The Art of UPA (Part 2 of 3)

[@NateandNoahTryLife]

Part of what I love about UPA is that you know it when you see it. They’ve seared their imagery onto my brain: simple enough to be instantly recognizable, complex enough to reveal new things on every watch through. Thank you dedicating the videos to this they’ve been some of your best!

[@bobveltman]

but don’t you do this with most other studios? i do ...

[@noahboat580]

I always wondered what that art form is. I never thought UPA animation had such a interesting history

[@brebytheway]

tbh I'd never even heard of UPA until this series 😅

[@matheus5230]

@@brebytheway Aside of animation fans, their cartoons are obscure for modern audiences, which doesn't detract their value of course.

[@MissJazzDaFunk]

I nut at the sight of midcentury animation styles. I hope to bring it back someday.

[@Any-mation]

Please do

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I would too!

[@GetToDaChoppa-k5r]

I want to as well.

[@PogieJoe]

It's already coming back subtly in a lot of kids cartoons because the simple designs allow more room to work on the scenery and technical stuff!

[@maddchem0153]

MissJazzDaFunk Please do. You work on your end and produce some of these awesome masterpieces for our era and I will also on my end. I’m really bored with today’s animation industry, so much technology going to waste the old guys didn’t have what we do and they did so much more and it rivals today’s works. I was surprised to know how little today’s industry animator knows until I spoke with Aaron Blaise. I’m glad to have been born in 1969 I got to enjoy so much amazing animations.

[@InsertCleverNameHere0]

Ths first thing I think of when looking at these cartoons is that I see so much of these ideas at play in Schoolhouse Rock, especially in the varying styles of their shorts. Undoubtedly, they were massively influenced by UPA's work.

[@sierra3644]

i could listen to you talk about UPA forever

[@megamanfan3]

Disney trivia: Elements of Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom were used for the intro for their various Sing-a-Long Songs videos.

[@jobymageean]

I honestly think this is my favourite video on the Internet.

[@mebamme]

3:31 imagine if they hired Bill Wurtz instead.

[@gmosphere]

I think bill wurtz's style of limited animation and short punchy delivery would have gelled well with the guys at upa.

[@brebytheway]

I immediately thought of Bill Wurtz too lol 😂

[@MonsieurMosca]

This series is pure gold. Thanks for reminding me about UPA. I’ve been obsessed lately with the work of Total Television (Tennessee Tuxedo, the King and Odie) , which started as an advertising hybrid, but evolved into some of the most fascinating stuff I watched in my early childhood.

[@throwtea]

6:32 - 8:35 i love this background music. I want this song.

[@miss-astronomikal-mcmxcvii]

UPA’s rendition of the Tell-Tale Heart will NEVER NOT BE one of the most depressing animation works I have ever seen in my entire life. Just the very intro to the cartoon is haunting.

[@paul329869]

Well, originally, it was supposed to be in 3-D, see?

[@AJ627]

You can thank Ward Kimbal for taking influence from UPA into his shorts. However, Walt Disney Hated the idea and restricted that style from being used in later cartoons

[@jacquesca]

Ward Kimbal was a legend in all regards.

[@schizoidboy]

His work was very evident in the episodes of the World of Disney particularly their episodes with Man In Space and the episodes about Mars.

[@BlazeHeartPanther]

He was Disney's most Un-Disney animator going more for his silly and kooky animations. That's how he landed gigs like the god of wine Bacchus in the Pastoral Symphony in Fantasia or the crows in Dumbo

[@russiankfc2533]

BlazeHeartPanther Blaze *Ward kimball, The Tex Avery of Disney*

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

Ward was on pretty good terms with his boss, and it’s pretty evident that Walt had plenty of faith in him to green-light these projects, even if he personally despised the style. It’s just a shame their attempts to translate Mickey Mouse into the UPA style ended up backfiring, with the angry letters accusing the studio of becoming communists being kinda the death-nail for their further attempts. In the end, they ended settling on a style that was very much in-between the minimalist UPA style and their signature fluid realism.

[@OnlyLeigh]

Can't wait for part 3!

