Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- Another thoughtful letter from the estimable Borge Ring

Pigs Is Pigs is a nice UPA-tinged Disney short from 1954.

It was written by only one man Leo Salkin, and the character animation was done by only one animator John Sibley. It was directed by only one Jack Kinney, but the graphic style was set by two good layout men both of them UPA fans: One the already wellknown Bruce Bushman and the other a newcomer John Wilson.

Wilson was an Englishman who moved to the Disney studios USA. “He was a good artist” said director Kinney.

After a while working at Walt’s own Disney Studio, Wilson quit and founded his own Wilson Studio “Fine Arts Films,” which also produced commercials – as who doesn’t..

He told me: “Whenever I needed a voice-over I phoned Orson Welles.”
‘”What was he like?”
“He was the sweetest man I have ever met, And if you gave him a good briefing he would be right on the first take”

“Wow”
says
Borge

Welles’ drawing for “The Little Prince”__ ps
a film he was planning with Mel Shaw
and Hugh Harman in 1941.

John Wilson had several loftier productions such as an animated ballet starring the traditional Russian straw puppet “Petrouschka” with Igor Stravinsky conducting his own “Petrouschkä” music .And he drew a trailer for Billy Wilders masterpiece “Irma la Douce”

pps
There is a story scetch in colour drawn by Orson Welles. It stems from WW 2 when Orson teamed up with Hugh Harman and Shaw to produce St Exupery’s fable about “The Little Prince”. In the same period Welles approached Walt Disney with a an idea he had for a joint venture. Walt liked Orson’s idea and felt flattered being approached by Le Grand Ourse. Here was high octane input, jucier even than Oscar Fischinger and Salvador Dali.
The venture did not survive. It died of natural courses – says the grapevine – because the _________Wilson & Stravinsky planning
Universe can never accommodate two Suns in one
Heaven even though they radiate in unison, with identical wavelengths, and much light.

John Wilson started out working at Pinewood in Art Direction for Great Expectations continued through the sixties animating Sonny and Cher and George Herriman. He worked at UPA and Disney finally opening his own studio in 1955.

His interesting studio did quite a bit of work during its Hollywood heyday. “archy and mehitabel in Shinbone Alley” was a theatrical feature that was released in 1971 starring the voices of Carol Channing and Eddie Bracken. The notorious book by Don Marquis with illustrations by George Herriman (of Krazy Kat fame) was animated with this feature. It’s worth searching out, if you haven’t seen it. They also did dozens of animated song segments for the popular Sonny and Cher Show, and achieved some long term visibility with that show.

Currently, John Wilson is back in his native England. You can see lots of film clips, movie stills and fine art pieces on his entertaining website, Fine Art Films.

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