Tex Avery - "The First Bad Man"

Here's another classic from Tex Avery along with some great layouts by Ed Benedict. I think this cartoon along with The Flintstones should be shown to all those who don't believe in creationism. You think these cartoonists just made this stuff up on their own? :)

The First Bad Man

Uploaded by klangley

Art Davis - "The Foxy Duckling"

Here's another short from Art Davis' great crew. I love the design of the fox, the model sheet was drawn by Tom McKimson.

Foxy Duckling

Uploaded by klangley

Bill Ward

Donald and Pluto

A whole cartoon built around Pluto's ass. Fantastic. Check out the animator drafts from Hans Perk's collection if you want to know who did what. I had to enable comment moderation because of one man's erotic Woody Woodpecker fetish. Sorry.

Pat Matthews

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy Pat Matthews animation so I decided to string a bunch of clips together. Matthews was great at musical scenes and really wild action, and of course all those women he animated. It's a shame Matthews doesn't seem to get more recognition as he truly deserves it. Shamus Culhane spoke highly, but only briefly of him is his book. Even in Walter Lantz's biography he only gets a passing mention. I found that surprising since Matthews was one of his top animators throughout the 40s. Thankfully Mark Mayerson and Thad Komorowski have given him the spotlight on their blogs with their animator IDs. Matthews went over to UPA after Lantz shutdown the studio in 1948, where he animated on such shorts as "Robin Hoodlum"and "Rooty Toot Toot". Some clips might be jump between Matthews and a different animator but for the most part it's all Matthews. Oh, and they're all clips from Lantz cartoons. At some point I'll try and put one together of his UPA stuff.

Pat Matthews

Uploaded by klangley

Flip The Frog - "Room Runners"

Here's "Room Runners", to supplement Bruce's great post on the career of Ub Iwerks. Pay him a visit.

Room Runners

Uploaded by klangley

An Emery Hawkins Take

There's so many awesome drawings in this take from "Woody Dines Out" that I just had to post them. I don't think many people would argue that Hawkins draws the best looking Woody Woodpecker. Pat Matthews gets my vote for making Woody the most fun to watch but Hawkins' drawings are so perfect and solid.

Emery Hawkins Take

Uploaded by klangley

Bill Hanna - "Saturday Evening Puss"

This scene below from "Saturday Evening Puss" is one of my favorite musical moments from Tom and Jerry. I think Bill Hanna had a great sense of timing, and not just for musical numbers. Though I do think he was greatly influenced by those he worked with. Early in his career as director the timing of his cartoons is very similar to a Rudy Ising short. When Tex Avery started at MGM Hanna-Barbera's cartoons really started to pick up the pace much like Tex's shorts. Here's a couple of paragraphs from Bill Hanna's biography on timing:

Timing a cartoon is a partly mathematical and partly intuitive process. In studying the markings indicated on the metronome, I was able to determine that when the metronome clicked at a rate of 144 beats per minute, every beat represented ten frames of film. Using the index of twenty-four frames a second in animation movement, I figured that a twelve beat was half of that, so every time it clicked it would be twelve frames. Using that multiple I marked on my metronome for a ten beat, twelve beat, fourteen beat, sixteen beat, and so on to setting the tempo of, for example, a character’s walk by coordinating the action in frames to the beat of the metronome.

Such an axiom was fine for some things. In others, such as timing the facial reaction of a character, a double take, or some other comedic or dramatic bit of action, you just had to rely on your intuitive sense of timing and know how long you wanted to hold that look on their face, or other bit of business the action calls for. Then it becomes something that is felt more than precisely measured. You see it, you feel it, and somehow you just know if it is right or wrong.

Mickey Mouse - Basic Principles

... And yet, I still can't draw Mickey correctly.