Today I offer an example of what I consider to be poor animation design. The cartoon is WACKIKI RABBIT, a 1943 WB short directed by Chuck Jones. The only reason I’m pointing out the film right now is because the entire cartoon was recently posted on the classic cartoon podcast Refrederator. Despite its faults, it’s worth checking out to see an example of Modern design in early-1940s animation.
My problem with this film is its backgrounds and how they compete with and overwhelm the animation. The superflat wallpaper styling also makes it seem as if the characters are performing in front of a backdrop rather than truly interacting with their environment. It’s hardly a surprise to read in this Mike Barrier interview that the film’s background stylist, Bernyce Polifka, had been designing wallpaper patterns prior to joining Jones’s unit.
John McGrew, who is the subject being interviewed in Barrier’s interview, was Chuck Jones’s layout designer prior to Polifka, and he was doing amazing modern design in the early-40s Warner shorts. He understood the balance between form and function that is necessary in successful layout design, and in a film like THE ARISTO-CAT (1943), he was able to push the background design in a way that complemented—and even enhanced—the film’s animation.
