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Ub Iwerks

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Ub Iwerks
A publicity photograph (circa 1929) of Ub Iwerks and his most famous co-creation, Mickey Mouse
Born
Ubbe Eert Iwerks

(1901-03-24)March 24, 1901
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJuly 7, 1971(1971-07-07) (aged 70)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHeart attack
Resting placeForest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Occupation(s)Animator, cartoonist, film producer, special effects technician
Years active1920–1965
Spouse(s)Mildred Sarah Henderson (January 5, 1927 – July 7, 1971; his death; 2 children)
ChildrenDon Iwerks
David Iwerks
RelativesLeslie Iwerks (granddaughter)

Ubbe Eert "Ub" Iwerks, A.S.C. (/ˈʌb ˈaɪwɜːrks/; March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971) was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, who created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse with Walt Disney. The works Iwerks produced alongside Disney went on to win numerous awards, including multiple Academy Awards.

He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His father, Eert Ubbe Iwerks, emigrated to the U.S. in 1869 from the village of Uttum in East Frisia (northwest Germany, today part of the municipality of Krummhörn). Ub's full name can be seen on early "Alice" shorts that he signed. Several years later he simplified his name to "Ub Iwerks", sometimes written as "U. B. Iwerks".[1]

He is the father of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and grandfather to documentary film producer Leslie Iwerks.

Filmography

1930

Title Release Date Series Notes
Fiddlesticks 8/16/1930 Flip the Frog • First cartoon by Ub Iwerks.
• First Flip the Frog cartoon.
• Filmed in two-strip Technicolor.
Flying Fists 9/6/1930 Flip the Frog • Many sources claim that FF was filmed in two-strip Technicolor like Fiddlesticks, though this is incorrect.
The Village Barber 9/27/1930 Flip the Frog • First non-woodland cartoon.
Little Orphan Willie 10/18/1930 Flip the Frog • This and Puddle Pranks were never copyrighted.
The Cuckoo Murder Case 10/18/1930 Flip the Frog • First Halloween-themed cartoon.
• First time a curse word is heard. The telephone in the detective office says "damn!" when it fails to wake up Flip.
Puddle Pranks 12/??/1930 Flip the Frog • Final woodland-themed cartoon.
This and Little Orphan Willie were never copyrighted.
• Only appearance of Flip's frog girlfriend.

1931

Title Release Date Series Notes
The Village Smitty 1/31/1931 Flip the Frog • First appearances of Flip's cat girlfriend and Orace.
The Soup Song 1/31/1931 Flip the Frog • Bandmaster Paul Whiteman is caricatured.
Laughing Gas 3/14/1931 Flip the Frog • Only appearance of the walrus.
Ragtime Romeo 5/2/1931 Flip the Frog • First time Flip wears a hat.
• Second time a curse word is heard. Flip says "damn!" when he fails to get his music sheet to stand up.
The New Car 7/25/1931 Flip the Frog • Starting with this cartoon, Flip's design slowly changes.
• Some plot elements in this cartoon are reused from a Disney Oswald cartoon, Trolley Troubles.
Movie Mad 8/29/1931 Flip the Frog • Caricatures include Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.
The Village Specialist 9/12/1931 Flip the Frog • Only appearance of Mrs. Pig.
Jail Birds 9/26/1931 Flip the Frog • First time Orace is Flip's horse.
Africa Squeaks 10/17/1931 Flip the Frog • Currently not shown on American television due to politically incorrect black stereotypes.
Spooks 12/21/1931 Flip the Frog • Second Halloween-themed cartoon.

