Barnacle Bill

Here's one unbelievable scene from the early Betty Boop & Bimbo Talkartoon Barnacle Bill. This whole scene animated by Grim Natwick contains some of the most original and weirdest expressions you'll ever see in any cartoon. Betty and Bimbo have never been drawn so off-model and in such riotously funny way after Grim left the Fleischer studio (his two swan songs for Fleischers were "Mysterious Mose" and "The Bum Bandit"). While Natwick was the most accomplished artist at Fleischer studio in 1930, he had the misfortune of having the worst and sloppiest assistants who sometimes diluted his original vision. In some other cases, they added yet another layer of strangeness and quirkiness to Grim's drawings. Don't be fooled, these frames are showing a pure cartoon genius at work.

For more info on Grim Natwick, take a look at the series of articles from ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive . If you live in LA area, don't miss the unique opportunity to see in real life the archive's extensive collection of Natwick's original drawings and sketches.
John K. also posted about Grim Natwick yesterday. You can read his article HERE

Grim's animation for Ub Iwerks during the first half of '30s looks much smoother, but less adventurous in comparison to his work at Fleischer. Neverthenless, there's a great amount of originality and invention in his Iwerks cartoons too. Take a look at these two examples:

Flip the Frog in "Africa Squeaks"
Willie Whopper in "Reducing Creme"

And we should not forget his work and accomplishments at Disney ("Snow White"), Lantz and UPA. What an amazing career, and what an amazing artist... truly one of a kind.