[@ethgray9350]

This video is masterfully edited and one of the most compelling art/ animation history videos I’ve ever seen! Can’t wait for part 3!

[@ShotDrawnCut]

Glorious! As an animation artist and UPA fan this is the best! Looking forward to the final part

[@kieranczyzyk5264]

I keep thinking about how frustrated these guys would be at the rise of the idea tbat "smooth animation = good animation"

[@icecreamhero2375]

Smooth doesn't automatically= good. Funny =good. Also animation that property captures the characters emotions that is subtle when it needs to be and over the top when it needs to be. Also following physics at all times unless you are doing a visual joke.

[@thesensur6214]

icecream hero ...no tho Like no There are no rules that’s the point.. I don’t wanna watch a bunch of characters stand around on the ground but that is technically “Following the laws of physics”. If animation makes no sense but it’s still fun to watch then so be it. If you make a character bend the rules of physics to lean on a non-existent table in an otherwise casual conversation then sure. If you make an object disappear mid scene in the background for no reason and it looks cool, sure. If it looks interesting it doesn’t matter how accurate to real world anatomy or physics it is That’s why animation is so unique.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@Sonic the Hedgehog True but it's a know the rules before you break them type of thing.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@Sonic the Hedgehog It's true there is a logic to it for example. Pixar went to the dump for inspiration for the incinerator scene in toy story 3. The rule they broke is toys can't talk. If someone watched the movie and actually worked at a dump they would appreciate the accuracy.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@Sonic the Hedgehog Another example is American Dad. In the episode One Woman Swole. Francine gets super buff. The show looks simple but the artists needed to know where the muscles actually go so she would look good on screen.

[@g1sunstreaker584]

These essays are absolutely immaculate. I'm in love with the way the editing, pacing, can script match the theme of the content you're covering. 12 minutes just felt like an hour of magic!!

[@vitod7425]

Love all the videos man, but this series takes the cake for most influential. Like these are all cartoons I watched as a kid but with the added context and history, you’re totally blowing my mind.

[@MrAnymotion]

Thanks so much for these videos! Love how all this carried on to the motion design industry that we see today, the minimalism, clarity, precision, the color... the animated transition, the morphs. Who needs cuts, and cinematography language that wee see in disney animation.

[@yunisverse]

Absolutely adoring this series. I love seeing the names of oft-forgotten titans in animation history celebrated! Walt was very vocal in disliking the trend of limited animation and minimalism that UPA inspired... but luckily for the animators under him, who still thought it was stylish as heck, Walt was too distracted trying to put Disneyland together to oversee their work very closely, so they got to have fun sneaking it past him. Most of it was in the shorts, but you can even see it in the aesthetic of Sleeping Beauty.

[@matheus5230]

The aesthetic of Sleeping Beauty was a deliberate attempt by Walt Disney himself to break from the Disney style, though not in a UPA way.

[@gamepopper101]

I didn't know Mr Magoo was done by UPA. Also teasing their downfall a second time in a row... good one.

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

Fun fact: Friz Freleng, the man quoted at the beginning of the video, got his wish half-granted when his animation company co-produced a Mr. Magoo TV series alongside UPA in the 1970s.

[@GarretRB]

Gamepopper101 what are you the animation downfalll reference police?

[@smoage]

As a professional animator and a lifelong student of animation this is the first i've heard of kepes! Thank you!

[@craigkdillon]

What eloquent precise use of language to describe UPA. This is so well written. Full of insight. Most of all, full of love and admiration. Thank you.

[@paufff]

I've never liked this style, but I respect what they tried to do and it helped a lot of artists which I admire

[@matheus5230]

Well, UPA didn't have a single style. After all, there are many ways a thing can be minimalism, one of their philosophies. I think you dislike the very core of such philosophies.

[@marcus1992000]

Man you should be proud of yourself, I search upa on google and you are the first thing that appears,amazing production values(music choice and video editing superb) thanks for promoting this awesome movement

[@Yensid951927]

Part of what I've heard about Toot Whistle Plunk Boom was that it was more of a Ward Kimbell project than a Disney project. Walt was adamantly against UPA for both rejecting his studio's form and having most of the artists that strike against him. Ward was probably the few animators that could go wild at the studio but was told by Walt after TWPB that there would be "no more of this UPA c@*p"

[@mechajay3358]

Wow, that's even more ironic. Ward was against UPA, but still made animations in a style similar to theirs. Not at all surprised by Walt's reaction though.

