a while ago

a few years ago, as maybe some of you might remember, I had a number of blogs with another server – very unpleasant affair. anyway, I got very upset in the end and deleted everything on the published blogs after I saved all the posted articles and images in my personal files. now I thought about publishing some of the stuff again, there are so many new frequent visitors…

let’s start with my all time favorite filmmaker – JOHN HUBLEY, and – MOONBIRD, 1959, voices of mark and ray hubley, animated by BOBE CANNON and ED SMITH, the first of three Oscar-winning and seven Oscar-nominated shorts from the hubleys. best short animated subject, 1959. here is the official info from the KEYFRAME website – john and faith hubley recorded the random conversation of their children and then constructed an Oscar-winning cartoon around it. the story concerns two boys who have a nocturnal adventure outside their house, making a trap to catch the mysterious ‘moonbird’.

john hubley formed storyboard studios after he was blacklisted by the HOUSE UNAMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE, and fired from UPA, for refusing to ‘name names’ or apologise for his previous work. ironically he had helped form UPA after being involved in the Disney animator’s strike.

ADVENTURES OF AN *, 1957, the first film john and faith hubley produced together commissioned by the guggenheim museum. I never forget when I saw this jewel for the first time in an animation exhibition in zurich in 1971. at that time I was studying design in my 2.year. from then on I wanted to create films like adventures of an * and moonbird. the sugar sweet disney films were forgotten and I concentrated on the NEW animation, like the ZAGREB FILM shorts, LEN LYE and NORMAN McLAREN, LENICA and even the new french and english animation.

© john + faith hubley