‘Animation Mavericks,’ Feature Doc on Groundbreaking ‘Mr. Magoo’ Producer UPA, Nears Completion

A new feature-length documentary “Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA” is set to premiere later this year from director and producer Kevin Schreck. The project was unveiled at a panel discussing the history of the groundbreaking animation studio Thursday night at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo.

“Animation Mavericks” covers the origin and legacy of the innovative and iconoclastic studio that produced characters including Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing. Founded in 1941 by former Disney animators, the studio was located next to the Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank in a John Lautner-designed building. It introduced a minimalistic form of animation that captured the mid-century style of the era, winning three Oscars for short animated film out of 15 nominations. In the 1960s, UPA produced TV staple “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” the primetime series “Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo” and the theatrical feature film “Gay Purr-ee,” written by Chuck Jones.

Schreck collaborated with animation director/producer Rachel Gitlevich; executive producer Tim Finn and producer Sylvie BosRau, the granddaughter of UPA co-founder Steve Bosustow and daughter of Tee Bosustow. Tee Bosustow began work on a UPA documentary over 20 years ago, but left it unfinished, and the documentary is produced in cooperation with the Bosustow Estate.

“’Animation Mavericks’ marks my return to making films about cinema history for the first time in over a decade,’” said Schreck. “What brought me to this subject was that this piece of history felt both timely and timeless. Audiences will be transported to the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s as studios and studio heads clash and innovate. Labor organizing, the Red Scare, and the revolutionary Modernist art movement all take center stage in telling the riveting and unearthed history of UPA.”

“Both Kevin and I as film historians and animation aficionados, are grateful to have the Bosustow family’s blessing and cooperation in creating ‘Animation Mavericks,’” said Finn. “There has never been a major, feature-length documentary telling the story of this important chapter in cinema and it’s a privilege to be the first to do so.”

More information on Animation Mavericks, its official debut, crew and future festival screenings, can be found on Instagram.com/AnimationMavericks.