First Page Previous Page Next Page Mousetrapped Main Latest Site Updates
One thing about early Mickey Mouse that not enough people appreciate (outside of die-hard Disney or old animation fans) is how much of his cartoons were the hard work of one man…
Ub Iwerks.
Iwerks and Walt Disney met as teenagers doing art in Kansas City and started a partnership early on. When Disney decided to get into animation, Iwerks followed him. Iwerks worked with Disney on almost all of his early projects – the Laugh-O-Grams, Alice Comedies, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When Disney lost control of Oswald (that’s a hell of a story, but I don’t think I’m competent enough to tell it), Iwerks stuck by Disney’s side.
The animation you see in the original “Steamboat Willie” cartoon? That’s mostly Iwerks.
Iwerks continued to do the heavy living for the next two years until he and Disney had a falling out. Iwerks would go on to start his own studio and create Flip the Frog (two years til you’re public domain, Flip… I’m waiting). His studio never became as big as Disney or other companies. He’d do work for a few other studios before returning to Disney in 1940.
It’s really a shame that Iwerks doesn’t get remembered for his contributions to animation, not on the scale he deserves, anyway. Maybe I’m out of pocket here, but as much as the Walt Disney Company loves to tout how it all started with a mouse, they should honestly remember and promote Iwerks just as much.
Sorry for rambling.
Thunderbean Animation did a full bluray set of Flip the Frog’s cartoons, which you can buy here if you like.
See you tomorrow. -R.
2 throughts on "Mousetrapped, Part I, Page 4"