Category Archives: Animation

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

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

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

Ferdinand the Bull

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Ever the puckish trickster, Ward Kimball caricatured himself and his fellow animator as the parade of bullfighters in the 1938 Oscar-winning short, Ferdinand the Bull.  The two-page spread below is from a film magazine in Babbitt’s personal collection.  This bit … Continue reading →

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

Disney Subversives: Ward Kimball and Walt Kelly

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Of all the real-life characters in Disney history, Ward Kimball (b. 3/4/14) is one of the most fascinating.  Among the “Nine Old Men” of Disney animation, i.e. the company loyalists, Kimball was the only one who unequivocally felt that the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, 1941: The Disney Strike, Animation, Disney, Illustration, music, politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Disney’s Art Models

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Art Babbitt

For the Disney artists of the 1930s and early 40s, a huge credit of their exponential growth is owed to the in-studio art classes.  And while teachers like Don Graham and Eugene Fleury deserve their due, this post is to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, Animation, Dance, Disney, Illustration | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Babbitt’s Footage of the 1938 Oscars

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Happy Oscar season, everyone! The 10th Academy Awards was a unique event for the Disney Studios: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs received a nomination for best score, and The Old Mill won for best animated short. It was March 10th, 1938 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, Animation, Disney, Film, Hollywood, Photography, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The “China Shop” Story

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Art Babbitt

In Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston’s The Illusion of Life (pp72-73), they tell a story about the struggles of an early Disney cartoon and an anonymous animator.  It was mid-1933 and the artists, especially this particular animator, were much more … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932-1941: Disney Glory Days, Animation, Film, Nine Old Men | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

“Scotch Highball” Terrytoon draft

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Art Babbitt

Below are the animators drafts for the Terrytoon cartoon “Scotch Highball,” released November 16, 1930. Special thanks to Jerry Beck who noted that each Terrytoon short took three weeks to animate, and was released ten weeks later.  We can infer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1929-1932: Terrytoons, Animation, New York | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments