What's up Doc?

DOYLESTOWN, PENN.

:"The Art of Warner Bros Cartoons" will be shown at the James A. Michener Art Museum April 23 thorough July 3. Originally part of a four-month tribute at New York's Museum of Modern Art, the exhibit will be on view in the Michener Museum's Lower Gallery.

"The Art of Warner Bros Cartoons" is a comprehensive overview of a legendary Hollywood animation studio, the rambunctious birthplace of characters that have become part of American folklore. It is a greatly expanded version of the MoMA show, consisting of more than 160 drawings, paintings, cels, and related objects used in the making of Warner's classic cartoons from the 1930s through 1960s.

More so than any other animated shorts, Warner Bros cartoons have infiltrated American life. Since the studio introduced Porky Pig as its first character in 1935, the cartoons have never been less than enormously popular. Warner Bros perfected the antic, irreverent, street-smart humor that has characterized much of the short-subject animation ever since.

Originally produced for screening in theaters, the studio's cartoons are now broadcast on television several times a day around the world. The influence of characters, styles of humor, notions of pacing and narrative devices introduced by Warner Cartoons are felt in many corners of popular culture.

Under the early influence of the Disney studio, animation had been soft, sentimental and story bookish - aimed exclusively at a children's audience. Warner Bros did the complete opposite and modernized animation, creating cartoons that were brash and reckless.

With striking frequency, the Warner Bros writers devised stories of brilliant invention, while the studio's directors masterfully executed them. But the Warner Bros cartoons did not come alive without the brush of gifted animators, painters and designers. The Washington Post described them as "men who well may qualify as among the century's great humorists, [who] made an invaluable contribution to the culture that only in recent years has begun to receive the outpourings of appreciation it deserves."

The result was a body of work that with each new screening seems richer, deeper and clearly a significant part of American culture. This delightful exhibition explores the elaborate creative process that produced classic Warner Bros cartoons by hand, using examples of original production art from the 1930s through the 1960s. With more than 1,000 titles, the Warner Bros body of work is a library of modern folklore.

Cel animation was developed in the early 1900s in the United States and Europe. At Warner Bros, typical six-or seven-minute cartoons were in production for periods ranging from several months to more than a year, with several dozen artists working on different stages of the highly collaborative process.

Several distinct units worked separately on cartoons at Warner Bros studio, with an entire workforce of 200 people during the years of the heaviest production. Warner cartoons involved a substantial amount of work because they were made in "full animation" using many thousands of drawings for each short. As a result, the characters moved with subtle grace and flowing expressiveness.

Despite the cartoons' popularity, critical attention during the finest years of Warner Bros production was virtually nonexistent. Fast, funny and antiauthoritarian, cartoons were never deemed worthy of serious consideration. In 1943, however, critic Manny Farber wrote in The New Republic about Warner Bros cartoons: "The surprising facts about them are that the good ones are masterpieces and the bad ones aren't a total loss."

By the mid-1970s, with the help of television, Warner cartoons were rediscovered. Film students and critics were impressed by the cartoons' sophistication and cinematic savvy. Time called the Warner cartoonists "some of the top film artists and pleasure givers of the past half century."

In connection with the exhibition the museum will present a host of special events, including a Warner Bros Family Day, Sunday, May 1, from noon to 4 pm, with free admission for kids under 16.

Additional programming includes an animation workshop for kids 6-12 on Sunday, April 24, from 1 to 3 pm; a special documentary screening of Chuck Jones: Extremes and in Betweens, A Life in Animation on Sunday, April 24, 3 to 5 pm; "The Kinship of Animation and Comics," a lecture and book signing featuring contemporary animation cartoon artist Scott Hanna on Wednesday, May 4, 7 to 8:30 pm; a lecture by Harry Rinker, antiques and collectibles writer, lecturer and TV and radio host on Wednesday, May 25, from 7 to 8 pm; a panel presentation on "The Legacy of Warner Bros Cartoons" on Sunday, June 26, 2:30 to 4:30 pm; "Animation Nation," a lecture by local art and animation teacher Syd White, on Wednesday, June 22, 7 to 8 pm; and screenings of Classic Looney Tunes Cartoons on two Sundays: April 24, 12:30 to 2 pm ("Best of Bugs Bunny") and June 26, 12:30 to 2 pm ("Best of Daffy and Porky").

There will be a $4 special fee for this exhibition in addition to general admission. The museum is at 138 South Pine Street. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 am to 4: 30 pm, Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, noon to 5 pm. For information, 215-340-9800 or www.michenerartmuseum.org