Iwerks Studio
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founder | Ub Iwerks |
| Defunct | 1937 |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California , United States |
Key people | Ub Iwerks (head), Pat Powers (financier) |
| Products | Animated series including Flip the Frog, Willie Whopper, ComiColor series |
Animated Pictures Corp., Ltd.—commonly referred to as the Iwerks Studio—was an animation company situated in Beverly Hills, California and headed by animator Ub Iwerks. Functioning from 1930 until 1937, the studio gained recognition for producing animated series such as Flip the Frog, Willie Whopper, and the ComiColor collection.
Background and financing
Ub Iwerks served as the director and principal animator behind the acclaimed Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony animations at Walt Disney, acting as a crucial creative collaborator with Disney. Early in 1930, he entered into an agreement with Disney's distributor, Pat Powers, to depart from Disney and independently create animated content. Iwerks brought along key figures including composer Carl W. Stalling and animators Merle Gilson and Ben Clopton.
The financial support, spearheaded by Powers, stemmed from the belief that Iwerks played a vital role in Disney’s initial achievements. Powers’ film enterprise based in New York, Celebrity Productions, Inc., ended its association with Disney to back Iwerks’ new studio. The company was officially formed as Animated Pictures Corp., Ltd., initially operating out of Los Angeles, California.
Flip the Frog series and MGM contract (1930-33)
The debut of Iwerks' inaugural cartoon character, Flip the Frog, occurred in 1930 with Fiddlesticks, which was released in black-and-white as well as Harriscolor, placing it among the pioneering sound cartoons presented in color. Shortly after launching the series, Animated Pictures set a sales milestone by selling European distribution rights within ten days. By mid-1930, a distribution deal was secured with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The moderate popularity of Flip cartoons allowed the studio to grow its workforce and relocate to Beverly Hills.
Among the leading creative team was Grim Natwick, formerly responsible for designing Betty Boop at Fleischer Studios, who directed creative efforts from 1931 to 1934. Natwick recruited animators such as Shamus Culhane, Al Eugster, Berny Wolf, along with composer Art Turkisher—all veterans of Fleischer Studios. Animator Fred Kopietz suggested hiring Chuck Jones from the Chouinard Art Institute; Jones began his career there as a cel washer before rising to prominence at Warner Bros. Despite this influx of talent from Disney and Fleischer backgrounds, Iwerks’ studio did not achieve comparable commercial success.
Initially, Flip the Frog’s appearance and character traits closely resembled those of Mickey Mouse, but over time evolved into a figure more reminiscent of Chaplin, embodying themes reflective of Depression-era hardships that resonated with audiences of that time.
Expansion, Willie Whopper and ComiColor series (1933-34)
By 1933, Flip the Frog was succeeded by two fresh series: Willie Whopper, centered on a boy who narrated fantastical tales, and the ComiColors, a color cartoon lineup featuring fairy tale stories with unique characters in each installment. The Willie Whopper series produced 14 shorts through 1934, while ComiColors continued production until 1936.
To accommodate increased output requirements, the studio doubled its personnel and restructured into distinct units dedicated to each series. The ComiColors were co-directed by Shamus Culhane and Al Eugster, whereas two teams managed Willie Whopper: one led by Grim Natwick alongside Bernard Wolf, and another by Robert Stokes with Norman Blackburn. MGM handled distribution exclusively for the Willie Whopper cartoons during 1933-34; conversely, each ComiColor short was individually marketed by Celebrity Productions to various distributors. The ComiColor series attained significant international reach, securing foreign rights across eleven countries by 1934 and generating up to seventeen foreign-language versions of individual films.
Because Walt Disney held exclusive rights to full-color Technicolor, Iwerks opted for the more economical two-color Cinecolor technique for all ComiColor cartoons and two shorts from Willie Whopper, specifically Davy Jones' Locker and Hell's Fire. Additional cost reductions included substituting original orchestrated scores with pre-recorded canned music for both series.
Decline
By 1934, both investors and staff recognized that Iwerks' Animated Pictures was not performing as well as Disney, resulting in diminishing backing. MGM chose not to renew its contract for the 1934-35 season, opting instead for Happy Harmonies cartoons produced by Harman-Ising Productions. Consequently, Iwerks became dependent solely on independently distributed ComiColor shorts. That same year, several key animators, including Grim Natwick, departed to work on Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Despite these challenges, Animated Pictures under Celebrity Productions pursued fresh ventures. They collaborated with British companies Revelation Films and Boots, Ltd. to create the educational short "See How they Won," which addressed health-related topics. Following its release, Revelation Films engaged Celebrity Productions for a promotional cartoon series.
