CompuServe Messages

Whoa… I just took a look over in the AP Wire to see who you were talking about. That was Isadore (Friz) Freleng… one of the greatest animation directors (and animators) who ever lived. Friz (nicknamed for his friez of red hair) was responsible for Yosemite Sam, a lot of Bugs, and many of those little old ladies, bamboozled cats, and hungry mice in the Warner Bros cartoons of the '40s. Here's an example of how respected Friz was… When Chuck Jones was asked to describe Tex Avery's timing, he said that "it was as perfect as Friz Freleng's". Friz and Tex were Chuck's original directors, and became Chuck's peers pretty quickly (as Jones moved up to full directing). In honor of the moment, I'd like to quote from Jones's book "Chuck Amok" about some of his feelings about Friz: "Animation as Friz Freleng directs it demonstrates the peculiar and little-understood anatomy of motion pictures in general. Many people working in the field of animation think of themselves as graphic artists, which is like a motion-picture photographer mistakenly comparing himself to a still photographer. Actually, shooting motion pictures, including animation, and performing music are very similar indeed — one, impinging a successive series of varied sounds on the ear; the other, impinging a successive series of varied sights on the eyes. It is no coincidence then (it is just plain good sense) that Friz Freleng set down the timing of his films on musical bar sheets. Friz is a musician as well as an excellent draftsman, and it is not surprising that many of his films are a disarming and intricate web of music (a flurry of sounds) and animation (a flurry of drawings). No student of animation can safely ignore the wizardry of these cartoons — if he can stop laughing long enough to seriously study their beauty. To live twenty-five years with a man who could direct such pictures was not easy, because at first I hadn't the remotest idea how he did those great musicals. I know now; all you have to be is Friz Freleng." May 26, 1995… Friz will live forever in our hearts. – G