If Truth Be Told, Can 'Toons Tell It?

Documentary and Animation

Author(s): Sybil DelGaudio
Source: Film History, Vol. 9, No. 2, Non-Fiction Film (1997), pp. 189-199
Published by: Indiana University Press
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 FilmHistory,Volume9, pp. 189-199, 1997. Copyright© JohnLibbey&Company
If betruth
told, can
'toons tell it?
Documentary and
animation
SybilDelGaudio
Wt hetherone defines documentary
as JohnGrierson's'creativetreat-
ment of actuality',1or accepts
TrinhT. Minh-ha'sposition that
'thereis no such thingas documentary',2 the term,
has
always dynamic, undergone continual scrutiny
and re-consideration throughoutfilmhistory.3From
the infamous'staged events'of Flaherty'sNanook
of the North(1922), throughthe dramatisationsof
ErrolMorris'TheThinBlueLine(1991), each new
documentary has stretched the boundaries of
precedingdefinitions,expandingpotentialbeyond
the confinementof the set criteriaof contemporary
theory.
In RepresentingReality,BillNichols has sug-
gested fourmodesof representation that'standout
as the dominantorganisationalpatternsaround
which most [documentary]texts are structured'.4
Designatingmodes as expository,observational,
interactiveand reflexive, Nichols offers an ap-
proachthatorganisesdocumentaryinto'[four]dis-
tinctive approaches to the representation of
reality'.5 The expositorydocumentary(worksby
Flahertyand Grierson,for example),attemptedto
presentinformationaboutthe historicalworldand
to see thatworld in a new way; observationaldo-
cumentary(Leacock,Wiseman,Pennebaker)arose
as a reactionto the moralisingqualityof expository
documentaryand to theavailabilityof moremobile
and synchronousequipmentwhich providedthe
opportunityto record events more unobtrusively;
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ISSN:0892-2160. PrintedinAustralia
interactivedocumentary(Rouch,de Antonio,Con-
nie Field)arose fromthe desire to 'makethe film-
maker'sperspectivemoreevident',while reflexive
documentary(Vertov,Morris,etc.) arose froma
desireto 'challengethe impressionof realitywhich
theotherthreemodesnormallyconveyedunproble-
matically'.As the most 'self-aware'of the four
modes, the reflexivemode utilisesthe devices of
otherdocumentaries,foregroundingsuch devices
in an effortto emphasisethemas well as theeffects
thatthey mightachieve.6 Reflexivedocumentaries
suchas ErrolMorris'TheThinBlueLineand Dziga
Vertov'sMan WithA Movie Camera(1929) con-
stantlyquestionthe fabricatednatureof the image
as a mere functionof the text itself. TheThinBlue
Line,forexample,frequentlydisruptsdocumentary
practicesas a meansof conveyingwhat Matthew
Bernsteinhas termed its 'epistemologicalskepti-
cism'.7The film re-enactsthe crime fromvarious
perspectivesto remindthe viewer of 'what every
filmmakerknows:thatevery representation,how-
ever fullyimbuedwith documentarysignificance,
remains a fabrication'.8 Particularlyinteresting
Sybil DelGaudio is an associateprofessorat
Hofstra Hercurrent is a
University. work-in-progress
documentary onthelivesandworkofJohnandFaith
Hubley. Correspondence: Department of
Audio/Video/Film,111 HofstraHall, Hofstra
University,Hempstead,N.Y. 11550, USA Tel.
(516)463-5431.
190
about TheThinBlueLine,is that,while it re-creates
several 'potentialrealities'in order to arriveat a
theoreticaltruth(RandallAdams' innocence),the
truthis stillelusive,sincewhat
idea of an irrefutable
Morrisis reallypresentinginthefilmis speculative,
howeverconvincingit may ultimatelybe for some
viewers.9
Furthercomplicatingthe crisis of naming in
documentaryare animatedfilmsthatdeal withnon-
fictionsubjects.Sincean animatedfilm'exists'only
whenitis projected- thereis no pre-existingreality,
no pro-filmicevent capturedin its occurrence- its
classificationas documentarycan be problematic.
Withoutany existencein theworldof actuality,the
animatedfilm must,like the partiallydramatised
documentary,relyon a kindof artisticre-enactment,
depending, in part, on imaginativerenderingof
one sortor another10thatmayserveas compensa-
tion for the camera's non-presenceat the event.
Recentdocumentarytheory, such as BrianWin-
ston'sidea thatnew technologiesincludingdigital
manipulationhave promptedinterrogationof the
ontologicalpropertiesof the photographicimage,
while computer-basedtechnologies such as the
'Harry'can manipulatethe movingimage in ways
thatare nearlycompletelyundetectable;11 or Philip
Rosen'ssuggestionthat cinema's reliance on 'not-
able delay' (due primarilyto the time it takes to
the
'process, manufactureand/or distribute repre-
senations')indicates a 'temporaldisjunction'be-
tween the event and its perception by an
audience,12demonstratethecontinualquestioning
of both the mimeticnature of the photographic
image and the relianceon its mimesisin the inves-
tigationof a film'sclassificationas documentary.I
will argue that such ongoing questionsopen the
doorforconsiderationof certainanimatedfilmsas
documentaries.
Animationhistory,which precedes live-action
filmhistorythroughthetechnologyof opticaltoys,13
presentsmany examples of works that deal with
'actuality'by usinganimationto re-tella story.Win-
sor McCay's TheSinkingof the Lusitania(1918)
'documented'the infamouseventof the 1915 sink-
ing of the Britishpassenger ship by a GermanU-
boat. The film, which representedMcCay's own
outrage,as well as a depictionof theeventthathad
beenwidelyrepresentedineditorialcartoonsof the
period,was painstakinglyrenderedoverthecourse
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Sybil DelGaudio
of 22 months,in 25,000 drawingson clearcels.14
The film'sanimationtechnique,because of its re-
semblanceto live-actionin some sequencesand its
stylisticrelianceon editorialcartooninginothers,15
presentsa passionateand journalistically convinc-
ing re-tellingof an eventthathad neverbeen photo-
graphed.
Max and Dave Fleischer16continuedin the
traditioncreated by McCaywith two filmsbased
on scientifictheories.InbothEvolution(1925) and
TheEinsteinTheoryof Relativity(1923), Max Flei-
scher utilisedtechniquesof combininglive-action
withanimationas wellas withstillphotographsand
otherillustrativematerials,to exploreand support
the credibilityof Darwin'sand Einstein'swork.Re-
leased at the time of the Scopes trial, Evolution
provokedthe wrath of fundamentalistswho ob-
jectedto a Darwinianview of creation.17Laterin
the century,as WorldWar IIenlistedthe coopera-
tion of many large corporationsin the war effort,
Disneymade VictoryThroughAirPower(1943), a
feature-length animatedfilmbased on MajorAlex-
ander P. de Seversky'sbook assertingthe superi-
ority of aeroplanes over more traditionalarmed
forceswhichreliedon tanksand ships,and calling
for the creationof an air force as an independent
branchof militaryservice.18Criticshad mixedre-
actionsto the film,which combineda limitedstyle
of animationwith Fleischer'searliertechniquesof
usingstillsand charts,buttheirresponses,whether
negative or positive, indicated its heavily propa-
gandisticapproachto the subject.19Followingthe
war, and in an effortto maintainsolvencyfor his
studio, which was heavily in debt, Disney made
many industrialand educationalfilmsfor various
corporations, including Dow Chemical, Texaco
and General Motors, but his realisationof their
limitedcommercialappeal discouragedhimfrom
continuingsuchprojects,and exceptfora few that
he consideredgood publicrelationsfor the studio
(HowToCatchA Coldin 1951, and OurFriendthe
Atomin 1957 are two examples),he ceased pro-
ductionof non-commercial films.20
OurFriendtheAtom(1957) usesthemetaphor
of a fishermanwho casts his netand snags a small
jarcontaininga genie who promisesto grant him
threewishes. Thefisherman'sdesire to masterthe
mightygiant that will ultimatelydo his bidding is
likenedto humankind's desireto harnessthepower-
If truthbe told, can 'toons tell it? Documentary and animation 191

