MetaFilter posts tagged with FlipTheFrog

Car-toons, with the emphasis on 'Car'

oneswellfoop — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:15:12 -0800

Cartoon Brew's animation historian Amid Amidi posted an almost-definitive collection of Automobile-themed cartoons from the 1950s and 1960s. Amid's list (all of which are also embedded in the first link): Motor Mania, 1950 (6:40), in which Disney's Goofy is at his most out-of-character as a mild-mannered pedestrian who becomes an anti-social demon behind the wheel. Typical driver? Car of Tomorrow, 1951 (6:21), a Tex Avery (previously here) collection of over 50 rapid-fire gags (which would be recycled elsewhere for years to come). Not futuristic, it's more about catering to car buyers' perceived desires of the time. Warning: lots of 1950's stereotypes, racial and gender. There Auto Be A Law, 1953 (6:51), gags about cars and driving from Looney Tunes' Robert McKimson, with lots of car crashes and a couple odd running jokes. Mildly amusing at best. Four Wheels No Brakes, 1955 (6:43), less about cars, more about "Pete Hothead", UPA's attempt to establish an ongoing character other than Mr. Magoo (who we'll see later). The Jaywalker, 1956 (6:39), dangerous pedestrian behavior as obsession in a more stylized UPA cartoon from Bobe Cannon and T. Hee. Magic Highway USA, 1958 (48:17), a full episode of Disneyland/Wonderful World of Color, directed by Ward Kimball (previously here) and sponsored by the Portland Cement Association is a mix of live-action and animation that is more about roads than cars (and mostly cheerleading "the freedom of the American Highway"). Animated Segments: American Roads Before the Auto (3:30), Tongue-in-Cheek Ideas for Improving Cars & Highways (3:50), Ever-More-Futuristic Transportation Predictions (as of 1958) (8:45). Automania 2000, 1963 (8:48), Halas & Batchelor's tale of a utopian-turned-dystopian future where auto overpopulation changes everything. Autókor, 1964 (9:34), a Hungarian production mixing photographs of cars (and other things) with cut-out animation for an abstract version of a car-driven lifestyle. The Ever-Changing Motor Car, 1965 (10:35), made for Ford of Britain, a not-quite intellectual "Psychological Enquiry Into Motor Car Design and Fashion" featuring "Professor Siegfried Von Fraud" and many whimsical car designs Ford was not selling in the '60s. Mr. Rossi Buys a Car, 1966 (10:25), directed by Bruno Bozzetto (previously here), in which one of the last pedestrians makes the transformation into driver and learns all the pitfalls of car ownership, ending up a little like Goofy in "Motor Mania" - some themes just keep recurring. What on Earth, 1966 (9:35), from the Film Board of ~~Canada~~Mars, showing what happens when explorers from another planet make their first aerial surveys of Earth and mistakenly conclude that the dominant species is the Automobile. One of my personal all-time favorite stand-alone cartoons. But wait! Mr. Amidi missed a few other significant cartoons from the era... "Susie the Little Blue Coupe", 1951 (8:15), the anthropomorphized autos in this Disney cartoon were an obvious inspiration for Pixar's "Cars". "Magoo's Puddle Jumper", 1956 (6:20), the second Oscar-winning animated short for UPA's nearsighted Mr. Magoo finds him buying an 'electric car' and driving it straight off a pier and into an unwitting underwater adventure. "Your Safety First", 1956 (12:38), produced for the Automobile Manufacturers Association, this year-2000 set toon (it's always the year 2000) features "future living" tropes years before The Jetsons (but no flying cars) segueing oddly into a self-congratulatory history lesson about cars and the carmakers' commitment to safety. "Stop Driving Us Crazy (The Spy from Mars)", 1958, part 1 (4:56) 2 (4:54). With an abstract/minimalist style and a story similar to "What on Earth?", an alien who resembles an automobile tries to blend in on earth, with messages of safe driving and spirituality from a National Safety Council/Methodist Church co-production. Quite an unusual mix. Of course, the most iconic cartoon cars of the early '60s were George Jetson's flying vehicle (Show Opening (:55)) and Fred Flintstone's foot-powered roadster ("Fred's Second Car", part 1 (12:24), 2 (12:06)). Gerry Anderson's first 'Supermarionation' production in 1961 featured the ultimate all-terrain "Supercar" (first episode, part 1 (12:21), 2 (11:51)). "Freewayphobia or The Art of Driving the Super Highway", 1965 (15:34), has Disney's Goofy again, portraying three different "bad driver types" (Timidius, Fidgitus and Neglectus, all a little more like the ol' Goof than in "Motor Mania") in an obvious Driver's Ed film. But in 1967-68, TV cartoons lost interest in the street and the highway and set all their auto-themed animation on racetracks, including the seminal anime "Speed Racer" (first episode (24:02)), Hanna-Barbera's large-cast "Wacky Races" (first episode (10:53)) and Jay Ward's satiric "Tom Swift" (first episode (6:31)). And it must be noted that some of the most popular cartoons set on a highway during those years featured no cars (and only an occasional big truck): Chuck Jones' (previously here, a lot) Road Runner and Coyote (here's the classic 'painted tunnel' gag from the first Road Runner cartoon "Fast and Furry-ous"). Of course, there were cartoons depicting America's 'love affair with the automobile' long before 1950, as far back as 1916 for the short shorts based on Tom Powers comics ""Mr. Nobody Holme - He Buys a Jitney" (1:40)" and "Never Again! The Story of a Speeder Cop" (2:04). 1931 saw now-forgotten cartoon star Flip the Frog in "The New Car" (7:25) and Fleischer Studios' sing-a-long advertisement (with a chaotic and somewhat racy intro) "In My Merry Oldsmobile" (6:26). In the late '30s, Chevrolet sponsored several cartoons in which one of its cars played a major, but usually non-sequitur, role, including 1938's wacky Magic Elf vs. Pirate tale "Nicky Nome (their spelling) in Peg Leg Pedro" (9:19). And in 1939, Betty Boop ran an 'Auto Hospital' in the suggestively-titled "So Does An Automobile" (6:26). Happy motoring!

