Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American
animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
production designer,
background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand man of animation director
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
, especially at
Warner Bros. in the 1950s and early 1960s, during which he served as Jones' layout artist and eventual co-director. His work contributed to such
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
classics as ''
Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'', ''
What's Opera, Doc?'' and the
Road Runner series.
Early life and Disney years
Maurice Noble was born in
Spooner Township, Minnesota. He spent much of his childhood in
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. In the early 1930s he attended the
Chouinard Art Institute in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and while there the Institute displayed his works in its first one-man show of watercolors. Having to leave Chouinard for financial reasons, he ended up doing design work for a department store.
A
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
scout recruited him around 1934, and he decided to accept the job since it paid $10 per month more than the department store did. Noble was put to work on backgrounds for the
Silly Symphonies cartoon series. At that time the Disney backgrounds were required to be done in transparent
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...
wash, which was technically difficult because correcting a mistake was usually impossible, requiring a full new attempt.
''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' was the first feature-length film Noble worked on. This was followed by background work on other Disney features, notably the
Rite of Spring sequence in ''
Fantasia''. Noble also did story development for the Dance of the Hours in that film. For ''
Dumbo'', he did color coordination and character design, including work on the pink elephant sequence.
Noble joined the
Disney animators' strike in 1941; it lasted five weeks and became bitter. When he returned after the strike was settled, his office was moved to an ex-broomcloset and he was left without assignments. Soon he was laid off and his career at Disney was at an end.
The outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
led Noble to enlist in the Army
Signal Corps
A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army.
Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...
. He was eventually assigned to a small unit headed by Ted Geisel (better known as
Dr. Seuss). The unit was based at the
Fox studios and under Col.
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
. It worked on posters and booklets, and on a cartoon series called
Private Snafu. The unit did the writing,
storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s, and background designs; the cartoon production was contracted out. Warner Bros. won the contract for Private Snafu, and the WB animation director
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
worked on the series. Following the war Noble did freelance work in the industry and then took a position doing art for a filmstrip production company in
St. Louis.
The Warner Bros. years
Noble remained in St. Louis until 1950, when he was invited to come to
Warner Bros. to do cartoon layout for Chuck Jones' group, beginning with the short ''
Rabbit Seasoning''. This was the first time he had done layout, which consists of designing the background environment and, for each shot, the particular viewpoint. The layout drawings and colorations are then used by the background artist (often Philip DeGuard) to paint the final backgrounds (see ''Chuck Amuck'', p. 148 for an example).
At Warner Bros., Noble worked with Jones for a decade, over which time the team did over 60 cartoons. Turning away from the realism of Disney backgrounds, Noble grew into styles using shape and color to define the space. The graphic look of his backgrounds could vary widely from film to film; he tried to make the backdrop fit the mood of the film. Noble says:
:"I call it stepping into the picture. You look around and say, 'Gee, what's this all about, and does it feel right for this given picture?' And then you go ahead and design from that standpoint."
The Jones unit worked with many of Warners characters:
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
,
Daffy Duck,
Road Runner & Coyote. Noble's wide-open desert landscapes gave the Road Runner cartoons their characteristic spaciousness. The cartoons Noble designed at Warners include ''
What's Opera, Doc?'' (1957), a
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
parody of
Wagner's
Ring Cycle that has been inducted into the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
. Noble's futuristic settings enhance ''
Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'' (1953). Other cartoons included the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominees ''
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z'' (1954), ''
High Note'' (1960), ''
Beep Prepared'' (1961), ''
Nelly's Folly'' (1961), and ''
Now Hear This'' (1962).
A break of about a year came during this period, when Noble spent time working on industrial films for
John Sutherland's studio in the wake of Warner Bros. shutting down their cartoon unit, and did not return immediately upon the studio re-opening. In this period, Jones had his layouts created first by former Disney artist
Ernie Nordli, who used an even more abstract (albeit less consistent) style than Noble, and then later by Noble's predecessor,
Robert Gribbroek, who largely discarded the styles used by Noble and Nordli, and reverted to the look of Jones' earlier cartoons. Eventually, Jones coaxed Noble into returning to
Warner Bros., and the two men would work together for the next few decades.
In the early 1960s, Noble started receiving co-director credit on a number of the Jones-unit productions. This reflected his increased involvement in many phases of the creation process beyond just the layouts, pulling things together and ironing out rough spots.
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
and
Dr. Seuss
In 1963, after
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
was sacked by
Warner Bros., Noble left
Warner Bros. and joined Jones at Tower 12 Productions (also called Sib-Tower 12). This new company had a contract with
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, and eventually became the
animation unit of MGM.
The bread-and-butter work for the first couple of years was producing cartoons starring MGM's
Tom and Jerry
''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...
characters, but there were an assortment of other projects. One was ''
The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' (1964), a combined live action & animation feature. Noble co-directed ''
The Dot and the Line'' (1965) which won the
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
for short subject (cartoon). He also designed the 1970 feature ''
The Phantom Tollbooth''.
