by Andrew Leal
Art Babbitt was instrumental in developing Goofy. Though the character had existed prior to that, mostly as a background character initially known as Dippy Dawg, it was Babbitt's animation of the character in such shorts as On Ice (1935) and especially Moving Day (1936) which shaped the character's personality as he's known today. Goofy's struggles with inanimate objects and fish demonstrated his decidedly low mental capacity, yet a certain cheerfulness and determination also existed within the character. Babbitt became the studio's resident Goofy expert, and wrote a detailed set of notes describing the character and his motivations. Babbitt's other most notable contribution to the Disney shorts was his animation of the country mouse Abner in the Oscar winning 1936 short The Country Cousin. Along with Les Clark, Babbitt animated a lengthy sequence in which Abner reels around in a drunken stupor, getting into trouble. Babbitt famously asked Walt for expenses so he could go on a real toot, and thus be able to animate directly from experience.During this period, Babbitt married his first wife, Marjorie Belcher, who would serve as an animation model for the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio and the hippos in Fantasia, eventually divorcing Babbitt and garnering greater fame as dancer Marge Champion.
Babbitt was also a major contributor to the Disney features. He animated the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (with Jack Campbell doing a few scenes), kindly Gepetto in Pinocchio, and worked on two sequences in Fantasia. He animated little Hop Low and the other mushrooms in the "Chinese Dance" portion of the "Nutcracker Suite" segment, using a knee kick inspired by the Three Stooges, and also animated the Russian thistle boys and blossom girls. In the "Pastoral Symphony," Babbitt animated the loutish gods Zeus and Vulcan, spraying lightning bolts at Bacchus. He also animated the absent-minded, off-key messenger stork in Dumbo (1941), one of that film's many highlights. By this point, however, dissent had arisen at the Disney studio. Art Babbitt had become active in union activities, and was ultimately fired by Walt. This action and others led to a major studio strike, led chiefly by Art Babbitt. Other strikers included Ray Patterson, Grant Simmons, and Babbitt's old friend Vladimir Tytla. He was eventually hired back at the studio, and animated on five shorts (including three Goofy cartoons) and the "Bongo" segment of the feature Fun and Fancy Free. However, his last screen credit occurred in 1948, by which time Babbitt had wandered over to the young studio UPA, formerly United Industrial Productions of America.
While famous for its industrial and educational shorts, UPA was hired by Columbia to produce theatrical short subjects, starting with a brief continuation of Columbia's Fox and Crow series before starting their own series, beginning with the Jolly Frolics. Babbitt animated on the first Jolly Frolics cartoon, Ragtime Bear (1949), which also introduced the cantankerous near-sighted old man Mr. Magoo, who would become UPA's most famous character. Babbitt subsequently directed three Jolly Frolics, before returning as an animator to the Mr. Magoo series. His greatest contribution to UPA was probably his work on the final Jolly Frolics short, John Hubley's "Rooty Toot Toot." This cartoon was unusual in that it was a musical dramatization of the old song "Frankie and Johnny," with sexual jealousy and murder as the primary themes. Babbitt and former Disney colleague Grim Natwick were the two principal animators, Babbitt animating Frankie and her defense attorney Honest John, and Natwick animating the vampish Nellie Bly. Art Babbitt animates the defense attorney's nimble movements with lithe grace as he dances throughout the courtroom. Babbitt would continue to work with Hubley on the short Of Men and Demons (1969) and the TV special Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975).
Hubley then settled down as a commercial director and animator, eventually becoming head of Hanna-Barbera's commercial department between 1966 and 1975. In 1974, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Film Society (ASIFA). He also met young animation director Richard Williams. In addition to delivering lectures and teaching classes at William's studio, Babbitt also was the lead animator on The Camel with the Wrinkled Knees in the feature "Raggedy Ann and Andy" (1978). This film was notable for the presence of such veterans as Babbitt, Natwick, and Lantz animator Emery Hawkins, and also for the animated credits, which identified each animator with the character they worked on. Art Babbitt received top billing amongst the animators. Babbitt also worked for many years on Williams' epic "The Thief and the Cobbler." Though the film had a troubled history and much footage fell onto the cutting room floor when the movie was taken out of William's hands (including scenes by Grim Natwick and modern animator Eric Goldberg), a few of Babbitt's scenes of the lazy King Nod remain, and he retains a screen credit. Unfortunately, the film, even in it's butchered form, was not seen until 1995. Babbitt had died three years earlier, in 1992. Other veteran animators on the film, including Natwick, Ken Harris, and Emery Hawkins also passed away before the film's release.
Representative Filmography
