Welcome back fellow Cartoon lovers as we look at more of the history for of Cartoon Network, your home for cartoons.
In 1995 a short shown on World Premiere Toons called Dexter's Laboratory was nominated for an Emmy. This short proved so popular that in August of that same year Cartoon Network announced that it would be the first World Premiere Toon to receive a whole series of it's own. Shows that would follow would include Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog (one of my favorite TV shows of all time), I am Weasel and Mike, Lu & Og. The show of course become a huge hit, and a quite good show in it's own right. Dexter's Laboratory was a joint project between Cartoon Network studios and Hanna-Barbera.
1995 however didn't just bring brand new shows to Cartoon Network, but also brought some that had been around for a while to the channel. 1995 brought G-Force: Guardians of Space to Cartoon Network. This was a 1986 American version of a 1972 anime series called Science Ninja Team Gatchman. This is the second adaption of this anime. Preceding it was 1978's Battle of the Planets TV show. This adaption included both dubbed footage and new animation from the Hanna-Barbera studio. This show had a very brief run on TBS. I can't find any reason why it disappeared, but it did. Cartoon Network however introduced many American audiences to the 1972 anime, despite the many changes. Also introduced to Cartoon Network in 1995 was the 1973 animated Hanna-Barbera animated version of The Addams Family.
In 1994 World Premiere Toons (later renamed What a Cartoon!) was announced. This show was co-produced by Cartoon Network and Hanna-Barbera. It featured new 7 minute cartoon shorts (about the same length as an average Looney Tune or Merrie Melodie). Such cartoons as Courage The Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Laboratory would eventually grow out of this.The show came to be in February 1995. The Powerpuff Girls in Fuzzy Lumpkins was the first short to air.
Though The Moxy Show was the first original show to be made for Cartoon Network, it was a Hanna-Barbera production. The first one to be made for Cartoon Network was Space Ghost: From Coast to Coast. Intrestingly this show borrowed it's characters from a 1960's Hanna-Barbera cartoon show simply called Space Ghost. This show featured a wacky, irreverent, and adult-aimed sense of humor, that showed what future Cartoon Network originals would be like. This show premiered on April 15, 1994.
1994 was a special year for Flintstones fans. On May 7th, Cartoon Network showed The Flagstones the original unaired pilot for the show (The name was changed to The Flintstones for the actual show, because Hi and Lois (a popular newspaper comic) creator, Mort Walker felt the name was too close to his fictional families name of the Flagsons). Then on May 19 though May 22, the channel aired all 167 episodes of The Flintstones back to back. I know what all of my fellow Flintstones fans are thinking, "Can they please do this again" and I would be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't thinking the same thing. By the way here's a video of the pilot I mentioned earlier.
From January 23rd to January 29th in 1995, Cartoon Network did it's first (and last) annual Dog Bowl (to compete with the Super Bowl of course (and as a Cartoon lover, who doesn't care to watch sports this sounds much better to me)). This was hosted by Morocco Mole and Fred Hickman (a real life sports announcer (yeah I had to look him up too, then again I'm not a sports fan)) Competing in this dog bowl were Hong Kong Fooey (Number one super guy), Scooby Doo, Doogey Daddy, Huckleberry Hound, Precious Pup, Muttley, Spike (from Tom and Jerry cartoons), Droopy, Two Stupid Dogs, and Two Curious Dogs (from some of Chuck Jones' early Merrie Melodies). Cartoon Network fans themselves voted for who they liked best. A hour of two dogs (a half-hour each) would air each day and whoever won that round would air again the next day, until a winner was decided. The winner was Scooby Doo. Let me know who you would have voted for. I would have personally gone for Droopy, but Huck would have been a very close second. All of them would good choices though.
So more Cartoon Network history coming up. Until then Peace love and cartoons.
Hello again fellow cartoon lovers. I am sure for many of you, Cartoon Network has at least at one time been a very special channel to you. If you are a 1990's child like me, then it was probably also your introduction to the classic theatrical cartoon shorts of the 1930's, 40's and 50's, as well as the Hanna-Barbera TV shows of the 1950's and 60's. As these hold a special place in my heart so of course does Cartoon Network, even if I am fully willing to admit it is not the great channel it used to be (Though I do like Steven Universe a lot). So let's share our memories of watching this channel, as we discuss the history behind it.
Carton Network began on October 1st 1992, started by Turner Entertainment. The day the channel premiered it was hosted by your good friend and mine Droopy. The first cartoon shown was The Great Piggy Bank Robbery with Daffy Duck. The channel did not start off with original programing, instead it relied on what Turner Entertainment owned. Luckily they owned a lot. They had bought Hanna-Barbera in 1991, giving them access to the whole Hanna-Barbera library. They also had access to all the classic MGM cartoons, the pre-1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, and all the classic Fleischer Brothers and Famous studios Popeye cartoons.I don't know about you but that sounds like animated paradise to me. This meant they had about 8,500 hours of cartoons that they owned the rights to. This was the first time a TV channel had 24 hours a day dedicated to cartoons. There was a show on another Turner owned channel, TNT, called Cartoon Network on TNT which showed more of these cartoons they owned, because they owned so many. By January 1993, Cartoon Network was already the most viewed channel on TV.
