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Robert Fred Moore(September 7, 1911 – November 23, 1952), was an American artist andanimatorforWalt Disney Animation Studios.Often called "Freddie,"he was born and raised inLos Angeles,California.Despite limited formal art training, he rose to prominence at Disney very quickly in the early 1930s, due to his great natural talent and the tremendous appeal of his drawings. His drawings are still greatly admired by animators and animation fans.
Fred Moore | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Fred Moore September 7, 1911 Los Angeles,California,U.S. |
| Died | November 23, 1952(aged 41) Burbank, California,U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Artist andanimator |
| Employer(s) | Walt Disney Animation Studios(1930–1946, 1948–1952) Walter Lantz Productions(1946–1948) |
Life and career
editEarly life and career beginnings
editMoore was born in Los Angeles and is best known for being the resident specialist in the animation ofMickey Mouse.He is most notable for redesigning the character in 1938 for his landmark role in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"inFantasia,a look which remains Mickey's official look to this day. His animation of the earlier Mickey Mouse design was especially memorable in the 1938 shortBrave Little Tailor,the last significant appearance of the "pie-eyed" Mickey.[1]
Moore's other significant work at the studio includedThe Three Little Pigs,on which he was the principal animator; animation supervision of the dwarfs inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs;most of Lampwick inPinocchio(all of the poolroom scene and until halfway through his transformation to a donkey); and Timothy the mouse inDumbo.[1]Lampwick, who had red hair and buck teeth, has been largely believed to be a self-caricaturization of Fred Moore, as he was responsible for much of the character's designs and scenes. Moore animated some scenes of the mice fromCinderella,some scenes of the oysters as well as some of the later scenes of the White Rabbit inAlice In Wonderland,and did the mermaids in the Mermaid Lagoon forPeter Pan.[2]
Moore was well known around the studio for his drawings of innocentlysexy,oftennude,women,referred to as "Freddie Moore Girls." Some of his girl designs found their way into Disney films: for example, thecentaurettesinFantasiaand the teenage girls in the "All the Cats Join In" segment ofMake Mine Music.(In "All The Cats Join In", Moore personally animated the sequence at the beginning, when the girl answers the telephone and then quickly showers and dresses, through to her scene putting on lipstick in front of her mirror). Moore's enduring influence can also be seen in the design of Casey's daughters in the 1954 short "Casey Bats Again". Hisgood girl artremains iconic and influential. A model sheet forArielin the 1989 Disney filmThe Little Mermaidmade specific distinctions between the design of that character and a "Freddie Moore Girl."
Moore's drawings and design style have come to epitomize the formative years of the studio in betweenUb Iwerks' departure in 1930 and the ascension of the "Nine Old Men",after which studio design was dominated by animatorMilt Kahl,along with storyboard artistBill Peet,and later production designerKen Anderson.During the 1930s, Moore,Art Babbitt,Norm Ferguson,Bill Tytla,and Ham Luske were the dominant Disney animators whose pioneering work culminated in 1937 with the breakthrough ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Moore was a close friend of fellow animatorsWard KimballandWalt Kelly,though he apparently had a quieter and more reserved nature than either of them. Many surviving gag drawings by Kelly from the period ofPinocchioshow Kimball as the corrupt Lampwick, with boyish Moore as Pinocchio. Moore and Kimball were also caricatured as song and dance men in the 1941 Mickey Mouse shortThe Nifty Nineties.Moore makes a brief (and quiet) live-action appearance in the 1941 featureThe Reluctant Dragon,along with Kimball and animatorNorm Fergusonduring one of the studio tour sequences. Kimball has discussed surreptitiously performing some of Moore's Disney work when Moore was too inebriated to finish it.[3]
He talked little about his family. His daughters were Sue Moore and Melinda Moore. Later on, his daughter Sue had married and had another daughter named Kelly Hall, who now resides in Tacoma, Washington, with her two children. Melinda married and had two children; her son Christian resides in the Bay Area and her daughter Timothia resides in Los Angeles.
Brief departure and return toDisney
editFred Moore was briefly fired from Disney Studios in 1946 due to his alcoholism. Through former Disney AnimatorDick Lundy,he was hired atWalter Lantz Productions,where he redesigned the characters ofWoody WoodpeckerandAndy Pandaduring a two-year stint that ended with his return to Disney in 1948 due to Lantz temporarily closing his studio because of financial Issues.
