As a kid I used to rent the tres caballeros VHS over and over again from the off-brand video store we went to. This was even pre-blockbuster. I loved the visuals and the music. So neat to read about the people and projects behind these things I found so visually arresting even as a child.
Thanks for sharing this. It's an important point that films like that one, even without totally following Blair, still touched people -- despite all the inside-baseball stuff and studio politics. Elements of their vision came through and people loved them. For many artists, that would be a dream come true in itself.
Re: Mary Blair and the final look of the films on which she worked - fascinating! I always thought it would be amazing to see her work animated in some pure form, but perhaps such a thing would fall apart and lack structure and consistency. I don't know. Either way, I love her work and she was one of a kind.
Thanks, Kyle! She was absolutely something special. And there's *got* to be a way to use her art for compelling animation -- even if it isn't done in the traditional Disney style.
i discovered art books last year and came across so many different forms of concept art that it made me wonder why it didn’t end up in the movie. thank you for sharing this, you’ve reignited my love for art books all over again! also, im happy to see Pakistan on the list💛
This is great to hear! Glad you found the piece so interesting. And we're art book fans ourselves -- for more art like what we shared today, definitely check out some of the books that collect Mary Blair's work. Quite a few are out there and there's beautiful stuff in all of them.
Are you saying that a modernist, design-oriented style in animation, one that draws attention to its own surface and artificiality, is inherently at odds with a traditional, realism-based style, one that “disappears” in favor of the character and story?
That was definitely what many people in the industry thought back then. There was a big ideological divide over that problem, with Walt Disney and his traditionalists on one side and UPA and its followers on the other. Since then, some people have explored the gray area between those two, so the line is a bit blurrier than it used to be. But you can still see traces of it in, for example, Disney's current hesitance to embrace the stylized 3D animation that the Spider-Verse movies have made so popular.
Great article! Blair's concept art is one the best things to come out of North American animation in the 1950s. Sadly she was in the wrong place at the wrong time; you treated this conundrum with tact and thoughtfulness. To think beyond UPA, perhaps she could've thrived in the Soyuzmultfilm system of the 60s & 70s, which gave art directors a lot of control over the aesthetic of their films. Ironically, Ivan Aksenchuk's adaptation of Cinderella from 1979 looks much closer to what Blair originally envisioned than how Disney's turned out to be (https://imgur.com/a/kx8h049). Maybe the Soviets finally struck that balance between realistic, tridimensional character animation and flat, painterly background aesthetics that Walt was chasing.
Thank you! Really kind. You make a good point about Soyuzmultfilm and Aksenchuk's work (his Little Mermaid is a bit Blair-esque as well, looking at it again). The Soviets developed really unique and strange kinds of movement to match their designs, and it's likely true that Blair's style could've fit with that approach, especially in Soyuzmultfilm's storybook-style animation.
Thank you! It was a big goal to show that complexity -- this problem had no easy answers, even though seems at first glance like it should've. Happy you enjoyed!
We're glad to share it -- even if her art didn't show up fully in the films, it can really be appreciated as standalone work. And it's continued to inspire people (including Michael Giaimo, a modern-day Disney legend). Happy you enjoyed the piece!
Mary Blair, like many significant female animators of the time, is long overlooked in animation history discourse. Even I'm ashamed to admit not knowing the gravity of her accomplishments until reading this articles. Thank you again for shedding a light on unsung voices in animation.
Such a shame the studio couldn't get the films to look like Mary's work. I wish she had started her own animation studio or knew more about UPA. In the end. It didn't matter. She was an amazing artist despite everything.
The gold standard for Disney biographies is "The Animated Man" (by Michael Barrier), but it unfortunately glosses over Mary Blair, UPA and a lot of the other things mentioned here. You might have more luck with John Canemaker's "Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists" and Charles Solomon's "The Disney That Never Was," which go deep into the kind of process/aesthetics/studio-politics stuff we covered today. That first one especially was a book we referenced a lot.
Thank you for this fantastic piece on Mary Blair and the challenges of animating her unique style! Your insights into how her work was adapted (and sometimes lost) in the final films added depth to my understanding of animation history. Another fantastic read.
As a kid I used to rent the tres caballeros VHS over and over again from the off-brand video store we went to. This was even pre-blockbuster. I loved the visuals and the music. So neat to read about the people and projects behind these things I found so visually arresting even as a child.
Thanks for sharing this. It's an important point that films like that one, even without totally following Blair, still touched people -- despite all the inside-baseball stuff and studio politics. Elements of their vision came through and people loved them. For many artists, that would be a dream come true in itself.