Fig. 1. Thegenie of the atomcomesto granthumanitythreewishesin Disney'sanimatedindustrial

film,OurFriendtheAtom(©WaltDisneyProductions,1957).

fulforce of atomicenergy afterhavingdiscovered importanceof heredityand environmentin deter-

thetinyatomthathas imprisonedthatforce.Thefilm
goes on to identifyhumanity'sthreewishes for the
use of atomic energy: power (the use of atomic
energy to replace the dwindlingcoal and oil re-
sourcesof our planet);food and health(theuse of
radioisotopesinmedicine);and peace (thewiseuse
of atomicenergy forcreation- notdestruction).21
Carryingon the traditionof Disneycorporate
educationalanimatedfilms,was the Bell Science
Series, produced by Jack Warner for Bell Tele-
phone. With several of the episodes writtenand
directedby FrankCapra, and animationdirection
by suchnotableartistsas ChuckJones,FrizFreleng
and ShamusCulhane,the series attemptedto 'ex-
plain' scientificphenomenasuch as the natureof
time (AboutTime,(1959)), the functioningof the
humanbody (Hemothe Magnificent,1958), the
mininghumantraits(TheThreadofLife, (1957), and
the mysteriesof the universe(TheStrangeCase of
CosmicRays, 1957), among others.22
Animatedfilmsproveda populareducational
toolwithadultsas well as withchildren,and during
WorldWar IIthe governmentlookedto animators
for a moreentertainingapproach to training.The
18th Air ForceBase Unit(also knownas the First
MotionPictureUnit)made animatedfilmsfor the
armed services, on subjectsranging fromhow to
successfullyutilisecamouflageas a way of thwart-
ing 'the enemy', (Camouflage, 1943) to how to
shoot down an enemy plane (Position Firing,
1943).
Begunin 1942 by RudyIsing,the FirstMotion
PictureUnit(FMPU) was made upof approximately
80-100 enlisted men, officers and civil servants

