L.A. Animation Tour
Ever wanted to know where the Hanna-Barbera studios are located? How about the Klasky-Csupo Complex, also known as the studio behind the cartoon series Duckman?
Many of these studios in Los Angeles County are tucked away in areas that might not be accessible to the general public. In fact, only a handful offer studio tours and for most you’ll need a private invitation to enter. For instance, Walt Disney Studios located in Burbank California does not offer tours of the complex due in part to the level of access that is required because of the production that incurs on the grounds.
The lot consists of several television studios (one of which was used exclusively for Home Improvement), a sound studio for foley effects and soundtracks for live-action and animated productions. The complex also includes a school of art, employee restaurant, office buildings (including Roy Disney) and the infamous animation buildings which served as production areas for Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and a variety of other Disney movies.
For those of us who are not fortunate enough to receive a private invitation to these studios there exists a behind-the-scenes website (courtesy of the Animation World Network) which includes information on these landmarks.
3 Comments, Comment or Ping
Mike
For more information on the Walt Disney Studios, I would recommend finding a copy of the two DVD set called Walt Disney Treasures — Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio. It’s a great in depth look at the studios history.
Aug 1st, 2004
kartooner
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike. I’ve actually visited the Walt Disney Studios twice (received work-related invites) and both times had different experiences.
They have a Disney store on site, smaller than those you see in malls around the world. I also noticed that the merchandise was more reasonably priced and if you were an employee I believe you received a 20-25% discount. On both occassions they (the employees) would always assume I worked there.
In the center of the campus were the main offices. At the time I passed by the office of Jerry Bruckheimer and remember thinking, “Hey, it’s the guy who did The Rock and Beverly Hills Cop.”
Surrounding the main offices were the production houses. You could see employees in there editing film and just about every one of these small offices had characters from past films (in toy and poster form) lining the windows.
Towards the back of the complex there were memorial plaques (plastered in cement) for several Disney animators, composers, employees, etc. who had passed on. I believe Marc Davis was still alive at the time, which would have been 1999 or 2000, but he has since passed on and I would imagine he has a plaque there as well.
To sum it all up, it was a once (or in my case, twice) in a lifetime experience, of which I’ll always remember.
Aug 2nd, 2004
olivia jimenez
i am looking for a cartoon studio tour for my 6 year old son. please guide me in the right direction.
Jul 6th, 2005
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