John Canemaker facts for kids

John Canemaker (born in 1943) is a famous American animator, who creates animated films. He is also a historian who studies and writes about the history of animation. He teaches and gives talks about animation too.

In 1980, he started teaching and helping to create the animation program at New York University (NYU). He works at the Tisch School of the Arts' film and television department. Since 1988, he has been in charge of the animation program. He is now a full professor there.

In 2006, his animated film, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, won an Academy Award. This 28-minute film was about his relationship with his father. The next year, in 2007, the film also won an Emmy Award for its amazing design.

About John Canemaker

John Canemaker grew up in Elmira, New York. He first started acting in New York City from 1961 to 1965. He performed in off-Broadway shows and in commercials.

After serving two years in the Army, he used money from his acting jobs to go to college. He appeared in more than 35 TV commercials. One famous ad showed him leading a line of kids for Armour hotdogs. He also drew on a large pad for a TV show called Patchwork Family in 1972.

He earned his bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan College in 1974. Then, he got his master's degree in film from New York University in 1976.

Canemaker's Work

While studying for his first degree, John Canemaker's childhood interest in animation grew stronger. He began making short animated films that were sponsored by others. He also started writing articles about the history of animation. He has written over 100 articles on the topic.

Books by Canemaker

His first book, The Animated Raggedy Ann and Andy, was published in 1977. It told the story of how Richard Williams' film Raggedy Ann and Andy was made.

He has written many other books about animation history and famous animators. These include:

• Treasures of Disney Animation Art (1982)
• Winsor McCay—His Life and Art (1987)
• Felix, the Twisted Tale of the World's Most Famous Cat (1991)
• Tex Avery: The MGM Years (1997)
• Before the Animation Begins: the Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists (1997)
• Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999)
• Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation (2001)
• The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (2003)

Animated Films and TV Work

Canemaker's research into animation history also inspired some of his own films. These include Remembering Winsor McCay (1976) and Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat (1977).

His independent animated short films are part of the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Some of these films are:

• The '40s (1974)
• Street Freaks (1975)
• Confessions of a Stardreamer (1978)
• The Wizard's Son (1981)
• Bottom's Dream (1983)
• Confessions of a Stand-Up (1993)
• Bridgehampton (1998)

In the early 1980s, Canemaker animated several films for Children's Television Workshop's Sesame Street. He also created animation for TV commercials. In 1981, he made the animation parts for the Warner Bros. movie The World According to Garp.

He also designed and directed animation for award-winning documentaries. These include the Academy Award-winning HBO documentary You Don't Have to Die (1988). He also worked on the Peabody Award-winning CBS documentary Break the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse (1994).

Media Appearances and Lectures

A collection of his films, called John Canemaker: Marching to a Different Toon, is available on DVD. Canemaker also writes regularly about animation for The New York Times. He has been a commentator on DVD versions of classic animated films like The Fantasia Anthology, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

He has appeared on TV shows like NBC's Today and PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He has given lectures all over the United States and in many other countries. These countries include Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

In 2006, he received an award for his amazing work in animation studies. This award was given at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.

Books

• Felix, The Twisted Tale of the World's Most Famous Cat, 1991, Pantheon, New York, ISBN: 0-679-40127-X.
• Storytelling in Animation: The Art of the Animated Image, Volume 2, editor, 1988, The American Film Institute.
• Paper dreams; The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards, 1999.
• Winsor McCay: His Life and Art, 1987.
• Treasures of Disney Animation Art (with Robert E. Abrams), 1982.
• The Animated Raggedy Ann and Andy, 1977.
• Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation, 2001.
• Two Guys Named Joe: Master Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft., 2010. ISBN: 978-1-4231-1067-5.
• The Lost Notebook - Herman Schultheis and the secrets of Walt Disney’s movie magic, 2014.ISBN: 978-1-61628-632-3.
• Before the Animation Begins: the art and lives of Disney inspirational sketch artists, 1997.ISBN: 0-7868-6152-5.
• The Art and Flair of Mary Blair: an appreciation, 2003.ISBN: 0-7868-5391-3.