If you were to ask me who were my favorite Animators and/or what was my favorite piece of Animation - I'd have the say for over twenty years, it's been John and Faith Hubley.
My favorite animation? The Cosmic Eye (Real Media Clip)
On this page, I pay tribute to these fine masters and ask that if you haven't had a chance to see their work; to try to explore their wonderful endeavors in the world of animation.
Here are a few clips you may enjoy:
Cookaboody
Here's some bios to familiarize you with the Hubleys:
John Hubley (May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American animator and animation director known for both his formal experimentation and for his emotional realism which stemmed from his tendency to cast his own children as voice actors in his films.
In 1935, he got a job as a background and layout artist at Disney, where he worked on such classic films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi, as well as "The Rite of Spring" segment from Fantasia. He left the company during the 1941 animator's strike, and found work directing films for Screen Gems and the Army's First Motion Picture Unit until he founded United Productions of America. UPA soon became famous for their highly stylized designs and limited animation.
In 1949 he helped create the Mr. Magoo cartoon character, based on an uncle, and directed the first Magoo cartoon. Jim Backus (of Gilligan's Island fame) was the ever-popular voice of Magoo.
He was forced to leave UPA in 1952 when he refused to name names before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He founded Storyboard Studios the next year and worked on commercials (where he would not be credited), but was forced to turn down more exciting projects (such as an adaptation of Finian's Rainbow) because his name was still blacklisted. He moved his studio to New York in 1955, where he switched production over to independent short films.
He married Faith Elliott (September 16, 1924 – December 7, 2001) the same year, and they collaborated on nearly every film he made until his death in 1977 at age 62 during heart surgery. Faith and their 4 children carried on his legacy in the renamed Hubley Studios. John is survived by his daughters Georgia Hubley, plays drums and sings for the critically acclaimed rock band, Yo La Tengo as well as Emily Hubley, a filmmaker and animator, who has made numerous short films, including animated inserts and segments for documentaries such as Blue Vinyl, and the film version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Faith Hubley (16 September 1924 - 7 December 2001) was an Academy Award-winning animator, known for her experimental work both in collaboration with her husband John Hubley, and on her own following John's death.
Born Faith Elliott, Hubley grew up in Hell's Kitchen in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. She left home at age 15 to work in the theater. At age 18, she moved to Hollywood, starting as a messenger at Columbia Pictures. She subsequently worked as a sound-effects and music editor, and then script clerk for Republic Pictures. She later worked (in New York) as script supervisor on 12 Angry Men, and script supervisor and editor on the Harlem Globetrotters film Go, Man, Go.
Faith and John Hubley were married in 1955. They founded Storyboard Studios as an independent animation studio, vowing to make one independent film a year. They collaborated on 21 short films, up until John's death during open-heart surgery in 1977.
At that time they were working on the Doonesbury television cartoon A Doonesbury Special; Faith, with Garry Trudeau and Bill Littlejohn, completed the special despite the doubts of NBC executives. The Hubleys won Oscars for their shorts Moonbird (1959), The Hole (1962) and Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966); they also received Oscar nominations for Windy Day, Of Men and Demons, Voyage to Next, and A Doonesbury Special.
As a pioneering woman animator, Faith Hubley was often shortchanged by animation historians and critics. She was typically regarded as simply an assistant to John, who was always credited as director on their films. However, her numerous solo films have established her as a significant creator in her own right. She began her first project on her own, W.O.W. (Real Media Clip) (Women of the World), in 1975, after being diagnosed with cancer.
Between 1976 and 2001, she completed 24 further solo animated films. Her films often feature abstract imagery and non-linear stories; many draw on themes of mythology and indigenous art. She was also a painter, with her works being exhibited in galleries in Europe and the United States.
Hubley received honors from the Cannes, Venice, London, and San Francisco film festivals. She won fourteen CINE Golden Eagle awards, and received honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Hofstra University. In 1995, the National Gallery of Art presented a retrospective program of her works.
Faith Hubley died in 2001, aged 77, from the cancer which she had battled since 1975.
John and Faith Hubley had four children: Mark Hubley, animator Emily Hubley, musician Georgia Hubley, and Hamp Hubley. Their children's voices were featured in a number of their films.