Re: Mary Blair and the final look of the films on which she worked - fascinating! I always thought it would be amazing to see her work animated in some pure form, but perhaps such a thing would fall apart and lack structure and consistency. I don't know. Either way, I love her work and she was one of a kind.
Thanks, Kyle! She was absolutely something special. And there's *got* to be a way to use her art for compelling animation -- even if it isn't done in the traditional Disney style.
i discovered art books last year and came across so many different forms of concept art that it made me wonder why it didn’t end up in the movie. thank you for sharing this, you’ve reignited my love for art books all over again! also, im happy to see Pakistan on the list💛
This is great to hear! Glad you found the piece so interesting. And we're art book fans ourselves -- for more art like what we shared today, definitely check out some of the books that collect Mary Blair's work. Quite a few are out there and there's beautiful stuff in all of them.
thank you! i'll check them out. would love a megalist of your art book recommendations too. just an idea :)
Thanks for the suggestion! We'll add it to the list.
What a great piece! Fantastic insight.
Thanks very much!
Are you saying that a modernist, design-oriented style in animation, one that draws attention to its own surface and artificiality, is inherently at odds with a traditional, realism-based style, one that “disappears” in favor of the character and story?
That was definitely what many people in the industry thought back then. There was a big ideological divide over that problem, with Walt Disney and his traditionalists on one side and UPA and its followers on the other. Since then, some people have explored the gray area between those two, so the line is a bit blurrier than it used to be. But you can still see traces of it in, for example, Disney's current hesitance to embrace the stylized 3D animation that the Spider-Verse movies have made so popular.
Great article! Blair's concept art is one the best things to come out of North American animation in the 1950s. Sadly she was in the wrong place at the wrong time; you treated this conundrum with tact and thoughtfulness. To think beyond UPA, perhaps she could've thrived in the Soyuzmultfilm system of the 60s & 70s, which gave art directors a lot of control over the aesthetic of their films. Ironically, Ivan Aksenchuk's adaptation of Cinderella from 1979 looks much closer to what Blair originally envisioned than how Disney's turned out to be (https://imgur.com/a/kx8h049). Maybe the Soviets finally struck that balance between realistic, tridimensional character animation and flat, painterly background aesthetics that Walt was chasing.
Thank you! Really kind. You make a good point about Soyuzmultfilm and Aksenchuk's work (his Little Mermaid is a bit Blair-esque as well, looking at it again). The Soviets developed really unique and strange kinds of movement to match their designs, and it's likely true that Blair's style could've fit with that approach, especially in Soyuzmultfilm's storybook-style animation.
A fascinating and nuanced take 💕
Thank you! It was a big goal to show that complexity -- this problem had no easy answers, even though seems at first glance like it should've. Happy you enjoyed!
Mary Blair's work is beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
We're glad to share it -- even if her art didn't show up fully in the films, it can really be appreciated as standalone work. And it's continued to inspire people (including Michael Giaimo, a modern-day Disney legend). Happy you enjoyed the piece!
Thanks for sharing. what an interesting post and all these images ,congrats to thissubstack and the authors.
Thank you very much!
Mary Blair, like many significant female animators of the time, is long overlooked in animation history discourse. Even I'm ashamed to admit not knowing the gravity of her accomplishments until reading this articles. Thank you again for shedding a light on unsung voices in animation.
Happy to share. Blair was a huge talent with a huge impact -- art today would look very different without her influence.
Fantastic read! Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words -- happy you liked it!
Such a shame the studio couldn't get the films to look like Mary's work. I wish she had started her own animation studio or knew more about UPA. In the end. It didn't matter. She was an amazing artist despite everything.
For sure. And still inspiring artists inside and outside animation today.
Can you recommend a good biography on Walt Disney that covers stuff like this? It's so fascinating.
The gold standard for Disney biographies is "The Animated Man" (by Michael Barrier), but it unfortunately glosses over Mary Blair, UPA and a lot of the other things mentioned here. You might have more luck with John Canemaker's "Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists" and Charles Solomon's "The Disney That Never Was," which go deep into the kind of process/aesthetics/studio-politics stuff we covered today. That first one especially was a book we referenced a lot.
About Mary Blair art:
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Flair-Mary-Blair-Appreciation/dp/1423127447/
128 pages in color, and there is a suggestion for another (smaller, 44 pgs) book
Thank you. Her work is extraordinary!
It's really stunning. And she did so much of it! We definitely recommend checking out some of the books that collect her art.
This. Was. Wonderful!
Thank you! Really appreciate it (and the very kind share). Glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for this fantastic piece on Mary Blair and the challenges of animating her unique style! Your insights into how her work was adapted (and sometimes lost) in the final films added depth to my understanding of animation history. Another fantastic read.
Thanks, Jon! Much appreciated.