Some of the classic cartoon shorts were packaged in various half-hour or hour long themed blocks. Two of the best of these were Late Night in Black and White (Something that sadly the network would probably never air today), which showed various classic black and white cartoons from the 1930's (and from various studios). Another was Toonheads. Toonheads would pick a different theme each episode, and in between each cartoon a narrator (Usually either Leslie Fram or Don Kennedy). This show would include both theatrical and TV cartoons.
In May of 1933, the studio had audiences vote for the best cartoon mom so they could dedicate Mother's day to her. As a joke included in this poll was Race Bannon from Johnny Quest (because he was one bad mother). Race actually won and on Mother's Day of 1993, Cartoon Network showed a Johnny Quest marathon. On June 13 1993, Cartoon Network aired the first of it's June Bugs marathons (24 hours of Bugs Bunny cartoons) something I miss very much. The first new character created for Cartoon Network was named Moxy. This was a computer animated dog, who introduced various classic cartoons on The Moxy Show. This character was voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait and the show was produced by Hanna-Barbera (that studio's first series made specifically for Cartoon Network), and first shown on November 26 1993. Due to the computer animation The Moxy Show was the first live cartoon show (you can't have a hand drawn live cartoon, because it is a strain on the animators wrist).
There is more Cartoon Network history to come so don't touch that dial.
76 years ago today Bugs Bunny first hopped onto movie screens. Since this he has become one of the most famous and beloved cartoon stars in the world. To celebrate his birthday today we are going to look at some great Bugs Bunny shorts.
We are going to start with a classic 1943 cartoon from director Robert Clampett. This film is Falling Hare, and is a short about Bugs fighting a gremlin. The title was originally going to be Bugs Bunny and the Gremlin. However Disney was working on an animated feature called Gremlin Lore (film that would never come to be). Because of this Walt asked if the other Hollywood animation studious could not make cartoons about gremlins. However since this cartoon was already well into production, producer Leon Schlesinger decided instead to change the title to Falling Hare. Similarly another Warner Brothers' cartoon originally going to be titled Gremlins From the Kremlin was renamed Russian Rhapsody. The animators on this film include Robert McKimson, Rod Scribner, Manny Gould, Thomas McKimson, Bill Melendez, Phil Monore and Virgil Ross. This an excellent and very funny cartoon, so enjoy.
Next up is All This and Rabbit Stew. This cartoon was directed by animation great Tex Avery. However Avery had left Warners by the time the film was released. Because of this he receives no screen credit for having directed it. This was the last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery, who had directed Bugs in the rabbit's debut A Wild Hare. Animation of Bugs tricking the hunter with log would be reused in the cartoon The Big Snooze. This film has been declared one of the censored 11. These are 11 Warner Brothers cartoon that have been banned from TV because they have been declared too racially insensitive. This cartoon however is a very funny film and a must watch for all lovers of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. The animators include Robert McKimson, Virgil Ross, Charles McKimson, Rod Scribner, Sidney Sutherland and John Didrik Johnsen.
Last but certainly not least is the 1950 classic Rabbit of Seville directed by Chuck Jones. Chuck Jones and his writer Michael Maltese loved the mixture of high and popular culture and this film shows that perfectly., as it is a slapstick parody of opera, but is also very respectful to opera. Notice a sign with the names Eduardo Selzeri, Michele Maltese and Carlo Jonzi on it. This obviously references Chuck and Michael, but it also references producer Edward Selzer. The animators on this film include Ken Champin, Ben Washam, Phil Monroe, Emery Hawkins and Llyod Vaughan. This is a masterpiece of cartoon filmmaking so enjoy.
The popularity of Bugs will never end nor should it so on with the show this is it...
-Michael J. Ruhland
Recourses Used Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin imdb.com
So with Valentines Day, just around the corner today we are going to look at some cartoons with a theme of love.
Our first cartoon for the day is a sweet and charming little Mickey Mouse cartoon from 1933 called Puppy Love. This film was directed by Wilfred Jackson. Jackson was one of the all time great Disney directors. His early Silly Symphonies are among the best of that series, his work as the animation director on Song of the South is fantastic, and he would become one of the directors for such feature films as Fantasia (The Night on Bald Mountain segment), Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. As was true of all the early Mickey Mouse cartoons of this era, Walt Disney, himself voiced Mickey.
For Valentines Day, what is better than a serenade, especially when that serenade is done by cartoon cats. So up next is a fun little operatic Terry-Toon from 1950 called If Cats Could Sing. Around this time Terry-Toons were doing many operatic cartoons most of them staring Mighty Mouse. This film was directed by Eddie Donnelly, who was one of the main Terry-Toons directors at this time.
Our next cartoon stars the world's greatest lover, Pepe Le Pew. From 1949 it is For Scent-imental Reasons. This was the third Pepe cartoon, and the first to win an Oscar. It is in fact the second Warner Brothers' cartoon to win an Oscar, the first was Tweetie Pie (the first Tweety and Sylvester cartoon). Pepe Le Pew was somewhat based off the character Pepe Le Moko. Mostly based off the characters use in 1938's Algiers (a remake of the French film Pepe Le Moko), when he was played by Charles Boyer. This film was directed by the great Chuck Jones, who directed nearly all the Pepe Le Pew cartoons. This is one of Pepe's best films.
