Animation Scoop’s Comic Con Panel: “Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation”

August 22nd, 2016

Leslie Combemale

Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation, the 2016 San Diego Comic Con panel moderated by Leslie Combemale for Animation Scoop, is now viewable for all to see and hear.

With the new documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life being released this weekend, it’s the perfect time to remember all the great artists who paved the way. This San Diego Comic-Con/Animation Scoop-hosted the panel featured not only Disney Legend (and well-known man-about-Toontown) Floyd Norman, but also Willie Ito, Ron Husband, Phil Roman, and Jane Baer. I had the pleasure of moderating the panel.

Ron Husband and Laura Jones look on as Phil Roman proudly displays his Inkpot Award

First order of business was Laura Jones, an official of the convention, presenting Phil Roman with the honor of an Inkpot Award. He was his usual self-deprecating self, and quite pleased. Then the members of the panel discussed their experiences. Willie Ito spoke of drawing having helped him to get through his time in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Ron Husband talking about his getting a screen credit, the importance of staying sharp artistically, and his love of quick sketching. Phil talked about being inspired by seeing Bambi at the movies, and relayed his experiences learning from the best, including Chuck Jones and Bill Melendez.

Left To Right: Ron Husband, Phil Roman, Willie Ito, Leslie Combemale, Jane Baer and Floyd Norman

Floyd Norman’s stories, especially about filming the Watts riots in 1965, were fascinating, and members of the audience mentioned later it made them want to see and support the documentary, as all we talked about is covered in it in more detail. Jane Baer and Floyd Norman went to the Art Center in Pasadena at the same time. She talked about working with some of the Nine Old Men at Disney, and about helping to animate Madam Medusa with Milt Kahl. She also talked about the difference between the women in the Animation Department and those in the Ink and Paint Department. They were in an entirely different building!

For those of you interested in one artist in particular, you can go straight to those sections:

Phil Roman winning the Inkpot Award: 2:00
Willie Ito: 6:07
Ron Husband: 15:37
Phil Roman: 23:51
Floyd Norman: 35:10
Jane Baer: 44:15

I know many animation aficionados and working artists agree it’s important to hear from the greats of animation: their stories, techniques, their experiences with and memories of other talents that have left their legacies, and their advice and wisdom about building a career while staying true to their own artistic integrity. We hope to continue to present panels with these important figures that have built the world of animation and are an essential part of its history. No one knows so much that they can’t learn from those who have come before them! Here is Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation in its entirety:

Don’t forget to check out Floyd Norman: An Animated Life, which is available on August 26th at FloydNormanMovie.com.

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Leslie Combemale

Leslie is a freelance film critic and interviewer at Cinemasiren.com. She began representing artists and animation art in 1988, co-founding ArtInsights in 1994.

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