Book Review: Floyd Norman’s <em>Son of Faster Cheaper</em>

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Back When Cartoonists Roamed the Earth
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 weren’t always masterpieces, but their creators had a great time making them.

Practical jokes abounded, inter-department romances weren’t uncommon and producers, directors and animators often favored three martini lunches. In addition to all of this extracurricular activity, the halls of Hollywood’s 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 can’t 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”
I’ve 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 weren’t all gems!) I was initially assigned to be Floyd’s “partner” as a layout supervisor on the show. But actually, Floyd (and most of HB’s 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 HB’s parking lot guard shack or Iwao Takamoto’s latest presentation art revisions or Bill Hanna’s inevitable end-of-season layoffs or one of Joe Barbera’s wacky show-pitches — everything around the studio was potential material for Floyd’s cartoon observations. Once such news reached Floyd’s 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.

That’s why there always seemed to be a crowd of appreciative cartoonists gathered around our work area to peruse Floyd’s latest observations. (The fact that Mr. Fun usually brought in a box of donuts every morning didn’t 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!

Floyd’s 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 Floyd’s 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)
Last year, when ASIFA-Hollywood presented Floyd with its Lifetime Achievement Award, Lilo & Stitch’s Chris Sanders mentioned many of Floyd’s career milestones. Sure, the man knew and worked directly for Walt Disney. Floyd storyboarded the classic “Kaa” sequence in Disney’s The Jungle Book. He worked on story development and gags for Pixar’s Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Floyd’s written and drawn comic books, comic strips and children’s books. He was among the first to produce educational cartoons about black history. He’s directed, animated and designed. Floyd’s 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. He’s been inducted (with Leo Sullivan) into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. (Floyd’s also a snappy dresser, can play the clarinet and knows more about Macintosh computers than any cartoonist should.)

In other words, this guy’s 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 Floyd’s 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?
About ten years ago, John Cawley published a collection of Floyd’s observational cartoons with the title Faster, Cheaper (a phrase often invoked during H-B’s weekly production meetings!) The paperback book was an instant hit among animation industry cartoonists, but long out of print, copies of it are now collector’s 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.

As always, Floyd’s rapier wit is on-target. It’s apparent that Floyd — who’s 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 Dinosaur’s Winsor McKay seems to be safe from Floyd’s pencil — not even Walt Disney himself! Other recipients of Floyd Norman’s 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 Floyd’s 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 Floyd’s 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 recent years, the words “animation legend” have often been used to describe Floyd Norman. It’s 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. Y’know, 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.

In fact, I’ll bet this review is embarrassing the hell out of him right now. If I’m lucky, Floyd will draw a cartoon about it — or me — in a few minutes and you’ll eventually see it in Brother-In-Law Of Faster, Cheaper — or whatever Mr. Fun’s inevitable third collection or cartoons will be titled.

I, for one, can’t 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. What’s New, Scooby-Doo? and Disney’s 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].