User:QuestJ65/Iwao Takamoto
| QuestJ65/Iwao Takamoto | |
|---|---|
 Takamoto, circa 1960s. | |
| Born | April 29, 1910 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | January 8, 2007 Los Angeles, California |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Nationality | Japanese American |
| Occupation(s) | Animator Television producer Film director Storyboard artist |
| Years active at Hanna-Barbera | 1957-2001 |
| Years active at Warner Bros. | 2001-2007 |
Iwao Takamoto was a Japanese-American animator, television producer, and film director known for his work at the Hanna-Barbera animation studio.
He began his career at Walt Disney Productions in 1941, where he previously worked on feature films such as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty. After moving to Hanna-Barbera in 1961, he was assigned to do different jobs, but is arguably known for being the designer of various characters. He is notable for designing the Jetsons' pet dog, Astro, Muttley, Penelope Pitstop, the Great Gazoo, and his most famous contribution, Scooby-Doo. He also worked as a producer of several television cartoons, supervising in Jabberjaw and Hong Kong Phooey, and directed the feature film Charlotte's Web.
He died of a heart attack on January 8, 2007, at the age of 81.
Biography
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Early life
Takamoto was born in Los Angeles, California, and was a son of immigrants from Hiroshima.[1] At the age of 15, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School at Los Angeles.[1]
Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the signing of Executive Order 9066, Takamoto's family, like many Japanese-Americans, was forcibly moved to the Manzanar internment camp in the early 1940s, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. His first job was weaving camouflage nets, but received a lot of criticism due to his lack of experience in making net patterns.[2] The environmental conditions of the camp was considered rough by those within the camp, but Takamoto occupied his time by developing his basic illustration skills.[3] After meeting with Dr. Genevieve Carter, the educational director at the camp, Takamoto sought to improve his illustrations, with the help of Cater, who gave him art supplies. He also met two co-internees at the camp, who encouraged him to enter the field of commercial artwork.[4]
After the war, Takamoto joined the Walt Disney studio in 1945 as an in-betweener. He initially worked as an assistant to animators Bob Carlson and Milt Kahl,[1] and with additional support from some of the studio's "nine old men" — Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, Eric Larson, Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas — Takamoto further developed his experience in animation; finishing Kahl's animation for Cinderella (1950), and designing Lady in The Lady and The Tramp (1955), when Kahl asked him to make her look more cute and feminine. He also took quality control for sequences in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and oversaw animation production of One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).[1] Takamoto later decided that theatrical animation was declining, and left Disney in 1961.[1]
Crew credits
Behind the scenes
References
- ^ a b c d e Wells, Paul (January 28, 2007). "Iwao Takamoto: Brilliant animator who eased the medium's transition from film to television". The Guardian. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Loss When Leaving for Manzanar" (Iwao Takamoto interview). Discover Nikkei.
- ^ "Developing Art Skills in Camp" (Iwao Takamoto interview). Discover Nikkei.
- ^ Nakaji Monnier, Mia (October 21, 2009). "A Great American Life". Discover Nikkei.