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192 192
whose assignmentwas to make amusingand en-
gaging trainingfilmsfor servicemen.Organised
into four units headed by ex-DisneyitesFrank
Thomas,BernyWolf, Van Kaufmanand Joe Smith,
'FUM-POOH', as it was known by the men who
worked there, produced hundredsof animated
trainingfilmsfor various branches of the armed
services.23
Because of its location in the old Hal Roach
Studioin CulverCity,the FMPUwas also knownas
'theFortRoachResistance'or 'theCulverCityCom-
mandos',a unitwhichproducedfilmsthatwere far
more successful in appealing to trainees, who
watchedthem'moreattentively'thanthey did live-
action filmsor illustratedlectures.Duringthe war,
FortRoach turnedout more animationthan any
studioin Hollywood.24
Amongthebest-remembered filmsproducedat
FortRoachwere those madeby FrankThomas'unit,
whichstarreda characternamed'TriggerJoe'. Po-
sitionFiring,the bestknownof the series,basically
taughtan importantprincipleforshootingat enemy
planeswithgreateraccuracy(i.e. gunnersneeded
to rememberto take aim based not on where the
enemy plane was, buton where it would be when
the shotarrived).Accordingto animatorBillHurtz,
the characterwas rooted in Hollywoodwar-film
stereotypes, closely resembling the somewhat
good-natured,but a bit slow-on-the-uptake roles
played by actor William Bendix.25
Camouflage,a filmmade by the Thomasunit
in which Hubleyworked,presentsa characternot
unlikeTriggerJoe indesign, and onlyslightlymore
intelligentthanJoe in dealing with the challenges
of war. Likemany of the charactersin these ani-
matedtrainingfilms,'Dodo',as he is called, needs
to be educated. Beginningwitha Disney-likeintro-
ductionto the meaningand importanceof camou-
flage in the animalkingdom,Camouflagepresents
severalanthropomorphic animalcharacters(a but-
a
terfly, bird, and a deer lookingremarkablylike
Bambi) whosewhereaboutsare protectedfromtheir
'enemies'by theircapacityto blendintotheirnatu-
ralsurroundings. Weare soon introducedtoYehudi
the Chameleon, another Disney-likecharacter,
who, by virtueof hisown naturalgifts,becomesthe
voice of authorityon 'camouflage'.
Oftenduringthe war, the men Qfthe FirstMo-
tionPictureUnitmoonlightedat UnitedFilmProduc-
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eGul
Sybil DelGaudio
Syb~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tions, an early incarnationof what was later to
become UnitedProductionsof America,or UPA.26
Initsearlyyears,UnitedFilmProductions' workwas
frequently commissioned by governmentagencies
(e.g. the StateDepartment,Officeof War Informa-
tionOverseasBranch,and variousbranchesof the
armedforces,includingCapra'sarmyunit).Forthe
Navy, UnitedFilmProductionsdid a seriesof films
entitled'FlightSafety',manyof whichwere worked
on or supervisedby ex-Disneyartist,JohnHubley.27
Among those survivingis Flathatting(1945), a
blackand whiteanimatedfilmdescribingthepoten-
tial perilsof flyingtoo low, includingshowingoff,
hotdogging,etc., and illustratingthe flatter,more
stylisedgraphicapproachthatwouldlaterdevelop
intoUPAstyle.28Inaddition,the filmdelves interes-
tinglyintothe psychologicalhistoryof the hotdogg-
ing pilot, in an effortto understandhis emotional
makeupand motivationfor doing what he does in
theair,as well as to presentthe resultsand dangers
of his unfortunate choices.
Ifwe agree that 'representingreality',in Ni-
chols'words,is of criticalimportanceto theprojects
of certainanimatedfilms,Iwillarguethatthereflex-
ive modeseemsa particularly appropriatemode in
which to situatecertainanimatedfilms,since ani-
mationitselfacts as a formof 'metacommentary' 29
withina documentary,a formthat is traditionally
and most frequentlycharacterisedby live-action
and non-dramatisation, particularlyin the case of
filmswhich'documentthe undocumentable',either
becausea camerahas notbeen presentattheevent,
or because theeventhas occurredat a timepriorto
photographyor any othertype of recording.30
Inthe'theoretical'documentary,i.e. documen-
tarieswhichexploreand investigatetheory,anima-
tion prompts the viewer to a 'heightened
consciousnessof his or her relationto the textand
of the text's problematicrelationto that which it
represents'.31 Evenmorespecifically,inthecase of
filmswhich explore or communicateprinciplesof
scientifictheory(filmssuchas A BriefHistoryof Time
(1992), by ErrolMorris,an essentiallylive-action
filmthatcontainsseveralanimatedimages, or Of
Starsand Men (1964), by Johnand FaithHubley,
a filmthatis entirelyanimated),animationservesto
create a rupturebetweenthe signifierand the sig-
nified,thusreinforcingthe theoreticalnatureof the
informationpresented, and foregrounding the
If truth
truthbe
be told,
told, can
can 'toons
'toonstell
tell it? Documentary
Documentary and
and animation
animation 193
193

