Bill Tytla

Vladimir Peter " Bill" Tytla (October 25th 1904 - December 30th 1968) was one of the first stimulating S of the studios Disney. He is regarded by certain as the best organizer of characters of the " age of or" animation with Hollywood.

It was pointed out by carrying out the animation of Grincheux in Blanche Snow and the 7 dwarves (1937) and of Chernabog in the sequence Nuit on the Mount Bald person of Fantasia (1940).

Biography

First years

Vladimir Peter Tytla was born in 1904 in Yonkers in the State from New York immigrant parents Ukrainian who recognized the talent of their son and encouraged it. At the time of its 9th year in 1914, Tytla visits Manhattan with his/her parents. They on the occasion to assist with a representation of Gertie the dinosaur , a spectacle of Winsor McCay mixing light comedy and animation. Tytla will never forget this spectacle which will change its life.

Tytla off follows the courses of the evening of the New York Evening School Industrial Design whereas it is still with the college. In 1920, it finds an employment in the studios of animation Paramount with New York. Its work consists in writing the calling cards, which is worth to him the nickname of Tytla the Titler .

Tytla makes its first weapons of organizer on Mutt and Jeff , of court-measurings of the studio of Raoul Barré in the Bronx and Joy and Bloom Phable of the studio of John Terry in Greenwich Village. This last is the creator of the comic on aviation Scorchy Smith , while his/her brother Paul Terry is the founder of the Terrytoons (founded in 1929). Paul Terry urges Tytla about 1925 to work on Aesop' S Fables (launched in 1921).

During three years, it receives very good wages for its use of organizer, enabling him to make live its family. The very simplistic nature of the cartoons of the time do not satisfy Tytla which dreams to be a large artist. It resumes off its studies with the Art Students League New York under the direction of Boardman Robinson.

Travel to Europe

In 1929, it leaves for the Europe with some friends school to study painting with Paris. It studies there in more the sculpture near Charles Despiau. One allots to this experiment returned weight and three-dimensionality in his work. This voyage enables him to see chief-of works of the large European Masters. Following that, Tytla would have destroyed its creations because it did not support to be " second".

Tytla returns to the United States with to the spirit the desire for becoming a large Master of animation thanks to his knowledge on Article During its stay in Europe, court-measurings became sound, which gave them an renewed interest and a need for new organizers of talent. Paul Terry offers an employment to him as of his return and Tytla meets there Art Babbitt which becomes a friend close and his comrade to room. Babbitt leaves Paul Terry to work with Walt Disney because of a more interesting work and better conditions. Art insisted during two years at Bill so that it comes to Hollywood but this last did not wish to give up its family and an employment with good wages during the Grande Depression.

Beginning at Disney

In 1934, Tytla accepts finally and flies away for Hollywood, although it is paid less than at Terrytoons. In 1935, Tytla works during its trial period on three court-measurings:

  • The Cookie Carnival , a Silly Symphony left the May 25th 1935. Tytla supervises the animation of the gingerbread characters and the fight between the cake-angels and the cake-demons.

  • Mickey fireman , a cartoon left the August 3rd 1935 with Mickey Mouse, Nutcase and Donald Duck as firemen trying to save Clarabelle Cow of a house in flames. Clarabelle is animated by Tytla.
  • Cock o' the Walk , a Silly Symphony left the November 30th 1935. Tytla animates in this short-measuring its first " gros" character, an enormous bull dancing the Carioca. Grim Natwick, creator of Betty Boop note in connection with Tytla: " Bill settles with the top of its drawing board a such giant vulture protecting its nest filled up from gold eggs; it was an intensive worker - avid, nervous and absorbed… the boards of drawing-keys were notched by the blows of impassioned brushes which bored holes in the papier"

Its work is noticed by Walt Disney which carries out the extent of competences of Tytla. Consequently, the responsibilities and the wages of Tytla increase. Tytla and Babbitt become two of the artists best paid and divide a residence - a house of Tuxedo Terrace with cleaning lady. Tytla continues however to send money to its family and buys a ground of 607.000 m ² for its family with East Lyme in the Connecticut. Babbitt at that time launches the courses of the evening of analyzes action and requires of Don Graham to be the professor. Tytla is an enthusiastic participant of these classes which were associated with the improvement of the quality of the cartoons of this period.

Feature films at Disney

Tytla one of the first organizers is assigned to work on Blanche Snow and the 7 dwarves (1937). Tytla and Fred Moore must conceive and define the personalities of the seven dwarves. Tytla according to John Canemaker the model of all the giants of the industry of animation for the comic one of personality. This short-measuring is named with the Oscar S 1939 but is beaten by Ferdinand the bull , another cartoon of Disney directed by Dick Rickard and animated by Milt Kahl and Ward Kimball.

In 1940, Tytla is tired to animate imposing characters and requires to work on the elephant Dumbo (1941) of film-éponyme. It carries out the scene of the youth of Dumbo based on his own son, Peter then in low-age. Dumbo is merry, plunges and made bubbles in a basin, plays hide-and-seek between the legs of his/her mother. Tytla animates also a scene with opposite the preceding one, when Dumbo returns visit to his/her mother in prison and that the elephant calf goes up on its horn.

The strike at Disney

Whereas White-Snow had generated large benefit, the following films did not manage to gain enough money, mainly because of the Second world war which made rage in Europe and cancelled nearly 50% of the incomes of the company. These losses forced Disney to reduce its manpower but also to reduce pay rises and the premiums and broke the impression of safety of recruiting.

While important organizers such as Tytla and Babbit were paid quickly, they all were informed of the weak wages of the assistants and people of the production. Babbit had been given for task to pay its assistant of its own pocket but he was laid off in 1941 for his trade-union activities, the studio not having then any trade union.

