As cartoons and animated features became an increasingly important part of the entertainment business, the production of cartoons industrialized to meet growing demands for the new global media. Artists adopted traditional union models to protect their jobs and working conditions, and a unique set of unions was born.

Drawing the Line is the first labor history of an industry whose principle figures-- Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Max Fleischer--helped define American entertainment. Author Tom Sito, Disney animator and former president of the Hollywood Animation Guild, draws on oral histories, archival information, and firsthand knowledge of the animation process to create an insider's history of a colorful set of labor unions.

Sito describes the history and fiery personalities behind the formation of the Screen Cartoonists Union, the strikes and walk-outs, the effects of Hollywood blacklisting, and the battles at the bargaining tables. He closes with a look at the changing nature of animation and the way in which current giants Disney and Dreamworks are again reshaping the relationship between studios and animators. Well illustrated with never-before-seen images from the backstage of classic Hollywood, Drawing the Line will change basic assumptions about animation history and its place in the story of American labor.

Tom Sito is an animator, director, and adjunct professor in the television and cinema departments at the University of Southern California and at the University of California at Los Angeles. His screen credits include Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, and The Lion King. In 1998, Animation Magazine named him as one of the most important people in animation.

Reviews:

"Sito is at his best sorting through the issues arising from [the arrival of computers]... given that in a sense all cinema is animation, the demarcation and jurisdictional lines between special affects, digital artists (no more inkers and painters), various managers and supervisors became very complex indeed." --Rick Thompson, Screening the Past

"Drawing the Line is a fine analysis of an intriguing aspect of labour history made all the more so by the author's obvious passion for the subject and its actors." -- Paul Lawrie, University of Toronto

"Sito . . . crafts an appealing analysis of the heretofore undocumented tensions resulting from the production process of one ofAmerica's most enduring cultural media. Drawing the Line is a fine analysis of an intriguing aspect of the labour history made all the more so by the author's obvious passion for the subject and its actors. Thanks to the nature of the subject matter, the reader is treated to a plethora of rare and humorous cartoons and photos which give the narrative a real human dimension. Drawing the Line provides an invaluable point of entry for professional scholars who wish to further investigate the intriguing field of artistic unionism." -- Paul Lawrie, University of Toronto , Labour/Le Travail

"Here is a unique perspective on the history of American animation, written by an artist and director who's also played a key role in his industry's labor movement. The stories he tells are alternately heartbreaking and hilarious... Anyone with more than a passing interest in the world of animation should consider this book a must-read."--LeonardMaltin.com

"Sito's connections allowed him access to data and illustrations hard to come by, and he enriches the book with numerous anecdotes gleaned from conversations with top animators and his own 30-year animation experience. Recommended. All readers; all levels."--Choice

"[Sito's] marvelous book... provides a witty, passionate, radical insider's view of the American film industry that is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the cinema."--International Socialism

"Drawing the Line& contains the best account yet of the 1941 Walt Disney strike, with documentation of the union side."--London Review of Books

"The stories he tells are alternately heartbreaking and hilarious, infused with the irreverence that's always characterized this field. Anyone with more than a passing interest in the world of animation should consider this book a must-read."--Leonard Maltin

"Contains the best account yet of the 1941 Walt Disney strike, with documentation of the union side."--London Review of Books "Fills a hole that has existed in the annals of animation history for far too long."--Dug Ward

"Sito sorts out and makes sense out of a much misunderstood chapter in the story of Hollywood."--Key Reporter

"Covers a broad swath of animation history from the early days of Disney, Ub Iwerks, Max and Dave Fleischer up to the 3D work of Pixar. At each stage in the development of the technology, Sito provides the blow by blow struggles of union organizers and the texture of the work environment."--Pacific Historical Review

"A meticulously researched book filled with anecdotes from animation people who were there to live the stories."--Animation World Magazine

"The first comprehensive history of the animators' unions in modern times."--California Bookwatch

"A lively recounting of the stories of animation artists and their times. It explores events that affected animation artists' livelihoods during the 20th century through the well-known humor of this renowned animator."-- Animation World Network

"Sito is our knowledgeable guide in this colorful journey through the birth and evolution of artists unions in toon town. You can get the real skinny on how the Screen Cartoonists Union fought for the rights of artists in a medium that wasn't exactly embracing labor initiatives in the 20th century."--Animation Magazine

"This is one of the most extraordinary 'insider' books ever written about Hollywood, and an essential contribution to the rising field of animation studies. This is the intelligent, thoughtful voice of the popular artist who knows his field's history well enough to explain it clearly--something very rare. It will be hailed as a unique source of information and insight, with material and observations impossible for anyone outside the profession proper."--Paul Buhle, Brown University

"Drawing the Line is an important work of film scholarship that discusses and documents a great American artform and industry from a unique point of view. It's the story of how the artisans behind our most popular cartoon characters struggled to get fair wages and fair treatment from their employers. Tom Sito, by virtue of his unique position as one of the leading animators of the current generation, a student of world history and a former head of the Screen Cartoonists Union himself, is the perfect person to document this subject. And he does so with hundreds of sharp anecdotes, witty quotes and his own clever writing style."--Jerry Beck, author of The Animated Movie Guide

"The first labor history of an industry whose principle figures--Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Max Fleischer--helped define American entertainment. . . . Sito describes the history and personalities behind the formation of the Screen Cartoonists Union, the strikes and walk-outs, the effects of Hollywood blacklisting, and the battles at the bargaining tables."--Turner Classic Movies