Why is Maurice Noble considered a legend? Noble worked for Disney on Snow White, Bambi, Fantasia and Dumbo. During WWII, he worked for the Frank Capra film unit with Dr. Seuss on Private Snafu cartoons. In the 1950s he did the designs and layouts for Chuck Jones’ greatest classic cartoons including Duck Amuck, Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century, What’s Opera, Doc? and the ever-popular Roadrunner cartoons.
The self-proclaimed “old rebel” attended Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles with the help of a work scholarship. One of the first honors of his life was the school awarding him and Mary Blair their first full-time scholarships. She stayed on and graduated, but he eventually had to leave due to financial difficulties caused by “the great depression.”
First Stop: Disney
About 1934, Noble took a job at Disney to get a U.S. $10 raise. He was working as a department store designer for $90 a month when he was offered a job at the studio for about $100. He said, “After all $10 is $10. I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into, but I was going to earn $10 more a month.”
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