Our last film for today is a much darker and more experimental film than the previous three. From 1991 it is Two Sisters directed by Caroline Leaf. What really separates this from the previous three though is that this is not about romantic love, but rather about sisterly love, and very misguided sisterly love on top of that. This film came from the Natoinal Film Board of Canada, which is the home of a lot of more experimental animated shorts, than nearly any other studio. This film is not only a good short, but a great work of art as well.
Tom and Jerry have a long line of direct to video movies. These feature films began in 2001 with a quite entertaining entry Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring (directed by James T. Walker). This would mark the last time William Hanna would work with the characters as he would die shortly after it's release. This however would be Followed by many other movies released the same way. These would range from great to entertaining to pretty darn bad.
Tom and Jerry Tales was made to be a return to the style of the classic theatrical shorts. While this show doesn't reach the heights of the classic theatrical shorts, it is entertaining and is probably the best made for TV version of the cat and mouse duo. Each half-hour episode would be made up of 3 shorts about the same length as the classic cartoons. These 3 shorts would often all relate to one similar theme. Joseph Barbera would serve as this TV show's executive producer, and would even write some episodes. However he would die after the first season and therefore wouldn't be able to work through the show's second and last season. Two of the main people working on this show were Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, who have made good careers out of reviving classic cartoon characters. They have also worked on the T.V. shows, Duck Dodgers, The Looney Tunes Show and Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. This show premiered in 2006 and ran into 2008.
After that show began Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone would take over the direct to video movies, again the quality of these would not be consistent. One film of great note would Tom and Jerry: A Nutcrackers Tale. This is one of the best of the series, but more importantly it was based off an idea by Joseph Barbera. The film would be finished after he passed away, and dedicated to his memory. These films are still being made.
The most recent version of the duo is The Tom and Jerry Show. This show created by Bob Jaques and directed by Darrell Van Critters, is well written but simply has too bad of animation to be as funny as it should be.
What does the future hold next for Tom and Jerry, I don't know, but there is talk of another theatrical feature, and more, but for now this is the end.
It's time to look at more of my favorite Christmas cartoons.
First up is a Popeye cartoon from the legendary Fleshier Studio. The Fleshier Brothers were the first to bring Popeye to the screen and this is one of the earliest Popeyes. In fact it is the fifth one. Though Dave Fleshier like always is the credited director it is often times believed that the first animator listed did much of the directing as well. In this cartoon that man is Seymour Kneitel, who was studio owner Max Fleshier's son in law. He would also be in charge after the Fleshier Brothers were fired and the studio was renamed Famous Studios. This is a funny cartoon, with some excellent background work. So enjoy from 1933, Seasons Greetinks!.
Next up is another Popeye cartoon this time from Famous Studios. It was directed by Izzy Sparber, who was one of the most prolific Famous Studios directors. It was written by Jack Mercer, the voice of Popeye. This is a very entertaining cartoon that is among Famous Studios best Popeye cartoons. So from 1955 here is Mister and Mistletoe.
Next up is a cartoon from the Van Buren Studios. This studios films were distributed by RKO until RKO got the rights to distribute Disney cartoons, later. This is important to mention because this cartoon was made to be showing on the opening night of the RKO Roxy theater, later to be renamed The Rockefeller. The theater opened in December 1932. This is why the theater at the beginning of the cartoon Santa Claus gives us the theater. This is to make the theater seem like a Christmas present to the people. This is also the cartoon that introduced the Van Beruen studios new cartoon star, Cubby Bear, who is a thinly disguised Mickey Mouse copy. This was not uncommon for the studio. In 1931 the studio was sued by Disney for making cartoons with two mice characters who looked just like Mickey and Minnie. This cartoon was believed to be released in 1933 for a while yet thanks to Film Historian J.B. Kaufman, and others we now know when and for what it was originally released for. It was thought this way because Van Beurn would release it to other theaters in 1933, but it played first in 1932 as part of the opening of the RKO Roxy. This charming cartoon was directed by Mannie Davis, who would later become one of Terrytoons most prolific directors. This cartoon was appropriately titled Opening Night and here it is.
In honor of Thanksgiving, today we are going to look at three cartoons about Turkeys.
Our first film is a great Looney Tune cartoon staring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and a turkey. One thing you may notice is that the credits credit under writing was The Crew. This was of course referring to the whole Warner Brothers cartoon writing department, but the main writers for this cartoon were Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce. This great cartoon was directed by Chuck Jones. Chuck Jones is one of the main names involved with changing Daffy Duck from his early wild unhinged version that Bob Clampett, and Tex Avery used into the later more greedy self-preservationist version. Here he has Daffy in a transitional period where he is a little of both (or a lot of both), honestly this transitional period is one of my favorite versions of Daffy. To explain a joke that has confused many cartoon fans, when hiding in the snowman, Tom Turk says about Daffy "Quisling". This is a reference to a Norwegian Prime Minster who made a deal with the Nazis. Anyway from 1944 here is Tom Turk and Daffy.