[@jaguartony]

Absolutely stunning and very iluminating work. Thanks, Royal Ocean.

[@killergoose7643]

I think I just had an eyegasm

[@mechajay3358]

👀💦

[@CalebNorman]

This is awesome! It's really interesting seeing the comparison between this style and the trends of modern animation. Can't wait for the next video.

[@augustinlacroix6438]

Your edition and production quality is a-m-a-z-i-n-g... take notes other video-essayists.

[@thekidkrow]

This was delightful in ways I can't even begin to articulate due to my lacking vocabulary. Thank you for this. I'm lookimg foward to part 3.

[@sethleoric2934]

Now i love detailed animation and down to earth(kind of) stuff but wow they did this in one of those ways yknow the ways where it works well

[@Ekiverin]

Oh my god, this is gold. Incredible work, Andrew!

[@enkimerlin3209]

man its awesome to see these gems I grew up watching given some proper respect !

[@mackyj7801]

editing, writing and animation of this series is amazing

[@Nkanyiso_K]

That's was really great, can't wait to implement some those techniques in my work

[@dcbandnerd]

"The Need to Confess Artifice." I fukkin' feel that.

[@melasnexperience]

I know this is very late to the game, but I just wanna say that it's SO great to finally see Fudget's Budget get some love.

[@aca9874]

Rooty Toot Toot is my favorite among the UPA films, it's like you said it's striking and bold

[@ericghildyal5418]

Excellent, you're producing the highest quality video essays out there by far!

[@laceystephens8800]

I love this series wow, You are brilliant.

[@PogieJoe]

Thank you for this incredible running tribute. Maybe the best stuff you've done.

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

absolutely wonderful! you always do really interesting, thought provoking pieces but this UPA series might be your finest work. thank you for the effort and the sharing. i am a very satisfied subscriber. BIG thumbs up.

[@jisims95]

0:08 Correction: It was Bob Clampett who created Tweety (back in 1942's "A Tale of Two Kitties") not Friz Freleng. Friz's first Tweety cartoon was "Tweetie Pie" in 1947.

[@simonaskalicanova1356]

I always wanted to research more about this style but I never knew what is it called or what name to pit in google. Now thanks to this great video I know! I love this animation so much

[@DerpDerp3001]

Basically Richard Williams had a similar philosophy, but possibly the complete opposite approach, instead of limited animation, he went for maximalist animation.

[@BertieFett]

Great video can’t wait to see how it ends in part 3

[@Waynimations]

Yesss a new upload after I finish all my animation finals!

[@LegoandmoviereviewsBlogspot]

Great video! Can't wait for part 3!

[@johannymilord3371]

I miss these old toons. 😢

[@ibragimbotashev7572]

Thanks for the second part! P.S. As for me, BG music is a litttle bit too loud, hard to concentrate on the narrator's speech.

[@burgesssam]

Thank you for this super fun education

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

The way they draw the characters seem distinct

[@Deathbynature89]

10:00 Then Sony drops Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It's so colourful.

[@chaeyoungvideos5742]

one of my favourite videos you made

[@d48731]

This series is great.

[@crystalcomedy1117]

For one I love these videos, but I love your back ground music

[@teddyfurstman1997]

I watch Gerald McBoing Boing when I was a kid when I got a VHS of all 4 UPA cartoons from Columbia Tristar Home Video as well as in 2012 when I got the TCM vault of UPA Jolly Frolics cartoons.

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

-Friz Freleng (the guy who created all of them) [shows two characters that weren't created by Friz Freleng] Other than that, great second part.

[@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety]

Which ones do you mean? He either created or had a major hand in co-creating all five of them.

