UPA and the Rise and Fall of Modern Art Animation Studios: When Communism, Picasso, and Cartoons Had a Weird Love Child
Once upon a time, animation was all about realism. Every character moved fluidly, looked cute, and obeyed basic physics. Then along came UPA (United Productions of America), a bunch of artsy weirdos who decided cartoons didn’t need rules.
Instead of animating like Disney, they embraced modern art—flat, bold, abstract, Picasso-esque designs that looked like they were ripped straight from a post-war propaganda poster. They hated “illusion of life” realism and wanted everything to be stylized, minimalist, and artsy as hell.
UPA changed animation forever… and then completely collapsed.
And they weren’t alone—other studios tried the same thing, and most of them are now skeletons buried in animation history.
Let’s take a glorious, judgmental look at UPA and other modern-art animation studios that burned bright, got weird, and died fast.
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1. UPA (United Productions of America) – AKA “The Communist Picassos of Animation”
What They Did:
• Brought modern art aesthetics into animation.
• Introduced flat, bold, minimalist designs (aka “the opposite of Disney”).
• Created Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing-Boing, and the weirdest versions of Dr. Seuss adaptations ever.
Why They Were Important:
• They rebelled against Disney’s hyper-realism.
• They changed TV animation forever. (No UPA? No Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Lab, or Samurai Jack.)
• They made cartoons look “grown-up” before anyone else did.
Why They Collapsed:
• McCarthyism. Yeah, really. Hollywood’s Red Scare witch hunt accused UPA of being communist sympathizers.
• Their experimental style became “cheap-looking” when TV animation took over.
• Once their main creators left, the studio imploded.
Verdict: UPA was radical, groundbreaking, and doomed from the start.
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2. Terrytoons (1930-1971) – AKA “What If Picasso Had to Animate on a Budget?”
What They Did:
• Made the most aggressively ugly cartoons in history.
• Created Mighty Mouse, Deputy Dawg, and a fever dream called “The Astronut.”
• Went full “modern art” in the 1950s under Gene Deitch.
Why They Were Important:
• Deitch’s work looked like Picasso had a migraine.
• Experimented with limited animation and weird abstraction.
• Produced one of the strangest-looking versions of Tom & Jerry.
Why They Collapsed:
• Terrible management, even worse budgets.
• Their “modern” animation style wasn’t respected.
• Nobody took them seriously, even when they tried to be artsy.
Verdict: Terrytoons tried to be Disney, failed, then tried to be avant-garde, and failed again.
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3. Zagreb Film (1953-Present, But Barely Alive) – AKA “The Most Famous Animation Studio You’ve Never Heard Of”
What They Did:
• Created mind-blowing, experimental animation out of Yugoslavia.
• Won Oscars while the rest of the world ignored them.
• Had an insane range—some shorts looked like kids’ books, others looked like nightmares.
Why They Were Important:
• They pushed animation into surrealism before it was cool.
• Genuinely ahead of their time.
• Influenced a TON of later animation styles.
Why They Collapsed:
• Yugoslavia stopped existing.
• Funding dried up.
• Nobody outside of hardcore animation nerds remembers them.
Verdict: Zagreb Film was too good for this world.
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4. Hubley Studios (1956-1977) – AKA “Artsy Animation That Nobody Watched”
What They Did:
• Created abstract, experimental shorts with wobbly lines and weird angles.
• Focused on social issues, jazz music, and surrealism.
• Refused to make anything remotely commercial.
Why They Were Important:
• They made art films while everyone else made cartoons.
• Pioneered freeform, hand-drawn animation that looked like moving paintings.
• John Hubley worked on Fantasia before deciding Disney was too mainstream.
Why They Collapsed:
• Nobody wanted “educational” avant-garde animation.
• Art-house vibes don’t pay the bills.
• They were making cartoons for museums, not kids.
Verdict: High art, but also high pretension.
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5. Klasky Csupo (1982-Present, But Dead Inside) – AKA “The Studio That Made Nickelodeon Look Ugly on Purpose”
What They Did:
• Created Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Duckman, and The Wild Thornberrys.
• Pioneered grotesque, abstract character designs.
• Made cartoons look like they were drawn by a sleep-deprived art student.
Why They Were Important:
• They made Nickelodeon’s weirdest, boldest shows.
• Pushed experimental animation into the mainstream.
• Helped define 90s animation.
Why They Collapsed:
• Nickelodeon dumped them after Rugrats: All Grown Up.
• Their “ugly” animation style fell out of fashion.
• They had no backup plan.
Verdict: They made iconic shows, but also gave us Rocket Power. Balance.
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6. Filmation (1962-1989) – AKA “The Kings of Budget-Cut Animation”
What They Did:
• Created He-Man, Fat Albert, and the worst Star Trek cartoon ever.
• Perfected the art of cutting corners in animation.
• Reused the same five action scenes for entire seasons.
Why They Were Important:
• Mass-produced cartoons like a factory.
• Introduced the concept of “limited animation” that UPA pioneered.
• Made He-Man look badass (if you ignored the 12 recycled running cycles).
Why They Collapsed:
• Audiences eventually realized they were watching the same three animations on repeat.
• Their animation style became synonymous with “cheap.”
• They were too slow to adapt to the 90s animation boom.
Verdict: Gave us childhood nostalgia, but at what cost?
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Final Thoughts: The Rise and Fall of Artsy Animation Studios
UPA and its artistic descendants changed animation forever. Their bold, abstract styles influenced generations of animators—but they also proved that artsy animation is really hard to keep financially alive.
Some of these studios tried too hard to be high-art. Others were too weird to survive. And some? They got devoured by capitalism.
Now, argue with me in the comments. Which of these studios deserved better? Which ones should’ve died faster? And if you love brutally honest animation takes, check out my YouTube channel before I get blacklisted by the ghost of UPA.
