Animation Artifacts &commercial animation &Layout & Design &Models 29 Aug 2012 07:45 am
Mogubgub’s O’Henry Bar
- Sifting through the boxed archives of Vince Cafarelli‘s saved material, there are quite a few pieces of art from a number of commercials. One that stands out includes the LayOut drawings of Fred Mogubgub for an O’Henry Bar animated commercial. The spot comes from the early days of Buzzco, 1982 or 1983 when Buzz Potamkin was still the principal in the company.
Fred Mogubgub was enough of an eccentric that I would be attracted to his artwork. (In case you’re unfamiliar with Mogubgub‘s work, here’s a four part series including his bio and some films.) I remember – as an art student in NY and desperately wanting to get into animation – the sign on 46th St and Sixth Ave: “Why Doesn’t Someone Give Mogubgub Ltd. Two Million Bucks to Make A Movie?” I asked Fred if he’d had any response. He said that ABC contacted him, and he gave them a script that was about a thousand pages big. It was about the contents of an ashtray. The characters were cigarette stubs, ashes and matches. To illustrate the script, he’d attached some used butts and matches within. They didn’t give him the money; you might have guessed.
On Blechman’s The Soldier’s Tale, there was a PT section of the animatic that Fred had done. We had to prepare this for a big screening for PBS trying to sell it for Bob. To get it into color, Fred and I would literally color the film, itself. He started at the head of the scene and I started at the end. We met in the middle. That piece of film had a life that was just too great. It couldn’t retain what we had done when it went to completion. Very exciting work and a fun afternoon coloring some footage with Fred.
Here are the Lay Outs Vinnie had saved for the past 30 or so years:
Our Lead Character – a model
1
There seems to be no rhyme or reason
as to when things are top or bottom pegged.
2
The pegs shift from drawing to drawing.
3
7
8
9
10
11
14
16
17
18
22
24
A cel setup.
Bg LO 2
Bg LO 11
Bg LO 24
on 29 Aug 2012 at 9:33 am 1.richard o'connor said …
A film or two or Mogubgub’s may be included in a major museum retrospective of Pop Art in the near future.
I’ll let you know when that’s finalized.
I’ve heard that preparing the final art for camera on The Soldier’s Tale was a bit of an undertaking (I think George Griffin may know the story best) so working directly on film was probably the smart way to do it.
on 29 Aug 2012 at 9:36 am 2.Michael said …
Working directly on film was definitely the better way. It had a life the final version did not have,
on 29 Aug 2012 at 5:59 pm 3.Paul Spector said …
O’Henry has a resemblance to SpongeBob: you know, the face and hands and all. Or, is this just a style that crops up now and then over many decades?
on 10 Oct 2012 at 7:45 pm 4.Chris said …
Would’ve been interesting to see that movie…
on 19 Apr 2014 at 1:56 am 5.Jeff Cox said …
Fred employed me as an animator at his 45th St. studio and then over at Sixth Avenue and 38th St. where he moved. We worked side by side for over a year (1968). I seriously hope he is rediscovered. He was my mentor and a great artist. I have a thousand stories about him and his life and work. We become fast friends and I spent a lot of time at his and Ginny’s house in Cliffside Park. After he turned to fine art, we spent many nights painting side by side at his house. My knowledge of Freddy, his family, his work, and his wonderful character should be preserved.