DUCK-WALK

I'm over here now

DUCK-WALK has moved!

I'm over here now: duck-walk.com

Hope to see you there...

dere iss no law vot couldt shtop you

Wanna help contribute to the greatest cartoon resource in the world?
Donate to the Archive!

And while you're at it, you can take -

THE MARC DECKTER CHALLENGE!

Curious?

Learn all about it on Steve's latest post...

Labels: Archive, ASIFA, Milt Gross, resource

Grim Natwick's dancing waiter

If I could only take 5 cartoons to a desert island, the Fleischer's 1930 Talkartoon DIZZY DISHES would be pick #1.

One of my favorite elements of this cartoon is the Grim Natwick animation. To give you an idea of what Grim would do with a scene, first take a look at this clip of Bimbo the waiter being handled by another animator:

WAITER ANIMATION - not by Grim

Bimbo moves to the beat in a rhythmic, on-model and distortion-less manner, and as a result the animation doesn't really provide any surprises pulsating with life. It's your regular mechanical rubber-hose fun - which I have no problems with of course!

But check out what happens when the waiter is put into Grim's hands:

WAITER ANIMATION BY GRIM NATWICK

Wow! He's so alive! Don't you love how he twists and turns and taps his feet? The way he shifts his weight back and forth seemingly effortlessly all the while playing with a turkey on his head - and on top of all that, rolling his eyes around - amazing! Grim's straight-head animation is filled with surprise and magic.

SKILL + CREATIVITY

One of the reasons Grim's animation is so alive is no doubt due to his expert skills as a draughtsman. He studied life drawing in Vienna, and according to Shamus Culhane's book he was a much stronger artist than the other Fleischer animators at the time.

CHECK OUT GRIM'S ANATOMY STUDIES HERE
(courtesy of Steve Worth and the ASIFA Archive)

Grim was able to translate that knowledge and understanding of human anatomy to the rubber hose anatomy of Bimbo.

This combination of DRAWING SKILLS plus CREATIVITY is unstoppable.

Well anyways, here's more Grim waiter animation for you to enjoy:

MORE WAITER ANIMATION BY GRIM

DIZZY DISHES can be found on VHS tape 1 of the Betty Boop boxset on Amazon here:

And check out John K's post on these Grim Natwick clips as well:

ALL KINDS OF STUFF: GRIM NATWICK - DRAWINGS AND IDEAS ARE PART OF WHAT ANIMATION IS

Stay tuned - more hidden gems from DIZZY DISHES to come!

Labels: betty boop, dancing, fleischer, grim natwick, night club, restaurant, rubber hose, straight ahead, waiter

Coming Soon...

... a series of analyses and appreciations of my favorite cartoons...

Fleischers
Paul Terry
Van Beuren
Walter Lantz
Otto Messmer
and more

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!

Mashed Potatoes and White Rice

"Marc Deckter has the makings of a top Hollywood animation executive...."

- John Kricfalusi (August 2nd, 2007)

Wanna read more?

Check out the latest post on ALL KINDS OF STUFF and find out why John refers to me as the Champion of the Bland!

Labels: bland