Tex Avery's MGM cartoons are considered by many (including myself) to be some of the funniest cartoons ever made. Our next film shows why this is very well. This cartoon was written by Frequent Avery collaborator Heck Allen. Heck Allen was a writer on many of Tex Avery's best cartoons. Aside for writing cartoons he would also write many western novels, often under the pen names Will Henry, and Clay Fisher. He used these pen names because he was afraid MGM would not be happy with him moonlighting. Allen often times overlooked his own contribution to these cartoons, feeling that Avery just turned his basic ideas into the great films they became. So from 1945 here is Jerky Turkey.
Our last Turkey Toon is another MGM cartoon. This time directed by Hugh Harman. Hugh Harman had helped found the Warner Brothers cartoon studio in 1930, along with his partner Rudolph Ising. Hugh Harman directed all the Looney Tunes cartoons until he and Ising left for MGM in 1933, where they would play an important role in founding the MGM cartoon studio. The music for this cartoon would be provided by Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals. This is the groups only foray into animation. They did work on 5 live action films though these included the features, One in a Million (directed by Sidney Lanfield, and staring Sonja Henie), Hit Parade of 1941 (directed by John H. Auer, and staring Kenny Baker), Always in My Heart (directed by Jo Graham,and staring Kay Francis), Tramp, Tramp Tramp (Directed by Charles Barton and staring Jackie Gleson), and the short Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica School (directed by Jean Negulesco and staring themselves. So from 1940 here is Tom Turkey and His Harmonica Humdingers.
On this day, in 1940, a star was hatched. This star was Woody Woodpecker. Walter Lantz (his creator and producer) liked to tell the story of who him and his wife, were taking a vacation in Sherwood Lake for their honeymoon. There they were annoyed by a woodpecker, and Walter's wife, Grace Stafford, suggested he turn that woodpecker into a cartoon character. This story was very close to the story of the cartoon the woodpecker first appeared in. That cartoon was an Andy Panda cartoon called Knock Knock.
Besides Walter Lantz and Grace Stafford there were more people responsible for Woody's creation. Two very important names were writer Ben Hardaway, and voice artist Mel Blanc. Both had worked on a Looney Tunes cartoon called Porky's Hare Hunt. This cartoon featured a prototype for Bugs Bunny, who more closely resembles an early Woody Woodpecker than the later Bugs. However Ben Hardaway's nickname was Bugs, something that lead to that character's name. Mel Blanc liked to tell the story of how he would walk down the halls of his high school, doing the Woody Wodpecker laugh never knowing he would later be paid for doing that. Mel Blanc would later sign an exculisive contract with Warner Brothers and had to stop doing Woody's voice, but he did voice Woody for the first few years. After leaving Woody would in fact be voiced by Ben Hardaway, and later by Grace Stafford.
The first cartoon was a huge success, and the woodpecker was giving his own series. Today we are going to look at the first of these cartoons, appropriately titled Woody Woodpecker. This cartoon was directed by Walter Lantz himself.It is written by Ben Hardaway and Jack Cosgriff (who wrote many cartoons for both Lantz and MGM). One of the animators was Alex Lovy, who would later become a Woody Woodpecker director, and even later a Looney Tunes director, and a Hanna-Barbera Producer. Another animator, was Laverne Harding, one of the first female animators to work for a Hollywood studio. So from 1941 here is Woody Woodpecker.
Today we are going to look at some films, involving the Hubley family. John Hubley had been a Disney background artist working on films like Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. He would leave during the Disney strike of 1941, and became one of the founders of UPA. There he would direct the first Mr. Magoo cartoon. However he would be blacklisted during the Cold War era for his communist beliefs. He would then create his own studio called Storyboard. His partner would be his wife Faith Hubley. Faith had not had a career before this, but this would be the beginning of a great career for her. Animator Shamus Culhane wrote in his autobiography, Talking Animals and Other People, that he felt Faith brought a lyrical quality to these films. This is true, the films they made together are beautiful and remain unique in the world of animation, and even film today. The 3 films we are looking at today, have the voices of their own children. They would record a conversation of their kids and than build an animated cartoon around that.
Our first film for today is an Oscar nominated cartoon and a great work of art in it's own right, 1968's Windy Day. This was built around a audio recording of John and Faith Hubley's daughters, Georgia and Emily Hubley at play. Those familiar with the indie rock band Yo La Tengo, might know Georgia Hubley as the drummer for that band. Emily would later be the associate producer and one of the animators on her mom's only solo directorial feature film, The Cosmic Eye. She would also have her own career in animation, directing such films as the feature length, The Toe Tactic, and the shorts ThePigeon Within, Rainbows of Hawai'i, and The Girl with Her Head Coming Off. She would also be the animation designer and an animator on the animated segment in Hedwig and the Angry Itch. Windy Day is a lovely film. The dialog between the two girls is very charming. Towards the end of the film the conversation turns quite profound and beautiful. This is a great reminder of how much more intelligent kids can be than we we give them credit for. The whole film is lovely though and the whimsical animation fits the kids conversation perfectly.
Next is another film that was based around a recording of Georgia and Emily at play this film is called Cockaboody. The whole film was animated by a woman named Tissia Davis. Who would also work with the Hubley's on the feature length animated documentry Everyone Rides the Carousel, and with Faith and Emily on The Cosmic Eye. She had previously been an animator in France working for directors like Jean Image. The animation ranges from Whimsical to more realistic depending a the mood of the dialog (a great device). The kid's conversation captures perfectly the feeling of childhood. Overall this 1973 film is another lovely film from these four Hubley's and another work of great art.
Last is the earliest of these films, Moonbird from 1959. This film centered around an audio recording of John and Faith Hubley's sons, Mark and Ray Hubley, at play. Mark Hubley would later become an animator, working on two of his parent's films, Dig and Voyage to the Next, and would be a layout artist on two Hanna-Barbera TV shows, The Smurfs, and Monchhichis. Ray Hubley would become an editor on live action films such as Scarface and Dead Man Walking. The animators on this film will included one of John's fellow UPA directors, Robert Cannon, who had before joining UPA than the Hubley's studio had worked at Warner Brothers as an animator (as part of Chuck Jones' unit), and on Disney's feature length Melody Time (also as an animator). The other animator was an animator who began and spent much of his career with the Hubleys, Ed Smith. This is quite an imaginative and fun film and it won the Oscar for best animated short film.
In celebration of Halloween, today we are going to look at some more creepy themed cartoons.
Our first film will be a classic Donald Duck cartoon called Trick or Treat. This cartoon is directed by one of Disney's greatest short directors, Jack Hannah. Jack Hannah was one of the two directors to add more slapstick energy into the Disney shorts (the other was Jack Kinney). Many of Hannah's shorts (while maybe not to the same level as say Looney Tunes, or Tom and Jerry) where pure slapstick romps, and very funny cartoons to boot. He specialized in directing cartoons with Donald Duck and Goofy, and he introduced audiences to the characters of Chip and Dale. Jack Hannah was probably the greatest Disney director to never work on a feature. However his shorts have as much life and energy, and are just as great of films as some the classic Disney features. He would go on to direct at the Walter Lantz Studio, starting in 1960, and directed some quite enjoyable shorts there (though not up to his Disney films). Notice that Witch Hazel is voiced by June Foray in this cartoon, this will come into play when I discuss our next film. So enjoy one of my favorite Halloween cartoons.
Our next film is another time June Foray voiced Witch Hazel. this time for a Looney Tunes cartoon staring Bugs Bunny called Broomstick Bunny. This not the first Warner Brothers cartoon in which Witch Hazel appeared, but the first one in which Foray voiced her for Warner Brothers. In the previous Warner Brothers cartoon with Witch Hazel, Bewitched Bunny, she was voiced by Bea Bernadette. (Spoiler: In this film Witch Hazel takes a beautiful potion and is transformed to look like June Foray herself.) This film was directed by animation legend Chuck Jones, who had directed the previous Warner Brothers Witch Hazel cartoon. Chuck Jones had a knack for combining subtle humor with not so subtle humor, and it is perfectly shown here, where even little facial expressions can get big laughs(a trademark of many of Jones' films). There would be two more Witch Hazel cartoons in the future, A Witch's Tangled Hare (directed by Abe Levitow), and A Haunting We Will Go (directed by Robert McKimson), both of which June Foray would provide her voice. I don't not know how two studios got to use the same character, especially with the same voice but enjoy the cartoon, it is quite good.
Last for today comes a classic Fleischer Brothers Popeye cartoon that actually scared me as a little kid. This film is Shiver Me Timbers. This is an early Popeye, and this is evident by that fact that William Costello is providing his voice here. Costello was the sailor's first voice. However the success went to his head, making him be replaced by Jack Mercer. Jack Mercer would add even more charm to the character by ad-libing a lot of dialog. Mercer started as an inbetweener at the studio, but his love of doing imitations is what lead him to be the sailors voice, because one day the Fleischer brother heard him do an imitation of Popeye. Though Dave Fleischer is credited as the director, much of the directing was done by William Bowsky, and this is usually true of the top credited animator on Fiescher cartoons.
Because Halloween is coming up, I am going to share with you some great theatrical cartoon shorts with a spooky theme.
Our first film is a classic Disney cartoon. This is the first Silly Symphony cartoon. As much as Walt Disney loved Mickey Mouse, he wanted to be known for more than just Mickey cartoons. Carl Stalling, Disney's current musical director (later the musical director for Warner Brothers' animation department) came up with the idea of doing a series of musical based shorts. He came up with a rough idea of skeletons dancing to music. That idea would result in this film. The majority of the animation of this cartoon was done by a man named Ub Iwerks, who was at this time Disney's right hand man (he also co-created Mickey Mouse with Walt). Ub was one of the greatest animators to ever live, though when he was called away to head his own cartoon studio, he films would suffer from his lack of story and gag sense. However he would come back to Disney as a special effects man, where he made great advances combining live-action with animation with such films as The Three Caballeros and Mary Poppins. This film was directed by Walt himself. Distributors were originally worried about releasing a cartoon that they considered too gruesome, and did not want to release the film at all. However the cartoon ended up being a huge hit. A man named Joesph Barbera was in fact inspired by seeing this cartoon in theaters to go into the field of animation. So from 1929 here is The Skeleton Dance.
