 Born Ubbe Eert Iwwerks on March 24, 1901, Ub (rhymes with "tub") was an American animator. One of his first jobs, as a young man of 18 years old, was at an advertising agency in his home town of Kansas City. There he met Walt Disney. The two hit it off quite well. After a several year run of failed animation entrepreneurial ventures in the 1920s , the two finally found huge success when Ub created a new character they named Mickey Mouse (Walt originally wanted the name Mortimer Mouse). Ub would almost single-handedly animate each Mickey cartoon by himself. After years of tolling under Walt's strict demands and workload and Walt taking all the credit, the normally non-confrontational Ub finally had enough and ventured out on his own.Starting Ub Iwerks Studio in 1930, Ub's first offering was the character Flip the Frog. The series gained mild success and was soon followed by Willie Whopper - the boy who told tall tales and a series of color fairy tales called Comicolor. Unable to find the success that would keep his company afloat, he closed shop less than a decade later. He was later reunited with his one-time pal Walt Disney, who was having much more success in animation. Though they both butted heads a lot, they both had huge admiration for each other and decided to make it work. Because of Ub's understanding of technology and his innovations in problem solving, Walt put him in charge of finding solutions to difficult special effects. This was a dream for Ub as he hated being the boss and was more comfortable being a behind the scenes tinkerer. He created efficient ways of animating, utilizing the new found technology of Xeroxing. He would also come up the brilliant effects seen in such classic as Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and even Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Ub continued his behind the scenes work for many years, winning several awards, including two Oscars, for his technical breakthroughs. He worked all the way until the age of 70, when he succumbed to a heart attack on July 7th, 1971. Watch a rare and out of print 90 minute biography (broken up into nine - 10 minute segments) on Ub Iwerks - narrated by Kelsey Grammer, by clicking here. |
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 Below is a list of every Flip cartoon created, in order of their release date. Most of them have the cartoon for you to watch. If it doesn't, and YOU have a copy of the missing 'toon(s), please let us know so we can add it to the viewing collection. |
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1930
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 "Little Orphan Willie" October 18, 1930Have it? Please send it to us. |
 "The Cuckoo Murder Case" October 18, 1930watch |
 "Puddle Pranks" December 1930watch |
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1931
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 "The Village Smitty" January 31, 1931watch |
 "The Soup Song" January 31, 1931watch |
 "Laughing Gas" March 14, 1931watch |
 "Ragtime Romeo" May 2, 1931watch |
 "The New Car" July 25, 1931watch |
 "Movie Mad" August 29, 1931watch |
| "The Village Specialist" September 12, 1931 Have it? Please send it to us. |
"Jail Birds" September 26, 1931 Have it? Please send it to us. |
"Africa Squeaks" October 17, 1931 Have it? Please send it to us. |
 "Spooks" December 21, 1931watch |
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1932
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 "The Milkman" February 20, 1932watch |
"Fire! Fire!" March 5, 1932 Have it? Please send it to us. |
 "What a Life!" March 26, 1932watch |
| "Puppy Love" April 30, 1932 Have it? Please send it to us. |
 "School Days" May 13, 1932watch |
 "The Bully" June 18, 1932watch |
 "The Office Boy" July 16, 1932watch |
 "Room Runners" August 13, 1932watch |
 "Stormy Seas" August 22, 1932watch |
 "Circus" August 27, 1932watch |
 "The Goal Rush" October 3, 1932watch |
 "The Pony Express" October 27, 1932watch |
 "The Music Lesson" October 29, 1932watch |
 "Nurse Maid" November 26, 1932watch |
 "Funny Face" December 24, 1932watch |
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1933
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 "Coo Coo the Magician" January 21, 1933watch |
 "Flip's Lunch Room" April 3, 1933watch |
Get Flip the Frog and other amazing Ub Iwerks toons on these two excellent DVDs:
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 "Techno-Cracked" May 8, 1933watch |
"Bulloney" May 30, 1933 Have it? Please send it to us. |
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 "A Chinaman's Chance" June 24, 1933watch |
"Pale-Face" August 12, 1933 Have it? Please send it to us. |
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 "Soda Squirt" October 12, 1933watch |
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Looking for any Flip cartoons I am missing above, also any Willie Whopper, Comicolor or other early Ub 'toons. If you have any, please send them my way.
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