John Hubley: An Academy Salute

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events are always a classy affair. Last night’s Academy Salute to John Hubley was no exception. Introduced by stylish Academy Program Director Patrick Harrison and hosted by the ever eloquent Oscar winner John Canemaker, the evening was informative, inspiring, and a great tribute to an animation legend.

Canemaker’s succinct and occasionally poetic biographical summary of Hubley’s life preceded the main event: the screening of Channel 13 TV’s “Personal Report” (an exerpt from an interview), “Brotherhood of Man,” Flat Hatting,” “The Magic Fluke,” “The Ragtime Bear,” “Rooty Toot Toot,” “Smattering of Spots” (a collection of commercials), “Adventures of an Asterix,” “The Tender Game,” “Voyage to Next,” and an unreleased work-in-progress “Facade.”

If you are unfamiliar with Hubley’s work, take a couple of minutes to at least watch “Rooty Toot Toot,” and “The Ragtime Bear.”  I wish “Adventures of an Asterix” was online somewhere, as that’s my favourite from the program last night but, alas, no.  And I really hesitate to choose favourites at all from the list above as my personal choosings are a poor example of the great range of this animator and his collaborators.

The evening concluded with a short discussion with John and Faith Hubley’s daughter, the animator Emily Hubley and animator Michael Sporn, whose first job was with the Hubley team.  And for those interested in the animator star count, there were numerous animation legends or legends in the making in attendance, including Ed Smith and Tissa David, who worked closely with the Hubleys.  Other sitings of of the top of my head: Jeremiah Dickey, Tom Eaton, Nina Frenkel, Deb Solomon, Richard O’Connor, Liesje Kraai, Vinnie Cafferelli, Candy Kugel, George Griffin, Bill Plympton, Ray Kosarin, Lee Corey, and Robert Schaad.

Michael Sporn has a post about this event on his blog with the program list and the credits for each piece featured.  Check out the splog if you want to delve into those specifics.  His review of the evening, complete with photos, is a really terrific read.  Link to that by clicking here.