‘Animation Mavericks’ Feature Documentary Brings UPA’s Untold Story To The Screen

Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA, a new feature-length documentary exploring the legacy of one of animation’s most influential and unconventional studios, is nearing completion.

The film was announced during a UPA panel event held last night at Old Town Music Hall. The film chronicles the origin, rise, and fall of United Productions of America, the modernist studio that challenged Disney realism and reshaped the visual language of mid-century American animation, and whose influence can still be felt today.

Founded in 1941, the studio became widely recognized for award-winning shorts such as Gerald McBoing-Boing and for popular series, including its most recognizable character, Mr. Magoo. These films brought the studio mainstream success and critical acclaim, earning multiple Academy Awards and establishing UPA as a defining creative force of its era.

The documentary is directed and produced by Kevin Schreck, with animation direction by Rachel Gitlevich, who also produces. Executive producer Tim Finn and producer Sylvie BosRau fill out the film’s core creative team. BosRau is the granddaughter of UPA co-founder Steve Bosustow and the daughter of Tee Bosustow, who began work on a UPA documentary more than 20 years ago but never completed it. The film is produced in cooperation with the Bosustow Estate.

Schreck says the project reflects both a personal and historical return:

Animation Mavericks marks my return to making films about cinema history for the first time in over a decade. What brought me to this subject was that this piece of history felt both timely and timeless. Audiences will be transported to the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s as studios and studio heads clash and innovate. Labor organizing, the Red Scare, and the revolutionary Modernist art movement all take center stage in telling the riveting and unearthed history of UPA.

Finn underscored the film’s significance:

Both Kevin and I, as film historians and animation aficionados, are grateful to have the Bosustow family’s blessing and cooperation in creating Animation Mavericks. There has never been a major, feature-length documentary telling the story of this important chapter in cinema, and it’s a privilege to be the first to do so.

The filmmakers expect Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA to premiere later this year, with debut and festival screening details to be announced.