but are visualized in sketch form.

The value of an animator is dependent upon his ability to dramatize and caricature life, and to time and stage his characters' actions in an unusual and interesting way. An animator must be a showman- he must know how to entertain an audience, to present a gag, to picture dramatically an ordinary incident. Above all, he must be a sure and skillful draftsman.

THE DIRECTOR must have complete knowledge of every phase of animation, have executive ability and outstanding dramatic talent. He must be familiar with practically all of the Arts... To date, all directors have arisen from the ranks of the Studio, sometimes through story work, but more often through animation. Because of the complexity of animation it seems that this will continue to be the case.

All inking and painting of celluloids, and all tracing done in the Studio is perfomed exclusively by a large staff of girls known as Inkers and Painters... This is the only department in the Disney Studio open to women artists.

The original brochure was in very poor condition, with tears and waterstains throughout. I'm sure that this was carried around in Weeks' back pocket for quite a while. But Photoshop can work miracles, so these scans ended up looking better than the original.

In case you haven't noticed, the Archive has become "an embarassment of riches". We are doing very important work here. I hope you will support our project any way you can.


















If you found this useful, you'll also want to check out... Walt Disney Goes To War, John Canemaker on Bill Tytla and Musical Timing Rediscovered.

Jerry Beck posted a related booklet at Cartoon Brew... Titled "The Ropes At Disney", it outlines the rules and regulations governing the employees of the studio and the organizational hierarchy of the various departments.



If you haven't seen it yet, make a point of checking it out.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

12.11.08
.

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History: Nat Falk's How To Make Animated Cartoons Part Four

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.



Here is the first half of the last chapter in Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons". This section contains a brief article by Walter Lantz dealing with the creation of Andy Panda, and lessons on how to draw animated cartoons. If you missed the first chapter of this rare book and would like to start from the beginning, see... Nat Falk's History of Animation. The rest of the chapters are linked at the bottom of this post.

Thanks to the family of the legendary animator, Carlo Vinci for sharing this great book with us!

HOW I CREATED ANDY PANDA
By Walter Lantz





HOW TO DRAW ANIMATED CARTOONS











For more from this rare book, see Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons" Part One: History of Animation, Part Two: The Cartoon Studios Part Three: How Cartoons Are Made and Part Five: How To Animate.

For more drawing lessons, see The $100,000 Cartoon Drawing Course, Bill Nolan's Cartooning Self Taught and Willard Mullin On How To Draw Animals.

Next week will be a busy one! We will be posting the concluding chapter of this book; the Annie Awards are next Sunday, February 11th; and I have two amazing books loaned to us by the family of Clair Weeks to digitize. If anyone is available to volunteer Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, please email me and let me know when you would like to come help out.

Thanks!
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Biography: Clair Weeks' Goodbye Book 1952

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.


Today, we had a visit from the family of Clair Weeks. They brought along several portfolios full of beautiful drawings, mostly from Bambi. Over the next few weeks, they will be allowing the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive to digitize the material for inclusion in our database. They also promise to write a Biopedia Page for Weeks. Here is the "Readers' Digest version" of Weeks' career...

A missionary's son, Clair Weeks was born in 1912 in India. He lived there until the early 1930s, when he relocated to America. In 1936, he joined the staff of the Walt Disney Studio and set to work as an assistant on Snow White. He went on to assist Marc Davis on Bambi, CInderella and Peter Pan, taking a brief break from animation to serve in the military during WW2.

In the early 50s, Weeks left the studio travel the world. He eventually settled in Bombay, India, where he headed up a government owned studio that produced animated shorts. Weeks' impact on Indian animation was immense. The people he trained were the pioneers who established the Indian animation industry.


The treasure I'm presenting today dates to August of 1952... It's the scrapbook given to Weeks upon his departure from Disney. I won't spoil the fun by telling you what's in it. Click on the images and prepare to be amazed! (Thanks to Hans Perk for the identifications!)



Members of the "9 Old Men": Marc Davis (Weeks was his assistant), Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl, Eric Larson / Assistant Animators: Bob McCrea, Clarke Mallery, Iwao Takamoto, Julius Svendsen, Bill Eigle (?)