Fig.2. Insuchfullyanimateddocumentariesas Of Starsand Men(Johnand FaithHubley,1964),

animationworksto heightenthe consciousnessof the viewer'srelationto the text.

aforementioned'heightenedconsciousness'about which is not readilyavailable for documentation,

its 'factuality'.Since scientifictheoryoftenwalksa
thin line between that which is knowable or pro-
vable, and that which is not, the reflexivemode
emphasisesthe epistemologicaldoubt inherentin
the presentationof scientifictheorythroughthe me-
dium of film, directlyquestioning knowledge by
placing it in 'relation... to issuesabout the ... diffi-
culties of verificationand the statusof empirical
evidence ... 32 Recently,as Nichols furtherpoints
out, events such as the Rodney King tapes have
suggested that the status of the photographic
image's 'ontologicalor evidentiarynature'is far
from'cutand dried',mostnotablyin legal proceed-
ings,33and perhapshas contributed,in part,to the
degree to which subjectiveelementssuch as simu-
lationhave become an accepted partof documen-
tary representation.As the viewer becomes more
aware of the 'constructedimage', questionsabout
the adequacy of representationarise. As Nichols
has queried, how can a filmmakerrepresent'that
having occurred in the past, out of sight of any
camera?'34Inthe case of filmsthatpositscientific
theories,especiallythosethatdeal withsuchissues
as the natureof time(A BriefHistoryof Time)or the
formationof the universe(Of Starsand Men), 'do-
cumentingthe undocumentable'becomes both a
practical and a philosophical concern, directly
challengingmyths,notonlyaboutthe'knowability'
of theworld,35butalso aboutcinema'scapacityto
representit.
In ErrolMorris'A BriefHistoryof Time,an
investigationintothe mindand theoriesof scientist
StephenHawking,Morrisconsistentlyinterrupts the
presentationof scientifictheorywith images (often
computer-generated, animatedimages) that high-
light its epistemologicalnaturewhile they simulta-
neouslyquestioncinema's abilityto representthe
worldof scientifictheory.Morris'unwillingnessto
assist Hawkingsin the verificationof the scientist's
theoriesis evidentin his presentationof materialin

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194
194
a mediumwhose verifyingcapabilities he con-
stantlyquestions.Sincethe filmmaker cannothope
to compete intellectually withthe scientist'swealth
of knowledgeabouta particularscientificsubject,
his skepticismis located in artistic'metacommen-
tary',speakingto viewers less about the worldof
scientifictheoryitself(a subjecthe knowslittleabout
in comparisonto the scientist),thanaboutthe pro-
cess of representation of thatworld.As an example
of the reflexivemode of documentary,A BriefHis-
toryof Timeconstantly'emphasisesepistemologi-
cal doubt[bystressing]thedeformativeintervention
of the cinematicapparatusin the processof repre-
sentation'.36
While certain animation styles (i.e. Disney
seem concernedwiththe re-creation
hyper-realism)
of reality,others,suchas thestylepioneeredbyUPA
and laterdevelopedbyJohnand FaithHubley,are
less so.37Hubleystyle, an outgrowthof the earlier
UPAstyle, is, in fact, a directresponseto Disney
an attemptto reveal,ratherthancon-
hyper-realism,
ceal, thatimages are drawn.Withitsemphasison
contemporarygraphicsand social contentHubley
style was less concerned with representational
issuessuchasthree-dimensionality and rotoscoping
thanwas Disney. Inthisregard,itseemsinteresting
to note thatJohnHubley,who workedon boththe
Disneyversionof the creationof the world (i.e. the
'Riteof Spring'sequencefromFantasia(1940)) and
on the Hubleyversionof the same eventin Of Stars
and Men, was in the positionof being able to re-
evaluatean animateddocumentary'sapproachto
theoriesabout the same event usingvery different
stylesof animation.
Inspeakingaboutthe Riteof Springsequence,
Hubley,who was the art directorfor three of the
segment's eight sections (i.e. Trip Through
Space/Volcanoes/ Earthquakes), explainedwhat
Disney had in mind: 'Fromthe outset,Fantasiawas
conceived as a scientificdocument.'38John Cul-
hane reportsthat'Waltexplainedwhat he wanted
in fifteensimplewords:"Asthoughthe studiohad
sentan expeditionbacktotheearthsix millionyears
ago"'.39 Some of the volcanic activitywas roto-
scoped. Josh Meador, animationspecial effects
supervisor,madevatsof an oatmeal, mudand cof-
fee mixture,bubblingit upwithair hoses.
The action was filmed with high speed
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Sybil DelGaudia
Sybil DelGaudio
cameras, while individualframeswere pro-
cessed on cels dyed redagainsta yellow back-
ground.Animationwas added to create more
splashes and broaden the action.'40Further
attestingto its 'realism'is a statementby do-
cumentaryfilmmaker,Pare Lorentz,who re-
viewed the film in McCall's calling the
sequence 'the mostextraordinarymotionpic-
ture I've ever seen on screen: it is by far the
mostdaring,powerful,excitingand successful
portionof Fantasia.41
Inquitea differentapproach in Of Starsand
Men, the Hubleysattemptedto visualise Harlow
Shapley's scientific theories about the cosmos,
examining its four basic entities or properties:
space, time,matterand energy.The53-minutefilm,
based on Shapley'sbook of the same title,opened
at the BeekmanTheaterin New Yorkon 29 April
1964 to uniformlyexcellentreviews. Intheirpub-
licitymaterial,the Hubleysdescribedtheirstyleas
'animage', defined as 'graphic arts in motion'.
Writingabout it years later in FilmNews, John
Canemakersaid it 'does what PBS'Cosmosdoes,
butwitheconomy,directnessandwithoutthedidac-
tic CarlSagan'. Narratedby Shapley himself,the
filmlooks at 'what man is and where he is in the
universe of atoms, protoplasm, stars and gal-
axies'.42
Accordingto FaithHubley,the projectgrew
outof a desireJohnhad hadto do a filmon Einstein's
theoryof relativity.Theirdifficultiesin dealing with
the Einsteinestate proved to be insurmountable,
and when Sidney Lumetsuggested they read Sha-
pley'sbook(atthetime,Faithwas workingwithhim
on 12 AngryMen, (1957)), theirinterestin Shap-
ley'sviews was peaked.43
Shapleyhad begun his careeras an astrono-
merat the Mt. Wilson Observatoryin Pasadena,
and from 1921-52, served as the directorof the
HarvardCollege Observatory.He was the author
of half a dozen books and hundredsof scientific
articles,also having made several importantcon-
tributionsto the field of astronomy,includingthe
measurementof the diameterof the MilkyWay as
a galaxy, thediscoverythatthecentreof thegalaxy
is 25,000 lightyears away fromthe earth in the
directionof Sagittarius,thusshowingthe eccentric
positionof the Earthand Sunin the stellaruniverse.
Iftruthbe told, can 'toonstell it? Documentaryand animation 195