Our next film is everything you would except from a pre-code Betty Boop cartoon. That is because it is a pre-code Betty Boop Cartoon. This of course means that this cartoon is quite weird. Unfortunately by 1934, partly because of the production code, the oddness and pure surrealness of these cartoons faded away, but before than these cartoons were on the same level of surrealness as Bunnel and Dali's Un Chien Andalou. Though on all the Fleshier Brother cartoons list Davce Fleshier as the director, many historians now believe that the first animator listed often times took over the more traditional director duties, though Dave definitely had a big influence on these films. So this cartoon would be traditionally directed by Willard Bowsky, who was a regular animator/director at the Fleshier Studio. So from 1933, here is Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party.
Our next film is a Walter Lantz Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon. Oswald was created by a man (you may have heard of him) named Walt Disney. This was before their was a Disney studio, so these cartoons were made for Universal Studios. Oswald became one of the most popular cartoon characters of the silent era. Walt Disney wanted a raise and when approaching Universal short department head Charles Mintz, he found out Mintz wanted him to take a pay cut. Walt Disney refused and Charles Mintz hired away Walt Disney's unit, and took control of the cartoons himself. This was the reason for the creation of Mickey Mouse. However Mintz time in charge was brief. Head of Universal, Carl Leamele would fire Mintz and put Walter Lantz in charge of Universal's cartoon unit. Lantz never truly understood the character of Oswald, but his Oswald cartoons were full of enough imaginiation and just plain weirdness to make up for this. Though Lantz's first Oswald cartoons were silent films, he would usher Oswald into the talking era. This cartoon would be a parody of the 1925 silent film version of Phantom of the Opera (directed by Rupert Julian, and staring Lon Chaney). Our film is called Spooks was directed by Lantz himself, released in 1930, and has a fantastic ending joke.
Last for today comes a fairly early Tom and Jerry cartoon called Fraidy Cat. Like many of these earlier Tom and Jerry cartoons this film is bit slower than we have grown to be used to for Tom and Jerry, and designs may look a bit off. However that does not mean that this is not a charming cartoon in it's own right. It features some quite good character animation and a great joke involving a vaccum cleaner. Like all the Tom and Jerry cartoons up until 1958's Tot Watchers this film was directed by William Hannah and Joesph Barbera. The radio show Tom was listening to near the beginning was a real radio show called The Witching Hour, and the woman doing the voice you hear was Martha Wentworth, who actually did the voice for the radio show. She did many voices for animation for various studios, she also voiced Owl Johnson's mother in I Love To Singa, Porky Pig's teacher Miss Cud in I Haven't Got a Hat, The Nanny in 101 Dalmatians, Daffy Duck's Wife in His Bitter Half to name a few. You can see her in Live action in Orson Welles' The Stranger as the character of Sara. Anyway while this may not be the best Tom and Jerry cartoon, it is quite entertaining.
Again I am going to take another look at one of the most overlooked animation studios of the golden age of Hollywood animation. This is of course the Terrytoons Studio, a studio whose films I have a personal fondness for.
The first film we are going to look at is called Pink Elephants from 1937. This cartoon was directed by George Gordon, who directed a lot of Terrytoons around this time. He would also later work as a director for some of Hanna-Barbera's TV shows, such as Superfriends, and The Smurfs. This is important to bring up because of a writer on this film. This cartoon is written by a man named Joseph Barbera, who spent a very brief time working on Terrytoons. In fact I fail to find another Terrytoon he worked on. Interestingly both Barbera, and Gordon would be working on cartoons for MGM a year later. This clever and creative cartoon is definitely a highlight among Terrytoons of this period, and a good cartoon in it's own right. I do apologize, all I can find of this cartoon is a TV version that was cut for time. I do not know what is missing. Let this serve as a reminder of how important film preservation is, especially to us film buffs.
Next up comes quite an odd 1944 Mighty Mouse cartoon called The Wreck of the Hesperus. In this cartoon Mighty Mouse saves the passengers on that famous ship. This film even uses narration taken from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem. It was originally thought that the Terrytoons Studio would make quite a few cartoons in the same vein, but Paul Terry (studio founder) decided that audiences would rather see Mighty Mouse fighting a villain, than saving people/mice/whoever from a disaster. This film was directed by Mannie Davis, who was one of the most prolific Terrytoons director, and had worked with Paul Terry on the silent Aesop's Film Fables cartoons, before the Terrytoons Studio was formed. Though he would stay with the Van Beurn Studio (Aesops Film Fables Studio with it's name changed), until 1933 (Terry was fired in 1929), he moved to the Terrytoons studio the same year and stayed there until he retired in 1961. Davis had also worked at the Raul Barr'e Studio (on Mutt and Jeff cartoons) and the Fleshier Studio (on Out of the Inkwell cartoons) as an animator, before any of this. This film is an entertaining little cartoon, that while not a classic has it's own charms.
In 1955 Paul Terry, about to retire, sold the studio to CBS. CBS put UPA animator Gene Deitch in charge. Deitch was not at all a fan of Terrytoons' previous output, and wanted to completely reinvent the studio. He would get rid of all of the main characters including popular ones such as Mighty Mouse, and Heckle and Jeckle, and replace them with new ones. These characters included Sidney the Elephant, Clint Clobber, John Door Matt, and Gaston Le Crayon. The films would also show much more of an apparition for modern art design.The look of the cartoons would be much more stylized. A perfect example of a Terrytoon of this time is our next film Flebus, directed by Ernest Pintoff and Gene Deitch himself. This brilliant little film is much closer to a UPA cartoon than a Terrytoon. In fact it doesn't even resemble an earlier Terrytoon. However the great design work by Pintoff, Allen Swift's great voice work and the brilliant script by Pintoff, makes this a great cartoon, and possibly the best Terrytoon of the Deitch era. So from 1957 enjoy this great cartoon.
