Hell Bent for Election (1944) by Chuck Jones
Sunday, June 10, 1990, 8:00 pm
UPA: RARE ANIMATION BY A REBEL STUDIO
Curated by Reed Rahlmann & Russell Merritt
Though United Productions of America (UPA) was one of the top animation studios in the country during the 1950s, they are little-known today. Founders included Chuck Jones, John Hubley, and Art Babbitt (fired from Disney for organizing the animators). UPA’s shorts won numerous Academy Awards, but their real triumph was in changing the look of animation, mastering a unique brand of simplified line and abstract shapes. Deliberately rejecting the Disney style, UPA was innovative and radical, incurring the wrath of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Titles include: Hell Bent for Election (Jones, 1944), Rooty-Toot-Toot (Hubley, 1952), The Tell-Tale Heart (Ted Parmelee, 1953), Gerald McBoing-Boing (Bobe Cannon, 1951), and others.