Ub Iwerks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ub Iwerks
Iwerks and his most famous co-creation, Mickey Mouse c. 1929
Born	Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (1901-03-24)March 24, 1901 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1971(1971-07-07) (aged 70) Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Occupation	Animator, cartoonist, film producer, special effects technician
Years active	1919–1971
Employer	Walt Disney Animation Studios (1923–1930, 1940–1964) Leon Schlesinger Productions (1937) Columbia Pictures (1937–1940) Cartoon Films Limited (1936–1940)
Notable work	Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Mickey Mouse Flip the Frog
Spouse(s)	Mildred Sarah Henderson ​ (m. 1927⁠–⁠1971)​
Children	2, including Don Iwerks
Relatives	Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter)
Signature

Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks, was an American animator, cartoonist, and special effects expert. He is famous for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios. Iwerks helped create the design of Mickey Mouse and many other characters.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks faced challenges early in life. He met Walt Disney in 1919 while working at an art studio. They soon started working together in animation. Iwerks became the main animator for Disney's early cartoons, like the Laugh-O-Gram series. After Disney's first studio went bankrupt, they moved to Los Angeles. There, Iwerks continued to work on cartoons like the Alice Comedies. He also helped create the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

One of Iwerks' biggest contributions was making a refined version of a sketch by Disney. This sketch later became Mickey Mouse. Iwerks animated many of the first Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoons. These included famous ones like Steamboat Willie and The Skeleton Dance. In 1930, Iwerks left Disney to start his own studio. He created characters like Flip the Frog and Willie Whopper. His studio also made the ComiColor Cartoons series.

Iwerks returned to Disney in 1940. He then focused on developing special visual effects. He worked on films like Song of the South (1946) and 101 Dalmatians (1961). He also helped create attractions for Disney theme parks. Iwerks died in 1971 at age 70. He was later named a Disney Legend in 1989.

Early Life and Beginnings

Ub Iwerks was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His father came from Germany. When Ub was a teenager, his father left, and Ub had to leave school to support his mother. His full name, Ubbe Ert Iwwerks, appeared on some early cartoons he signed. Later, he shortened it to "Ub Iwerks."

Working with Walt Disney

Starting with Disney (1919–1929)

Iwerks spent much of his career working with Disney. They first met in 1919 at an art studio in Kansas City. They even started their own small art business together. Later, they both got jobs as illustrators for a newspaper company.

While working there, Disney decided to try animation, and Iwerks joined him. Iwerks was very clever with technology. He added a motor to the animation camera. This made it possible for just one person to animate, instead of two.

Iwerks was key to the unique look of Disney's first animated cartoons. He also designed Mickey Mouse. In 1922, when Disney started his Laugh-O-Gram cartoon series, Iwerks was his main animator. The studio went out of business, so in 1923, Iwerks moved with Disney to Los Angeles. There, they worked on a new series called "the Alice Comedies." These cartoons mixed live-action film with animation.

After the Alice Comedies, Disney asked Iwerks to design a new character. This character became Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Iwerks animated the very first Oswald cartoon all by himself. However, the companies that owned and distributed Oswald wanted him redesigned.

In 1928, Disney lost the rights to Oswald. Many of his staff left to work for another company. Disney promised he would only work on characters he owned from then on. He asked Iwerks, who stayed, to draw new character ideas. Iwerks sketched frogs, dogs, and cats, but Disney didn't like them. Iwerks also created a female cow and a male horse. These were not used at first but later became Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.

Ub Iwerks found inspiration from an old drawing. In 1925, another artist had drawn some mice around a photo of Walt Disney. Then, on a train ride, Walt Disney sketched the original idea for a character. This character was later named Mickey Mouse. Disney showed the sketch to Iwerks. Iwerks then drew a cleaner, more polished version of Mickey, keeping the original idea.

The first few Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoons were almost entirely animated by Iwerks. These included famous ones like Steamboat Willie, The Skeleton Dance, and The Haunted House. However, Iwerks felt he wasn't getting enough credit for his work. He also found Disney's way of working difficult. Their friendship and work partnership ended in January 1930. Iwerks left Disney to start his own animation studio. His last Mickey Mouse cartoon was Wild Waves (1929).

After Disney (1930–1940)

A scene from Sinbad the Sailor, a ComiColor Cartoon by Iwerks Studio.

The Iwerks Studio opened in 1930. Some people thought Iwerks was responsible for most of Disney's early success. While Disney's animation did slow down for a bit after Iwerks left, it quickly got better as Disney hired new, talented animators.

Iwerks Studio had a deal with MGM to distribute its cartoons. Iwerks created new characters like "Flip the Frog" and later "Willie Whopper". However, his studio never became as successful as Disney or Fleischer Studios. From 1933 to 1936, Iwerks also made a series of shorts called ComiColor Cartoons. These cartoons were often based on fairy tales and did not have a main character.

In 1936, the people funding Iwerks Studio stopped their support, and the studio closed. In 1937, Iwerks worked for Leon Schlesinger Productions. He directed two Looney Tunes shorts starring Porky Pig. He then directed several Color Rhapsody cartoons for Screen Gems. After this, he returned to work for Disney in 1940.

Return to Disney (1940–1964)

After coming back to Disney, Iwerks mainly worked on developing special visual effects. He helped create ways to combine live-action film with animation. These methods were used in movies like Song of the South (1946). He also developed a special printing process for animation cells. This was used in 101 Dalmatians (1961).

Iwerks also worked at WED Enterprises, which is now Walt Disney Imagineering. He helped create many attractions for Disney theme parks in the 1960s. He even did special effects work outside of Disney. For example, he helped create the birds for Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds (1963). For this work, he was nominated for an Academy Award. His last work for Disney was improving a system for combining different film layers for the "Feed the Birds" scene in Mary Poppins.

Personal Life

Ub Iwerks had two sons with his wife, Mildred Sarah Henderson: Donald Warren Iwerks (born 1929) and David Lee Iwerks (born 1933). David became a portrait photographer.

Ub Iwerks died in 1971 from a heart attack in Burbank, California. He was 70 years old. His ashes are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills Cemetery. The last project he worked on was The Hall of Presidents attraction.

He is the grandfather of documentary film producer Leslie Iwerks.

Influence and Tributes

The Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement is named in his honor. This award is part of the Annie Awards.

In 1989, Iwerks was named a Disney Legend.

A documentary film called The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story was released in 1999. His granddaughter, Leslie Iwerks, created this film. A book about him was also written by Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy in 2001.

In 2014, a movie called Walt Before Mickey was released. It showed how Ub Iwerks, played by Armando Gutierrez, and Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse together.

Filmography

This section lists some of the cartoons Ub Iwerks worked on or directed.

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

All Comicolor shorts

1936

All Comicolor shorts

1937–1940

• Iwerks did contract work for Leon Schlesinger Productions (two cartoons).
• He also did contract work for Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures (17 cartoons).
• In 1940, Iwerks produced his last series, Gran'pop Monkey.

Awards and Recognition

Images for kids

• 

  Ub Iwerks' signature.

See Also

• Walt Disney (2015 PBS film)