One Gribbroek Evening

The Warner Bros. cartoons succeeded because of an incredible blend of talents, many of whom get short shrift because they’re overshadowed by others. Bob Gribbroek is one.

While layout man Maurice Noble got all the plaudits from Chuck Jones (who seems to have been mesmerised by either extremely literal or stylised art and little in between), Bob Gribbroek plodded away for him before Noble arrived, and after he left, providing some fine work that deserves more attention.

Jones’ “One Froggy Evening” (1955) is championed as one of his masterpieces, but while Jones and writer Mike Maltese get all the credit, nothing is said about Gribbroek’s very effective settings (compare that to “What’s Opera Doc?” which continues to result in hosannas rained upon Noble). Let’s take a look at them, as constructed by Phil DeGuard.










Soon after this cartoon, Gribbroek found himself working for Bob McKimson in what the director described as his “unit of drunks and queers” and remained at the studio until it closed. Jones must have thought highly enough of him because Gribbroek worked for him at M.G.M. until retirement a year or so later.