In mid-1935, Iwerks and Celebrity Productions negotiated a potential deal to develop an animated series based on Gene Byrnes' Reg'lar Fellers comic strip for the 1936-37 season. Discussions included possibly relocating or expanding Iwerks' studio to New York to facilitate production. However, these plans fell through, resulting in only one cartoon—Happy Days (1936)—being produced under this agreement, marking Iwerks' last project for Pat Powers.
Although further initiatives such as a new ComiColors season were proposed, Powers and Celebrity Productions ultimately withdrew their financial backing from Iwerks' studio for reasons not publicly disclosed.
Freelance
Towards the end of 1936, despite losing financial support and contracts from Powers, Iwerks maintained operations at Animated Pictures by securing freelance assignments, utilizing his Beverly Hills studio and animation team. He directed and produced cartoons on a subcontract basis for Columbia Pictures’ Screen Gems animation division.
In early 1937, Iwerks entered into an agreement with Caravel Distributing Co. to create animation for a promotional film featuring characters such as Otto Soglow’s Little King.
Later that year, Leon Schlesinger hired Iwerks to direct Looney Tunes shorts. Schlesinger assigned animators Bobe Cannon, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones—who had previously worked with Iwerks—to collaborate at his studio. This partnership yielded two cartoons: Porky and Gabby and Porky's Service Station. Facing production delays, Iwerks departed in mid-May 1937; Clampett temporarily assumed direction before production reverted back to Leon Schlesinger Productions the following month.
Reorganization as Cartoon Films, Ltd.
In December 1937, Iwerks formed a partnership with the British Independent Exhibitors Association—an amalgamation of British Independent Exhibitors Co., Ltd. and Sound City—to produce a color cartoon series starring Lawson Wood’s character Gran'pop. To facilitate this endeavor, Iwerks’ Animated Pictures was restructured as Cartoon Films, Ltd., with Lawson Harris appointed president. Educational Pictures acquired distribution rights for the series, replacing their prior contract with Paul Terry’s Terrytoons. Initially slated for 24 Gran'pop cartoons, the agreement was reportedly expanded to 50 episodes with potential plans for Grand National distribution; however, only three cartoons were completed under Iwerks’ supervision in 1938. Meanwhile, the studio created advertising shorts for clients such as Shell Oil, W.K. Kellogg Co., Lever Brothers, and Kraft Cheese—released around 1940 and occasionally labeled as "Minitoons."
By July 1939, Cartoon Films collaborated with Dunningcolor to utilize its three-strip color process in a series of shorts intended for Columbia Pictures. On September 9, 1940, Ub Iwerks resigned to return to Walt Disney Productions as a technical developer. Leadership of the studio transferred to Lawson Harris and animator Paul Fennell, who continued producing Dunningcolor shorts. Two notable historical cartoons—How War Came and Broken Treaties—were released in 1941; narrated by Raymond Gram Swing, How War Came earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Cartoon Subject.
In 1941, Cartoon Films fulfilled Iwerks’ final contract with Columbia’s Screen Gems by completing The Carpenters. By 1942, the studio expanded operations into Chicago and New York City. During World War II, it contributed animation to propaganda films such as the USDA’s 1943 short Six Legged Saboteurs. Afterward, little information is available regarding Cartoon Films’ activities; by 1944, its Beverly Hills location was occupied by Hugh Harman Productions.
Technical innovations
Throughout much of its operation, Iwerks' animations produced under Celebrity Productions utilized Pat Powers' Cinephone sound system, a technology previously adopted by Walt Disney for early synchronized sound cartoons. The studio maintained its own sound equipment to facilitate this process.[1]
Iwerks made significant strides in stop-motion animation by integrating it with the multiplane camera, refining the technique originally created in the 1920s by Lotte Reiniger. His advancements allowed for a three-dimensional illusion by isolating different background planes, thereby enhancing the sense of depth.[2] Although the short film "The Toy Parade" was never released to the public, the 1934 short "The Headless Horseman" represented the inaugural use of the multiplane effect, which was later featured in both the ComiColor and Willie Whopper series.
Labor unrest
Ex-employees have recounted strict managerial practices under Pat Powers at Animated Pictures. Emil Offeman, who served as Iwerks' general manager and was closely associated with Powers, enforced rigorous working conditions and set high production targets, which ultimately caused animator Jim Pabian to resign.[3]
Animator Shamus Culhane described in his memoir that Offeman's persistent demands placed on ailing animator Godfrey Bjork contributed to Bjork’s hospitalization and subsequent death in 1933. Following these events, animator Grim Natwick is said to have initiated some of the earliest union meetings among animation professionals, marking the beginnings of labor organization within the industry.[4]
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 68. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:0 - ↑ Culhane, Shamus (1986). Talking Animals and Other People (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-312-78473-7.