The art of Disney Animation may have developed in radically different ways had it not been for the talent and influence of animator Fred Moore. Moore was described by some as a "natural" artist and his intuitions and seemingly effortless artistic skill almost defined Disney cartoons, especially in the early years.
The beginnings of Moore's career at Disney have the stuff of Disney legend. According to one story, he simply walked into Disney office with some sketches he had drawn on the back of a few scrap pieces of cardboard which he presented to Disney with the simple statement "I like to draw." Another, and more probable scenario had a close friend, Chuck Couch, bringing his drawings to Disney's attention. However he began, he didn't advance rapidly; it was two years before he hit his stride. But he then outshone other Disney imagineers with his simple visual style.
Assigned to work on various short subjects, he eventually became the "Mickey" expert. Other animators had drawn Mickey using the traditional "three-circle" approach. Moore decided to draw Mickey with a more pear-shaped body. Disney took one look at Moore's work and said "Now that's the way I want Mickey drawn from now on." From then on, it is said, Moore tried to do something different with Mickey for every short. Mickey was given pupils in his eyes instead of just black dots; for a short time, Mickey was given ears that worked in perspective. In his hands, Mickey evolved from a series of rubber hoses and circles to someone who could be invested with real personality.
Another development that Moore is credited with developing during
the production of "The Three Little Pigs" is the technique of "squash and
stretch." Most cartoon characters of the time were drawn walking ,it seemed,
with no gravity working on them. Moore was at this time still an assistant
animator, given the task of animating a short sequence at the beginning where
the pigs were introduced. He noticed that when people walked, their bodies
would stretch a bit on one step and then squash down a bit with the next.
Moore incorporated this into his characters of the pigs, giving their walk
down the lane more of a "full body" movement rather than just legs walking.
In Moore's hands, the pigs became living characters rather than just cartoons.
It was the aspect of "character" that Disney had been looking for in his
animation, which Moore had found the way to achieve.
Moore was caricatured at least twice in Disney shorts and features;
once as one of "Fred and Ward - Two Boys from Illinois" in the short "The
Nifty Nineties." However, the caricturization which seemed to fit him the
best in personality was as the boy "Lampwick" from Pinocchio. Confident,
self-assured in his work and just a little cocky, Moore was also physically
self-confident. There were not a lot of games that were played around the
Disney studio where Moore did not come up with the upper hand. One story
has the Disney animators in a competition to see how many pushpins they could
throw into the wall. Moore got so good at it that he could throw them in
by tossing them backwards over his head and eventually the other animators
gave up competing against him.
He was also famous among the insiders at the Disney studio for another reason. Moore had a habit of sketching scantily clad or even nude young women in his spare time. These "Freddie Moore Girls" became highly prized collectibles even among the Disney studio staff. The closest that one ever got on film, however, was in either as one of the centaurettes from the "Pastoral Symphony" sequence from "Fantasia" or the girl from the "Make Mine Music" sequence "All the Cats Join In." was Disney drawing.">
Filmography |
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| 1932 | Santa's Workshop | Animator |
| 1933 | The Three Little Pigs | Animator |
| Mickey's Gala Premiere | Animator | |
| Puppy Love | Animator | |
| 1934 | Mickey Plays Papa | Animator |
| The Flying Mouse | Animator | |
| 1935 | Pluto's Judgement Day | Animator |
| The Golden Touch | Animator | |
| Mickey's Kangaroo | Animator | |
| 1936 | Three Little Wolves | Animator |
| 1938 | The Brave Little Tailor | Animator |
| 1941 | The Little Whirlwind | Animator |
| 1946 | All the Cats Join In | Animator |
| The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met | Animator | |
| 1950 | The Brave Engineer | Animator |
| 1951 | Plutopia | Animator |
| R'Coon Dawg | Animator | |
| Fathers are People | Animator | |
| 1952 | Pluto's Party | Animator |
| Pluto's Christmas Tree | Animator | |
| 1953 | The Simple Things | Animator |