1932

Title Release Date Series Notes
The Milkman 2/20/1932 Flip the Frog • First appearance of the orphan boy.
• The third time a curse word is heard. In the end, where Flip, the boy and Orace sing Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here, Orace sings "What the hell do we care?".
Fire! Fire! 3/5/1932 Flip the Frog • Fourth time a curse word is heard. Orace says "damn!" when he loses a game of checkers against Flip.
What a Life 3/26/1932 Flip the Frog • First time Flip interacts with humans.
Puppy Love 4/30/1932 Flip the Frog • First appearance of Flip's dog.
School Days 5/14/1932 Flip the Frog • First appearance of the spinster.
The Bully 6/18/1932 Flip the Frog • Final appearance of the orphan boy.
The Office Boy 7/16/1932 Flip the Frog • The secretary is a caricature of Joan Crawford.
• Contains inappropriate content.
Room Runners 8/13/1932 Flip the Frog • Contains inappropriate content.
• Fifth time a curse word is heard.
Flip says "damn!" after he falls down a flight of stairs.
Stormy Seas 8/22/1932 Flip the Frog • Possibly a withheld 1931 release.
• Final appearance of Flip's cat girlfriend.
Circus 8/27/1932 Flip the Frog • Copyrighted on September 7, 1932.
The Goal Rush 10/3/1932 Flip the Frog • In the beginning, there is a scene considered inappropriate where the bandmaster shoots the clarinet player just for playing wrong.
• First appearance of Flip's human girlfriend.
The Phoney Express 10/27/1932 Flip the Frog • First "official" appearance of Flip's human girlfriend. She bears a strong resemblance to Fleischer Studios's Betty Boop.
The Music Lesson 10/29/1932 Flip the Frog • Only appearance of Flip's friends.
The Nurse Maid 11/26/1932 Flip the Frog • This cartoon has two racist scenes that you won't find on TV. There's an angry "Chinaman–Fu Man Chu" type with long fingernails trying to scratch the eyes out of Flip. Later, a cigar store Indian has several gags with runaway animals.
Funny Face 12/24/1932 Flip the Frog • In the public domain.

1933

Title Release Date Series Notes
Coo Coo, the Magician 1/21/1933 Flip the Frog • Cameo of the spinster at the beginning.
Flip's Lunchroom 4/3/1933 Flip the Frog • Only Flip the Frog cartoon to have Flip's name in the title.
Technocracked 5/8/1933 Flip the Frog • Many sources claim that this short was made in two-strip Technicolor, though this is incorrect.
Bulloney 5/30/1933 Flip the Frog • Final time a curse word is heard. The bull says "damn!" after he's defeated by Flip.
A Chinaman's Chance 6/24/1933 Flip the Frog • Currently not shown on American television due to politically incorrect Chinese stereotypes
Final appearance of Flip's dog.
Paleface 8/12/1933 Flip the Frog • Final appearances of Orace, Flip's girlfriend, and the spinster.
Play Ball 9/16/1933 Willie Whopper
Soda Squirt 10/12/1933 Flip the Frog • Final Flip the Frog cartoon.
Caricatures include Laurel and Hardy, Jimmy Durante, Buster Keaton, Rasputin, the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Joe E. Brown, and presumably Cesar Romeo.
Spite Flight 10/14/1933 Willie Whopper
Stratos Fear 11/11/1933 Willie Whopper
Jack and the Beanstalk 12/23/1933 Comicolor

1934

Title Release Date Series Notes
Davy Jones Locker 1/13/1934 Willie Whopper
The Little Red Hen 2/16/1934 Comicolor
Hell's Fire 2/17/1934 Willie Whopper
Robin Hood, Jr. 3/10/1934 Willie Whopper
The Brave Tin Soldier 4/7/1934 Comicolor
Insultin' the Sultan 4/14/1934 Willie Whopper
Puss in Boots 5/17/1934 Comicolor
Reducing Creme 5/19/1934 Willie Whopper
Rasslin' Round 6/1/1934 Willie Whopper • Working title: Rasslin' Around
The Queen of Hearts 6/25/1934 Comicolor
Cave Man 7/6/1934 Willie Whopper • Music composed by Bennie Moten and his orchaestra.
Jungle Jitters 7/24/1934 Willie Whopper • Not currently shown on American television due to politically incorrect black stereotypes.
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 8/10/1934 ComiColor
Good Scout 9/1/1934 Willie Whopper • Music composed by McKinney's Cotton Pickers
Stereotypes of ethnic (Chinese, Jewish, Black) boy scouts.
Viva Willie 9/20/1934 Willie Whopper • Final Willie Whopper cartoon
The Headless Horseman 10/1/1934 Comicolor
The Valiant Tailor 10/29/1934 Comicolor
Don Quixote 11/26/1934 Comicolor
Jack Frost 12/24/1934 Comicolor

1935

All Comicolor shorts.

