John Canemaker To Lecture in LA on Winsor McCay and Disney Animation Secrets

Historian, author and Oscar-winning filmmaker John Canemaker is headed to Los Angeles to present not one, but two animation lectures on the evening of Saturday, September 13th. On top of that, there’s a film screening, too. The triple-header begins 6pm at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Bing Theater (5905 Wilshire Blvd.) with Canemaker’s lecture about Winsor McCay, Gertie the Dinosaur and the “birth of personality animation.” This year marks the centennial of Gertie’s debut, and in honor of that pioneering character animation piece, Canemaker will offer a “richly illustrated look at McCay’s life and work including four of his animated shorts, and a re-creation—with audience participation—of the legendary routine that introduced Gertie in McCay’s 1914 vaudeville act.”

At 7:30pm, John will present a second lecture based on his exceptional and revealing new book The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney’s Movie Magic. Schultheis’ notebooks shed all kinds of new light on Disney’s oft-neglected technical innovations that occurred hand-in-hand with the studio’s advances in personality animation throughout the 1930s. The studio’s most technically ambitious film during that period was Fantasia, so quite fittingly, Canemaker’s lecture will be followed by a big-screen showing of the 1940 musical omnibus.

Tickets for the lectures went on sale earlier today on the Academy website. The entire evening costs just $5 for general admission or $3 if you’re a student or Academy member. That’s less than a fancy hot dog at Pink’s, and you won’t feel guilty about it afterward either. It promises to be a special night so pick up your tickets while they last.