Speaking at SVA’s animation summit, “Which Way Did They Go?” were alumni John Dilworth, Tom Sito, Yvette Kaplan, Chris Prynoski and Alex Kupershmidt. Photo credit: Joe Strike.

As 2005 drew to a close, Salvatore Petrosino, the director of operations for the School of Visual Art’s Film, Video & Animation Department went to his boss with an idea: honoring a handful of their most successful animation graduates with a gallery show saluting their accomplishments. “The idea was to give the students a sense of reality that what they’re looking to accomplish is attainable,” Petrosino explained. “When you bring in the level of professional talent that graduated here, it becomes much more tangible, it demystifies the goal they want to achieve. Hopefully it will inspire them to continue on their chosen road.”

Reeves Lehmann, the department’s chair said yes. The result was a show called “Which Way Did They Go?” highlighting the achievements of:

• John Dilworth, a 1985 alumnus best known for his Cartoon Network series Courage the Cowardly Dog;

• Yvette Kaplan, an animator and director from the class of 1976, whose work has been seen everywhere from Beavis and Butthead Do America to PBS;

• 1982 graduate Alex Kupershmidt, a 15-year Disney veteran with a hand in almost every one of the studio’s late ‘80s — early ‘90s features;

• Chris Prynoski, the youngster of the bunch, who after leaving SVA in 1994 created Megas XLR for Cartoon Network;

• And 1977’s Tom Sito, whose 30-year Hollywood career has put him at the center of the traditional feature animation business.

“Which Way Did They Go?” premiered days before Christmas with a one-two punch. On Dec. 15, the show opened with the traditional wine, cheese and schmoozing reception. The next evening the artists participated in a panel discussion moderated by veteran SVA animation teacher Howard Beckerman. The purported subject was “East Meets West Animation,” wherein the participants were supposed to “consider the art of animation as it has evolved over the past three decades and explore the similarities and differences between east- and west-coast animation.”

As it worked out, the subject of coastal rivalry got short shrift as the SVA alumni compared notes on their career paths, and discussed both the business and the art of their chosen profession.

Beckerman began by offering his reminiscences of the 1970s when he began teaching, and of the honorees when they were his students. “In the ‘70s people were still doing animated TV commercials [in New York], some feature work and educational films. [Richard Williams’] Raggedy Ann and Andy was made in New York; Sesame Street gave a lot of people a chance to make a living.

Bambi was cited a couple of times by the alumni as a seminal film and an inspiration to them. © Disney. All rights reserved.

“All of them were very versatile. They did storyboards, animation layouts, drawing; their talent was obvious when they were here. Yvette always went beyond the assignment; Tom was interested in the history of animation; I could tell Alex was going in the right direction by how well he animated a standard exercise of a soldier crouching to get through a small doorway; John was always excited about the work, always asking questions; and Chris was already animating, directing and producing while he was in school — he had five guys painting cels in class.”

Sito recalled the 1977 animation world as “pretty sucky” and some of the SVA faculty as less than encouraging. “When we graduated we wanted to do Tex Avery, we wanted to do Bambi, but the old timers said, ‘you’ll never see it come back.’“ He pointed out that the Disney studios only hired 21 people between 1958 and 1975, not exactly the sign of a thriving industry. However, by the late 1970s, the studio realized its talent pool was on the verge of retiring and began reaching out to Sito’s generation, people who “had a fire in the belly to make these cartoons.” Sito pointed to the amazing lifespans enjoyed by many animators. “Chuck Jones lived to be 90, Grim Natwick made it to 100. Joe Barbera is still alive at 94 and [Disney animator] Joe Grant died this past spring at 97. If you don’t do yourself in by 30 you’ll make it to 100.”