Ben Sharpsteen (Director) / Hazel George (Studio Nurse) / Hal Adelquist (Asst. Director) / Oliver Wallace (Music) / Koneta Roxby (Library) / Bob Gibeaut (Cutting) / Jo Sears (Ink & Paint / Production)


Layout Artists: Lance Nolley, Al Zinnen, Don Griffith, Ken Anderson, Ken O'Connor, Mike Holoboff, MacLaren Stewart, Basil Davidovich, Tom Codrick, Charles Philippi / Background Artists: Jimi Trout, Hugh Hennesy, Ray Huffine, Art Riley, Dick Anthony, Ralph Hulett, Al Dempster, Claude Coats, Art Landy / Art Directors: Thor Putnam, John Hench / Directors: Jack Kinney, Charles "Nick" Nichols, Gerry Geronimi, Wilfred "Jaxon" Jackson / Asst Directors: Bee Selck, Lou Debney, Toby Tobelman (?) / Directors' Secretary: Marie Dasnoit / The Man: Walt Disney / Tom Jekel (?)


Animators: Bob Youngquist, Jack Campbell, Les Clark (9 Old Men), Hugh Fraser, John Lounsbery (9 Old Men), Harry Holt, Art Stevens, George Nicholas / Asst Animators: Walt Stanchfield, Lou Appet, Bob Ogle, Dale Barnhart


Don DaGradi (Art Director)



Animators / Assistants: Dick Lucas / Al Wilson / Jim Steele / Eric Cleworth / Ambrozy Paliwoda / Jerry Hathcock / Charlie "Chuck" Downs / Bob Carlson / Woolie Reitherman (9 Old Men) / Ed Soloman / Wathel Rogers


Bonar Dyer (Personnel) / Mary Flanigan (Notary) / Bunny Venable (Production or Legal)



Mostly Effects Animators: Retta Davidson, Dwight Carlisle, Joe Nunez, Sandy Strother, Dan MacManus, Al Severns, George Rowley, Marion Mahnken, Jack "Buck" Buckley, Frank Onaitis, Ed Parks, Jane Fowler


Ed Aardal (Animator) / Harvey Orr (Print Shop) / Johnny Bond (Head of Clean Up)




Ken Peterson (Animator / Prod. Mgr. / Scheduling) / Andy Engman (Effects Animator / Prod. Mgr.) / Esther "Esta" Haight (Front Office File Room / Western Union) / Anne Meyer (Production?)


Thanks to the family of Clair Weeks for sharing this with us!

If you enjoyed this post, you'll also want to check out... Art Babbitt's Best Scene / Canemaker on Tytla Part One and Part Two and Carlo Vinci, Pioneer Animator

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

11.26.08
.

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Illustration: Uncle Remus Stories 1949

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.


On Saturday archive volunteer, Eric Graf brought by another treasure for us to digitize... a 1949 edition of the Disney Giant Golden Book, "Uncle Remus Stories". It features a spectacular cover by Mary Blair and many beautiful interior illustrations by Al Dempster and Bill Justice.

This book is interesting, not just for its relationship to the rarely seen Disney film, Song of the South, but for the material that doesn't appear in the film. Along with the familiar stories about the Tar Baby and Brer Rabbit's Laffin' Place, the book illustrates a dozen other stories like "De Great Rabbit Terrapin Race", "Brer Fox and de Stolen Goobers" and "Why de Cricket Fambly Lives in Chimbleys".
































If you found this to be useful, see also... Little Verses Part One, Part Two and The New Golden Song Book Part One , Part Two and Part Three, and Huckleberry Hound Builds A House.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

11.24.08
.

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Biography: Bill Tytla Part Two

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.



Today, we complete the article that John Canemaker lent us to digitize. It's an article he wrote for an exhibit of artwork by Bill Tytla. If you missed the first half, you can find it at... Biography: Bill Tytla Part One.

Here is the conclusion of this fascinating article...

