Title Release Date
Little Black Sambo 2/6/1935
Bremen Town Musicians 3/6/1935
Old Mother Hubbard 4/3/1935
Mary's Little Lamb 5/1/1935
Summertime 6/15/1935
Sinbad the Sailor 7/30/1935
The Three Bears 8/30/1935
Balloonland (aka The Pincushion Man) 9/30/1935
Simple Simon 11/15/1935
Humpty Dumpty 12/30/1935

1936

All Comicolor shorts.

Title Release Date
Ali Baba 1/30/1936
Tom Thumb 3/30/1936
Dick Whittington's Cat 5/30/1936
Little Boy Blue (aka The Big Bad Wolf) 7/30/1936
Happy Days 9/30/1936

Career

Iwerks was considered by many to be Walt Disney's oldest friend, and spent most of his career with Disney. The two met in 1919 while working for the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio in Kansas City,[2] and would eventually start their own commercial art business together.[3] Disney and Iwerks then found work as illustrators for the Kansas City Slide Newspaper Company[4] (which would later be named The Kansas City Film Ad Company).[5] While working for the Kansas City Film Ad Company, Disney decided to take up work in animation,[6] and Iwerks soon joined him.

He was responsible for the distinctive style of the earliest Disney animated cartoons, and was also responsible for designing Mickey Mouse.[7] In 1922, when Disney began his Laugh-O-Gram cartoon series, Iwerks joined him as chief animator. The studio went bankrupt, however, and in 1923 Iwerks followed Disney's move to Los Angeles to work on a new series of cartoons known as “the Alice Comedies” which had live action mixed with animation. After the end of this series, Disney asked Iwerks to come up with a new character. The first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was animated entirely by Iwerks. Following the first cartoon, Oswald was redesigned on the insistence of Universal, who agreed to distribute the new series of cartoons in 1927.

In spring 1928, Disney lost control of the Oswald character, and much of his staff was hired away; Disney left Universal soon afterwards. He promised never to work with a character he did not own ever again.[8] Disney asked Iwerks, who stayed on, to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of frogs, dogs, and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were created at this time by Iwerks, but were also rejected. They would later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.[9] Ub Iwerks eventually got inspiration from an old drawing. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. Then, on a train ride back from a failed business meeting, Walt Disney came up with the original sketch for the character that would eventually be called Mickey Mouse.[10] Afterwards, Disney took the sketch to Iwerks. In turn, he drew a more clean cut and refined version of Mickey, but one that still followed the original sketch.

The first few Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies cartoons were animated almost entirely by Iwerks, including Steamboat Willie and The Skeleton Dance.[7] However, as Iwerks began to draw more and more cartoons on a daily basis, he soon found himself unable to cope under Disney's harsh command;[11] Iwerks also felt he wasn't getting the credit he deserved for drawing all of Disney's successful cartoons.[12] Eventually, Iwerks and Disney had a falling-out; their friendship and working partnership were severed when Iwerks accepted a contract with Disney competitor Pat Powers to leave Disney and start an animation studio under his own name. (Powers and Disney had an earlier falling-out over Disney's use of the Powers Cinephone sound-on-film system—actually copied by Powers from DeForest Phonofilm without credit—in early Disney cartoons.)

Sinbad the Sailor

The Iwerks Studio opened in 1930. Financial backers led by Pat Powers suspected that Iwerks was responsible for much of Disney's early success. However, while animation for a time suffered at Disney from Iwerks' departure, it soon rebounded as Disney brought in talented new young animators.

Despite a contract with MGM to distribute his cartoons, and the introduction of a new character named “Flip the Frog”, and later “Willie Whopper”, the Iwerks Studio was never a major commercial success and failed to rival either Disney or Fleischer Studios. The Flip and Willie cartoons were later distributed on the home-movie market by Official Films in the 1940s. From 1933 to 1936, he produced a series of shorts (independently distributed, not part of the MGM deal) in Cinecolor, named ComiColor Cartoons. The ComiColor series mostly focused on fairy tales with no continuing character or star. Later in the 1940s, this series would receive home-movie distribution by Castle Films. Cinecolor produced the 16 mm prints for Castle Films with red emulsion on one side and blue emulsion on the other. Later in the 1970s Blackhawk Films released these for home use, but this time using conventional Eastmancolor film stock. They are now in the public domain and are available on VHS and DVD. He also experimented with stop-motion animation in combination with the multiplane camera, and made a short called The Toy Parade, which was never released in public.[13] In 1936, backers withdrew financial support from the Iwerks Studio, and it folded soon after.

