Hubley Studios
About Hubley Studios
John Hubley began his career at Disney, serving as an art director on Fantasia (Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" segment), Dumbo, and Bambi. He quit the studio during the 1941 strike, and moved to Columbia's Screen Gems division, where he began directing, including the "Fox and Crow" series.
Screen Gems eventually became UPA, United Productions of America, for which Hubley created Mr. Magoo and directed such acclaimed shorts as the jazzy melodrama Rooty Toot Toot. Under fire from the House Un-American Activities Committee, however, in its hunt for alleged Communists in all branches of the entertainment industry, Hubley was fired in 1952.
The following year, he established Storyboard Films as a commercial firm, allowing him to work anonymously. He married Faith Elliott, an editor and script clerk who had worked for Columbia and Republic on such films as Twelve Angry Men. Together, the couple vowed to make one personal film a year. Their collaboration led to seven Academy Award nominations, three of which were wins, on such shorts as The Tender Game, The Hole and Moonbird. With an emphasis placed on music, several of these projects were collaborations with noted musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie and Herb Alpert; voices were supplied by the likes of Dudley Moore, Jack Warden, and Meryl Streep, as well as the Hubley's own children. In the mid-sixties, the studio was renamed "Hubley Studios."
Episode guide
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Urbanissimo
A comic allegory in which a runaway "city" on legs matches wits with a wily farmer. A farmer has an encounter with a runaway "city" (which devours its environs). He deserts his rural home f…
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Windy Day
A windy day in the life of two little girls named Emily and Georgia as they invent plays and stories to amuse themselves.
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Of Men And Demons
In this short, a primal human is eking out an existence on a tiny island- against the best efforts of the gods of wind, rain and lightning. Human ambition and technology battle the powers o…
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Zuckerkandl
A biographical sketch of the fictitious psychologist and contemporary of Freud, Zukerkandl. The film is mostly a parody of Freud. The main character believes the opposite of Freud: Rather t…
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Eggs
The Goddess of Fertility and her partner Death fight over the future of humankind until a whimsical Supreme Being intercedes.
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Dig
A boy and his dog take a wondrous trip under the earth's crust and through the geological eras of time, introducing children to geology in the form of a musical fantasy.
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Cockaboody
Emily and Georgia once again play, fight and act out various flights of the imagination. Beautiful animation combines with the tape-recorded voices of two pre-school children to create this…
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Voyage To Next
Mother Earth and Father Time narrate this plea for world cooperation and understanding.
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People, People, People
An imaginative and engaging survey of the millions of people who have inhabited the United States, starting from 17,760 B.C. and proceeding to the present time. From the primal cave-dweller…
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WoW Women Of The World
This animated collage of world art presents a creative history of the earth from a feminist point of view.
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Everybody Rides The Carousel
Based on the writings of psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, "Carousel" invites the viewer along on eight rides through the different stages of life. The film reflects the inner feelings and confli…
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Second Chance: Sea
A serenade to the sea, celebrating its glories while urging international responsibility in preserving our oceans.
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A Doonesbury Special
Garry Trudeau's classic characters (Mike Doonesbury, Zonker, etc.) examine how their lifestyles, priorities and concerns have changed since the end of their idealistic college days in the 1…
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Whither Weather
Director Faith Hubley explores how climate affects our world. She makes a plea for global cooperation and planning in using the world's natural resources.
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Step By Step
Using symbolic images of childhood past, present and future, this visual tone poem asks viewers to take the first step toward a positive future for the world's children.
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Sky Dance
Animated images of prehistoric and primitive art reflect the universal search for knowledge of the unknown.
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Enter Life
The evolution of life on Earth is symbolically traced as explained by contemporary theories.
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Starlore
An animated presentation of five Native American astronomical myths.
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Hello
Animated fable in which extraterrestrial musicians send a message of hello (only heard by children) and follow with one of peace which is heard by all. The universe becomes one big cosmic p…
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The Cosmic Eye
Three space creatures observe the follies of earth through sequences from animated shorts created by John and Faith Hubley.
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Time Of The Angels
Three Latin American poems are interpreted in symbolic animation. Each is spoken in both Spanish and English and integrated into a musical score.
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Yes We Can
Earth is being plundered, and Gaia (Earth Mother) is dying. By uniting in a common goal, men and women help Gaia heal herself.
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Who Am I?
A playful look at the thrill of discovering the five senses from a child's point of view.
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Amazonia
Inspired by three South American myths, this cartoon presents a plea to save the tropical rainforest and its inventive and unique inhabitants.
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Upside Down
This poetic visualization of a future of harmony, beauty and balance displays an embracing warmth and concern for the earth.
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Tall Time Tales
Ethereal images, surrealist landscapes and an evocative soundtrack are blended to turn our sense of time, culture, rhythm, and reality upside-down. In a series of whimsical vignettes, the v…
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Seers And Clowns
Bridging the insights of visionaries with the antics of fools, this cartoon weaves a tapestry of cross-cultural vignettes.
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Rainbows Of Hawai'i
Hawaiian mythology and South Pacific art combine to reinforce that all children are sacred- inspiring the child in all of us.
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My Universe Inside Out
Faith Hubley's impressionistic autobiography paints vivid pictures of her colorful life- from infancy and childhood, through life with husband John, to the growth of their children, his dea…
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Beyond The Shadow Place
Covering the globe and multiple cultures, a journey from Mexico and Peru to Easter Island, Siberia and ancient Egypt takes a look at death as transition and the different interpretations of…
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Africa
A lyrical praise poem dedicated to the place of our emergence. Vibrant images embracing 10,000 years of African art are seen in context of the myths and evolving culture of this great conti…
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Witch Madness
Women were once revered for their wisdom, strength, compassion and magic. The violent persecution of women throughout history is traced, climaxing in the frenzy of the European witchhunts o…
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Our Spirited Earth
An allegory about Earth's rebellious response to our civilization's careless disregard for the environment.
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Northern Ice, Golden Sun
A lyrical visual poem to environmentalism, conveying the Inuit's deep attachment to the land and their remarkable ability to adapt to the natural world.
