Odds & Ends
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Clampett vs. Jones
Noted animation historian Michael Barrier has posted a couple of pieces by his long time collaborator Milt Gray on his website. One is a piece on Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs which is merely okay (it gets too distracted by the whole argument about the film's racism, or lack of it, while adding too little to that discussion), but the other is a fantastic essay about Bob Clampett, which you can read here. Gray's essay - informed by his encounters with Clampett and other figures from animation's golden age - is the most illuminating piece I've read about the long time feud between the two great Warner Bros. cartoon directors, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones. (My own piece on Clampett is here). It is fascinating reading for anyone even slightly interested in animation, but in the context of my recent commentary about Star Wars, I was also struck by this comment: On a few occasions, Benny [Washam, one of Chuck Jones' animators] was quite specific that if Chuck could have his way, all the Warner cartoons made before 1948 would be destroyed forever. I realized immediately what that meant: All the great Clampett and Tashlin Warner cartoons would become unknown, as well as all of Chuck's second-rate early works.In internet discussions about preservation of the Star Wars films, you'll often come across people arguing that they're George Lucas' films, and he can do what he wants with them. The above comment is a reminder that what artists think in later years about their own work cannot be an infallible guide as to what is important and warrants preservation. Labels: animation Posted by Stephen Rowley @ 1.6.06  
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