75 years ago today a certain wascally wabbit made his film debut. Even though the Warner Brothers' cartoon department had been experimenting with a rabbit character since 1938's Porky's Hare Hunt. That cartoon was directed by Cal Dalton and Ben Hardaway. Even though that rabbit character had little to tie him to Bugs Bunny, the later rabbit's name would come from co-director Ben Hardaway's nickname Bugs.
The first actually Bugs Bunny cartoon would be 1940's A Wild Hare. This film would be directed by Tex Avery. Bugs' first words would be "What's Up Doc". Tex Avery came from Taylor, Texas, and according to him "Doc" was a common slang term used there when he was growing up, so he used it heavily for that reason. Bugs' voice was provided by Mel Blanc, who claims that he got the voice because he was told that this would be a tough character, so he decided to combine the two toughest voices in Americia, and therefore combined a Brooklyn accent with a Bronx accent. Though Tex would claim that Bugs was based off of Max Hare in Disney's Tortoise and the Hare, though there is very little of an obvious connection. The highlight of A Wild Hare was Robert Mckimson's fantastic animation of Bugs' fake death. He would later animate a very similar scene for 1944's Old Grey Hare, directed by Bob Clampett. Tex was not very happy with the finished film, and felt that he should have put more laughs in than he did. However audiences loved the cartoon, and demanded more of the rabbit character, who would get his name in his next film, 1941's Elmer's Pet Rabbit, directed by Chuck Jones.
In his film debut The Wise Little Hen (also his voice actor Clarence Nash's film debut) he played a supporting role in a basic fairy tale based Silly Symphony cartoon. He easily steals the film. Donald's easy to recognize, but always so easy to understand voice was provided by Clarence Nash. Walt had heard Nash do voices on the radio. He was impressed and Nash came over to audition. When Walt heard him do his Duck voice, he knew that was perfect for the duck character in this cartoon. Clarence Nash would not only do the Duck's voice in this 1934 film, but he would continue doing it until 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol.
Notice that in the previous cartoon Donald never lost his temper. His trademark temper tantrums would first appear in his second film appearance Orphan's Benefit. This cartoon would also be the first time he and Mickey Mouse would share the screen. This 1934 cartoon is in black and white, but would be remade in color (and with later character designs) in 1941.
Donald would appear in many more films (both short and feature-length), comic books, TV shows, and much more. He would soon replace Mickey as the most popular, character in the Disney shorts (partly because as a non-role model he could get away with things Mickey couldn't).
April 19th, 1930, what would become the greatest series of short films, and the greatest series of cartoons would enjoy it's first cartoon's first theatrical release. The series would be Looney Tunes, and the cartoon would be "Sinkin' in the Bathtub".
This film was made before the familiar characters of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, and so on, would be created. The staring character for this cartoon was Bosko. One of the most groundbreaking things about Bosko was the use of synchronized dialog. While sound cartoons had existed before this, none of them, not even Disney, had been able to accomplish with synchronized dialog, what these Bosko cartoon had accomplished.
The Creators of Bosko were Hugh Harmon and Rudolph Ising. Both had worked with Walt Disney, mainly on the Alice Comedies, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. After they left Walt, they constantly wanted to compete with Disney on his own terms. While these two men were great pioneers of animation, and great talents in their own right, this led them to spend much of there time trying to be as much like Disney as possible. Because of this Bosko, despite being a really likable character, was mostly a Mickey Mouse imitator, and a thinly disguised one at that. On top of that jokes were often reused from Oswald cartoons, they themselves had worked on, such as the joke of a big Bosko breaking into a bunch of little Boskos (used in this film). However despite a lack of originality in this cartoon (Besides the synchronized dialog), this film is a very fun and enjoyable cartoon, even to early Disney fans who might recognize most of this from other cartoons. This is because it is done with such talent it kind of doesn't matter how original or not it is.
This film also has animation by Friz Freling and Robert Mckimson, who later become two of the series' most prolific directors (Robert Mckimson would in fact direct "Injun Trouble" from 1969, which would be the last Looney Tunes cartoon).
On April 17th, 1937, movie going audiences were introduced to one of the silver screen's greatest stars (ask him yourself and he'll agree). This star however did not appear in a feature film that day, but rather in a short film accompanying that picture. This film was called Porky's Duck Hunt, and the star it introduced was Daffy Duck. As many film and animation historians have noted this was the character that put the looney in Looney Tunes. rarely before had a movie going audience seen this level of wackiness in a cartoon.
However Daffy's debut was not the only important historical note about this film. This cartoon also marked the first time Mel Blanc voiced Porky Pig. Previously Porky's voice had been done by Joe Dougherty. Dougherty really stuttered and unfortunately could not control it. This ate up to much film and these were short films to begin with, so not much time could be spared. So he was with this cartoon replaced by Mel Blanc, who also did the voice for Daffy.