[@samp.8099]

@@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety He meant Tweety (Bob Clampett) and Speedy Gonzales (Bob McKimson)

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

@@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety What Sam P. said. Friz Freleng redesigned Tweety after Clampett left Warner Bros and paired him with Sylvester. Freleng and Hawlley Pratt are credited for Speedy Gonzales' official design, but the character debuted in a short directed by McKimson. In short, yes, Freleng had a big input on these characters, but he's not the de facto creator of them. This is all just taking it in the literal sense, that's all.

[@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety]

@@AgsmaJustAgsma Fair enough - I came away reading the same info as I was writing this video and thought it'd be enough to justify calling Freleng their respective creators (or at least one of their creators) but maybe that was a mistake on my part.

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

@@TheRoyalOceanFilmSociety It still makes for an intriguing intro, regardless.

[@kooarchived]

Maybe I should bring back colorful animations like they did back in the 50s and early 60s. Foster's Home and Prophet Buddy were probably the last cartoons to have this type of style.

[@EM-tp3tw]

beautiful vid!!! bruh this boldness is so inspiring

[@MelloCello7]

Ummmm Instant Subscription?? The quality in this presentation is what i always wanted

[@sethleoric2934]

Wow and to think i only thought minimalist stuff was extremely recent

[@Yes-mx4dv]

Just some advice. The music you have in the background is very annoying when being played simultaneously with the music in the clips. Maybe some music from the decade would be more fitting?

[@graphite2786]

Yep that's the only fault. I think it may have been an oversight during the audio editing by having 3 tracks running simultaneously. (Narration, Background music and clip soundtrack)

[@WillScarlet16]

Um, 'Life Could be a Dream' and 'Mr. Sandman' ARE from that decade.

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@WillScarlet16 They're talking about the electronica in the midsection which, yeah, was mixed too high and felt out of place in general.

[@kami3000]

What's that song around the 7:00 mark? Also: very nice video.

[@EggBastion]

Dunno, but wouldn't mind finding out either.

[@mgabrysSF]

Found it - he sped up and pitch bended this track from French79 kzbin.info/www/bejne/opPFZGRsnNVqbqM

[@kami3000]

@@mgabrysSF Thank you very much!

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Awesome! Hope for More Videos about UPA, Please make Part 3 ^^

[@ThroughtheLensProductions]

Absolutely bravo!

[@worrywirt]

2:55 I know you tried but it’s *ɟørɟ* (dy-uhr-dy) Kepe-sh. Although I have to applaud your creativity 😂 “Yorgie”

[@francescomanzo3939]

Great video.

[@variousthings6470]

Excellent video, but one pet peeve: 9:03 - Central tenets, not tenants.

[@AirMan928]

These are fantastic

[@leroypreston2973]

I think with CGI, it's hard to apply minimalism to it because it may appear different especially as we see things in various angles. How things look as a 2D drawing appear different than as a 3D image. Plus the details in CGI are to prevent uncanny valley. With minimalism now, I feel it would be written off as lazy. With people critical towards hanna barbera's limited animation doing what UPA did now for a series can get critiques of laziness and any claims of minimalism would come across as justifying laziness.

[@leroypreston2973]

Unless you can do what Craig McCraken did for Foster's Home for imaginary friends and Powerpuff girls.

[@Vodhin]

More please!

[@4EyedAnimation]

Check out the work of Raoul Dufy...greatly influenced Phil DeGuard and Maurice Noble

[@ZombieNaito]

Love the sereis man, just a question: do you think that the UPA style could be implemented to the more common 3D animation of our era?

[@Vodhin]

Yes, it's possible. Look at Pixar's "For The Birds" kzbin.info/www/bejne/imeWfnalnK5nqa8 - the character design is damn close (remove eye and feather detail) and the backgrounds are pretty simplistic (remove clouds or replace them with a simple whisp of white). It's not UPA but it's close enough that concept could be imagined from it.

[@bricebricegb]

This is my goal as an animator

[@takahashierik]

I don't think you could have something in 3D you could point your finger at and say "that looks like UPA!", simply because it's hard to make 3D animation that looks this stylistically challenging. You could, however, use UPA as an influence for simpler, more clear designs and colors for animation instead of chasing realism like we see so often today, and maybe create something new. When it comes to 2D animation on the other hand, you can easily see a lot of influence from these guys today in TV cartoons or indie movies.

