Here are some of Maurice Noble’s layouts and color styling sketches from the Chuck Jones short 90 DAY WONDERING (1956), a military recruitment film produced for the US Army. The pieces are pure Noble, with many of his trademark flourishes, including the use of silhouetted shapes in the foreground and heavily skewed perspectives. All of these layouts and color concepts are currently available for sale at the Gremlin Animation Gallery. One small bit of trivia: the name on the train depot — Spooner — is a Noble in-joke that references his place of birth, Spooner, Minnesota. Not sure if this appears in the final film.

It’s perhaps a bit ironic to start with Noble because he was one of the more controversial designers of the 1950s. In modern day animation, he is revered as a design god of sorts, but it wasn’t always that way. During the 1950s, many of Noble’s contemporaries were not particularly fond of his design work, and his work was often derided as being too playful and frivolous. I must admit that when I began writing the book a couple years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of his work either, but I appreciate it much more now that I’ve studied his work and understand why he designed films the way he did.

90 Day Wondering
90 Day Wondering