Author Archives: Art Babbitt

1931 Disney Staff Caricatures & Profiles – pt 1

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Half by accident, half by definite purpose, I stumbled upon an auction of Disney memorabilia and in it was included a page of a magazine called Motion Picture Daily.  It had caricatures of Disney staffers from the early ’30s.  After … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, Animation, Disney, Illustration, Mickey Mouse, Nine Old Men | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fantasia Live at Lincoln Center

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Art Babbitt

View animation from Disney’s golden age, side by side that of today’s generation.  Sequences from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000  will be screened at Lincoln Center in New York City, accompanied by a live symphony orchestra .  By your tix today! … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Disney, Fantasia | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

News: Disney Lays Off Hand-Drawn Animators

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Art Babbitt

DISNEY STUDIOS ENDS 90-YEAR RUN OF DRAWN ANIMATION This was reported earlier this evening by Animation Scoop: Around 150 Disney staffers were let go on Wednesday (less than 5%) as part of an ongoing effort to streamline operations in keeping … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Disney | 3 Comments

Margaret Thatcher and Labo(u)r Strikes

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Yesterday’s news that Margaret Thatcher passed away left me with recollections of the musical “Billy Elliot.”  Did you manage to catch this show while it was on Broadway?  Its backdrop is the tumultuous UK coal miners’ strike in the 1980s, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941: The Disney Strike, Disney, Labor, miscellaneous | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Camel with Wrinkled Knees

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Art Babbitt

One of Babbitt’s best latter-day scenes is from the feature film, Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977), directed by Richard Williams.  For 1970s animators and kids of the 1970s/early 1980s, the film is still appreciated; for almost everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946-1970s: Later Years, Animation, Film | Tagged , | Leave a comment

This Calls for a Celebration!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Today BabbittBlog celebrates its One Year Anniversary! Thank you to everyone who commented, “Liked,” Followed, and supported the ongoing research of Art Babbitt’s upcoming biography!

Posted in miscellaneous, Pinocchio | Leave a comment

Country Cousin Draft Mosaic

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Art Babbitt

One of Babbitt’s greatest animated sequences is of drunken Abner, the Country Mouse, in Disney’s Oscar-winning short, “The Country Cousin” (1936).  This mosaic of the animator draft not only includes the names of the artist for each scene, but also … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, Animation, Disney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Tornado Outbreak of 1913

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Art Babbitt

People’s lives are shaped by the experiences they have as young children.  For Walt Disney, it was the fairy tales and old Americana he was introduced to as a struggling paperboy in Missouri.  For Art Babbitt, it began with a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907-1924: Sioux City Kid, Photography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dennis the Union Menace

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Art Babbitt

I recently got a hold of the autobiography of Hank Ketcham, creator of the comic strip Dennis the Menace, aptly called The Merchant of Dennis.  The book is filled with photos and illustrations on every page, and reminds me a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941: The Disney Strike, Disney, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SAG and the Disney Strike – June 1941

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Art Babbitt

In the early days of the Disney strike, (probably within two days of the first picket,) chairman of the Screen Cartoonists Guild Art Babbitt, with Disney striker John McLeish, contacted the Screen Actors Guild and petitioned the SAG executive board … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941: The Disney Strike, Disney, Hollywood, Labor | Tagged , , | Leave a comment