Maurice Noble

American layout designer Maurice Noble was proudly old-school, a self-proclaimed champion of the 'golden years' of animation. Working in the industry for more than six decades, he reached the peak of his profession with Disney and Warner Brothers and openly rejected the stylised approach to cartoons (spearheaded by UPA) which came into vogue during the 1950's and 60's. As a youth, Noble considered the very idea of drawing cartoons as 'kid's stuff'. He changed his tune somewhat after being hired by Disney in 1934 (for $100 a month -- a step up from his previous job as a department store designer). One of his first assignments was to draw watercolour backgrounds for the popular Silly Symphonies series. Noble served an obligatory probation period, then advanced to drawing sketches and backgrounds for some of Disney's finest animated features, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Bambi (1942) and Dumbo (1941) (he designed the "Pink Elephants on Parade" segment). Supporting the 1941 strike by 300 employees of the Cartoonists Guild cost Noble his job. Like many of his colleagues, he was to spend the war years with the Army Signal Corps helping to produce propaganda material, ranging from cartoons and posters to leaflets and booklets. His work on the "Private Snafu" cartoon series for Warner Brothers brought him into contact with the legendary Dr. Seuss and with his future boss Chuck Jones. After demobilisation, Noble worked for some time as a freelancer in advertising (including for U.S. Steel). In 1952, he joined Jones at Warner Brothers. For several decades, their collaboration was immensely fruitful, and, according to Jones, "the perfect working relationship" (recent interviews and a biography -- "The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design" by Tod Polson -- suggest otherwise: that the two men were often at loggerheads and certainly not friends). Nonetheless, Noble prospered at Warner Brothers. He enjoyed the spontaneity, camaraderie and artistic freedom -- in contrast to the more restrictive atmosphere at Disney, whose output he described as "over-refined". Noble's chief strength lay in adapting his various backgrounds to suit the specific mood of the cartoon, creating dramatic visual impact to enhance that mood. His famous creations include the minimalist desert-scapes of the Road Runner/Coyote cartoons and the futuristic city of Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), complete with the electronic eyes and the evaporator. Among his personal favorites he cited Duck Amuck (1953) and the Wagnerian spoof What's Opera, Doc? (1957). When Warners disbanded their animation department in 1964, Noble resumed his association with Jones, first at MGM (as designer and co-director of "Tom & Jerry" cartoons) and, later, with Jones' s own production company (collaborating on animated Dr. Seuss TV specials, including the Grammy Award-winning How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)). In 1987, he became recipient of an Annie Award for excellence in animation. In 1993, he received a Disney Living Legend Award. By that time, Jones had become one of the oldest people still active in his chosen field.