Left: Walt Disney with one of his creations Mickey Mouse (Photo: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images); right: Disney cartoonists on strike in 1941 (Photo: LA Times/Wikicommons)Graphic: The A.V. Club
With their concurrent Hollywood strikes, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild have designs on transforming the...
With their concurrent Hollywood strikes, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild have designs on transforming the...
- 7/17/2023
- by Ray Greene
- avclub.com
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Soon after the birth of Mickey Mouse, one animator raised Walt Disney Productions far beyond Walt’s expectations. That animator also led a union war that almost destroyed the company. Art Babbitt worked for the Disney studio throughout the 1930s and up to 1941, years in which he and Walt were driven to elevate animation as an art form, as seen in Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia. But as America emerged from the Great Depression, labor unions spread across Hollywood. Disney fought the unions while Babbitt embraced them. Soon, angry Disney cartoon characters graced picket signs as hundreds of artists went out on strike…
The press called them “Loyalists.” But there were many reasons why hundreds of nonstriking Disney artists drove to work the morning of May 28, 1941. Dumbo and Bambi would not be completed without them. They also shared a gratitude toward Walt, who...
Soon after the birth of Mickey Mouse, one animator raised Walt Disney Productions far beyond Walt’s expectations. That animator also led a union war that almost destroyed the company. Art Babbitt worked for the Disney studio throughout the 1930s and up to 1941, years in which he and Walt were driven to elevate animation as an art form, as seen in Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia. But as America emerged from the Great Depression, labor unions spread across Hollywood. Disney fought the unions while Babbitt embraced them. Soon, angry Disney cartoon characters graced picket signs as hundreds of artists went out on strike…
The press called them “Loyalists.” But there were many reasons why hundreds of nonstriking Disney artists drove to work the morning of May 28, 1941. Dumbo and Bambi would not be completed without them. They also shared a gratitude toward Walt, who...
- 7/5/2022
- by Jake S. Friedman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Doug Crane, whose animation skills graced cartoons ranging from Hanna-Barbera family fare to MTV’s Beavis & Butt-head, died on Dec. 17 from cancer. The death was confirmed by his daughter, Rose-Ellen, in a Facebook post.
Crane was an animator for Terrytoons, Hanna-Barbera, MTV, Filmation, Oriolo Films, Zander Animation Parlour, as well as a former Professor of Animation at Sva.
Born in Bronxville, New York, he attended Eastchester High School and graduated from the Cartoonist and Illustrators School (now called The School of Visual Arts in New York City).
Crane began working for Terrytoons in 1956. His first day at Terrytoons would change his life. Not only did he begin a career that would span 65 years, but he met his wife, Maureen Hurley whom he would marry and go on to start their family of 8 children.
Crane took a break from the New York animation industry briefly when he went into the Army...
Crane was an animator for Terrytoons, Hanna-Barbera, MTV, Filmation, Oriolo Films, Zander Animation Parlour, as well as a former Professor of Animation at Sva.
Born in Bronxville, New York, he attended Eastchester High School and graduated from the Cartoonist and Illustrators School (now called The School of Visual Arts in New York City).
Crane began working for Terrytoons in 1956. His first day at Terrytoons would change his life. Not only did he begin a career that would span 65 years, but he met his wife, Maureen Hurley whom he would marry and go on to start their family of 8 children.
Crane took a break from the New York animation industry briefly when he went into the Army...
- 12/20/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Stage performer and actress Barbara Perry died Sunday from natural causes in Hollywood. She appeared in several films and TV shows including Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor (1963) and The Naked Kiss (1964) as well as The Dick Van Dyke Show and most recently, Baskets as well She was 97.
Born in Norfolk, Va. on June 22, 1921, Perry was a performer at a young age when she was a member of-of the children’s ballet of the Met’s corps de ballet, making her big stage debut in Madame Butterfly. She went on to study dance — with a specialty in tap — and performed at the Hollywood Bowl in the 1930s. Her talent for dancing was later on showcased at a variety of nightclubs including the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, the Chez Paris in Chicago, the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles and the Café de Paris in London. She also had the honor of opening...