[@ZombieNaito]

@@takahashierik I guess this is why I really preffer 2D animation over 3D. Lately, I just can't get the boner for making animation that is too "realistic"

[@neonatalpenguin]

So what are the best UPA cartoons? Is there a list for beginners?

[@takahashierik]

Royal Ocean has a list of UPA shorts online in the description of the trailer for this video series.

[@monishsaikrishnakumar758]

I would very much like that ,as well

[@Montork]

8:46 oh shit. better not fuck with him. mr. magoos on a tear.

[@casperchristiansen2458]

No one draws women like Grim Natwick does.

[@WolfClant]

the french new wave was postmodern

[@westonmeans7321]

Awesome.

[@ferociousgumby]

That music very nearly caused me to bail on this. Just HORRIBLE. It literally makes me break out in hives. SOOOOO many great YT videos are destroyed by obnoxious, intrusive music you can't sieve out, so you end up leaving.

[@d-manthecaptain1382]

Great video, but You do understand that Friz didn't create Tweety or Speedy, right?

[@michaelp.9921]

(Actually, near the beginning, I thought it was Bob Clampett who originally created Tweety Bird...... 🤔 )

[@motionmarketer4762]

Love it

[@projp9057]

YES

[@slothfulcobra]

What's weird about UPA's methods of economy is that I feel like Japan developed its own methods of economy for animation that don't seem to match up at all with what UPA did, and when Japanese animation started jumping across the ocean, those new techniques changed a fair amount of the western animation world

[@FerdinandCesarano]

This is a great film. BUt at 9:03, that should be "central **tenets^^".

[@seanramsdell4172]

6:03 Ever saw the TV series?

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Love the Madeline cartoons but never know this was the first Madeline cartoon from UPA.

[@bobveltman]

i really like to learn about this! however, i am a bit confused. i think it’s because the pictures shown often have nothing to do with the narrative. for example: when u talk about a person contributing to the essence of UPA i want to know their age, hairstyle, ... i know u probably showed them before but like most humans need to hear a name and simultaneously see a face in order to recognize the connection. hope this helps. these videos are great nonetheless!

[@doctorteeth8895]

Great vid! Where did up Updike say that?

[@RrR-xv4ij]

Dude again fantastic work. You are. Fantastic story teller with a great voice. KZbins Don Draper

[@nightisright1873]

Limited animation the thing Hannah and Barbara failed to understand .They failed to understand why it worked .

[@drililali]

I love the series and how informative it is but at 2:55 I had to stop the video for almost a minute because I couldn't stop laughing. It's just an advice but if you have to include foreign names in your videos, put it in google translate to pronounce it first because it most likely not what you think it is. (There's no g or y sound in György "gy" is pronounced like the d in during)

[@michaelmcgee8543]

I did not know u.p.a. was the creator of the Madeline character, which later became a serial children's book

[@stephenholloway6893]

Actually the books came first. They date back to 1939. Though the UPA short was the first adaptation for film.

[@kamelal-tamimi8123]

holy crap these guys were fucking geniuses.

[@mooninc.185]

Bill Waterson definitely did alot of this with Calvin and Hobbes

[@MetFanMac]

How so? C&H is much less minimalist (and certainly less self-aware) than the comic strips that were UPA's contemporaries.

[@butchdeadlift10]

2:11 1938 disney is a different animal from 1945 Disney. Same goes for 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015. About 2 of those eras UPA would approve of. But only two (shrug).

[@LLoydL]

What if Ward Kimball defected to UPA, he would've led the studio after Hubley left.

[@skarlok1]

This music in the background is kinda annoying. Especially when 2 tracks are overlapping

[@btylerparker]

I paused the video, thinking I accidentally had something else playing, it was so jarring.

[@skarlok1]

@@btylerparker ye did that 2 times while watching :P

[@EggBastion]

The lo-fi stuff is simultaneously distracting and causing me to nap out. Maybe if it just wasn't so -prominent in the mix- _dang loud._

[@jwcriddle]

What cartoon is the city scape at 8:34?