Fig.3. Ina searchforadded realism,volcanicactivityin Disney'sFantasia(©WaltDisneyProductions,

1940) was partiallyrotoscopedover imagesof bubblingoatmeal.

Accordingto George ElleryHale,the notedastron-
omer whose effortsresultedin the 100-inch tele-
scope on MtWilson, Shapleywas one of the 'most
daringof the youngerscientists... muchmoreven-
turesomethanothermembersof ourstaffand more
willingto base far-reachingconclusionson rather
slenderdata'. Accordingto science historianAn-
thonySerafini,thiswas indeeda compliment,since
'good science requiressome risktakingand specu-
lativetheorisingas well'.44 Most importantly,'his
determinations provedthatoursolarsystemwas not
the "centreof the universe"as earlierastronomers
had believed, and that"in reality,we were negli-
gently placed somewhere on the outskirtsof our
galaxy"'.45
Inadditionto theirattractionto Shapley'sscien-
tifictheories,the Hubleyswere also morally,politi-
cally and philosophically in tune with the
astronomer.Respectedwhile he was at Harvard,
Shapleybecame an outcastonce he began talking
about his philosophyof life and his politics.46His
New YorkTimesobituary,which refersto himas
'thedean of Americanastronomers',statesthathis
entryinto battlesagainst ultranationalism, greed,

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196
196 Sybil DelGaudjo
Sybil DelGaudio

