TOOT WHISTLE PLUNK & BOOM

You MUST watch this fantastic 1956 Disney Short film.


There were some brilliant minds at work here and oftentimes these incredibly talented guys get overlooked. The art director was Ken O'Connor (scene layouts and continuity, mostly), with Vic Haboush as assistant art director to Ken. The major stylist on the film was Thomas Oreb, a "lost legend" and true artistic hero of the time. He was the one responsible for all the fantastic character design on the film. Working in tandem with the characters was background artist and designer, Eyvind Earle. He's often mentioned for his gothic/medieval backgrounds in Sleeping Beauty.

Here's some fantastic samples of Tom Oreb's
sketches and designs: here & here.

After seeing all the thumbnails of TOOT shown below, it's interesting to note the color scheme of the entire film. There are a good amount of warm reds and purples that stand out, offset by cool blues and indigos. When you look closer at the images, take special note of the flatness of the characters, typical of the early- to mid-50's design of the time. You can thank UPA for spawning a great interest in this limited, yet modern style, as they had that look pretty much cornered. But here, Oreb almost out-UPA'd UPA. I love how the musicians have white lines with no color fill for their heads. Brilliant stuff.

*Info borrowed from Cartoon Brew