Your Thoughts on Ub Iwerks - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

W.J. Griffin · 09-06-2004, 04:10 PM

I recently purchased the "Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection" DVD, and, I must say, I found the whole compilation rather surprising, to say the least.

For a person who's used to the raunchiness of "South Park", "Ren and Stimpy" and "Beavis and Butt-Head", some of Mr. Iwerks's entries, particularly the "Flip the Frog" series, would be right at home on any Spike and Mike Twisted film festivals, what with the nudity ("Room Runners"), profanity ("Ragtime Romeo"; "Funny Face") and scatology("The Milkman" and especially "The Office Boy").

Make no mistake, these cartoons, with their (unflattering) ethnic stereotypes, sexual humor, and salty expressions (a group of little girls use the "F" word in "Funny Face") are NOT for the faint of heart, but I found them enjoyable as an example of what could be done in early 1930s animation (some of these cartoons share an unsophisticated earthiness with the Fleischer Bros. studio, even down to character design, as quite a few Fleischer alumni---Grim Natwick, Shamus Culhane, etc., also worked for Iwerks.)

Speaking of the early thirties, the animation in these shorts is quite sophisticated (but then, Ub Iwewrks DID set the standard for this type of animation when he worked as Walt Disney's partner during the 1920's, animating the first three Mickey Mouse cartoons all by his lonesone). In addition to his "Flip the Frog" series, Iwerks also produced the "Willie Whopper" series, about a rotund little boy who told wild, tall tales (these days we call them LIES), and the "Color Classics" series, which retold fairy tales in the "Silly Symphony" mode (and compared badly to Mr. Disney's afromentioned series.)

If anyone else has come across this DVD, I would be interested in hearing your opinions about these wildly entertaining shorts.

Dean Winchester · 09-06-2004, 05:12 PM

I've never seen the Ub Iwerks set. But I do think The Skeleton Dance (a Silly Symphony short he animarted in 1929) is a masterpiece, that's the only thing of his I know for a fact I've seen, but that short is definately a real classic.

musicradio77 · 09-06-2004, 10:08 PM

Back in the 30's while Ub Iwerks was at the Disney Studio with his "Silly Symphony" series, he was focused on Ub's series called "ComiColor" as he went to Celebrity Productions for a short time. The only cartoon I have on a VHS format is "Jack Frost". That cartoon might be Disney related, but I think is an excellent cartoon. The cartoon "Springtime" was another "ComiColor" cartoon from Ub's second company.

W.J. Griffin · 09-07-2004, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Full House
Back in the 30's while Ub Iwerks was at the Disney Studio with his "Silly Symphony" series, he was focused on Ub's series called "ComiColor" as he went to Celebrity Productions for a short time. The only cartoon I have on a VHS format is "Jack Frost". That cartoon might be Disney related, but I think is an excellent cartoon. The cartoon "Springtime" was another "ComiColor" cartoon from Ub's second company.

Actually, "Jack Frost" was made by Iwerks's own studio in 1935, and, along with "Ballon Land" (aka "The Pincusion Man"), is one of his many masterpieces! (Ub Iwerks didn't go back to disney until 1939 or 1940...long after his own studio shut down, a victim of the "trying to be like Disney" syndrome...which is not to say that his cartoons were without merit...quite the contrary, the Celebrity Pictures output, much like the early thirties output of the Fleischer Studio, has a charm all its own.)

musicradio77 · 09-08-2004, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by W.J. Griffin
Actually, "Jack Frost" was made by Iwerks's own studio in 1935, and, along with "Ballon Land" (aka "The Pincusion Man"), is one of his many masterpieces! (Ub Iwerks didn't go back to disney until 1939 or 1940...long after his own studio shut down, a victim of the "trying to be like Disney" syndrome...which is not to say that his cartoons were without merit...quite the contrary, the Celebrity Pictures output, much like the early thirties output of the Fleischer Studio, has a charm all its own.)