In 1937, Leon Schlesinger Productions contracted Iwerks to produce four Looney Tunes shorts starring Porky Pig and Gabby Goat. Iwerks directed the first two shorts, while former Schlesinger animator Robert Clampett was promoted to director and helmed the other two shorts before he and his unit returned to the main Schlesinger lot. Iwerks then did contract work for Screen Gems (then Columbia Pictures' cartoon division) where he was the director of several of the Color Rhapsodies shorts before returning to work for Disney in 1940.

After his return to the Disney studio, Iwerks mainly worked on developing special visual effects. He is credited as developing the processes for combining live action and animation used in Song of the South (1946), as well as the xerographic process adapted for cel animation. He also worked at WED Enterprises, now Walt Disney Imagineering, helping to develop many Disney theme park attractions during the 1960s. Iwerks did special effects work outside the studio as well, including his Academy Award nominated achievement for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).

Iwerks' most famous work[citation needed] outside creating and animating Mickey Mouse was Flip the Frog from his own studio. Iwerks was known for his fast work at drawing and animation and his wacky sense of humor. Animator Chuck Jones, who worked for Iwerks' studio in his youth, said “Iwerks is Screwy [Skrewi] spelled backwards.” Ub Iwerks died in 1971 of a myocardial infarction in Burbank, California, aged 70.

A documentary film, The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story, was released in 1999, followed by a book written by Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy in 2001. The documentary, created by Iwerks' granddaughter Leslie Iwerks, was released as part of The Walt Disney Treasures, Wave VII series (disc two of The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit collection).

A feature film in 2014, Walt Before Mickey, was released and showed how Ub Iwerks, portrayed by Armando Gutierrez, and Walt Disney portrayed by Thomas Ian Nicholas co-created Mickey Mouse.

Influence and tributes

A rare self-portrait of Iwerks was found in the trash at an animation studio in Burbank. The portrait was saved and is now part of the Animation Archives in Burbank, California.

After World War II, much of Iwerks' early animation style would be imitated by legendary manga artists Osamu Tezuka and Shōtarō Ishinomori.

Iwerks Entertainment, a filmographic company, was founded in 1985 in honor of Ub Iwerks.

The 1986 DC Comics character Doctor Ub'x was named in his honor.

In 1989, Iwerks was named a Disney Legend.

In the The Ren and Stimpy Show episode "Superstitious Stimpy", Stimpy is chanting in garbled talk and mentions Ub Iwerks.

In the 1996 The Simpsons episode "The Day the Violence Died", a relationship similar to Iwerks' early relationship with Walt Disney is used as the main plot.

In the 2005 The Fairly OddParents episode "The Good Ol'Days", Timmy and his Grandpa Pappy are transported to an early Disney-style cartoon. In it, two street signs that intersect are named Ub and Iwerks.

The sixth episode from the second season of Drunk History ("Hollywood"), tells about Ub's work relationship with Disney, with stress on the creation of Mickey Mouse. Iwerks was portrayed in the episode by Tony Hale.

See also

References

  1. ^ For example in the opening credits of Little Black Sambo (1935).
  2. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 46.
  3. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), pp. 47–50.
  4. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 50.
  5. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 56.
  6. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 58.
  7. ^ a b Maltin, L. (1987). Of mice and magic: A history of American animated cartoons (Rev. ed.). New York: New American Library.
  8. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 109.
  9. ^ Kenworthy, John; The Hand Behind the Mouse, Disney Editions: New York, 2001. p. 53.
  10. ^ Kenworthy, John; The Hand Behind the Mouse, Disney Editions: New York, 2001. p. 54.
  11. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 143.
  12. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (2006), p. 144.
  13. ^ The Mouse Machine: Disney and Technology

Further reading

  • Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy, The Hand Behind the Mouse (Disney Editions, 2001) and documentary of the same name (DVD, 1999)
  • Leonard Maltin, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (Penguin Books, 1987)
  • Jeff Lenburg, The Great Cartoon Directors (Da Capo Press, 1993)
  • Marc Eliot, Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince (Citadel Press, 1994)
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