What if Robert McKimson's unit shut down in 1949 instead of Art Davis?

[Stumpos]

Back in 1948, Warner Bros had wanted to save money on the Looney Tunes shorts. With the advent of the Blue Ribbon Classics rereleases, it got redundant having four director units and they opted to cut a unit.

Since Jones and Freleng had the most seniority, it was down to McKimson and Davis.

While Art Davis ended up being the one that got the unit cut, what do you think would've happened of Art Davis was kept as director while Robert McKimson's unit dissolved instead?

 

[Edward Joseph]

The Art Davis unit probably would have still created cartoons on the quality of which they were producing before until they would eventually go a bit downhill. I think Quackodile Tears what possibly could have been if Art Davis continued directing (though allegedly he was directing from Friz Freleng's unit on that cartoon and he later said that all he did in the "director's" chair was provide layouts and meet with the animators so I don't think it's the best indicator).

Mckimson probably would have gone back to animating, like Davis ended up doing.

On a side note: While choosing Davis over Mckimson might have been a better choice quality-wise, looking at their reputations around 1948, I'd understand why it made sense at the time to go with Mckimson. He was widely considered one of, if not THE best animators at Warner Brothers and had an Oscar nomination under his belt (Walky Talky Hawky). Arthur Davis was the oldest out of the 4 directors but he had the least amount of time at the studio out of all of them (joining in 1942 when all the others had joined at least 10 years prior) admitting himself that "I wasn’t one of the gang. They [the other directors] had the advantage that they were working together for quite a while and played off each other. I never had that advantage." It was really just "last to come, first to go" in regard to which unit would get the boot.

 

[Classic Speedy]

McKimson staying on as director was definitely the smart choice. I love Davis's cartoons but they definitely felt like the odd man out compared to the other three units which were largely becoming a cohesive unit even though their art styles were different. That, and he hadn't been there as long.

Had Davis stayed on, I suspect things would've largely played out the same. His early '50s cartoons would've had the same energy as his late '40s shorts, but I'm guessing post-shutdown he would've been hit with the same budget restrictions as McKimson did, and by the early '60s he likely would've been producing shorts similar to Quackodile Tears anyway.

 

[Stumpos]

I should also note that McKimson had at least created a popular character under his belt that point with Foghorn Leghorn and Hippety Hopper, and later created Taz and Speedy Gonzales in the 1950s.

Art Davis on the other hand didn't really create any new characters that were long lasting. Even the Goofy Gophers (the only recurring characters exclusive to him) weren't his creation, being characters in a short Bob Clampett started and Art Davis finished.

 

[Stumpos]

I also wonder, how would the writers have been affected if McKimson's unit was the one shut down in 1949 instead of Davis'? Would they have laid off Warren Foster (who was writing for McKimson's unit at this time) like they did with Sid Marcus (who was the last writer for Davis' unit before it was shut down) and having Sid Marcus as the third of the big 3 writers (alongside Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce)? Or would they have still laid off Sid Marcus anyway and simply just switched Warren Foster into Davis' unit?

 

[TheBludderBusser]

Art Davis's shorts are rubberish grotesque ugly mutanated garbage that is a far cry from the greatness of Tashlin and Avery, Robert Mckimson is a great director Pre-Shut Down who gave a cynical motivations and timing to help the characters feel more like Comedy Starts well Art Davis all of his shorts are just plain abysmal compared to the credit hog clampett who had wild expectations.

 

[Edward Joseph]

Art Davis's shorts are rubberish grotesque ugly mutanated garbage that is a far cry from the greatness of Tashlin and Avery, Robert Mckimson is a great director Pre-Shut Down who gave a cynical motivations and timing to help the characters feel more like Comedy Starts well Art Davis all of his shorts are just plain abysmal compared to the credit hog clampett who had wild expectations.

Sorry pal, hard disagree. Davis ranks higher than Mckimson for me. He's a lot more stylish and his timing is a lot more better than Mckimson.

He also has some of the best animators as well (just look at Bill Melendez and Emery Hawkins and tell me that it's "rubberish grotesque ugly mutanated garbage").

 

[Stumpos]

I think the Davis vs McKimson thing is more of a case where McKimson's got higher highs but also lower lows, considering he was directing longer for 18 years before the closing in 1964 (plus an additional two years for the DPE era and one year in the Seven Arts era) compared to Davis only lasting three years in the late 40ss so he has more material to stand out both good and bad.

 

[Edward Joseph]

I think the Davis vs McKimson thing is more of a case where McKimson's got higher highs but also lower lows, considering he was directing longer for 18 years before the closing in 1964 (plus an additional two years for the DPE era and one year in the Seven Arts era) compared to Davis only lasting three years in the late 40ss so he has more material to stand out both good and bad.

I agree that Mckimson has more lower lows than Davis.

Higher highs though? Ehh......

 

[TheBludderBusser]

I never watched a Davis short in my life nor Clampett until i was 14.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I agree that Mckimson has more lower lows than Davis.

Higher highs though? Ehh......

McKimson had some great shorts, let's not sell him short. Hillbilly Hare, Rebel Rabbit, What's Up, Doc?, Hare We Go, A-Lad-in His Lamp, The Windblown Hare, Gorilla My Dreams, Thumb Fun, Lovelorn Leghorn (hell, you can't go wrong with any pre-55 Foghorn), Wild Wife, The Hole Idea, any of the Taz shorts, etc.