THEANIMATIONNOMINATIONS

Carl Barks was employed at the Walt Disney Studios from 1935 to 1942. During that time he worked in several different positions, but always for the production of animated cartoons. He was an in-betweener, a gagman, a storyman, a sketch artist, and a story director (see more HERE). But he found most of the work tedious and uninspiring, mainly because he was merely one small cog in a very big wheel. But at least he could rejoice with his many colleagues when the studios were nominated for - or won - one of numerous prestigious awards acknowledging yet another great achievement within their field.
Barks' film work has always been much appreciated; although it was never publicly recognized at the time, as the 'small cogs' never found their way to the spotlight. But here they are - the 4 animation films carrying Barks' thumbprint, that were publicly nominated for great prizes. Some of them he worked on for an overlapping time, so they are just presented in chronological order of the year of their premiere.

1938
GOOD SCOUTS

Barks and Reeves at the storyboard					The opening sequence

Synopsis: Donald Duck takes his nephews on a scouting expedition where they have many outdoor adventures including meeting a disagreeable bear and battling the famous geyser Old Faithful. Comments: This is a 7 minute animated short. Barks served as Story Director on it. Harry Reeves and Charles Couch were storymen.

Barks' work included making numerous rough sketches depicting the whole plotline (as seen on the storyboard above). Here are two sets of examples showing sketch and finished product.

The film was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award (Oscar) in the category Best Short Subject, Cartoons, but lost to Disney's Ferdinand the Bull. Other nominees were Brave Little Taylor (Disney), Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (Disney), and Hunky and Spunky (Fleischer).

1940
FANTASIA





Synopsis: The film contains 8 musical sequences with The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. The sequences are as follows: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach), The Nutcracker Suite (Tchaikovsky), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas), Rite of Spring (Stravinsky), Pastoral Symphony (Beethoven), Dance of the Hours (Ponchielli), Night on Bald Mountain (Mussorgsky) and Ave Maria (Schubert). Comments: This is a 112 minutes long animated feature film presented in Fantasound, an early stereo system. Barks worked as an in-betweener on the scene where Mickey Mouse is battling the flood of water in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The film won the New York Film Critics Circle Award in 1940 in the category Special Awards.
The film also won the 1942 Academy Award (Oscar) in the category Honorary Award. It won two prizes in this category: Walt Disney for outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound, and Leopold Stokowski for unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music.
In 1990 the film won the National Film Preservation Board's award in the category National Film Registry, and in 2001 the film won the DVD Exclusive Awards in the category Video Premiere Award.

1941
TRUANT OFFICER DONALD



Synopsis: Donald Duck tries various methods to force his nephews to go to school, but they repeatedly lure their uncle. Comments: This is a 7 minute animated short. Barks worked as storyman with Jack Hannah.

Truant Officer Donald - 1941					WDCS100 'Truant Officer Donald' - 1949

In 1949 Barks made the 10-pager WDCS100 'Truant Officer Donald', in which he used a few gags - such as the surprising ending - from the cartoon.

The film was nominated for the 1942 Academy Award (Oscar) in the category Best Short Subject, Cartoons, but lost to Disney's Lend a Paw. Other nominees were Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (Warner), The Night Before Christmas (MGM), Rhapsody in Rivets (Warner), The Rookie Bear (MGM), and Superman (Fleischer).

1942
BAMBI



Synopsis: Life story of the fawn Bambi, who grows up with the rabbit Thumper and the skunk Flower, to be the Great Prince of the Forest. As he grows up he suffers through the death of his mother at the hand of hunters, falls in love with Faline, and barely escapes a catastrophic forest fire. Comments: This is a 68 minutes long animated feature film. Barks worked as an in-betweener on a scene that was later scrapped.



The scrapped scene depicted two squirrels trying to crack a nut. More importantly Barks also dreamt up the film's perhaps most famous and memorable scene in which Bambi and Thumper play on the icy lake (see more on both scenes HERE).

The film was nominated for the 1943 Academy Awards (Oscars) in three categories: Best Music, Original Song - Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Best Sound, Recording.
In 1948 the film won the Golden Globes' Special Award, and in 1988 the film won the Genesis Award for Best Feature Film, Classic.