He wasn't necessarily a household name (though he certainly was in this household), but if you were born sometime from the late '60s onward, I can guarantee you've seen his work. Whether it was the in-betweener cartoons he created for Sesame Street, the work he did on animated films The Mouse and His Child or The Secret of NIMH, or all the later voice and animation work he did for Pixar, Luckey had an easily recognizable style and a singularly graceful way of making a point in his stories.
If Pixar could do one perfect thing as a tribute to their friend and colleague, it would be to create a new version of this gem-like, Luckey-animated short, first seen on Sesame Street and titled "Infinity":
It'd be nice to see a reworked version of this short as the intro to The Incredibles 2 this summer, but realistically that would require a rush production, and any tribute to Bud Luckey needs to be done right.
Godspeed, mister. You enriched the childhood of so many people. Well done.
2 comments:
As a child of the 70s (born in '72) who didn't get cable until mid-teens, PBS obviously encompassed the vast majority of my TV-experience growing up. While all of my PBS favorites growing up eventually became too "boring" to watch (as kids ages go too far beyond the intended audience), Sesame Street held enough interest for me that I continued watching less for the entertainment value, and more for nostalgic purposes, which transitioned for me in real-time.
It was only this morning that I played the YouTube clip of "That's About The Size (Infinity" for my 3 year old as he breakfasted before daycare; and just as it has every time I've watched it on YouTube since the mid-2000s when I first played it for my oldest son, it brought tears of nostalgia to my eyes. Something about this song, the animation, and the poignancy of its message is exquisitely and perfectly poetic. There are a dozen or so Sesame Street clips I fall back to when I'm feeling nostalgic, but this one is the one that hits me where it counts ever. single. time.
It wasn't until I googled Bud Luckey this morning to see what he's been up to lately (as I have done a few times over the years) that I learned about his passing. Sad indeed, but such is the way of life. Thankfully his impact and legacy endures.
I think you have an excellent idea about Pixar re-doing the song and animation as a short, so long as they keep to the original as closely as possible.
Agreed; "Infinity" never fails to choke me up. The whole thing is simple, but as close to perfect as it can get. I believe the folks at Pixar respected Luckey and his work sufficiently that they would be able to do justice to a retooling of it.
Thanks for stopping by.
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