It's a Great Animator, Charlie Brown

Bill Melendez, the man who made the beautiful transfer of Charles Schulz’s Charlie Brown comic strip to animation and performed the wordless vocals of Snoopy, has died.

As that obit reminds us,

Melendez's nearly seven decades as a professional animator began in 1938 when he was hired by Walt Disney Studios and worked on Mickey Mouse cartoons and classic animated features such as "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia."

Melendez took part in a strike that led to the unionization of Disney artists in 1941, and later moved to Warner Bros., where he worked on Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck shorts.

At UPA, he helped animate "Gerald McBoing-Boing," which won the 1951 Academy Award for best cartoon short.

Melendez created Emmy-winning specials based on the cartoon characters Cathy and Garfield, and was involved in animated versions of the Babar the elephant books and the C.S. Lewis book, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Here's the first eight minutes of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown:



A few years ago, Melendez put up a great-looking website where you can see more clips from his films and specials; A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home especially made me smile.