While as an artist-illustrator living in
the Bronx, New York City, Huemer first began his career in animation at the
Raoul Barré cartoon studio in 1916. He joined the
Fleischer Studio in 1923 where he developed the
Koko the Clown character. He redesigned the "Clown" for more efficient animation production and moved the Fleischer's away from their dependency upon the
Rotoscope for fluid animation. Huemer created Ko-Ko's canine companion, Fitz. Most importantly, Huemer set the drawing style that gave the series its distinctive look. Later he moved to Hollywood and worked as an animator and director for the
Charles Mintz studio creating the character
Scrappy. He subsequently moved to the
Disney Studio, where he remained for the duration of his career, except for a three-year hiatus from 1948–51 when he pioneered animated TV commercials and created with
Paul Murry ''The Adventures of Buck O'Rue'' comic strip. Some of Huemer's most creative work was done in partnership with
Joe Grant; examples include
Fantasia (story director),
Dumbo (screenplay), and several propaganda films to advance the U.S. war effort during
World War II. Atypically, Huemer and Grant submitted
Dumbo to Walt Disney not as a completed storyboard, but as a series of storyboard "chapters," each ending in a cliffhanger. This was intended to pique Disney's enthusiasm for the project, and it worked. Huemer was at the Disney organization from April 16, 1933, to February 28, 1973. == Awards and accomplishments ==