Grim Natwick

Animating Women: An Outside Specialist

Grim Natwick, creator of Betty Boop for Max Fleischer, was brought in by Walt Disney because the studio’s short film, The Goddess of Spring, a testing ground for human movements, had proved disappointing.

Grim Natwick began his career as a cover artist for sheet music in Chicago.
In 1916, he turned to animation at the Hearst Studio. He was then drafted and later studied art in Vienna, Austria.
In 1930, he worked for Fleischer and created Betty Boop, which soon prompted an offer from Roy Disney, among others, which Grim refused in favor of Ub Iwerks.
When he heard that there was a feature in the works at Disney’s, he persuaded New York story man and buddy Ted Sears to ask Walt to hire him.

Twenty years older than his colleagues and more experienced, Grim was hired immediately at $150 per week and initially worked on several short films. Unfortunately, he quickly came into conflict with director Ben Sharpsteen while working on Mickey’s Fire Brigade.

In his November 25, 1935 memo, Walt makes it clear that Grim is supposed to keep working on the shorts and will later “help Luske and Clark on the animation of the girl”. Grim finally worked on the girl, months later, but soon became one of the lead animators on the character of Snow White. Although he was credited as such, it seems that he did not get the bonus some of the other animators had, and he accepted Fleischer studio’s offer to leave and work on Gulliver’s Travels.

Grim Natwick went on to work for Walter Lanz, UPA, and went on to work until the eighties with Richard Williams on Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure & The Thief and the Cobbler.