Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" McKimson, Sr. (
September 27,
1911–
September 27,
1977) was an
animator,
illustrator, and
director best known for his work on the
Looney Tunes and
Merrie Melodies series of
cartoons from
Warner Bros..
After ten years of art education, McKimson went to work for
Walt Disney. He stayed with
Disney's studio for two years before moving to that of
Hugh Harman and
Rudolf Ising. In
1946, McKimson was promoted to
director, replacing
Frank Tashlin. He shared this position with
Friz Freleng and
Chuck Jones until the closing of the Warner Bros. cartoon studio in
1963. During this period, McKimson created the character
Foghorn Leghorn and directed every cartoon starring the character, every
Hippety Hopper/
Sylvester pairing, and every
Tasmanian Devil short.
Critics, perhaps unfairly, routinely dismiss McKimson's work-- that is, when the critics deem to discuss McKimson's work at all. Much of this critical neglect likely stems from two factors: McKimson's early death, and his extreme shyness. He died well before animation became a respected artform, and when he was alive, he gave few interviews. His shorts are described as having a "squarer" style than his fellow directors, Freleng and Jones. Critics describe his style as somewhat prosaic, literal, and not as innovative, clever or impeccably crafted as the films of Jones or Freleng. In addition, McKimson favored an overstated, hammy style of "acting" for his characters, in contrast to the cool, studied,
Method-like underplaying that Jones imbued in his versions of the same characters. In many ways, his cartoons, extremely violent and irreverent, are a continuation of the style of
Bob Clampett, who had left the studio a few years before McKimson's promotion to director.
But if McKimson's cartoons did not reach the intellectual heights of Jones or enjoy the musical freedom of Freleng, he is seen by animation scholars as being the most artistically talented of the
Termite Terrace cartoon directors. In
1942, McKimson drew a single portrait of
Bugs Bunny, leaning against a tree and smiling as he was eating a carrot, that became known as the definitive portrait of the character; this picture has been imitated many times by later artists, including McKimson's peers. McKimson was, for many years, the studio's most prominent animator and character designer; he created the definitve Bugs Bunny model sheet in
1943. His peers acknowledged McKimson's ability to draw images and figures without any construction lines. Even when Warner Bros. acknowledged the influence of
UPA and abandoned extreme "realism" in cartoons during the early
1950s, the characters in McKimson's cartoons continued to reflect his craftsmanship.
In
1953, however, the Warner Bros. cartoon studio laid off most of its staff for six months. McKimson had to rebuild his unit, which never regained the vivid animation of earlier years. Most of McKimson's "earthbound" cartoons were released from
1955 on. This later period had some merits, with several popular shorts and the consistent work of
Robert Gribbroek.
Warner Bros. shut down its animation studio in
1963, and McKimson joined
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, co-owned by his old associates Friz Freleng and
David H. DePatie, who had been a producer at the Warners studio. At DePatie-Freleng, McKimson directed several
The Inspector shorts and worked on some of the
Looney Tunes and
Merrie Melodies contracted out to DePatie-Freleng by Warner Bros.. In
1967, Warners opened its studio again; McKimson went back to Warners in
1968 and stayed until the studio finally shut down in
1969. His last Warner Bros. cartoon was
"Injun Trouble" with
Cool Cat. "Injun Trouble" was also the last of the original
Looney Tunes or
Merrie Melodies cartoon to be produced before the Warner Bros. cartoon studio was closed.
In
1972, he went back to DePatie-Freleng to direct
Pink Panther shorts, among their other series.
McKimson died suddenly in
1977, on his 66th birthday. He suffered a massive
heart attack while eating dinner with Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie.
He had two brothers -
Charles McKimson and
Tom McKimson - who also worked as animators.
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Remembering Robert McKimson