Few days after the dismissal of Babitt, 300 employees of the Disney studios struck. It was the first strike of the studio with for claim the authorization of representation by Syndicat S. With surprised of Walt, Tytla joined the strikers and explained as follows it: " I was for the trade unions of company and I was in strike because my friends were it too. I was a sympathizer of their ideals but I never wanted to do anything against Walt." The strike lasted more than two months and produced a so great fracture which it modified in-depth the history of animation in the United States. At the time when the strike ended, the United States entered the Second world war and that marked the end of the " age of or" animation in Hollywood.

See also: Strike of the studios Disney

Tytla returns to the studio but, according to Adrianne Tytla, " there were too much tension and electricity in the air. With Vladimir, all was instinctive and intuitive, and there the vibrations were mauvaises". Because of the economic problems of the studio, the tasks brought less challenges. In Saludos Amigos (1942), Tytla animated Pedro (a baby plane) and Jose Carioca. It realized in the 1942 its last, small but with how much tasty, portraits at Disney published in 1943, a witch and a Nazi teacher in short-measuring Education for Death and the climatic confrontation between a giant octopus and an American eagle in Victoire in the airs .

The feeling of Tytla not to be welcome in the studios, the absence of challenges in its work, the fight of his wife for three years against tuberculosis, the fear of an attack of Japan and its desire of living in its farm of Connecticut have seemed to be the reasons which justified its decision to pose its resignation; what it does on February 24th, 1943 and which it acknowledges to have regretted during the 20 following years.

Work in other studios

After its departure of the Disney studios, Tytla briefly turns over to Terrytoons. It was named there Réalisateur of short-measuring The Sultan' S Birthday (1944). It leaves this studio little time afterwards but remained for the remainder of its career at the station of realizer.

It is engaged by the Famous Studios, a division of Paramount Pictures and works on several court-measurings. It takes as a starting point his own Tammy daughter for the sequences of the series Little Lulu and Little Audrey (Tammy will become an artist and a photographer under the name of Tamara Schacher-Tytla).

It leaves Famous Studio with the beginning of the year 1950 for the studio Tempo Productions, founded in 1946 by David Hilberman and Zack Schwartz, both former colleagues of Tytla at Disney: Hilberman was director artistic on Bambi and Schwartz on the Sorcerer's apprentice . They had been among the founders of United Productions off America but they sold their shares to their associate Stephen Bosustow. The company Tempo Productions tried to live by producing educational films but the market was limited too much for it. Jack Zander, the person in charge of the department animation of Transfilm Inc. which produced publicities for television approached Tempo to carry out animated publicities. For their first contract, Tempo carried out the first publicities in animation for the cigarettier Camel. Among its customers, Tempo counted the marks Standard Brands, Plymouth, National Dairy Association, Tide and Clark Gum Company. Zack Schwartz left the company about 1948-1949 but the contracts continued and Hilberman decided to widen its team what was partly made with directing named Tytla of the department publicity.

The very square drawing of this work frusta Tytla but it completed good work of which animations in volume. This period of the career of Tytla remains little known even with the back in favor of traditional animation at the end of the years 1980, even forgotten. This irrefutable fact is perhaps partly due to the setting with the variation of the Tempo studio during the Maccarthisme in the years 1950, because of the trade unionism of several employees.

Tytla made a short visit with his/her former colleagues of Disney in 1954 but with the difference of Babbitt, it had been requested to make it in order to take it in photograph with Walt with orée of the new challenge of the company with Disneyland. He wrote in December 1954 with Marc Davis: " Which super moment I passed, that made me bien." enormously;

Last years

Then Tytla was employed to direct series of animation. It is credited for certain episodes with four different series:

It took also time to create a last short film for Terrytoons, First Flight Up (1962). Its last work with anaimation was The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), a comedy interfering animation and catch real sight directed by Arthur Lubin and as hero a fish played by Don Knotts. However during this time Tytla fell sick and a great part of its work was supplemented by Robert McKimson, Hawley Pratt and Gerry Chiniquy, all three more known for work on the Looney Tunes.

Shortly after this Tytla work have several small attacks which returned it blind man of the left eye. The August 13rd 1967, the day before world exposure Expo of Montreal one evening was devoted to animation and included/understood a projection of Dumbo (Disney) in Hommage To the Pioneers . Tytla there was invited but worried that one does not remember him. At the end of film, the presenters announced the presence of a large organizer and after the projector was finally directed on him the public burst " in large épanchement of love. It was one of large the moments of its vie" as John Culhane remembers it.

Tytla tried to return to Disney. A letter dated August 27th, 1968 of the vice-president of the Walt Disney Productions W.H. Anderson rejected its offer for traditional animation with these words: " We have just enough animation for our actuelles." teams; And still on October 11th, 1968, three months before his death, the director Disney Wolfgang Reitherman answered the elements sent by Tytla by explaining " I am sorry to say that your ideas of scenarios do not correspond to our current program. We did not forget that you wish to return to animate here with the studios, but… however we can just keep our present occupied team of organizer… are assured that you have many friends here with the studios which make pressure for vous".

Vladimir Tytla is deceased on December 30th, 1968 in his farm at the 64 years age.

Catalog of films

At Disney

At Terrytoons

August 1st
  • First Flight Up (1962)

At Famous Pictures

Sources

  • Biography off Bill Tytla by Eddie Bowers. Original text for this article. Used with permission.
  • Vladimir Tytla - Master Animator John Canemaker, Catalogs essay for exhibition At The Katonah Museum off Art, Katonah, N.Y. Sept. 25,1994-Jan.1, 1995.
  • Illusion off Life and Disney Villians of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
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