Back When Cartoonists Roamed the Earth Practical jokes abounded, inter-department romances werent uncommon and producers, directors and animators often favored three martini lunches. In addition to all of this extracurricular activity, the halls of Hollywoods animation studios were usually festooned with gag cartoons about the bosses, the characters and the cartoonists drawn by the cartoonists themselves.
The best of these were often far funnier than the animated cartoons we were being paid to cobble together. And the undisputed master of these wall-gags was then and now a wonderfully clever fellow named Floyd Norman.
Of course, even a guy like Floyd cant be everywhere at once. But over the last 40+ years, his cartoon commentaries not always a gag, not quite an editorial, but always funny and insightful have graced the hallways of Walt Disney Productions, Pixar, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Film Roman, Ruby-Spears Productions and many others even the near-mythical Tom Carter Productions! (Floyd partnered with Leo Sullivan also had his own animation studio during the 1960s, Vignette Films.)
The Amazing and Amusing Mr. Fun Thats why there always seemed to be a crowd of appreciative cartoonists gathered around our work area to peruse Floyds latest observations. (The fact that Mr. Fun usually brought in a box of donuts every morning didnt hurt, either.) Once, Floyd even got his talented hands on a batch of publicity photos of Mr. Hanna and Mr. Barbera, posed together and separately next to empty chairs (with cartoon figures intended to be added later.) Needless to say, Mr. Fun had lots of fun with that material!
Floyds gentle but incisive humor has had its fans outside of those of us working in the trenches of the cartoon studios, too. More than once, after hours, Bill Hanna was discovered chuckling at Floyds cartoons about him as the Raider of the Lost Art (of Animation). Even Michael Eisner has enlisted Floyd to add his humorous touch to special corporate presentations.
Floyd, Walt and the Pin-Up Queen (Among Others)
As hard as it is to believe, waaay back in prehistoric times (in other words, pre-1980s), animation studios were actually fun places to work. Employment may have been seasonal, but animation had yet to be shipped overseas. Folks worried about meeting their production quotients instead of worrying about their livelihood being eliminated altogether. The bosses were capable of performing nearly every task in the studio, from creating characters to cutting film. The cartoons themselves werent always masterpieces, but their creators had a great time making them.
Ive been fortunate to know Floyd for 25 years. We first met at Hanna-Barbera in 1978 when we worked together on The New Fred And Barney Show. (See? I warned you they werent all gems!) I was initially assigned to be Floyds partner as a layout supervisor on the show. But actually, Floyd (and most of HBs layout department) were kindly, gently, patiently trying to teach this greenhorn comic book artist how to draw layouts for animation. I was impressed by the talent, know-how and experience of Mr. Fun (as some of us in the layout department dubbed Floyd), but what really blew my mind was his astoundingly quick wit. Whether it was a delivery truck that just demolished HBs parking lot guard shack or Iwao Takamotos latest presentation art revisions or Bill Hannas inevitable end-of-season layoffs or one of Joe Barberas wacky show-pitches everything around the studio was potential material for Floyds cartoon observations. Once such news reached Floyds ears, it would take only minutes for him to whip up a funny-and-right-on-the-money cartoon commentary on the situation, one that he would then pushpin to the outside of our cubicle wall.
Last year, when ASIFA-Hollywood presented Floyd with its Lifetime Achievement Award, Lilo & Stitchs Chris Sanders mentioned many of Floyds career milestones. Sure, the man knew and worked directly for Walt Disney. Floyd storyboarded the classic Kaa sequence in Disneys The Jungle Book. He worked on story development and gags for Pixars Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Floyds written and drawn comic books, comic strips and childrens books. He was among the first to produce educational cartoons about black history. Hes directed, animated and designed. Floyds worked on such familiar cartoon characters as The Flintstones, Garfield, Scooby-Doo and even Katy Keene the Pin-Up Queen, as well as real-life personalities like Muhammad Ali and Bill Cosby. Hes been inducted (with Leo Sullivan) into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. (Floyds also a snappy dresser, can play the clarinet and knows more about Macintosh computers than any cartoonist should.)


