Robert Balser obit

‘Yellow Submarine’ Animation Director Robert Balser Passes at 88

Best-known for his work as animation director alongside Jack Stokes on the groundbreaking animated feature, ‘Yellow Submarine,’ Balser also directed the “Den” sequence in ‘Heavy Metal.’

 He was not on the list.

Very sad news for fans of classic animation. AWN has learned that Robert Balser, the animation director for The Beatles’ 1968 feature, Yellow Submarine, has died at the age of 88. According to his widow, Cima Balser, Bob -- as he was known to friends and colleagues -- was hospitalized at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles with respiratory failure in mid-December, and passed away due to complications on January 4th.

With a career spanning more than 50 years, Balser was perhaps best-known for his work as animation director alongside Jack Stokes on the groundbreaking animated feature, Yellow Submarine. One of the few American artists on the Yellow Submarine team, Balser directed and storyboarded all the scenes that were pre- and post- Pepperland, including Liverpool, the travel sequences through the various seas, and the return.

Though Yellow Submarine was Balser’s first feature-length film, he had previously worked on a number of award-winning commercials. Most notable among his early achievements is his work with revolutionary graphic designer Saul Bass on the innovative (and nearly seven-minute long) animated title sequence for the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days. Balser also directed El Sombrero, or The Hat as it was known in English, in 1964 for Spanish production company Estudios Moro. Written and designed by Alan Shean, the short film follows the story of a social outcast and his troubles with a talking hat, symbolizing his inability to master a status symbol:

After Yellow Submarine, Balser opened his own production company in Barcelona, Spain where he produced TV series such as The Jackson 5, and The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, as well as Peanuts for CBS, Barney for BBC, The Triplets for HBO, and many others. He also directed the “Den” segment on the classic 1981 animated feature, Heavy Metal. In addition to running a production studio and school in Barcelona for decades, Balser also served as a board member for ASIFA International from 1978 through 1994, and helped launch ASIFA-Spain in 1980.

Balser and his wife, Cima, have both been longtime friends of AWN, contributing numerous articles and on-the-ground festival reports over the years, and he will be sincerely missed. Plans for a memorial celebration are currently underway, and friends and well-wishers should save January 15th as an anticipated date. AWN is also busy gathering tributes from Balser’s colleagues from over the years, which will be posted as a separate feature later in the year. Please contact editor@awn.com (link sends e-mail)if you worked with Bob and would like to contribute.

 

In 1993, Balser closed Pegbar Productions, his production company in Barcelona. He then directed The Triplets, a Catalan animated series for Cromosoma Productions. Balser left Spain in 1996. Next, Balser lived in Cairo, Egypt, for several months, where he worked as an animation consultant for the International Executive Service Corporation. He then moved to Ankara, Turkey, for two years, where he directed television series that aired in Germany and the United States.

 

Animation Department

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983)

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show

7.4

TV Series

animation supervisor: Barcelona (as Bob Balzer)

1985

5 episodes

 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears/Rumpelstiltskin/Little Red Riding Hood/Sleeping Beauty (1984)

Goldilocks and the Three Bears/Rumpelstiltskin/Little Red Riding Hood/Sleeping Beauty

7.2

Video

sequence director

1984

 

Heavy Metal (1981)

Heavy Metal

6.6

animator (segment Den, as Bob Balser)

1981

 

Simon Adams, Leslie Phillips, Beth Porter, Victor Spinetti, Rachel Warren, Reg Williams, Susan Sokol, and Lisa Moss in The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979)

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

7.0

TV Movie

sequence director

1979

 

Les trois mousquetaires (1974)

Les trois mousquetaires

7.0

animator (as Bob Balser)

1974

 

Michael Jackson, Donald Fullilove, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Tito Jackson, Mike Martinez, Joel Cooper, Craig Grandy, Edmund Sylvers, and Jackson 5 in Jackson 5ive (1971)

Jackson 5ive

6.5

TV Series

animation director

1971–1972

17 episodes

 

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Paul Angelis, Peter Batten, John Clive, Dick Emery, George Harrison, Geoffrey Hughes, Ringo Starr, and The Beatles in Yellow Submarine (1968)

Yellow Submarine

7.4

animation director

1968

 

Alan Arkin in Inspector Clouseau (1968)

Inspector Clouseau

4.7

animator: main titles (uncredited)

1968

 

Radioaktivt nedfald (1962)

Radioaktivt nedfald

Short

animator

1962

 

Alcohol in the Human Body (1961)

Alcohol in the Human Body

5.9

Short

animation director

1961

 

We'll Take the High Road

5.6

Short

animator

1957

 

Director

Baydog (1996)

Baydog

TV Series

Director

1996

3 episodes

 

The Triplets (1995)

The Triplets

6.1

TV Series

Director (1995-1997)

1995

 

Barney (1988)

Barney

6.6

TV Series

Director (1989)

1988

 

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983)

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show

7.4

TV Series

Director

1983

3 episodes

 

By Hoot or by Crook

5.5

Short

Director (as Bob Balsar)

1974

 

Big Beef at the O.K. Corral

6.5

Short

Director (as Bob Balsar)

1974

 

The Badge and the Beautiful

5.6

Short

Director (as Bob Balsar)

1974

 

Little Boa Peep

4.9

Short

Director (as Bob Balsar)

1974

 

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1972)

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

7.5

TV Series

Director

1973

1 episode

 

El sombrero (1964)

El sombrero

6.4

Short

Director

1964

 

Art Department

Baydog (1996)

Baydog

TV Series

storyboard artist

1996

1 episode

 

Barney (1988)

Barney

6.6

TV Series

storyboard artist (1989)

1988