The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-21
- IN -, Hollywood
BY ERsKINE JOHNSON MEA RknR C0Prnemomflnnk


 She's only a cartoon character but this Miss x has more oomph than Hedy LaMarr or Lana Turner or Ann Sheridan. At least that's what film censors say, and it's their business to know about such things.
 The gentleman who draws Miss X, Cartoon Producer Walt. Lantz was telling us about his troubles to- day.
 "Why," he said, i've drew that lady 50 times before the Hays once said she was okay. Tn the first drawings we had her bare legged( wearing shorts. Nothing improper at all. Just like those chorus girls you see running around on the screen. But the cen Eors said nudity in a cartoon draw ing was different, too"
 So Lantz's artists drew some transparent panties-just the sug- gestion of pants with light lines. The censors took another look, didn't blush and said Miss x was now properly dressed to go out on the screen.
 4UCu JIlCIC Wdo AlCI AldiIlG. ! AN CensorS didn't like Miss X," Lantz said. "When it's slurred," they said, it sounds too much like Miss Sex I explained the name was only tenn porary. That 19000 Universal ex- hibitors are having a contest to name the lady, with a $l00 War Bond for the winner. Thousands of names are pouring in, like Una Versal and Lana Lantz. We haven't found the right one yet. The cen- Bors said, 'Okay. Have your little contest. But hurry it up before all the little kiddies are slurring Miss X,"
 ANIMAL ANIMATORS
 Until he introduced Miss x on the screen recently, Walt Lantz had concentrated on animals like Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda and Os- Wald the Rabbit, Tt was funny" he said. My animators had been draw ing animals so long that when we dreamed up Miss x, they discov- cred they lost their touch for hu- mans, and had to go back to art school to brush up on anatomy
 Lantz is the dean of Hollywood's cartoon producers. Started out drawing animated cartoons way back in 1916 while working as of- a New York newspaper. Except for 8 brief fling as gag man for Mack Sennett, he's been in the cartoon business all his life.
 He says film cartoon animation is getting better all the time but that perfection still hasn't been reached.
 Cartoons won't be perfect" he said, until anaimators become bet ter actors. Sure, they know how to draw But to be good animator you have to be a good actor--to in- ject your dramatic ability into the character you're drawing"
 He says If actors like Spencer Tracy or Cary Grant could draw, they'd be the greatest animators in the business. Some day. he said, I'm going to start a dramatic school for animators." CREATING CHARACTERS
 How does Walt Lantz get ideas for his characters? Well, take Woody Woodpecker. Lantz has cabin up at Lake Sherwood. One Saturday afternoon he was trying to sleep and there was a big racket on the roof. He climbed up and discovered some woodpeckers were stuffng acorns under the tar paper shingles. A forest ranger came along and explained the woodpecEers left the acorns under the shingles until they got worny and then came back and ate the worms. Lantz de- cided If woodpeckers were that smart, he'd star one of them in cartoon series. Tt cost me $l2o for q new roof" he said, but the Idea was worth it."
 This, of course, came as q great surprise to us. We figured that in Hollywood even woodpeckers had agents.