In other words, this guys done a little bit of everything in the animation arena, and done it all well and with a lot of class. But strangely enough, it was never mentioned that Floyds justifiably-famous, just-short-of-notorious and just-plain-funny talent for coming up with brilliant observational cartoons may very well be his most unique talent.
How Much More Faster, Cheaper Can You Get? As always, Floyds rapier wit is on-target. Its apparent that Floyd whos been an inside observer of the cartoon scene for more than 40 years is somewhat disillusioned, disappointed and disgusted in his reactions to recent developments in the animation industry, including the misdirection many studios have suffered under their current managements. Neither hateful nor nasty, Floyd obviously loves cartoons and the process of creating them. That affection slightly softens the genuine outrage that simmers just below the surface of his most scathingly accurate cartoon commentaries.
No one this side of Gertie The Dinosaurs Winsor McKay seems to be safe from Floyds pencil not even Walt Disney himself! Other recipients of Floyd Normans friendly skewering include: Michael Eisner, Frank G. Wells, Jeffrey Katzenberg, John Lasseter, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Mickey Mouse, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan of the Apes, Winnie the Pooh, animation directors , story artists, middle management executives, the animation boom, the animation crash, 2D, CG, crappy direct-to-video sequels, the guy who operates the lunch wagon in the studio parking lot even Michael Jackson! In fact, just about everyone and everything that are associated with the animation biz is potential targets for Floyds sharp-but-sweet wit. They all get their just desserts in Son of Faster, Cheaper, served up (with a cherry on top) by Mr. Fun himself.
(It also should be noted that this collection of cartoons amply displays Floyds versatility as a sketch artist, with gags drawn in a variety of loose, energetic styles using pencil, pen and marker.)
Losin the Living Legend Label In fact, Ill bet this review is embarrassing the hell out of him right now. If Im lucky, Floyd will draw a cartoon about it or me in a few minutes and youll eventually see it in Brother-In-Law Of Faster, Cheaper or whatever Mr. Funs inevitable third collection or cartoons will be titled.
I, for one, cant wait.
Son Of Faster, Cheaper: A Sharp Look Inside the Animation Business by Floyd Norman, Los Angeles, CA: Vignette Multimedia, 2003. 128 pages. ISBN: 1-881368-37-8 ($9.95). Available exclusively at www.afrokids.com.
Scott Shaw! [2] has variously worked as an animation producer, director, writer, designer, gag man and storyboard and layout artist over the last 25 years. His most recent projects include drawing character models for Warner Bros. Duck Dodgers and storyboards for Warner Bros. Whats New, Scooby-Doo? and Disneys American Dragon, as well as co-writing and directing a pilot/promo for Education Comics The Adventures of Scooter McDoogal. Scott also writes and draws stories for Bongo Comics line of Simpsons comic books. And, for the last four years, Scott has written a daily column on the craziest comic books ever published, Oddball Comics [3].
About ten years ago, John Cawley published a collection of Floyds observational cartoons with the title Faster, Cheaper (a phrase often invoked during H-Bs weekly production meetings!) The paperback book was an instant hit among animation industry cartoonists, but long out of print, copies of it are now collectors item. Recently freed from the studio lifestyle (page 117), Floyd has finally found the time to publish a sequel to Faster, Cheaper. But unlike the pale direct-to-video cheapquels that have recently inundated the market, Son of Faster, Cheaper (subtitled A Sharp Look Inside The Animation Business) is every bit as hilarious, and even more pointed, than its predecessor.
In recent years, the words animation legend have often been used to describe Floyd Norman. Its not a label with which he seems to be comfortable. (Although Mr. Fun still seems to be acceptable legends are for old guys!) His professional accomplishments aside, we should consider Floyd Norman to be the real-life Jiminy Cricket of the animation industry. Yknow, the unofficial conscience of the crass n craven cartoon studios, often speaking from deep within the bellies of the Monstro-like corporate beasts themselves. But unlike the studio bosses and entertainment czars he often thumbs his nose at, Floyd is too smart to take his own unasked-for status as a living legend seriously.
Links:
[1] http://www.awn.com/imagepicker/image/6848
[2] http://www.shawcartoons.com/
[3] http://www.comicbookresources/columns/oddball/