Masters of Animation

They are legends who created legends. Without them we would have no Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, or The Flintsones. They are the Masters of Animation, all profiled in this wonderful book by John Grant. Grant spotlights 37 of the most talented animators and creators whose creations you certainly know, even if you don't know their names.Each profile provides detailed biographical information about each of these men, and includes synopses of some of their most noted work as well as Grant's analysis and other anecdotes about their lives. Among the animators included are all of the Warner Brothers greats including Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson. Also included are: Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse creator Ub Iwerks, Hanna Barbera, Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth, The Fleischer Brothers, early pioneer Winsor McCay, and Woody Woodpecker creator Walter Lantz.While you certainly know their works, Grant fills you in on a lot of details about their lives and the ups and down of being an animator for the often ruthless studios. We will find that the Fleischer brothers Max and Dave who produced such memorable cartoons such as Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman actually couldn't stand each other. Max often took credit for Dave's (the far more talented of the pair) work which infuriated his younger brother.While animation fans often scoff at the streamlined and cheaper animation of Hanna Barbera, one cannot deny that they brought animation to a far wider audience in the 60's and 70's with shows like The Flintstones and Scooby Doo. Their early work at MGM notably on the Tom & Jerry series was as good as anything put out by Warner Brothers during the same period. Credit the pair for realizing the cheap animation for TV was the way to go once MGM closed their studio in 1957.Among the more interesting profiles to read was that of Ralph Bakshi and the many problems he went through (many created himself) on the ill-fated Lord of the Rings animated film. Bakshi struggled to find a happy medium between staying faithful to the well known source material, and keeping the film at a manageable run-time.Grant does at times tend to over analyze some of the works of these animators, often jumping to metaphorical conclusions and allusions where perhaps the animator was simply trying to provide some humor, but he does a great job of presenting all the necessary facts. To think of the stable of animators that Warner Brothers had in the 1940's is simply astounding. As you might guess, Walt Disney gets the longest at some 16 pages. I must also credit Grant for including a couple of men you might not have thought about being in the book, namely Muppet creator Jim Henson and filmmaker Terry Gilliam whose bizarre animations for the Monty Python TV show and films were groundbreaking.There are a couple of notable exclusions, however. Where is Jay Ward, creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle? I'd certainly put him in the book before I would Will Vinton. And since Grant did include Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, I have to ask why didn't he also include Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of one of the greatest Anime of all time "Akira".For fans of animation I can think of no better book and can give no higher recommendation than this fantastic book.Reviewed by Tim Janson