Moreno, Manuel Mario, 1908-1991.

A cartoonist and animator who in the mid-1920s created comic strips for newspapers in Los Angeles and Mexico before starting to work in animation with Winkler Productions in 1928. Between 1929 and 1937 he worked with Walter Lantz Productions at Universal Pictures where he helped develop Oswald the Rabbit, a character that later evolved into Mickey Mouse. Between 1938 and 1941 he worked at the Harman-Ising Unit at MGM, stopping to take over his brother's camera shop when he was drafted into the army during World War II. In 1943, Moreno moved to Mexico City with the goal of developing an animation studio in Mexico. While there he built much of the equipment necessary for animation and was able to produce a few shorts and Mexico's first feature-length animated film, "My voy de cacería." In 1946, after protracted struggles with the producers over financing and distribution, Moreno returned to the United States. The feature film is assumed to be lost, although Moreno's archive includes a 25-foot section. (Notes from Chon Noriega, 11/13/97).

Biography

Manuel M. Moreno was a Mexican American who worked in the Animation industry while it was just starting up. He began working in Winkler's Animation Studio in 1928. He was an in-betweener (below the rank of assistant animator). Winkler's Studio had a contract with Universal pictures, and while he was working for them he learned more about the business and worked himself up to the rank of assistant animator. He was hired by Winkler at age 18 on the strength of a few samples of Moreno's cartoon work. Moreno had learned a little about cartooning from a correspondence course. Through the 1930s until the early 1940s Moreno worked as an animator and even a director for cartoons done at different studios, such as Walter Lantz's production company and MGM studios. In 1941 he left the US animation industry to take over his brother, George's, photo-processing store when he was drafted. Because of WWII, supplies to run the shop were impossible to come by, so Manuel ended up liquidating the store.

Manuel had an idea to set up an animation studio in Mexico. He brought 3 animators with him and hired Mexican comic strip artists to be assistant animators. The process was difficult, as the comic strip artists knew nothing about animation and had to be taught. Moreno had learned a great deal about the process of animation and the technical aspects while working in the US. He even intended to write a book in Spanish entitled "El Arte de las Caricaturas Animadas" (The are of animated caricatures). His extensive notes and drawing for this book are included in the collection. He was heavily involved in training the new employees and in all aspects of production. The process was very slow because many artists were still learning how to animate and Moreno's financial backers were expecting unreasonable levels of production from the fledgling studio. Only one film was finished, "Me Voy De Cacería". Another was animated and a third had a story developed. There were additional difficulties because of the war.

When the project eventually fell apart Moreno was not interested in going back to animation in the US. He decided to open a photo-processing store in California, called Professional Color Service. The store was very successful and remained in business for 25 years. Manuel had been married to María Teresa since 1931 and lived with her and raised a family with her in Southern California.

Even as he ran his photo shop, Moreno still showed a strong interest in art. Many of the ads and greeting cards associated with the store are his own original creations. In addition, while he had the store and after, Moreno used his knowledge of the animation process and interest in art to create films and announcements for numerous family occasions and holidays. He was a very useful resource for authors researching the birth of the animation industry as we know it today, and an interview with one such researcher is in the collection.