Famed animator traces success to La Conner roots

His animated characters are known and loved around the globe.

But there was a time La Conner was the hub of Craig Bartlett’s world.

His parents, the late Glen and Kay Bartlett, were key players in the 1970s revitalization of La Conner. That campaign, spearheaded by restoration of Gaches Mansion and development of Town Square at First and Morris – which had been left vacant by the major fire that razed Dunlap Hardware a decade before – hinged in great measure on Glen’s design work.

Bartlett literally drew inspiration from the work of his mom and dad.

“Craig,” says his sister, Connie Funk, “did a lot of La Conner art back then.”

La Conner will again be the focus of Bartlett’s attention as he makes a long-awaited homecoming to headline the April 28 Animated Film Festival here benefiting the La Conner Braves Club After-School Program.

His early work as an illustrator and muralist, often highlighting revered La Conner landmarks, won acclaim around town well before Bartlett went off to the famed Will Vinton Studios in Portland, where he embarked on what would be a wildly successful career in claymation.

A graduate of nearby Anacortes High and The Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Bartlett mastered stop-motion animation while at the Vinton Studios. That led to his being tapped to work on “The Adventures of Mark Twain” and other feature films, as Hollywood beckoned.

Bartlett moved to southern California in the late 1980s, adding to his resume the “Penny” cartoons for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, a cutting-edge CBS children’s comedy show.

Things mushroomed from there.

Over the years there would be collaboration with Nickelodeon, PBS, BRC Imagination Arts and Cartoon Network, among others, and creation of universal hits like “Hey, Arnold!,” “Dinosaur Train” and “Ready Jet Go!”

Bartlett also directed “Mystery Lodge” at Knott’s Berry Farm and provided animation for Weird Al Yankovic’s music video Jurassic Park,” to name a few.

“Hey, Arnold!,” perhaps Bartlett’s most widely known venture, was in production on a continual basis from 1995 to 2001, under the banner of his own company, Snee-Oosh, Inc.

Each episode of “Hey, Arnold!” ended with the Snee-Oosh Productions logo, which Bartlett designed, projected on TV screens everywhere, bringing international attention to the beach area west of La Conner where he spent much of his youth.

The “Mystery Lodge” project was also a favorite, says Funk, who is on staff at the La Conner Braves Club.

“It’s similar to Spirit Lodge at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver,” she says. “It has a Coast Salish theme and stresses the value of family and oral culture.”

His long string of popular shows has earned Bartlett countless fans and widespread admiration within the entertainment industry.

“Craig has maintained some amazing long-term relationships in Hollywood,” says Funk. “They say he’s the nicest guy to work with.”

His versatility has had a lot to do with Bartlett being much in demand. He can write, edit, direct and even play the guitar. And when the digital age dawned, Bartlett adapted his various artistic skills to the new technology.

What has remained constant, however, is Bartlett’s devotion to children and education – in doing so he carries on an impassioned family tradition – and which helps explain his eagerness to fit the April 28 La Conner appearance into a hectic travel schedule.

“He’s been so busy, they’ve all been No. 1 shows,” Funk says of her brother’s varied undertakings.

But not too busy to help the La Conner Braves Club, which serves 60 to 80 local children each day, providing enrichment activities and access to guest speakers.

“Our goal,” Funk says, “is to provide a safe, positive place so that students in kindergarten through middle school are not home alone or out and about after school.”

While Bartlett’s talent will be on display at the La Conner festival, he has repeatedly shown an uncanny ability to recognize the potential in children, says Funk.

“He always casts kids,” she notes. “That’s his trademark. It’s one of the reasons he’s been so successful.”