Madeline

Robert Cannon, John Hubley

John Hubley, Stephen Bosustow

Jules Engel, Chris K. Ishii, Bill Melendez, Frank Smith, Paul Bartel

David Raskin, Ruby Raskin

UPA (United Productions of America)

27/11/1952

7:01

Technicolor

Synopsis

An adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans’ 1939 children’s novel of the same name, Madeline is a light-hearted animated short that follows twelve little girls attending a Paris boarding school under the care of a strict but well-meaning nun, Miss Clavel. The story centers around the harmless mischief of Madeline, the youngest but most brave girl, who suddenly falls ill one night and must undergo a daunting operation.

The story of Madeline pays homage to the women in author Ludwig Bemelmans’ life. His daughter, Barbara, is said to have been the inspiration for the character (Harris). He named the book’s protagonist after his wife, Madeleine Freund, but changed its spelling to the English version (Eastman, “The Making of a Classic Series,” 61). Miss Clavel is loosely based on a French governess from his youth, whom he lovingly called “Gazelle” (Galbraith, 51). Finally, the events of the story were inspired by a little girl he met at a hospital in France, who proudly showed everyone her scar after an appendectomy (“Ludwig Bemelmans”).

UPA’s adaptation of Madeline was a challenging, yet impressive feat. The company, composed of former Disney animators, reportedly fell in love with the story, but had doubts about translating Ludwig Bemelmans’ impressionistic illustrations into a modern cartoon (“The Very First ‘Madeline’ Cartoon.”). UPA animators closely studied and remained faithful to Bemelmans’ illustrations, successfully capturing the way the little girls flowed as a single unit using their distinct, “limited” animation style (“The Very First ‘Madeline’ Cartoon.”). Madeline became yet another masterpiece, joining the likes of Gerald McBoing-Boing and Mr. Magoo, that allowed UPA to differentiate itself from the fully-realized naturalism of Disney productions (“UPA and Cartoon Modernism”).

References:

Eastman, Jacqueline Fisher. “Madeline and the Sequels: The Making of a Classic Series.” Ludwig Bemelmans, Twayne Publishers, 1996, pp. 50-88, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1597400013/G-Twayne?u=utoronto_main&sid=bookmark-G-Twayne&xid=6798ae5b.

Harris, June. “Ludwig Bemelmans.” EBSCO, 2023, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/ludwig-bemelmans.

“Ludwig Bemelmans.” Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 38, 2018, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010744/CIC?u=utoronto_main&sid=summon&xid=6c005ac6.

“The Very First ‘Madeline’ Cartoon.” Animation Obsessive, 27 June 2021, https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-very-first-madeline-cartoon.

“United Productions of America and Cartoon Modernism.” Indiana University Bloomington, https://collections.libraries.indiana.edu/IULMIA/exhibits/show/nick-and-stephen-bosustow-film/united-productions-of-america-. Accessed 12 September 2025.