Hawley Pratt

Hawley Pratt (standing) and Friz Freleng (sitting) (Cartoon Research, n.d.)

Hawley Pratt is a well-known name in the world of animation because I used to see Pink Panther. He co-authored this animation with Friz Freleng, an animator with whom he has always worked.

He was born in 1911 in Seattle, Washington, and died in 1999. He was a film director, animator, and illustrator. He studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. (Askart, n.d.)

 He worked at Disney studios in 1933, before joining Warner Bros. (Askart, n.d.) he was fired from Disney during the 1941 strike when he went to work for Warner Bros. as an animation assistant, where Friz Freleng worked. (Cartoon Research, n.d.)

He worked at Warner Brothers cartoons and then at DePatie-Freleng studios, where the opening credits were Pink Panther films. (Dograt, n.d.)

His job at Warner Bros was to make background layouts and character poses, working with Friz Freleng. (HowOld, n.d.). He is the author of animations by the duo Sylvester and Tweety, Speedy Gonzales. (HowOld, n.d.) He is also the creator of Thomas, later known as Sylvester. (Dograt, n.d.)

In the 1940s and early 1950s, he continued to work with Freleng, when the animation department suspended the productions they were making to respond to the latest trend in 3D animation. Since that time, his layouts have changed and we have seen the influence of the new animation on his work. (Cartoon Research, n.d.). In the 1960s, according to Cartoon research (sd, para. 4): "Pratt served as a co-director on several of Freleng's cartoons, and illustrated on several Golden Books, featuring animated television characters Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, Bozo the Clown, Bullwinkle J. Moose, Wally Gator, The Jetsons, and Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil. "

After Warner Bros, he decided to work at DePatie-Freleng studios, which had been created by Freleng. At that time they created Pink Panther, which appeared in the opening credits of Blake Edwards' film. But people liked it so much that they developed the idea and created an animated series that won an Oscar. Pratt became a famous director and is known for special television productions, such as "Dr. Seuss on the loose" and "The Lorax". He retired in 1973 and never returned to the studio. (Los Angeles Times, 1999)

He received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film 1967 (nominated) and Golden Award 1992. (HowOld, n.d.)

Draws Sylvester and Tweety (Cartoon Research, n.d.)

Huckleberry Hound and QuickDraw McGraw (Chuck Jones Gallery Catalog, 2021)

Top Cat and Bullwinkle the Moose

Pink Panther (Chuck Jones Gallery Catalog, 2021)

Speedy Gonzales (Chuck Jones Gallery Catalog, 2021)

What impresses me most about this animator is the diversity of his creations. You can imagine characters and plots to give continuity to your animations. He created animations that are part of the childhood of several generations. But, in my opinion, the best animation is Pink Panther. It is fun, working only with sounds and gestures, without dialogue or speech, a panther that always does well despite the events that are not always in favor of it. All of this constructs with your partner, who is small and who is always in a bad mood, which makes the animation even more fun. I especially like this animation, because I like animations without dialogue. The challenge of the animation I'm working on is exactly to do it without dialogue and speech and to work on the expressions of the characters and the sounds.

References:

Askart (n.d.) Hawley Pratt [online] available from: Hawley Pratt - Biography (askart.com) [accessed on: 10/03/2021]

Cartoon Research (n.d.) Hawley Pratt [online Images] available from: Comics by Hawley Pratt | (cartoonresearch.com) [accessed on: 10/03/2021]

Chuck Jones Gallery Catalog (2021) Hawley Pratt [online Images] available from: Hawley Pratt — Chuck Jones Gallery Catalog 2021 (chuckjonescatalog.com) [accessed on: 10/03/2021]

Dograt (n.d.) Hawley Pratt  [online] available from: Hawley Pratt (dograt.com) [accessed on: 10/03/2021]

HowOld (n.d.) Hawley Pratt  [online] Available from: Hawley Pratt Biography | HowOld.co [accessed on: 10/03/2021]

Los Angeles Times (1999) Hawley B. Pratt; Retired Animator [online] Available from: Hawley B. Pratt; Retired Animator - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) [accessed on: 10/03/2021]