Noble started working again with Ted Geisel for the first time since the war, responsible for the designs used in the TV feature ''
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (1966). He later did design and layout work on a number of other
Dr. Seuss features, first at
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
(''
Horton Hears a Who!'' (1970)), and then at the
DePatie-Freleng studios (e.g. ''
The Cat in the Hat
''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house ...
'' (1971), ''
The Lorax'' (1972), ''
Dr. Seuss on the Loose'' (1973)).
Later years
In the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, Noble largely withdrew from work in the animation industry to pursue other interests. These included producing fine art, particularly hand-pulled
silkscreen prints. In 1987, he received a lifetime achievement
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
(from the International Animation Society) for his contributions over the previous 50 years.
In 1989, Noble did development work on
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
's ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
'', and did writing and design for the "Duck Dodgers Jr." in an episode of "The Return of the Acme Acres Zone" (1990).
In the mid-1990s, Noble rejoined Jones at
Chuck Jones Film Productions, serving as art director on ''
Chariots of Fur'' (1994) and color consultant on several other productions, including ''
Pullet Surprise''.
While at the Jones studio, Noble began supervising, training, and mentoring young artists just out of (or still in) school. These artists came to be known as the 'Noble boys and girls'. Many of them became involved in "Noble Tales," a planned series of animated shorts based on folk tales. One such film was ''
Al Tudi Tuhak'' (1999).
Noble continued to be active in a variety of animation projects, including consultation with Disney artists for their first watercolor backgrounds in half a century (for ''
Lilo & Stitch''). Noble died on May 18, 2001, at his home in
La Crescenta, California, 17 days after his 90th birthday.
Selected filmography
*''
The Old Mill'' (1937) (background artist) - Oscar nominee
*''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937) (background artist)
*''
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'' (1940) (development)
*''
Fantasia'' (1940) (development)
*''
Dumbo'' (1941) (character designs)
*''
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...
'' (1942) (development)
*''
Rabbit Seasoning'' (1952) (layout artist)
*''
Duck Amuck'' (1953) (layout artist) - U.S. National Film Registry selection
*''
Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'' (1953) (layout artist)
*''
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z'' (1954) (layout artist)
*''
Sheep Ahoy'' (1954) (layout artist)
*''
Two Scent's Worth'' (1955) (layout artist)
*''
Ali Baba Bunny'' (1957) (layout artist)
*''
What's Opera, Doc?'' (1957) (layout artist) - U.S. National Film Registry selection
*''
Robin Hood Daffy'' (1958) (layout artist)
*''
Hare-Way to the Stars'' (1958) (layout artist)
*''
Gateways to the Mind'' (1958) (animation designer)
*''
Hopalong Casualty'' (1960) (layout artist)
*''
High Note'' (1960) (layout artist) - Oscar nominee
*''
Beep Prepared'' (1961) (co-director) - Oscar nominee
*''
A Sheep in the Deep'' (1962) (co-director)
*''
Martian Through Georgia'' (1962) (co-director)
*''
Now Hear This'' (1963) (co-director) - Oscar nominee
*''
Transylvania 6-5000'' (1963) (co-director)
*''
The Iceman Ducketh'' (1964) (co-director)
*''
War and Pieces'' (1964) (co-director)
*''
The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' (1964) (production designer)
*''
The Dot and the Line'' (1965) (co-director) - Oscar winner
*''
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (1966) (production designer)
*''
The Bear That Wasn't'' (1967) (co-director)
*''
Horton Hears a Who!'' (1970) (art director)
*''
The Phantom Tollbooth'' (1970) (production designer)
*''
The Cat in the Hat
''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house ...
'' (1971) (art director)
*''
The Lorax'' (1972) (art director)
*''
Dr. Seuss on the Loose'' (1973) (art director)
*''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
'' (1990) (development, writer)
*''
Chariots of Fur'' (1994) (art director)
*''
Pullet Surprise'' (1997) (color consultant)
*''
Al Tudi Tuhak'' (1999) (narrator)
*''Timber Wolf'' (2001) (co-art director)
*''The Pumpkin of Nyefar'' (2004) (co-writer)
Legacy
*Several days after his death, Cartoon Network produced a memorial bumper that showed a brief clip of his recent television interview, his contribution to animation, and showing the memorable final scene of ''
What's Opera, Doc?''
Notes
References
*Adamson, Joe (Jan-Feb 1975). "'Well, for Heaven's sake! Grown men!'" ''Film Comment'' 11 (1), 18-20.
*Bergan, Ronald (23 July 2001). "Obituary: Maurice Noble: Animation artist filling in the background for cartoon hijinks." ''The Guardian'' (London, England), p20.
*Jones, Chuck (1994). ''Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist''. Farrar Straus Giroux. .
*
Bibliography
* ''Noble Boy'' by
Scott Morse (2006); . A graphic board book about Noble and Morse.
External links
*
Interview with Maurice Nobleby Harry McCracken for ''Animato'', 1991
Interview with Maurice Nobleby Karl Cohen for ''Animation World Magazine'', 1998
Retrieved November 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Maurice
1911 births
2001 deaths
American animated film directors
Background artists
Annie Award winners
Walt Disney Animation Studios people
People from La Crescenta-Montrose, California
Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners