The feature film project aims to reveal the origin, rise, fall, and legacy of the innovative and iconoclastic animation studio.
The team behind the documentary feature Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA have shared with AWN that their film will be completed and released later this year. The project aims to reveal the origin, rise, fall, and legacy of the innovative and iconoclastic animation studio behind properties like the Mr. Magoo series and Gerald McBoing-Boing.
“Animation Mavericks marks my return to making films about cinema history for the first time in over a decade,” said Kevin Schreck, director and producer. “What brought me to this subject was that this piece of history felt both timely and timeless. Audiences will be transported to the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s as studios and studio heads clash and innovate. Labor organizing, the Red Scare, and the revolutionary Modernist art movement all take center stage in telling the riveting and unearthed history of UPA.”
Rachel Gitlevich serves as animation director and producer alongside executive producer Tim Finn and producer Sylvie BosRau, granddaughter of UPA co-founder Steve Bosustow. Animation Mavericks is produced in cooperation with the Bosustow Estate.
“Both Kevin and I, as film historians and animation aficionados, are grateful to have the Bosustow family’s blessing and cooperation in creating Animation Mavericks,” said Finn. “There has never been a major, feature-length documentary telling the story of this important chapter in cinema and it’s a privilege to be the first to do so.”
You can read the late Gene Deitch’s digital book, “How to Succeed in Animation,” published by AWN online in 2001, which chronicles the Oscar-winning director, animator and author’s time as a senior creator at UPA. It’s a fantastic read.
Source: AnimationMavericks
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