If you enjoyed this article, you'll also want to check out... Tytla At Terry: Mighty Mouse Meets Jekyll &' Hyde Cat 1940, The Pencil Test of Art Babbitt's Best Scene, our Profile of Carlo Vinci, and Remembering Berny Wolf

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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History: Nat Falk's How To Make Animated Cartoons Part Three

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.



Today, we continue with the next chapter from Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons". This section details the production process, including great pictures and artwork from Terrytoons in the late 30s. If you missed the first chapter of this rare book, see... Nat Falk's History of Animation. The second chapter is The Top Seven Animation Studios.



















For more from this rare book, see Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons" Part One: History Of Animation, Part Two: The Cartoon Studios Part Four: How To Draw Cartoons and Part Five: How To Animate.


Thanks!
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Illustration: Mary Blair Song Book Part Three

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.



Today, we continue digitizing Mary Blair's "New Golden Song Book" from 1955. If you missed the first two parts of this book, see Mary Blair Song Book Part One and Part Two.



Click on the image for a full size view.

















If you missed the posting of the first part of this book, see Mary Blair Song Book Part One and Part Two.

For more beautiful illustrations by Mary Blair, see... Little Verses Part One, Part Two, and Baby's House.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Filmography: Bambi

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.

Archive supporter, Mark Kirkland stopped by the other day with his collection of artwork from Bambi. It's a nice overview of the film... color keys, animation drawings, model sheets. Many thanks for sharing these with us, Mark!







Bambi's Father
Animation Drawing by Milt Kahl


Bambi's Mother
Animation Drawing by Frank Thomas


Model Sheet by Marc Davis



Character Design by Marc Davis


The wonderful thing about our digital archive is that it allows collectors to share their treasures with the world. If you have artwork you would like to loan us to be digitized, please stop by for a visit.

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

11.03.08
.

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Biography: Bill Tytla Part One

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.

John Canemaker lent us a copy of an article he wrote for an exhibit of artwork by Bill Tytla. Tytla was a giant among animators, known for his solid, dimensional drawings and convincing depiction of weight and mass.

Here is the complete article...


































If you enjoyed this article, you'll also want to check out... Tytla At Terry: Mighty Mouse Meets Jekyll &' Hyde Cat 1940, The Pencil Test of Art Babbitt's Best Scene, our Profile of Carlo Vinci, and Remembering Berny Wolf

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

10.23.08
.

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History: Nat Falk's How To Make Animated Cartoons Part Two

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.

Today, we continue with the next chapter from Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons". This section is an overview of the seven major cartoon factories of the late thirties. If you missed the first chapter of this rare book, see... Nat Falk's History of Animation.










For more from this rare book, see Nat Falk's "How To Make Animated Cartoons" Part One: History Of Animation, Part Three: How Cartoons Are Made Part Four: How To Draw Cartoons and Part Five: How To Animate.

Thanks!
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Story: Walt's War

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 8 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great info on the history of animation told through the careers of great animators.

Here's a fascinating article from Life magazine on the Disney Studios during the wartime years...











Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

10.21.08
.

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Illustration: Mary Blair Song Book Part Two

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.



Today, we continue digitizing Mary Blair's "New Golden Song Book" from 1955. If you missed the first part of this book, see Mary Blair Song Book Part One and Part Three.














If you would like to see more from this beautiful book, please let me know in the comments below.

If you missed the posting of the first part of this book, see Mary Blair Song Book Part One and Part Three.

For more beautiful illustrations by Mary Blair, see... Little Verses Part One, Part Two, and Baby's House.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Media: 50s and 60s Album Covers

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 3 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about 50s children's book illustrators.


Archive volunteer and resident video guru, Eric Graf has amassed an amazing collection of novelty and children's records from the 50s and 60s. He brought a stack by the other day to be scanned. Check out how these covers make you want to rush to your phonograph to play the record. Tiny, badly designed CD and DVD covers just don't have the same impact. Thanks, Eric for sharing these with us!

















For more amazing illustration for kids, see our postings on Little Golden Books

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

10.16.08
.

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Media: Mice and Duck Models

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.

