Line #61 Creator/ArtDavis


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/art_davis.jpeg]]
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3	Arthur "Art" Davis (born Arthur Davidavitch; June 14, 1905 – May 9, 2000) was an American animator and director who worked for a number of studios during his career, [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation throughout]] [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation multiple]] [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation eras.]]
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5	He worked at [[Creator/ColumbiaCartoons Screen Gems]] (as an animator), [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Warner Bros.]] (as an animator and director), Creator/HannaBarbera (as an animator and, a couple decades later, a director), and Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises (as a director).
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7	----
8	[[folder: Warner Bros. Theatrical Cartoon Filmography]]
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10	!1946
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12	* WesternAnimation/BacallToArms - Uncredited; finishing what Bob Clampett started
13	* Mouse Menace - Starring Porky Pig
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15	!1947
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17	* The Goofy Gophers - Starring Mac and Tosh
18	* The Foxy Duckling
19	* Doggone Cats - Starring Sylvester the Cat
20	* Mexican Joyride - Starring Daffy Duck
21	* Catch as Cats Can - Starring Sylvester the Cat
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23	!1948
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25	* What Makes Daffy Duck - Starring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
26	* Nothing But the Tooth - Starring Porky Pig
27	* Bone Sweet Bone
28	* The Rattled Rooster
29	* WesternAnimation/DoughRayMeOw
30	* The Pest That Came to Dinner - Starring Porky Pig
31	* Odor of the Day - Starring Pepe Le Pew
32	* WesternAnimation/TheStuporSalesman - Starring Daffy Duck
33	* Riff Raffy Daffy - Starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck[[note]]the only Porky/Daffy cartoon directed by Arthur Davis[[/note]]
34	* A Hick, a Slick, and a Chick
35	* Two Gophers From Texas - Starring Mac and Tosh
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37	!1949
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39	* Holiday From Drumsticks - Starring Daffy Duck
40	* Porky Chops - Starring Porky Pig
41	* Bowery Bugs - The only Art Davis cartoon starring Bugs Bunny [[labelnote:Note]]not counting Bugs' cameo at the end of "The Goofy Gophers" or "The Big Snooze," which he finished up for Bob Clampett[[/labelnote]]
42	* Bye Bye Bluebeard - Starring Porky Pig
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44	!1962
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46	* Quackodile Tears - Starring Daffy Duck
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48	[[/folder]]
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50	!!Tropes associated with Art Davis and his cartoons:
51	* ArtEvolution: Davis's unit was shut down in 1947, and he was absorbed into Creator/FrizFreleng's unit, where he stayed until the early '60s. However, he was given a chance to guest direct one more cartoon at WB, 1962's "Quackodile Tears". Unfortunately, due to the slimmer budgets by the '60s, not to mention using Freleng's animators rather than his team from the late '40s, the animation was much simpler and more rigid, and the designs far less conducive to rubbery movement. Aside from a few gags in line with his old style (like Daffy's wife slapping his face off and ''it'' talking instead of the faceless Daffy and Daffy swimming through the gap between a crocodile"s eyes), it was basically Freleng lite.
52	* DependingOnTheArtist: A number of the cartoons Davis directed at WB featured heavy airbrush effects when characters moved quickly, most of them coming from animator Don Williams.
53	** It was always easy to tell whenever Emery Hawkins was animating, as his animation was arguably the most rubbery and floaty.
54	* DerangedAnimation: As with his predecessor, Creator/BobClampett. Unlike Clampett, Davis's style of animation was more restrained in movement and focused more on the weirdness and lapses in logic.
55	* LimitedAnimation: ''Quackodile Tears''. Due to the extensive budget cuts that happened in the interim since he last directed a cartoon, this one is a good deal stiffer than his rubbery cartoons from the 1940s.
56	* MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon:
57	** "The Foxy Duckling", "Doggone Cats", "Odor of the Day" (aside from "Gesundheit!" at the end).
58	** "Bone Sweet Bone" is mostly this, though there is some dialogue.
59	* OneShotCharacter: Many of his 1946-1948 cartoons starred one-shot characters. It's been theorized this is because he was the newest director and thus had to establish himself before being trusted with the major characters, although that theory falls flat because not only would you have to consider Daffy Duck and Porky Pig not major characters, but Creator/RobertMcKimson was promoted to director around the same time and was allowed to direct Bugs Bunny cartoons as soon as [[WesternAnimation/AcrobattyBunny his third short]].
60	* PayingTheirDues: Want to know why Art only directed one Bugs Bunny cartoon? It's because there was an unofficial rule that new directors couldn't touch the studio's biggest cartoon star until they had proven themselves capable as a director first. Unfortunately, by the time Art was allowed to direct one ("Bowery Bugs"), the studio closed his unit.
61	* ProductionPosse:
62	** Was an animator for Friz Freleng during the '50s.
63	** He frequently worked with writer Sid Marcus during his time at Screen Gems, Warner Bros., and [=DePatie=]-Freleng Enterprises. The duo even co-created the characters Toby the Pup and Scrappy (the latter of which being Screen Gems' headlining star during the 30s). In fact, Marcus left Warner Bros. Cartoons shortly after Davis was demoted back to animator (although he made a brief return in the early 50s as a writer for Creator/RobertMcKimson, before leaving again after the 1953 shutdown).
64	* SignatureStyle: Davis was arguably the Warner Bros. director who ''most'' emulated Bob Clampett's rubbery style, which is no surprise, considering Davis inherited Clampett's unit after Clampett left the studio.
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Context Creator / ArtDavis