accordingto Faith,'attackeda
lot'. RichardLeacock'hated it',
while Kevin Smith was 'more
sympathetic'.Submittedto the
Venice Film Festival, it was
placed in the featurecategory
withliveactionfilms,whileatthe
San Francisco Film Festival it
won the documentaryprize.49
....
......
. In Of Starsand Men, Sha-
.:...:..
....... pley's voice-over narration
.:Y^. : . serves as the 'representativere-
ality', ostensibly the voice of
... .. authority,whichis, instead,con-
sistentlyinterrogatedby the use
. . ..... . . .....
of animationas 'metacommen-
; ..... tary'. In terms of the way in
which it approaches questions
of cinematicrepresentation,Of
Starsand Men resemblesErrol
Fig.4. Whileplayingthe festivalcircuitin the mid-1960s, the fully Morris'A BriefHistoryof Time
animatedOf Starsand Mensometimescompetedwitlh livehaction live
more closely than it resembles
films,sometimeswithdocumentaries.
the 'Rite of Spring' sequence
fromFantasia.With its stylised
hunger,pride and his of a
prejudice; support policy interviews, Morris' film'blursdivisionsbetweendo-
of coexistence ratherthan cold war in the late cumentaryand featurefilmmakingby conducting
1940s, and his effortsin the fightagainst what he all the interviewson elaborate studio sets', and
termedthe 'Redhunters'of thel 940s and 1950s, usingcomputergeneratedimagerytorelateobjects
while his most significantcontributionsoutside of fromeveryday life (i.e. dice, teacups)to scientific
astronomy,made hima figuresubjectto criticism concepts.50Morrisdescribestheenterpriseas simi-
and abuse, and ultimatelybroughthimto confron- larto thatwhich he used in TheThinBlueLine,i.e.
tationwithHUACand SenatorJosephMcCarthy.47 'an investigationintothe natureof truth'.51
Inspeakingaboutthefilmtoday, FaithHubleysays: In several ways, Of Stars and Men seems
almost a direct reactionto the Disney approach
It'sa visionarydocumentary.Howcan you do
used in Fantasiato tella similarstory.As a reflexive
a documentaryabout life on other planets?-
documentary,Of Starsand Menconfrontsissuesof
you have to imagine it. It'sabouttime,space, not but by
matterand energy. It'sa way to putthingsinto indexicality, only by using animation,
a of animation that directlychallenges
bite-sizerelationships.There'swhatwe know; using style
Disney realism.Initsconstantforegroundingof pro-
whatwe forgot;and what we can imagine. It's
animation questions not only the
nota documentaryin the strictsense, butit is a cess, Hubley
ability of cinema to communicate'truth',but,more
documentaryin that it recordswhat our place
in those fourbasic entitieshas been, will be, specifically,
the ability of animationto represent
a thatcontributed,in part,to the
etc. Itshows us how to take joy in justbeing a reality, question
'graphic revolution' in animationbegun by Hubley
playerinthatuniverse- it'sglorious... Harlow and other
ex-Disneyartistsat UPA.Thequestionof
Shapley, in my view, taught us genuine hu- whether
documentaryshouldor must'capture're-
mility.48
ality is raised implicitlyby Of StarsandMen'smedi-
Shownat a conferenceat MIT'sVisualDepart- tationon the issueof cinematicrepresentation of the
mentwhen it was finished,Of Starsand Menwas, historicalworld.

