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Birth: May 21, 1914 — Marinette, Wisconsin
Death: February 21, 1977 — New Haven, Connecticut

Occupation/Title

Animator, Director, Art director, Writer, Producer

Bio Summary

John Hubley is one of the leading figures in animated history, known especially for his design contributions to the United Productions of America (UPA) studio. He was born in Wisconsin in May of 1914. At the age of twenty-two, he was hired along with a wave of new talent to paint backgrounds and layouts for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He also provided art direction on Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, and the “Rites of Spring” sequence in Fantasia. He left the studio during the strike in 1941 and directed films for Screen Gems. During World War II, he served in the Army in the Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) producing instructional shorts, such as “Flat Hatting” (1944). Shortly after, he joined the newly formed United Film Production studio (renamed United Productions of America in 1945), where he worked as a director and is most noted for the character Mr. Magoo. During the 50s his name became blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He found work producing commercials uncredited, and later formed his own studio together with his wife, Faith Hubley. They collaborated on twenty-two films, some of which were nominated for and won Oscars. He was further honored with a Winsor McCay award in 1975. John Hubley died in February, 1977 during heart surgery, survived by his family and his legacy.

Early Life/Family

Education/Training

Career Outline

-1935 — gets job as background, layout artist at Disney — works on Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Fantasia
– 1941 — leaves during animator’s strike and directs for Screen Gems
– 1942 — joins the Army and assigned to Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU)
– 1944 — John Hubley joins United Film Production
– 1945 — UFP renamed to UPA
– 1946 — named Supervising Director of UPA
– 1949 — creates Mr. Magoo and directs the first cartoon “The Ragtime Bear”
– 1952 — forced to leave UPA when he refuses to name names before House Committee on Un-American Activities — name is blacklisted
– 1953 — founds Storyboard Studios, working on television commercials uncredited
– 1956 — moves studio to New York and works on independent short films together with wife Faith Hubley

Comments On Style

UPA (United Productions of America) revolutionized Western animation with its modernist, flat style and limited animation. UPA films are often noted for their use of flat planes of color and graphic shapes, uniting modern design with animation. The wide variety of themes and styles in their films were liberated from the bigger studios’ focus on realism and cartoon conventions.
John Hubley discussed animation in a March 1942 issue of The Animator:

“A progressive, intelligent approach to animation, and realization that it is an expressive medium, is imperative if we want to keep animated cartoons from stagnating. Development and growth of animation is dependent upon varied, significant subject manner presented in an organized form, evolved from elements inherent in the medium. Among the least understood of these elements are the graphic ones. In spite of the fact that animation is almost entirely concerned with drawings, drawings which must function in both time and space.”

John Canemaker notes:
“He was a brilliant caricaturist and he pushed the characters into a more contemporary idiom. You could say that really started the UPA style.”

Regarding Faith and John’s collaborative style:
“They violated all the rules. They threw dust on the cels, and they worked with grease so the paint would run. It came out beautifully; everybody was awestruck that such a thing would work.” – Bill Littlejohn, animator

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

John was the original director of Watership Down (1978). He was fired by producer Martin Rosen when the film made slow progress. His opening sequence with its unique, Aboriginal-inspired style remains and stands out from the rest of the film.

Miscellaneous

Filmography

Animation Department:

Producer:

Miscellaneous Crew:

Art Department:
1. Eggs (1970) (graphic artist)

Editor:
1. Harlem Wednesday (1958)

Honors

1953 Nominated for Golden Lion for “The Four Poster” (1952)
1961 Nominated for Golden Palm for “Children of the Sun” (1960)
1967 Nominated for Golden Palm for Best Short Film, “Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature”
1978 Won Jury Prize for Best Short Film, “A Doonesbury Special” — Cannes Film Festival — nominated for Golden Palm for Best Short Film
1975 Annie Awards, Winsor McCay Award winner
1960 Won Oscar for Best Short Subject, Cartoons for “Moonbird”
1963 Won Oscar for Best Short Subject, Cartoons for “The Hole”
1967 Won Oscar for Best Short Subject, Cartoons for “Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature”
1969 Nominated for Oscar, Best Short Subject, Cartoons for “Windy Day”
1970 Nominated for Oscar, Best Short Subject, Cartoons for “Of Men and Demons”
1975 Nominated for Osccar, Best Short Animated Film for “Voyage to Next”
1978 Nominated for Oscar, Best Short Animated Film for “A Doonesbury Special”

Related Links

A-HAA: Early 50s UPA Model Sheets
A-HAA: Meta: Eight Great Blogs For Students Of Animation
A-HAA: Exhibit: Grim Natwick In The Modern Age
A-HAA: Cartooning: Byrnes’ Complete Guide To Cartooning Part Six

BIO-AAA-157

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