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funny comic strip in print
First Cynic Comic Strip
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DISNEY'S THE SKELETON DANCE
As animated by Ub Iwerks
The Skeleton Dance is one of those classic pieces of animation that I ended up watching every Halloween as a kid. It was included on Disney Halloween specials that you can rent on vhs (remember vhs). And remember, one animator drew this, Ub Iwerks.




I have a fondness for Ub Iwerks because he was a guy obsessed with his work and didn't understand the business side of the animation operation. Disney did. Ub Iwerks worked for Disney early on when he was just getting started and probably is responsible for much of Disney's early success including Mickey Mouse. The two men had a falling out and Mr. Iwerks started his own studio which ultimately flopped, while Disney went on to unimaginable success.

What Ub failed to understand is that Disney's genius was his business instincts--networking, getting funding, finding talent, etc--and persistance of vision.. Disney was not a talented artist, rather he surrounded himself with talent that made him look good. His talent eventually turned on him and demanded credit and higher pay which is a long story in of itself. We mistakenly credit Walt Disney with being an artist when I believe he was a business man with big ideas.

Ub returned to Disney Studios later on in his life when his own studio was dead in the water and Disney was gracious enough to let him work his genius and left him alone so he did not have to worry about the business side of things. He came up with more great animation techniques and pioneered many special effects.

And unfortunately, as Ub's life demonstrates, you have to be more Disney than Iwerks to make it as a creative type. You have to put aside artistic talent in favor of business instincts and talking people up. Most money people will not invest in a shy artist who is a workaholic because those types of people make them personally uncomfortable. Money people often have a hard time identifying genius and once they do they don't know what to do with it. This is one of the reasons why you see so much crap come out of Hollywood. AND! Why we saw a horde of 3D animal flicks this summer of 2006. Real talent is often dismissed in favor of people with great social networking skills.




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