The wonderful world of animation: Process + Production now on display at the LCAD Gallery
By MARRIE STONE
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“Bugs Bunny had only one meaning – to make people happy, to get them to laugh at themselves.” –Robert McKimson (co-creator of Bugs Bunny)
Perhaps it’s not entirely coincidence that the “golden age of American animation” began during the Great Depression. The technology arrived just in time. In 1928, animators discovered how to synchronize sound with cartoons. They were able to amuse a roiling nation and carry them through the dark days of not only an economic collapse, but the violence and uncertainty of World War II.
Animation’s golden heyday gradually ended in the 1960s, when theatrical animated shorts were overshadowed by the popularity of television. But during those 40 years (and even beyond), legendary animators like Chuck Jones – best known for his work with Warner Brothers on Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies – introduced the world to iconic characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
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Photo by Eric Stoner
“Bedeviled Rabbit” by Robert McKimson (celluloid film) for Warner Bros. Animation Art
Now through March 23, the LCAD Gallery is showcasing dozens of original artworks by Jones and other renowned 20th century cartoonists like Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Robert McKimson, Albert Hurter, Virgil Ross, Irv Wyner, Mel Crawford (Little Golden Books illustrator) and others. Process + Production features animated cells and backgrounds from Hanna Barbera, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. The exhibition includes original sketches from famous cartoons like The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Tom & Jerry, Yogi Bear, Alice in Wonderland and many more.
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Photo by Jeff Rovner
“Process + Production” includes numerous pencil sketches from Hanna Barbera, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney showing studies from cartoons like “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons”
In partnership with The Hilbert Museum, LCAD curated the exhibition to allow their students – and our community – the opportunity to see the history of the animation industry up close.
“Many of the paintings featured were used in backgrounds in animation and were hand painted using a flat paint called gouache,” said John Malta, department chair of illustration at LCAD and curator of the show. “The images are distilled instances from longer animated cartoons. They present a closer look at animated scenes you’d otherwise only see for mere seconds during an episode.”
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LCAD’s Department Chair of Illustration John Malta meets with students at the opening of “Process + Production” now on display at the LCAD Gallery
Bryan Heggie, director of the LCAD Gallery, added: “The show highlights the craftsmanship of hand-drawn and painted production pieces, providing insight into the creative process behind visual storytelling.”
While Jones may have given Bugs Bunny his soul, Robert McKimson gave Bugs his face. In a 1972 interview with Punch Magazine, writer Lloyd Chester interviewed McKimson about his work in animation. “I drew him so he could react to any situation, do anything most people would love to do, if they had the nerve,” McKimson told Chester. “It was his character to be prankish, to take great delight in going up against every rule of society. He was brash and hated pretension, but he was never malicious.”
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During World War II, McKimson drew more than 150 Bugs Bunny insignias for different branches of the Armed Services. “We were a bunch of young guys in the middle of a Depression trying to bring a little happiness to a pretty sad world,” McKimson said. “We had fun just walking up and down the halls at Warner’s wearing funny hats – all kinds: civil war caps, derbies, Stetsons, turbans – anything that we (could) turn into a comedy situation we thought funny. We were constantly telling ridiculous stories and jokes to each other, and it paid off. Our mad-cap antics were reflected in our cartoons and when you look at them today, hell, they’re still funny.”
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Photo by Jeff Rovner
A substantial collection of Robert McKimson’s pencil sketches of such iconic figures as the Tasmanian Devil, Porky Pig and, of course, Bugs Bunny are on display
The story lines were carry-overs from the early days of Hollywood. “Our cartoons were based on slapstick comedy. The old pie-in-the-face, slap ‘em with a board, hit ‘em over the head schtick. We borrowed heavily from the masters – Chaplin, Turpin, Arbuckle, Laurel and Hardy. Whatever was good enough for them was certainly good enough for Bugs and Sylvester and the Coyote,” McKimson said.
Chuck Jones discovered coyotes in Mark Twain’s 1872 book, Roughing It. “From the time I was very young, I have always read a lot,” said Jones in a 1999 interview with Ron Barbagallo published in Animation Art Conservation. “One of the great fortunes of my youth was that I always had books around me. My father always made it a criterion for every house we rented, that it be furnished and have lots of books. One of the greatest houses was on Mount Washington Drive, in Highland Park, Calif., where we rented a house owned by Harry Carr, the book editor for The Los Angeles Times.”
The house was crammed with pre-publication books Carr had accumulated and never thrown away. Books were behind the piano and in the basement. That’s where Jones discovered Mark Twain.
“(Twain) humanized (the coyote). And that was kinda news to me. I hadn’t run into anything where I felt that a coyote was like a human being,” Jones said. “He described how the coyote dressed and so on. At the end of the paragraph, Twain wrote, ‘He may have to go 10 miles for his breakfast and 30 miles for his lunch and 50 miles for his dinner, and we ought to pay attention to that and give him his credit, because he does that instead of laying around home, being a burden on his parents.’
“It was a new concept to my young mind, this way of humanizing the coyote’s traits. It’s a concept that stayed with me. Every year I re-read that book (Roughing It), including this year. Each time I re-read it, I find something I don’t expect. Obviously, I wasn’t looking for ideas when I was 5 or 6 years old, but I got them anyway. Mark Twain gave me the whole key to thinking that animated characters think the way we do.”
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Photo by Jeff Rovner
Chuck Jones’ “The Dream: Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner” (oil)
Jones stressed in that interview that “animate,” as defined by Noah Webster, is “to evoke life.” “That’s what animation is all about,” he said. “To some extent, that’s what’s missing in what is currently called animation. What I am afraid of is, I’ve seen the birth of animation, the growth of animation, and in some way, the decline of animation.”
Jones said he was fortunate in those early days (1930s-1950s) because nobody at Warner Bros. paid much attention to the animators. “As long as we made the cartoons that could be sold, no one bothered us much. No one ordered us to make anything better, and I don’t think we were making much effort to make things better either. We were experimenting and looking for different ways to evoke life, if that’s not too presumptuous. When Bugs became popular, it’s why they asked us to make some Bugs Bunnies.”
In a 1989 interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross, Jones said, “All the characters I felt were part of me. Particularly Daffy and the coyote, because they made the kind of mistakes that most of us make, only multiplied a bit.”
During WWII, Jones collaborated with Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) to create the Private Snafu series of Army educational cartoons. In 1966, they worked together to create How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Several of Geisel’s original pencil sketches are included in the show.
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Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) “Dachshund Dowdah” (ink on paper)
These are but a few of the dozens of treasures you’ll discover in this exhibition. Whether you attend as a student of art, history, or culture, or simply as someone who needs a smile, the show offers something for everyone.
“We invite you to engage with these works as essential components of the larger, dynamic creative process,” Heggie said. “The vibrancy, energy and spirit of these animated worlds are made all the more powerful when seen in the context of their creation.”
Much of today’s world looks like other inflection points in history. This exhibition arrives at a moment that feels historically similar and culturally resonant, to the time when many of these cartoons were created. Back then, the animators sought to bring a little cheer to a tumultuous world. They might just do the same for you.
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Photo by Eric Stoner
Laguna residents Roger and Ellen Kempler enjoy opening night at “Process + Production” at the LCAD Gallery last week
Process + Production will be on display at the LCAD Gallery through March 23. The Gallery is located at 374 Ocean Ave. and operates between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday). For more information, visit their website here.
