Besides the lasting music, The Beatles era included the animated film, "Yellow Submarine," and an ABC Saturday morning network cartoon. This weekend, the artist behind both will be at Rehfeld's Art & Framing.On Friday and Saturday, animator and director Ron Campbell will be showcasing his original art work from the 1968 movie, as well as the cartoon series, which he directed when the show aired Sept. 25, 1965, through April 20, 1969. Campbell will talk about his career, and 30 of his original cartoon paintings of The Beatles will be on display and for sale.
Born in and educated in Australia, Campbell came to California in 1966, first for Hanna Barbera then going on to create his own studio. He soon became the country's go-to guy for animation especially children's cartoons like Scooby Doo, Winnie the Pooh, Krazy Kat, George of the Jungle, The Jetsons, Flintstones and the Smurfs.
Campbell's animation also garnered him a Peabody Award and an Emmy for "The Big Blue Marble," which aired 1974-1983 on PBS.
Campbell, now 75 and living in Arizona, continues his art, doing reinterpretations of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and the Beatles TV cartoon show. They aren't copies. Rather they are paintings. Since he retired, the legendary animator has taken his fifty years of work on the road.
"It gets me out of the house," he said.
Still, he never imagined "Yellow Submarine" and Beatle art would be such a big hit and would become part of pop culture."At the time we made the move in 1968, we knew that the music was extraordinary and so was the art design," he said.
Campbell feels people will take a lot away from the show besides all The Beatles art.
"A lot can be said for nostalgia. The cartoons bring back such great memories," said Campbell. "From The Beatles and the Saturday morning cartoon characters, it's three generations of people that love this stuff."
Anyone buying Campbell's art will receive a personal painting on their certificate of authenticity and will pose for photos while Campbell holds the artwork.
Though the art gallery showcases lots of local artists, it's a rare thing for Rehfeld's to have a national artist to come on site, said Audra Kulm, gallery manager at Rehfeld's.
"Ron Campbell's appearance a Rehfeld's Friday and Saturday is a special opportunity for the Sioux Falls community to meet a nationally recognized artist and legendary animator," said Kulm. "If you are a Beatles fan or were charmed by those Saturday morning cartoons you are going to love meeting Ron and seeing his pop art."
Campbell answered questions about his "long and winding road" as an animator and his iconic art.
Question: What was the first cartoon animation you ever drew?
Answer: I was 18 years old and was asked to draw for a commercial for bug spray that killed centipedes. I had to do 100 drawings of a centipede collapsing from the bug killer. It meant drawing one hundred legs over and over again. Fifty years and one month after drawing my first cartoon I retired from animation. My final cartoon film was "Ed, Edd n Eddy" completed in 2008. It now appears on the Cartoon Network.
Q: What was your job in the ABC Beatles Cartoon Series and the movie "Yellow Submarine?"
A: In my career, I was an associate producer and also a director. Though I never created an animated creature, I drew. I did storyboarding, editing, hired people to do the animation and timed the animation.
Q: How did you feel about Beatles music in a cartoon?
A: Animation and music work well together. In fact, "Yellow Submarine" was probably the first cartoon music video. It's funny, no one ever complained about a psychedelic cartoon when the music was by the Beatles.
Q: What was something unique about the 89-minute animation of "Yellow Submarine" that many people might not be aware of?
A: The man hours. It took eight months to produce 12 minutes of film for the sequence I did. My part was the 'Sea of Time' where the Beatles get older and younger. I also did the animation for the Blue Meanies, the music hating creatures of the film. In addition, I did a lot of transitional pieces between songs.
Q: Which Beatle was most fun to draw?
A: The band was so well documented. They were all fun to draw.
Q: What are the two most asked questions about your work with "Yellow Submarine?"
A: The most asked question is: 'Have you ever met the Beatles?' The second most frequent is: "Were the animators on drugs or smoking weed when they did the psychedelic cartoon?" The answer to both is "no."
Q: What is your view about the today's new animation?
A: With today's form of animation, computers are doing what humans can't. Still, with humans' creativity, it allows them to do what computers can't. Animation is not a lost art.
If you go
What: Animator and director Ron Campbell, with The Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine," and an ABC Saturday morning network cartoon about the group.
Where: Rehfeld's Art & Framing, 210 S. Phillips Ave.
When: Noon to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. An artist's reception will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and Campbell will speak at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: All art is available for purchase. The event is free.
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