Warren W. Batchelder Animation

Scenes (PRESUMABLY) animated by animator Warren William Batchelder (1918 - 2007).

Batchelder’s animation is very lush and naturalistic emphasizing character weight, overlapping action, and squash and stretch. He usually was tasked with more complicated character acting/action sequences getting as close to full animation as late-era WB/DePatie-Freleng could afford. He drew characters like the Pink Panther in a very distinct manner making him look almost plumper. In the words of animator/historian Mike Kazaleh, Batchelder, “used plenty of overlap that gave an actual sense of where the motion was originating from”.

Bio: Warren Batchelder was an assistant animator to legendary animator Virgil Ross around 1945, who’d be his main assistant for about two decades. Batchelder got his chance to become a full-fledged animator at Bob McKimson’s unit in the late 1950s, although not receiving credit until 1958’s “Feather Bluster”. Batchelder stayed at Warner Bros until the studio officially wrapped up in 1963. He quickly transitioned to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, becoming one of the studio’s top animators. In addition to his DFE work, Batchelder would freelance for Bill Melendez and Richard Williams. After DePatie-Freleng closed up shop, Batchelder kept working for both David DePatie and Friz Freleng at Marvel Productions and Freleng’s new Warner Bros unit in the 1980s. Batchelder retired from the industry in 2002.


(Note: This reel is a collection of historian confirmations and best-estimated guessing. Sources are listed below. Feel free to send corrections my way if you notice anything wrong.)


Music:
“funfunfun (feat.rhoda) ” - in love with a ghost (2020)
“Tidepool!” - Louie Zong (2015)
“Starry Night Road Trip” - Louie Zong (2019)


Sources:
Original Animators Draft for “Tabasco Road”
Original Animators Draft for “In the Pink”
Original Animators Draft for “Pink Panic”
Original Animators Draft for “A Broken Leghorn”
Original Animators Draft for “People Are Bunny”
Original Animators Draft for “A Mutt in a Rut”
Original Animators Draft for “Aqua Duck”
Original Animators Draft for “Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure”, surfaced by animator/director Michael Sporn
“Commercials Animated by Warren Batchelder and George Bakes” Article by Mike Kazaleh
“Classic Commercials by Classic Animators” Article by Jerry Beck
“DePatie-Freleng ‘Public Service Annoncements’” Article by Charles Brubaker
“Animator Profiles: Virgil Ross” Article by Devon Baxter
“Spectorphile: Linus the Lionhearted Show: Roll Call” Article by Paul Spector
“Crispy Critter” Article by Jerry Beck



Special Thanks:
-Devon Baxter (@dee_bax), Steve Stanchfield, Toadette (@Toadette_IAD), Poppy (@popkornkat), ibcf (@_ibcf_), WHYx3 (@WHY_WHY_WHY_x3), Animated Golem (@animegolem), and eutychus (Internet Animation Database) for help with footage

-Very Special Thanks to Louie Zong and in love with a ghost! I've been fans of your music for years and I hope I can do your music justice in this reel!

-Thank you to the Cartoon Research editors, Paul Spector’s Spectorphile Blog, and Michael Sporn’s Splog. Thank You to Devon Baxter for proof-reading the animator drafts used for this video. Thank You to Steve Stanchfield for releasing the HD scans of the Raggedy Ann and Linus the Lionhearted used in this reel.

...and the most special of thanks goes out to Poppy and Toadette (ontheones.wordpress.com) whom none of these reels would be possible without your support! Thank you!