Filmmaker Marshall Woodworth Finds Inspiration in his Bayou Roots
By Jann Darsie
Local filmmaker Marshall “Bubba” Woodworth grew up wanting to be an animator at Disney Studios. He started drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil, and he credits the catchy and colorful cartoons in the 1980s as part of his inspiration. His mother recognized his talent and enrolled Woodworth in private art classes.
“I was living in Lafayette at that time, and I was just cartooning on my own,” he recalled. “My teacher, the late Martha Fielding, really made me get serious and take the time to look at the details. I was set on becoming a Disney animator!”
Woodworth’s French-speaking extended family was very supportive of his talents and ambitions. Those early experiences in Avoyelles parish would come to influence his recent film projects.
His mother learned there was a Disney animator from Louisiana, so she researched and arranged for young Woodworth to meet him and other professional animators during a trip to Disney World in Florida.
But suddenly, with the 1989 release of Tim Burton’s Batman movie, the seventh-grader’s dreams shifted. “Seeing that film was life-changing for me, along with earlier movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars,” Woodworth said, “I realized that what I really wanted to do was to make films. My dream of becoming an animator was dramatically replaced.”
Now an accomplished and multi-faceted filmmaker — whose credits include director, producer, editor, writer and cinematographer — Woodworth has not abandoned animation. Among the projects Ella Project assisted with is a cartoon series promoting Cajun and Creole French.
The francophone also continues to pay homage to his roots. His grandfather “Pa Paw Woody” — whose desk was always filled with books, maps and research — inspired another passion: history and archeology.
As a teenager, Woodworth collected film soundtracks and combined them with his own voice to create stories. “I love what the film scores can make you feel,” he said. In addition to drawing comic books, he started doing linear editing with two VCRs, the technology of the day. And in those days, sound was edited using two audio cassette tapes.
By then, he was living in Alexandria. While just out of high school, he landed a job at KLAX-TV operating the teleprompter. With experience beyond his years, he was quickly promoted to studio director and began professionally editing film and operating the cameras.
But the big world was calling, and Woodworth had the wisdom to realize he needed life experiences to have stories to tell. He worked at national parks and hitchhiked around the country. “I was really focused on collecting stories as I was sowing my wild oats,” he said.
He then returned to Louisiana “to get serious” and enrolled at University of New Orleans, with a focus on film. Still having the love of history, he chose that field as his minor.
After graduation, he apprenticed as a director of photography in the film industry so he could see in real life what it was like to work on films. This led to various freelance jobs, including editing, cinematography, and working his second editor job on the indie film Gumshoe!
His interest in the Louisiana French of his childhood led him to spearhead a film project in 2018, along with his Thunder Lens Productions LLC partner Brian Tarney. The two of them traveled the state to film the award-winning documentary La Veille (The Visit) about the efforts — against the odds — to preserve the French language in Louisiana.
“This put me on the map,” said Woodworth. “But it also made me realize just how expensive and labor-intensive it is to make films.”
It was around this time that he encountered the Ella Project. They were still operating out of Tipitina’s, and said Woodworth, “I knew then that, although the project I asked them for legal advice about fell through, they were a valuable resource I was going to need again one day.”
Télé-Louisiane had gotten funding to produce French-language programming, and so Woodworth created the Creole Cartoon Company with Philippe Billeaudeaux, his animation production partner. They produced three successful seasons of Les Aventures de Boudini Et Ses Amis to teach Louisiana French to children.
The beginning of this project led Woodworth to the Ella Project again for advice on forming the company. At the same time, he decided to get a master’s degree in filmmaking. He earned his master’s while teaching, editing and writing a screenplay. All this seems normal for Woodworth.
The Ella Project has helped with various legal matters such as contracts, partnership agreements and funding deals. “It usually takes several back and forth versions to get things right,” Woodworth said. “This represents hours of attorney fees that the Ella Project provides pro bono for their clients. I say a big ‘thank you’ for that.”
Sadly, with funding for public broadcasting dramatically cut, Boudini and his friends will not see a fourth season. So, ever creative, Woodworth has turned to painting Louisiana scenes and is selling his originals and prints. Also, he and Tarney have been commissioned to co-write a feature screenplay based on a book.
Even with his busy schedule, Woodworth finds time for community service. He dresses up as a Ghostbuster — almost movie accurate – and participates in events to raise money for children’s cancer research, suicide awareness and other causes.
You can find Marshall Woodworth on his website www.creoloecartooncompany.com beginning in late November 2025, and on Facebook @marshall.woodworth, and Instagram @bubbamars.
Notes From Ella is presented with funding from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
