Whether his MGM assistant, Stod Herbert, was at Lantz with him, I don’t know. Love is credited with animating the whole cartoon.
Let’s give an example of getting from one pose to another. Here are the first two poses and the in-betweens. All but the last in-between are shot on ones; the last is on two frames.
This was the last release for United Artists, the last time Bugs Hardaway voiced Woody and the last time Lionel Stander growled in a Lantz cartoon. Lundy and writer Heck Allen left behind some work that was picked up when the studio re-opened with a new contract with Universal-International. Background artist Fred Brunish was the only returnee.
The UA-Lantz cartoons are so beautifully animated and well-produced - a shame that the studio really took a nose-dive in terms of overall quality once it re-opened in the 1950's.
ReplyDeletePicking up discarded animators like Fred Moore and Ed Love sure helped, along with Pat Matthews for quirky animation.
DeleteThe Musical Miniatures are tops by any standard.
Yes I wish it could’ve had the same quality in the 50’s and onward, the best ones animation wise from that era were the ones directed and animated by Don Patterson.
DeleteYOWP: The MUSICAL MINIATURES (along with THE BANDMASTER) are my faves among the UA-Lantz shorts!!
DeleteJOHN: I agree with your assessment re Don Patterson - he did his best with what he was given (stories by Homer Brightman!) and his shorts are the best of the early-50's shorts!!