Born in Norfolk, Va. on June 22, 1921, Perry was a performer at a young age when she was a member of-of the children’s ballet of the Met’s corps de ballet, making her big stage debut in Madame Butterfly. She went on to study dance — with a specialty in tap — and performed at the Hollywood Bowl in the 1930s. Her talent for dancing was later on showcased at a variety of nightclubs including the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, the Chez Paris in Chicago, the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles and the Café de Paris in London. She also had the honor of opening...
- 5/5/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Given how revered Disney's "Pinocchio" is today, it's hard to believe it was a flop when it was first released exactly three quarters of a century ago. Upon its New York City premiere, on February 7, 1940, critics hailed the film as a masterpiece, and even to this day, many prefer it to Disney's pioneering first animated feature, 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Yet it took the film many years and multiple re-releases to make a profit.
Today, of course, the legacy of "Pinocchio" is inescapable. Everyone's image of the puppet-boy with the nose that grows when he lies comes not from Carlo Collodi's original novel but from the kid with the Tyrolean hat and the Mickey Mouse gloves, as drawn by Disney animators. And the opening tune, Jiminy Cricket's "When You Wish Upon a Star," is ubiquitous as the theme music played before every Walt Disney movie and home video release.
Today, of course, the legacy of "Pinocchio" is inescapable. Everyone's image of the puppet-boy with the nose that grows when he lies comes not from Carlo Collodi's original novel but from the kid with the Tyrolean hat and the Mickey Mouse gloves, as drawn by Disney animators. And the opening tune, Jiminy Cricket's "When You Wish Upon a Star," is ubiquitous as the theme music played before every Walt Disney movie and home video release.
- 2/7/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
‘The Thief and the Cobbler’: Original version of Richard Williams’ animated film has first public screening at the Academy The first public screening of the original version of Richard Williams’ The Thief and the Cobbler will be held at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, 2013. Williams will be in attendance to introduce the recently reconstructed original workprint from 1992. The Thief and the Cobbler will be accompanied by Richard Williams’s 1972 Oscar-winning animated short A Christmas Carol, adapted from Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella. Featuring animation by Ken Harris and Abe Levitow, among others, A Christmas Carol has, according to the Academy’s website, "a distinctive and dark tone" inspired by John Leech’s engraved illustrations of the Dickens’ tale. In conjunction with the screenings, the Academy’s public exhibition “Richard Williams: Master of Animation,” featuring film clips,...
- 11/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences celebrates animator Richard Williams with the first public screening of the original version of his film “The Thief and the Cobbler” on Tuesday, December 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Williams, who has worked on the now legendary feature throughout the past 25 years, will be on hand to introduce the newly reconstructed original work print from 1992.
Loosely influenced by Persian miniatures, the film has become a legend in the animation industry. Williams began this ambitious film in 1968, and over the next 25 years, collaborated on it with such animators as Ken Harris and Emery Hawkins from Warner Bros., as well as Art Babbitt from Disney and Grim Natwick, the creator of Betty Boop.
The film was originally self-financed by Williams, but after he received two Academy Awards® in 1988 for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” Williams was...
Loosely influenced by Persian miniatures, the film has become a legend in the animation industry. Williams began this ambitious film in 1968, and over the next 25 years, collaborated on it with such animators as Ken Harris and Emery Hawkins from Warner Bros., as well as Art Babbitt from Disney and Grim Natwick, the creator of Betty Boop.
The film was originally self-financed by Williams, but after he received two Academy Awards® in 1988 for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” Williams was...
- 11/26/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The world premiere of Saving Mr Banks got a rousing reception from the audience as the closing film of the London Film Festival on Sunday night and mostly favourable reviews.
The tale of Walt Disney's struggle to bring Pl Travers' Mary Poppins to the screen was co-produced by Essential Media and Entertainment.s Ian Collie and executive produced by Hopscotch Features. Troy Lum.
Directed by The Blind Side.s John Lee Hancock and scripted by Kelly Marcel and Aussie Sue Smith, the film stars Tom Hanks as Disney with Emma Thompson as the Australian-born novelist and Colin Farrell as her father. Financed by the Disney Co. the film opens in Australia in January and in the UK on November 29.
The studio initially threatened legal action to shut down the project, which was developed by Essential Media and Alison Owen's Ruby Films, before finally giving the greenlight in late 2011.
After...