"Iwerks is Screwy spelled backwards" -- Chuck Jones

filthy light thief — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:00:48 -0800

"Over the years in animation, there have been a lot of great animators. Ub Iwerks was one of those people. We know his work, but we don't necessarily know the man." The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (in 5 parts on DailyMotion: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) tells of the life of Ubbe Eert Iwerks, from the formation of the friendship with Walt Disney when they met at advertisement studio in Kansas City, their artistic collaborations and Ub's 20 years of animation, to Iwerk's technical creations that kept Disney animated pictures ahead of other studios. Ubbe Iwerks was born in 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of an inventor, Eert Ubbe Iwwerks. The younger Iwerks would later go by Ub, or U.B. Iwerks, and on occasion Herbert. Iwerks met Walt Disney in Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio in their late teens. They formed two ill-fated companies, first the Iwerks-Disney Studio Commercial Artists, which lasted a month, then Laugh-O-Gram Studio, where Ub was chief animator, and they made 11 short films. That, too went under (tangent: the building remains, but it's seen some rough days, which might not yet be over). But one of the characters from Laugh-O-Gram lived on: Alice, the little girl in an animated world. Walt moved to California, where he and his brother, Roy, pooled their resources and started a cartoon studio. Walt then convinced Virginia Davis, the live-action star of Alice, and her family to come to Hollywood, and invited Ub, too. "Remember what ol’ Horace Greeley said” ‘Go west young man – go west!’" Ub did, and he worked on a new character, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, in 1927. Disney went back to New York to re-negotiate the fees per short, but was greeted with the news that Universal Pictures owned the character, and Walt's animators had been hired out from under him. Walt was given the option to get less per short, or get nothing. Disney returned to California, where he had no main character, no animators other than Ub, who had turned down the offer for a higher salary. Ub drew up a number of animals, but it was a mouse that replaced Oswald as Disney's new star. Mickey grew in fame, eclipsing Felix the Cat as the most famous cartoon character, and Felix faded as Mickey's cartoons with sound gained in number and popularity. Ub also animated Silly Symphonies for Disney, utilizing sound-syncing by Cinephone, thanks to business and technological backing of Pat Powers and his associates. Powers, realizing that the Disney magic was largely the work of Ub Iwerks, convinced Ub to open his own studio, with backing from Powers. Ub's studio released 40 Flip the Frog cartoons, about a dozen shorts featuring Willie Whopper 25 ComiColor Cartoons, most based on fairy tales. Iwerks Studio was a who's-who of early animation, including Ed Friedman and a young Chuck Jones, who started as a cel washer. Ub implemented some technical features he created on his own, including a multiplane camera made from an old Chevrolet sedan (Google books preview). When Iwerks Studio lost its financial backing and folded in 1936, Iwerks was contracted to direct Looney Tunes shorts and some shorts for Screen Gems. Ub rejoined Disney in 1940, but as a animation technician instead of an animator, making animation faster and cheaper to meet the Wartime demands. Ub was head of Disney's Photographic Effects Lab. Iwerks and crew brought the animated Three Caballeros to the real world of South America, he helped cut out the entire ink and paint department with Xerox in 101 Dalmations, and brought the terrifying flock of birds to Hitchcock's The Birds. After two decades of exemplary animation, it would be his technical achievements that would win Iwerks awards, though he was posthumously awarded an Windsor McCay Award for his lifetime contributions in animation. In the summer of 1971, Ub Iwerks had a stroke, but kept on working. His left hand became limp and useless so he would use his right hand to maneuver it. His staff finally convinced him to go to the hospital where he died on the morning of July 7th 1971. The memory of Ub Iwerks is honored with the 1999 addition of the Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement to the Annie Awards. Selected filmography:

Newman Laugh-O-Grams (1921, silent short re-scored, animator(s) unknown)
Alice's Wonderland (1923, silent Laugh-O-Gram, re-scored)
Alice's Egg Plant (1924, re-scored short, featuring Julius the cat)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Mechanical Cow (1927, re-scored silent short)
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: Oh What a Knight (1928, re-scored silent short)
Mickey Mouse: The Opry House (1929, sound short)
Mickey Mouse: The Jazz Fool (1929 sound short, featuring Horace Horsecollar)
Silly Symphonies: Skeleton Dance (1929, sound short, all animation by Ub Iwerks)
Flip the Frog: Fiddlesticks (1930, Technicolor animation)
Flip the Frog: Room Runners (1932, b&w)
Flip the Frog: Techno-Cracked (1933, b&w satire on the Technocracy movement)
Willie Whopper: Stratos Fear (1933, b&w)
Willie Whopper: The Good Scout (1934, b&w)
ComiColor: The Little Red Hen (1934, color)
ComiColor: Balloon Land (1935, color)
ComiColor: Sinbad the Sailor (1935, color)
ComiColor: Little Boy Blue (1936, color)
Loony Tunes: Porky's Super Service (1937, directed by Ub Iwerks)
Screen Gems: The Frog Pond (1938, directed by Ub Iwerks)
Cartoons Limited (UK?): Beauty Shoppe (1940, b&w print of a Cinecolor short)
The Reluctant Dragon (1941, split up on YouTube)
Stop That Tank! aka Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (1942, Canadian war-time short)
a short clip on the sodium vapor process, utilized in Disney films like Mary Poppins, and by Alfred Hitchcock for The Birds.

Ub Iwerks

Astro Zombie — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 04:38:06 -0800

He had an awesome name for an animator. He created Mickey Mouse. He won two Academy Awards. He invented rotoscoping. Now he is mostly forgotten, except among cartoon aficionados. Also forgotten: Flip the Frog. He was Ub Iwerks.