Bill Tytla - Back in America

Back in America

Tytla returned to the United States with the attitude that he could become a great master of animation by incorporating his rich knowledge of art. Now animated shorts had sound which in turn brought a new enthusiasm and a need for talented animators. Paul Terry offered Bill a job right away. There he met animator Art Babbitt who became his close friend and roommate. Art eventually left to work for Walt Disney because of the challenging work and good working conditions. For two years Art tried to entice Bill to come out to Hollywood, but Bill did not want to leave his family and a well paying job during the Great Depression. Finally in 1934 Tytla flew to Hollywood. He was very impressed and accepted the job even at a lower salary than he was being paid at Terrytoons.

During his "probationary" year in 1935 Tytla worked on three shorts:

• The Cookie Carnival, a Silly Symphonies short, first released on May 25, 1935.
• Mickey's Fire Brigade, a cartoon featuring firefighters Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck attempting to rescue Clarabelle Cow from a burning boarding house. First released on August 3, 1935).
• Cock o' the Walk, a Silly Symphonies short, first released on November 30, 1935).

Tytla in The Cookie Carnival was responsible for animating the gingerbread boy and girl as well as the rivalry between the angel-food and devil's food cakes. He animated the broadly comic Clarabelle Cow in Mickey's Fire Brigade. In Cock o' the Walk, Tytla animated his first "heavy," a bully rooster dancing the Carioca. The great Grim Natwick, creator of Betty Boop, remarked, "Bill hovered over his drawing board like a giant vulture protecting a nest filled with golden eggs, he was an intense worker—eager, nervous, absorbed...Key drawings were whittled out with impassioned pencil thrusts that tore holes in the animation paper."

His work did not go unnoticed by Walt Disney who soon came to realize what he had in Tytla. Consequently both his responsibilities and his wages increased dramatically. Tytla and Babbitt quickly became two of Disney's top-salaried artists, and again shared a residence—this time a Tuxedo Terrace house complete with a maid. He continued to send money home and purchased for his family 150 acre (607,000 m²) of farmland in East Lyme, Connecticut. Babbitt started after hours "Action Analysis" classes and brought in Don Graham to teach. Tytla was an eager participator in these classes (later to become officially sanctioned by Disney) which have been credited with the some of the phenomenal leaps in the quality of animation during this period.

Tytla was one of the first animators assigned to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Fred Moore and Tytla were responsible for much of the design of the film and the definition of the personalities of the seven dwarfs. One of Tytla's famous scenes from the film (as described by John Canemaker) is where woman-hating Grumpy is kissed by Snow White. As he brusquely walks away, an internal warmth generated by the kiss gradually slows him, bringing a soft smile and sigh to his lips, revealing his true feelings of love. Grumpy's inner feelings are portrayed solely through pantomime—in his telling facial expressions, his body language, and the timing of his reactions.