The tale of Walt Disney's struggle to bring Pl Travers' Mary Poppins to the screen was co-produced by Essential Media and Entertainment.s Ian Collie and executive produced by Hopscotch Features. Troy Lum.
Directed by The Blind Side.s John Lee Hancock and scripted by Kelly Marcel and Aussie Sue Smith, the film stars Tom Hanks as Disney with Emma Thompson as the Australian-born novelist and Colin Farrell as her father. Financed by the Disney Co. the film opens in Australia in January and in the UK on November 29.
The studio initially threatened legal action to shut down the project, which was developed by Essential Media and Alison Owen's Ruby Films, before finally giving the greenlight in late 2011.
After...
- 10/20/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Richard Williams was a pioneer of hand-drawn animation, working on films such as The Pink Panther and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But perhaps his most enduring work is his masterclass, The Animator's Survival Kit
When the animator Richard Williams celebrated his 80th birthday last month he was the subject of widespread and heartfelt acclaim as one of the most important and influential figures in his industry. His career has ranged from tiny TV commercials to the biggest budget Hollywood features, including the 1988 homage to the golden age of animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a film widely credited with single-handedly reinvigorating an art form that had fallen badly out of fashion.
Looking back over his many triumphs – as well as some notable disasters – Williams himself ascribes much of his success to a decision he made in the late 1960s, when he effectively demoted himself within his own, highly profitable and multi-award-winning,...
When the animator Richard Williams celebrated his 80th birthday last month he was the subject of widespread and heartfelt acclaim as one of the most important and influential figures in his industry. His career has ranged from tiny TV commercials to the biggest budget Hollywood features, including the 1988 homage to the golden age of animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a film widely credited with single-handedly reinvigorating an art form that had fallen badly out of fashion.
Looking back over his many triumphs – as well as some notable disasters – Williams himself ascribes much of his success to a decision he made in the late 1960s, when he effectively demoted himself within his own, highly profitable and multi-award-winning,...
- 4/19/2013
- by Nicholas Wroe
- The Guardian - Film News
Richard Williams was a pioneer of hand-drawn animation, working on films such as The Pink Panther and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But perhaps his most enduring work is his masterclass, The Animator's Survival Kit
In the late 1960s the animator Richard Williams was established as one of the leading figures in the industry. He had won a Bafta for his debut film, The Little Island; his London based company had developed a lucrative portfolio of commercial television work and he was providing the animated sequences for classic 60s feature films such as the Woody Allen-scripted What's New Pussycat and Tony Richardson's antiwar epic The Charge of the Light Brigade. So, he acknowledges, it was a strange time for him to engineer a demotion for himself.
"In fact I was still the primary director of the work," he explains today "but I also became an assistant to other animators, and...
In the late 1960s the animator Richard Williams was established as one of the leading figures in the industry. He had won a Bafta for his debut film, The Little Island; his London based company had developed a lucrative portfolio of commercial television work and he was providing the animated sequences for classic 60s feature films such as the Woody Allen-scripted What's New Pussycat and Tony Richardson's antiwar epic The Charge of the Light Brigade. So, he acknowledges, it was a strange time for him to engineer a demotion for himself.
"In fact I was still the primary director of the work," he explains today "but I also became an assistant to other animators, and...
- 4/17/2013
- by Nicholas Wroe
- The Guardian - Film News
"British cartoonist Ronald Searle, best known for his spiky drawings of the tearaway pupils of the fictional girls school St Trinian's, has died in southern France aged 91," reports Tim Castle for Reuters. Searle passed away on Friday, but the family waited a few days to make their announcement. "His spindly schoolgirl creations, which first appeared in 1941, hit the big screen in 1954 as The Belles of St Trinian's, with Alastair Sim starring in drag as headmistress Millicent Fritton. The film franchise was revived in 2007, with Rupert Everett taking over the headmistress role, with a follow-up, St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, appearing in 2009…. His work was recognized internationally, and he won a number of awards from America's National Cartoonists Society. In France, where he lived since 1961, he was awarded the country's prestigious Legion d'Honneur."
In March 2010, Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell wrote about organizing an exhibition "focusing on his reportage...
In March 2010, Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell wrote about organizing an exhibition "focusing on his reportage...
- 1/5/2012
- MUBI
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