Accident and death
editMoore was already at work animating the mermaids and the lost boys forPeter Panwhen both he and his second wife, Virginia, were injured in a traffic accident early on the evening of Saturday, November 22, 1952, when their car was struck head-on while she made a U-turn on a rural highway throughBig Tujunga Canyonnear theAngeles National Forest.The Moores were reportedly returning from a day spent watching anAmerican footballgame with fellow Disney artistJack Kinney.Moore died the following day at St. Joseph's Hospital inBurbank, California,located across the street from the Disney Studios, from acerebral hemorrhageresulting from a concussion.[4]Moore is interred atForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)in a plot overlooking the Disney Studios.
Fred Moore was posthumously inducted as aDisney Legendby the studio in 1995,[1]and posthumously received the animation industry's Winsor McCay Award in 1983.[5]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Credits | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Supervising Animator | |
| 1940 | Pinocchio | Animation Director | |
| Fantasia | Animation Supervisor - Segments "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"and"The Pastoral Symphony" | ||
| 1941 | The Reluctant Dragon | Animator | |
| Dumbo | Animation Director | ||
| 1943 | Saludos Amigos(Short) | Animator | |
| 1945 | The Three Caballeros | Animator | |
| 1946 | Make Mine Music | Animator | |
| 1947 | Fun and Fancy Free | Directing Animator | |
| 1948 | The Mad Hatter(Short) | Animator | Woody Woodpecker |
| Wacky-Bye Baby(Short) | Animator | Woody Woodpecker | |
| Playful Pelican(Short) | Animator[6] | Andy Panda | |
| Pixie Picnic(Short) | Animator | ||
| Wet Blanket Policy(Short) | Animator[7] | Woody Woodpecker | |
| Wild and Woody!(Short) | Animator[8] | Woody Woodpecker | |
| 1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Character Animator | |
| 1950 | Cinderella | Character Animator | |
| The Brave Engineer(Short) | Animator | ||
| 1951 | Plutopia(Short) | Animator | |
| Alice in Wonderland | Character Animator | ||
| R'coon Dawg(Short) | Animator | ||
| Fathers Are People(Short) | Animator | ||
| 1952 | Pluto's Party(Short) | Animator | |
| Pluto's Christmas Tree(Short) | Animator | ||
| 1953 | Peter Pan | Character Animator | |
| The Simple Things(Short) | Animator | ||
| Football Now and Then(Short) | Animator | ||
| 1954 | Casey Bats Again(Short) | Animator | |
| 1957 - 1979 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color(TV Series) | Animator -6 Episodes | |
| 1980 | Mickey Mouse Disco(Short) | Animator | |
| 1987 | The Puppetoon Movie | Puppetoon Creative Artist: United States | |
| 1995 | Frank and Ollie(Documentary) | Caricaturist | |
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Animation Supervisor - Segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" |
See also
edit
- A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios,a documentary from 1937
References
edit- ^abc"Fred Moore".D23.Retrieved2024-07-07.
- ^Canemaker, John (2001).Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation.New York: Disney Editions. pp. 225–226.ISBN978-0-7868-6496-6.
- ^"Ward Kimball's Final Farewell,Hogan's Alley #11 ".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-06.Retrieved2016-03-04.
- ^Amidi, Amid (2006-08-08)."Freddie Moore Slandered Again?".Cartoon Brew.Retrieved2024-07-07.
- ^"51st Annual Annie Awards".annieawards.org.Retrieved2024-07-07.
- ^"Andy Panda in" Playful Pelican "(1948) |".
- ^""Wet Blanket Policy" (1948) | ".
- ^"Dick Lundy's" WILD AND WOODY! "(Redux) |".
External links
edit- Fred MooreatIMDb
- Blackwing Diaries blog postings on Fred Moore--with extensive examples of artwork.
- A Blackwing Diaries editorial from Jennifer Lerew exposing attempts to smear Fred Moore.
- A Cartoon Brew editorial from Amid Amidi exposing inaccuracies about Fred Moore in Jeff Lenburg'sWho's Who in Animated Cartoons.