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Iftruthbe told, can 'toonstell it? Documentaryand animation
Clearly this article has not considered all ani-
mated documentaries, nor has it approached the
crisis of naming in as comprehensive a way as the
question deserves. Issues such as the placement of
Norman McLaren's Neighbours (1952) and Saul
Bass' WhyMan Creates (1 970) in the documentary
short subject categories of the Academy Awards
might be interesting to investigate, as are more
recent animated 'documentaries' by Aardman Ani-
mation, such as War Story (1989) and Going
Equipped (1989), but these are subjects for further
research. I have focused here on the reflexive do-
cumentary, highlighting two films that use anima-
tion to deal with scientific theory, and attempting to
suggest that such films serve as a means by which
a filmmaker can question the adequacy of repre-
sentation in relationship to that which it represents,
ultimately re-emphasising what 'every filmmaker
knows: that every representation, however fully im-
bued with documentary significance, remainsa fab-
rication'.524
Notes
1. JohnGrierson,quotedin PaulRotha,in collabora-
tion with SinclairRoadand RichardGriffith,Do-
cumentary Film(NewYork:HastingsHouse,1970),
70.
2. Trinh T. Minh-ha, 'The Totalizing Quest of
Meaning',in Theorizing ed., Michael
Documentary,
Renov(New York:Routledge,1993), 90.
3. As recentlyas 1995, MiramaxFilms,in responseto
what it perceivedas the MotionPictureAcademy's
egregious neglectof recent'documentaries' from
the listof nominatedfilmsin thatcategory,called
forthealterationof the nameof the category,from
BestFeatureDocumentary, to BestNon-Fiction
Fea-
ture,chargingthatthe term'documentary' had too
manyspecifications thatrequiredveteranAcademy
membersto eliminatefromconsiderationcertain
filmsthatdid notconformto datedconceptsof what
documentary had been or couldbe. Workssuchas
The ThinBlue Line,with its numerousdramatisa-
tions, or Brother'sKeeper,with its carefullyor-
ganised dramaticstructure,have been noticeably
absentfromlistsof nominatedfilmsin recentyears,
leavingthe impressionthatthe suspectedbacklash
against successfultheatricallyreleased documen-
taries, is moreaccuratelya matterof the crisisof
namingthan it is an angry punishmentaimed at
filmsthathave had too muchcommercialsuccess.
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197
4. BillNichols,Representing In-
Reality(Bloomington:
diana University
Press,1991), 32.
5. Ibid.,32.
6. Ibid.,35.
7. MatthewBernstein,'Rogerand Me: Documenta-
phobia and Mixed Modes', Journalof Filmand
Video,vol. 46, no. 1 (Spring,1994): 4.
8. Nichols,57.
9. As 'inconclusive'as NicholssuggeststhatMorris'
evidenceultimatelyis, it seems ironicthatthe film
itselfbecame the impetusfor RandallAdams're-
lease fromprisonafter twelveyears. Herewas a
situationin which the film itselfhad a significant
impacton the actual case, thus suggestingthat
Morris'argumentwas accepted- at leastby those
whose opionionheldsomeweight- as 'truth'.
10. Animation,often defined as a film created one
frameat a time,may be drawnor paintedon cels
or various kinds of paper, but there are other
alternatives
to drawnanimation,amongthemstop-
motion(using puppets,models,clay figures,etc.)
and themorerecentcomputeranimation.'Camera-
less animation',i.e. animationcreatedby drawing
or paintingdirectlyon film,does not relyat all on
the processof recordingan imagewitha camera.
11. BrianWinston,'TheDocumentary FilmAs Scientific
in MichaelRenov,ed., TheorizingDo-
Inscription',
cumentary(NewYork:Routledge,1993), 55-6.
12. PhilipRosen,'Documentand Documentary: On the
Persistenceof HistoricalConcepts', in Michael
Renov,ed., TheorizingDocumentary(New York:
Routledge,1993), 60.
13. As RichardLeskosky has reported,opticaltoyswere
'full-fledgedanimationdevices[which]createdthe
illusionof motionthroughthe presentationof a
rapidsuccessionof individualsequentialimagesto
the eye'. ('Phenakistoscope:
19th CenturyScience
Turnedto Animation',FilmHistory,vol. 5, no. 2
(1993), 176).
14. CharlesSolomon,Enchanted
Drawings(NewYork:
AlfredA. Knopf,1989), 18.
15. DonaldCrafton,BeforeMickey(Cambridge:MIT
Press, 1984) 116. Craftonreportsthat the film's
'documentary'nature requireda 'more realistic
graphicstyle',and it seemedappropriateto utilise
some of the characteristiccrosshatching,washes
and spattertechniquesof the Hearstnewspapers,
bothin termsof itsexpressionof theartist'spointof
viewand in itsjournalistic
styleof rendering).Craf-
ton also reportsthatJ.R. Bray,an animatorwho
workedin the earlyteens,discoveredan untapped
198
arena for animatedfilmswhen he was commis-
sioned by the UnitedStatesGovernmentto make
armytrainingfilmsfor soldiers.By 1919, Bray's
instructional filmswere beingorderedfromprivate
industryas well as fromgovernmentsources,and
even prompteda re-organisationof his studio's
prioritiesto coverthe demand(157-8).
(Iam indebtedto MarkLangerforhis suggestionto
Johnand FaithHubley'sOf Starsand
contextualise
Men,a filmIdiscusslater,withinthecontextof other
animated 'documentaries'that have appeared
throughoutthe historyof film).
16. Max and Dave Fleischer,who opened theirown
animationstudioin 1921, madeodd and original
films, using memorablecharacterssuch as Betty
Boop and Popeyein mostlyshortworksthat pro- 28.
videda stylisticalternativeto Disneyhyper-realism.
Fleischeranimationwas characterisedby a more
fluid,rubberystylethanDisney'spreciseand heav-
ily researchedapproach.
17. Solomon,32.
18. Ibid.,126.
19. Ibid.,126-7. SolomonquotesThomasPryor,whose
reviewin the New YorkTimesreferredto the film's
'inspiringpropaganda',while James Agee's re-
sponseintheNationexpressedhishopethatDisney
and de Severskyknew 'what they were talking
about', since the public would undoubtedlybe
swayedby theirpowerfulbutone-sidedargument.
Bothreviewsdeal with the filmas a purveyorof
'truth',howeversubjective,neverseemingto object
to its use of animationto conveypointof view.
20. Ibid.,183
21. Disney'shomespunapproachto atomicenergyas
our 'friend'differsmarkedlyfromthe view of nu-
clear energy communicatedby animationfilm-
makers,Johnand FaithHubley,in their1963 film,
TheHole(1963). Inthisfilm,twodemolitionworkers
have a discussionon the frighteningpotentialof
nuclearwar. The Academy-Awardwinningfilm,
with voices and improviseddialogue by George
Mathewsand Dizzy Gillespie,stands as a chal-
lenge, not only to the supportersof the 'useful'
natureof atomicenergy,butalso to Disney'snaive
acceptanceof the idea thatworldpowerswill use
the atomonly in thewisestways.
35.
22. The Whole Toon Catalog, (Chicago: Facets
Multimedia,1996), 14. This made-for-television 36.
seriesis an interestingforerunner to Johnand Faith
37.
Hubley'sOf Starsand Men (1961), an animated
documentary based on scientific
theory dealtwith
in greaterdetaillaterin thisarticle.
23. Solomon,113.
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SybilDelGaudio
24. Ibid.,113.
25. withBillHurtz(6 April1996).
Interview
26. UPAwas an animationstudiobegunby Dave Hil-
berman, Steve Bosustowand Zack Schwartzin
1944. Manyof itsartists,amongthemJohnHubley,
were ex-Disneyiteswho had not been welcomed
backafterthedivisiveDisneyStudiostrikeof 1941.
27. John Hubley,an active participantin the Disney
Studiostrikeof 1941, served in the FirstMotion
PictureUnit.Not welcomedbackto the studiofol-
lowingthewar,HubleywenttoworkforUnitedFilm
Productions(laterUPA),becomingone of themajor
innovatorsand leadingproponentsof UPAstyle.
Knownfor its innovative,some say 'revolutionary',
graphicsand unusualsubjectmatter,UPAbecame
the avant-gardeof animationin the 1940s and
1950s, re-defininganimation'spotentialto move
beyond gag-drivenstoriesand anthropomorphic
characters.
29. Nichols,56.
30. Joseph P. Ellis,the FordFoundationProfessorof
AmericanHistoryat MountHolyokeCollegeandthe
author of American Sphinx: the Characterof
ThomasJefferson,writesthatwhenKenBurnsasked
himto appearon camerain a documentaryBurns
was makingon Jefferson,ElliswarnedthatJefferson
was notan appropriatesubjectfora documentary.
'You cannot make a documentaryfilm about
ThomasJefferson... becauseJeffersonpredatesthe
photograph... [Burns'style]couldnotworkforan
eighteenthcenturysubject'.While Bums ignored
Ellis'warning,Ellis'concernabout not providing
photographsfor the film expresses the popular
notionof the importanceof the relianceon some
kindof ontologicalevidencefortheconfirmationof
'truth'.JosephEllis,Whose Thomas
documentary
JeffersonIs HeAnyway?',the New YorkTimes(16
February1997), 16.
31. Nichols,60.
32. Ibid.,61.
33. Ibid.,153.
34. Ibid.,57.
Ibid.,57.
Ibid.,61.
TheHubleysbegantheirlongand succesfulventure
intoindependentanimationwithAdventures of An*
in 1956. Sponsoredby theGuggenheimMuseum,
the filmlookedat creativityand the way in which
adulthoodcan often repressthe childlikeinstincts
If truthbe
If truth be told,
told, can
can 'toons
'toonstell
tellit? Documentary
Documentary and animation
and animation 199

