Customer Reviews

Living Life inside the Lines: Tales from the Golden Age of Animation

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I am the author's son and encouraged her to write this book. Martha Sigall worked in the animation business from 1936 until 1989 and was there when Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Roadrunner, Daffy Duck, and many other characters were created.

When I visited, she always had great stories about these cartoon characters, the animators, and the practical jokes they played on each other. I, and many others, finally convinced her that the public would love to hear them.

"Living Life Inside the Lines" contains many fascinating stories such as:
- How Bugs Bunny got his name.
- How Tweety was originally flesh colored and censors made them "put feathers on him because he looked naked."
- How Mel Blanc was able to break into the business.

Many historians have written books on animation without ever having worked in the business.  Martha Sigall was there to witness first-hand the creation of cartoon characters such as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, and many others. 

She was also there to witness the creative talents of Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Mike Maltese, Bill Melendez, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbara, and many others. Her book will interest anyone who grew up with these cartoons.

The title, "Living Life Inside the Lines," refers to the fact that animators draw the character's outline in black and the inkers and painters paint the colors inside.

When Chuck Jones received his special Academy Award in the mid-1990s, he wondered aloud from the stage where all the "laughing faces of Termite Terrace" had gone. They're right here in Martha Goldman Sigall's wonderful book. Martha was a central participant in the Golden Age of the animated short: she inked and painted on timeless, classic films directed by Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Bob McKimson, Frank Tashlin, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, and others, and almost certainly contributed to more animated films than all of them combined, probably without receiving a single screen credit in that era. But she sketches the men and women who sketched Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry masterfully in this extremely well-written book, which, like Martha herself, is very warm, funny, and people-oriented. Her personal portraits of artists like Treg Brown, Virgil Ross, Ben Washam, and many others are a crucial contribution to animation history as well as a fun and funny reading experience.

This is the best book on the Schlesinger studio (birthplace of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and many others), and provides perhaps a thousand important details about that historic cartoon studio and MGM's that aren't found elsewhere. Martha sketches the 1941 strike, the Red Scare, wartime Hollywood, and other events from the animation community's perspective, and also sheds light on the historic industry locations such as 861 Seward, where six different studios sought shelter through the years; the neat and clean (but long gone) MGM building in Culver City, and the shabby Van Ness home of Leon Schlesinger and his "kids".

In what may be the last major eyewitness account of the classic era of animation, Martha raises the spirit of those long-gone laughing faces, and humanizes the creation of the great cartoons and timeless characters that will last forever. The joy she obviously felt in her career infuses the book and the reader.

Martha and her husband Sol, who, happily, is also heard from here, have always been like beloved grandparents to animators in Southern California (one of which this author was for a few years), but in 1996 they kindly donated themselves to the Warner Brothers Museum and are now officially public treasures. If you're not in the area, you can claim your share of them right here in this wonderful book. They should designate a rating higher than five stars for it.

I love reading stories from animations golden age and this book is especially charming.
Most people don't know it, but the ink and paint departments in all the major and minor studios were the real unsung heroes of the cartoon business-many ladies being accomplished artists in their own right and having the ability to take well drawn line drawings and just adding the right touch to each cel that the scenes would really shine. Water effects being one of the areas of animation that without great inkers and painters could tend to look "hokey".
I give this book 5 stars, but I wish it had more pictures!!

Martha Sigall was there when Bugs Bunny was created. She was there when the reigning geniuses of Looney Tunes Cartoons -- Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin and Bob Clampett -- and such legendary artists and story men as Bob McKimson, Virgil Ross, Michael Maltese and Ben Haradway, were redefining the seven minute cartoon. And that's only the beginning of her story. "Living Life Inside the Lines" is an absolute must for anyone interested in the animated cartoon, from fan to student to historian. Martha Sigall's book is perhaps the ultimate source for what the Golden Age of Cartoons was really like, and is a mandatory read for anyone interested in animation.

I know the son of the writer and was eager to read her book. I have done computer animation and presently am in involved in video production. I found this personal history of the early days of animation to be fun, informative, and came away feeling I had a better knowledge of the people involved in this wonderful form of visual art!

If you love animation, history of early animation days...this book is a wonderful read!

This book was all I expected it to be and more. Mrs Sigall has had an amazing career within the animation industry and tells her story in an easy, flowing style that keeps you turning the pages. I read this book in one sitting, and can see myself re-reading it for many years to come. She communicates in a very straight forward fashion her love for, and interest in, the process of animated cartoons. She has a broad knowledge of how they are created, and a deep and abiding love and respect for the people responsible for their creation. It is well conveyed through the text that I don't believe for a minute that Mrs Sigall would change anything about the life she has led, and the people she has met along the way. Reading Mrs Sigall's words will introduce you to a 'good soul'. She hardly has a bad word to say about anybody, and this makes for a very pleasant reading experience, especially in this day-and-age of 'tell-all' autobiographies. Kudos Mrs Sigall. A job well done and a book that can be enjoyed by all afficionados of the animation field.

If you've read any other animation history books, you've gotten a basic idea of how things were during "Golden Age" of the 30's and 40's. But not only is Living Life Inside The Lines one of the few books written someone who actually worked in animation during that period, it's the only book I've seen written by an ink & paint artist, which gives it a point of view of the animation world that other books never mention.

Sigall also tells stories of people like Irv Spence and Phil Monroe who were a big part of animation history, but have never gotten much mention in books. And having worked at numerous studios and ink & paint houses, she has very broad perspective on how the animation industry has changed from the 30's thorough to the 80's. Plus her pleasant demeanor makes for a nice, easy-going read.

If you're interested in animation, this book is a perfect supplement to your library.