The cartoon "Balloon Land" was featured on a TV special called "The Pee-Wee Herman Show" on HBO back in the early 80's.

musicradio77 · 09-08-2004, 02:10 PM

For those of you who like the complete works Ub from both the Disney and Celebrity years, here is a complete discography of Ub Iwerks from the IMDb website.

Mikado · 07-09-2005, 02:34 PM

UB was a great animator and inventor, unfortunately, he didnt have the instinct for making mass market cartoons of his friend Walt D, and for that reason, he'll never be anything but a footnote in Disney animation history, and thats sad ... For a good look at the man's work, watch Plane crazy, the TRUE first ever Mickey Mouse cartoon ( Steamboat Willie usually gets the credit cause it was the first one that made a true splash ).

09-06-2004, 04:10 PM	#1
W.J. Griffin Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 29, 2002 Posts: 527	Your Thoughts on Ub Iwerks I recently purchased the "Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection" DVD, and, I must say, I found the whole compilation rather surprising, to say the least. For a person who's used to the raunchiness of "South Park", "Ren and Stimpy" and "Beavis and Butt-Head", some of Mr. Iwerks's entries, particularly the "Flip the Frog" series, would be right at home on any Spike and Mike Twisted film festivals, what with the nudity ("Room Runners"), profanity ("Ragtime Romeo"; "Funny Face") and scatology("The Milkman" and especially "The Office Boy"). Make no mistake, these cartoons, with their (unflattering) ethnic stereotypes, sexual humor, and salty expressions (a group of little girls use the "F" word in "Funny Face") are NOT for the faint of heart, but I found them enjoyable as an example of what could be done in early 1930s animation (some of these cartoons share an unsophisticated earthiness with the Fleischer Bros. studio, even down to character design, as quite a few Fleischer alumni---Grim Natwick, Shamus Culhane, etc., also worked for Iwerks.) Speaking of the early thirties, the animation in these shorts is quite sophisticated (but then, Ub Iwewrks DID set the standard for this type of animation when he worked as Walt Disney's partner during the 1920's, animating the first three Mickey Mouse cartoons all by his lonesone). In addition to his "Flip the Frog" series, Iwerks also produced the "Willie Whopper" series, about a rotund little boy who told wild, tall tales (these days we call them LIES), and the "Color Classics" series, which retold fairy tales in the "Silly Symphony" mode (and compared badly to Mr. Disney's afromentioned series.) If anyone else has come across this DVD, I would be interested in hearing your opinions about these wildly entertaining shorts.

09-06-2004, 10:08 PM	#3
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	Back in the 30's while Ub Iwerks was at the Disney Studio with his "Silly Symphony" series, he was focused on Ub's series called "ComiColor" as he went to Celebrity Productions for a short time. The only cartoon I have on a VHS format is "Jack Frost". That cartoon might be Disney related, but I think is an excellent cartoon. The cartoon "Springtime" was another "ComiColor" cartoon from Ub's second company.
	__________________ Musicradio77 Productions

09-06-2004, 05:12 PM	#2
Dean Winchester Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 28, 2003 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 14,803	I've never seen the Ub Iwerks set. But I do think The Skeleton Dance (a Silly Symphony short he animarted in 1929) is a masterpiece, that's the only thing of his I know for a fact I've seen, but that short is definately a real classic.

09-08-2004, 02:10 PM	#6
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	For those of you who like the complete works Ub from both the Disney and Celebrity years, here is a complete discography of Ub Iwerks from the IMDb website.

07-09-2005, 02:34 PM	#7
Mikado Main st bridge Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 06, 2005 Posts: 25,880	UB was a great animator and inventor, unfortunately, he didnt have the instinct for making mass market cartoons of his friend Walt D, and for that reason, he'll never be anything but a footnote in Disney animation history, and thats sad ... For a good look at the man's work, watch Plane crazy, the TRUE first ever Mickey Mouse cartoon ( Steamboat Willie usually gets the credit cause it was the first one that made a true splash ).