thatpermitus to enjoyand experiencetheworldof 42. JohnCanemaker,'Of StarsandMen'(review),Film

life and beauty.Adventureswas importantin both
itstechniqueand itscontent,attemptingto introduce
nonobjectiveartto a wideraudienceand eliminat- 43.
ing the inkingand paintingprocessin animation
that had resultedin rigid drawingson clear cels.
Throughouttheir collaborationand as they con-
tinuedto experimentwithstyleand subjectmatter,
the Hubleyswon numerousinternational awards,
includingthree Oscars out of seven nominations.
FollowingJohn'sdeathin 1977, Faith'scommitment
to independentfilmmaking has continued,and she
has made approximatelyone filmper year since 44.
then, strugglingconstantlywith the difficultiesof
findingfundingforprojectsthatrepresentthepurity
of artisticexpressionwith concernfor commercial
success clearly secondary. Her subjects have 45.
ranged from the Amazon rainforest(Amazonia, 46.
1990), to childadvocacy(Stepby Step, 1978), to
the natureof time(Tall-Time Tales,1993), and her
workis consistentlyinspiredby herfascinationwith
the art and mythologyof othercultures,including
native American astronomicalmyths (Starlore,
1983), Australian Aboriginal art (Cloudland, 47.
1994) and Hawaiianmythology(Rainbowsof Ha-
waii, 1995), to namejusta few. 48.
38. JohnCulhane,WaltDisney's'Fantasia'(NewYork:
49.
Abrams,1983), 120.
39. 50.
Ibid.,120.
40. Ibid.,121. 51.
41. PareLorentz,quotedin Culhane,126.
52.
News (Fall,1980), 36.
InterviewwithFaithHubley(10 September1996).
I am gratefulto FaithHubleyforhercooperationin
providinginformation,stillsand supportfor this
article.
Of Stars and Men and other Hubleytitles are
availableon videocassetteinthecollection'Artand
Jazz in Animation',throughLightyearEntertain-
ment,New York.
AnthonySerafini, Legendsin TheirOwn Time:A
Centuryof AmericanPhysicalScientists(NewYork:
PlenumPress,1993), 106.
Ibid.,107.
Becauseof his liberalpolitics,JohnHubleyleftUPA
in the 1950s, was laterblacklisted,
and opened his
own studio, StoryboardProductions,where he
workedwitha 'frontman'in orderto maintainhis
anonymity.
'HarlowShapley:Deanof AmericanAstronomers',
(obit.),theNew YorkTimes(21 October1972), 36.
withFaithHubley(10 September1996).
Interview
Ibid.
TheMakingof A BriefHistoryof Time,a documen-
taryby ErrolMorris(jacketcopy).
Ibid.
Nichols,57.

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