Today, we had a full complement of volunteers, and we digitized more of the model sheets loaned to us by Archive Alliance member, Van Eaton Galleries. The batch consisted of models of Mickey and Donald from various vintages. For more Disney model sheets, see... Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets and Two Disney Concept Artists.















One of these model sheets surprised me. Take a look at them and see if you can see why. These images are perfect to use to hone your drawing skills in Lesson Seven of John K's $100,000 Drawing Course.

These original production photostatic model sheets are available for sale by Van Eaton Galleries for $50 apiece. If you decide to add any of them to your collection, tell the folks at the Van Eaton Galleries that ASIFA-Hollywood referred you, and they will donate a portion of your purchase price to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

For more Disney model sheets, see... Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets and Two Disney Concept Artists

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

9.5.08
.

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Media: Two Disney Concept Artists

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.

Today, we digitized more vintage model sheets on loan to us by Archive Alliance member, Van Eaton Galleries. (For our previous posting, see... Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets.) Among the collection were some fascinating early concept sketches by two very unique designers... Albert Hurter and Charlie Thorson.

ALBERT HURTER

Albert Hurter was born in Switzerland in 1883. He came to America during the first World War and found work in the New York animation scene. He moved West and ended up working at Disney as a concept artist. His influence is seen in many of the Silly Symphonies and early features. His strengths were an unfailing solidity of drawing, and an eye for creating situations, not just designs. For more info on his life and career, see Bud Plant's Biography and John Canemaker's book, Before the Animation Begins.

Here are some inspirational designs by Albert Hurter...











CHARLIE THORSON

Until Gene Waltz's book, Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson, few people had heard of Charlie Thorson, but once you see his work, it's hard not to recognize his unique style in many cartoons from the 1930s. Thorson was responsible for the first model of proto-Bugs' Bunny and the Porky Pig redesign at Warner Bros, as well as numerous characters in Disney Silly Symphonies and Fleischer Stone Age cartoons.

Here are two beautiful model sheets Thorson created for Disney's "Little Hiawatha"...




I'm not sure who did this next piece, but it impressed me with the amount of detail and refinement Disney allowed his concept artists to instill in their work... I'm sure when this concept drawing was created, no one had any idea how the delicate pastel rendering technique would be translated into ink & paint!



These original production photostatic model sheets are available for sale by Van Eaton Galleries for $50 apiece. If you decide to add any of them to your collection, tell the folks at the Van Eaton Galleries that ASIFA-Hollywood referred you, and they will donate a portion of your purchase price to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

For more vintage Disney model sheets, see... Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets. Thanks to the Van Eaton Galleries for their support of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

9.02.08
.

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Media: Reluctant Dragon and Pinocchio Model Sheets

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see the bonus reason on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts featuring animation art.


Today, I'd like to introduce you to our latest Archive Alliance member, Van Eaton Galleries. Mike Van Eaton has been an ASIFA-Hollywood supporter for some time, and he has hosted several fundraisers for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive at his storefront gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA. His walls are jam packed with wonderful animation art, and he has generously agreed to allow ASIFA-Hollywood to digitize material in his inventory for inclusion in the archive database.

Earlier this week, Mike brought in a box full of Disney model sheets. The Disney Studios was probably the best organized operation ever to produce animated cartoons, and the heart of their production process was the Model Department run by Joe Grant. Concept designs were quickly duplicated and distributed as preliminary models, allowing development at the studio to proceed at a rapid pace. Once designs were approved, they were distilled into sheets full of drawings that captured a full range of angles and expressions. These detailed instructions on how the characters were to be constructed and posed were provided to every artist working on the film.

Here are a few samples of the model sheets Mike Van Eaton generously allowed us to digitize today...

The Reluctant Dragon (1941)






Pinocchio (1940)





These original production photostatic model sheets are available for sale by Van Eaton Galleries for $50 apiece. If you decide to add any of them to your collection, tell the folks at the Van Eaton Galleries that ASIFA-Hollywood referred you, and they will donate a portion of your purchase price to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Thanks to the Van Eaton Galleries for their support of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

8.27.08
.

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