Rod Scribner Opening for UPA shorts

(via http://cartoonmodern.blogsome.com)
A theatrical opening animated by Rod Scribner. It was used in front of UPA's "Ham and Hattie" series in the late-1950s.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Rod
• Scribner
• UPA
• Animation
• Cartoon

[Mesterius1]

That's one of the most unfair descriptions I've ever heard of UPA. While it's more than true that TV cartoon studios like Hanna-Barbera emulated some of their tecniques into mere money-saving devices, the UPA crew actually had high artistic ambitions as their foundation - and their style was rooted in the creative freedom of modern art. The animation isn't "horrible" by any means, it's simply a different stylistic approach... and as such, it may clash with some people's tastes, as all styles do.

[Aaronamations]

I can't get enough of these stylized 50s modern cartoons

[LiimLsan]

This is the way UPA should have animated everything: with the characters MOVING like moving drawings, not just not moving. Stuff like this, or Rooty Toot Toot, or Bobe cannon's work beFORE he joined UPA...

[AllRequired]

@Mesterius1 Imagine Scribner-style animations getting past first draft today.

[satekmary506094]

Fantastic Music!

[spsmyth]

@Mesterius1 I have to agree with you. You can say what you want but to dis UPA as "horrible" without a knowledge of what went through Stephen Bosustow's mind when forming the company is ludicrous. The idea was to be almost anti-Disney, not only in the content, but the working style at the studio. Some fantastic cartoons came out of UPA, including "The Tell Tale Heart," "Rooty Toot Toot" and two Mr. Magoo shorts that won Oscars. Yep, pretty horrible.

[DisneyVideos2000]

Excuse me, where can you find "Magoo's Arabian Nights"?

[wmbrown6]

UPA 'toons were "highly regarded" by those in the media, because they were considered "different" from the "run of the mill" 'toon fare of the time; also, that studio had specialized in "hip" and "intellectual" fare - which in a way prefigured the media critics' preference towards "Monty Python" over Benny Hill and other so-called "low" comics from the '70's onwards.

[LeeJTurnock]

That was the trouble with UPA. They all wanted to do something "different" so badly, it literally didn't matter if it looked horrible and had the worst imaginable animation, as long as it was different from the rich, warm style of Disney and Warner Bros it was okay by them.

[Invisib0]

Wow, still has Rod Scriber's distinct quality, even if that animation is more limited.

Still strange to think the UPA style actually caught on as well as it did, to the point where every animation studio was copying it! Did people really find it more appealing than the Golden Animation style?