This cartoon was directed by Tex Avery (credited as Fred Avery). Tex was known for revolutionizing the style of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. With his influence these series got away from imitating Disney, and went on to do things Disney would never do (breaking the 4th wall, exaggerated gags). With him these series and the whole cartoon industry changed.
One of the animators on this cartoon was Bob Clampett (later to become a great director). Tex told him to have Daffy exit anyway Bob could think of. His idea was to having Daffy jump across the screen "Woo-Hooing" This would of course become one of Daffy's trademarks.
When talking about animated features before Snow White, one that has to be mentioned isn't considered to be an animated film. This is the 1933 version of King Kong, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, and staring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot. The reason this needs to be mentioned is because it is a milestone, of the use of animation being used in a live action film. In fact the character of King Kong himself is achieved though stop motion animation. The animation in this film is supervised by Willis H. O'Brian. The animation was so well achieved audiences actually thought King Kong was a man in a monkey suit. This film was a major influence on Ray Harryhausen who would became one of the masters of using stop motion animation in live action film.
The next film up is 1935's The New Gulliver from Russia, and directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. This film was a communist retelling of Gulliver's Travels. This means that the story was changed heavily to promote communist views. Many Russian films from this time period (Both Animated and Live action) were made to well promote communist Russia, or put down capitalist countries. Lenin, himself stated that cinema was their (The Communist Party) greatest tool, and Russian filmmakers took this to heart. It is argued whether this film or Tale of The Fox was the first stop motion animated feature. Tale of the Fox was completed first, but this film was realeased first. This film is very impressive visually, and a great historical watch for people interested in animation and/or world history. However the story is much less impressive and comes off as simply there for propaganda reasons. So if you want to be visually amazed or have a fascinating piece of history this is well worth a watch, however if you want a good, entertaining story, you should watch another Gulliver adaption or read the book.
1936 should have the year for the very first Italian feature length animated film. This film would have been The Adventures of Pinocchio. However this film was never released and was probably never completed. What was made of the film has been lost. This film, or what was made of it was directed by Raoul Verdini, and Umberto Spano. This would have also been the first film adaption of Collodi's famous book.
Tale of the Fox is one of my all time favorite movies, and remains one of the greatest animated works of art to this day. This film was the first animated feature from France, and not only the first stop motion animated feature film completed but also the first to contain no live action. It is directed by the great animation pioneer Ladislas Starevich, and his wife, Irene Starevich. Starevich was one of the people (Along with Winsor McCay) heavily responsible, in my mind, for turning animation from a novelty into great art. Unfortunately this was his only foray into animated features (He had directed a live action feature called "The Night Before Christmas" in 1912). However what an amazing film this is. It features a brilliantly written script based off the folk character Reynard the Fox. Released the same year (1937) as Snow White, this was heavily different from the type of animated feature Disney would pioneer. It was a very immoral tale that followed the antagonist, and treated his character with more respect than the other characters. While he is not a admirable character by any means, he is quite likable when compared to the corrupt, and hypocritical political system he is fighting. We root for him because he knows who he is and it doesn't bother him. This is also some of the best looking stop motion animation ever made, even today. The characters are real and completely readable though how the look alone. Overall this film is a brilliant work of art that still today remains just as smart, subversive, entertaining, and impressive as it must have been back in 1937.
The next film is one that still survives, yet I have not been able to been able to find. Also from 1937 this film is "The Seven Ravens", from Germany. It was directed by the brother team of Ferdinand Dahl, and Hermann Diehl, and based off the Brothers Grimm tale of the same name. This was released on December 2, 1937, the same month as Snow White, therefore it barely made it on this list.
The next time William Hanna and Joesph Barbera would get hold of the cat and mouse who first cemented their names in animation history it would work out better. This show was Tom and Jerry Kids and premiered in 1990. Tom and Jerry were once again antagonists. While the violence was heavily toned down from the original shorts it was still there. The slapstick humor could not match that of the classic cartoons, but it still had it's own charm and wit. This show was a kid's show however, and not the all ages entertainment that was the original shorts. That doesn't mean this show would be torture for adults watching (as something like Dora, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse would be), in facts adults can enjoy it, however it is much more entertaining for kids than for adults. This show also featured segments staring another MGM cartoon star Droopy. As much as I love Droopy, these cartoons make you wish his cartoons were still being done by Tex Avery, and his voice was still being done by Bill Thomson (No offense to Don Messick, who was in fact a great voice actor, it just that Bill Thomson was Droopy). The Droopy segment later got it's own spin off called Droopy Master Detective in 1993.
In 1992 Tom and Jerry would make their return to the big screen in a feature length film called Tom and Jerry: The Movie. This film was produced by the company Film Roman, which was founded by animator Phil Roman, who actually worked as an animator on the Chuck Jones era Tom and Jerry. Phil Roman also directed this movie. Film Roman is also the company that bring us The Simpsons. Despite the title, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, the main problem with this film is it is not truly a Tom and Jerry Movie. Of all the revivals of Tom and Jerry, this one bares the least resemblance to the classic cartoons. In this Rescuers-esque plot Tom and Jerry help a little girl find her father, and there is little slapstick humor. This is simply not the movie fans of the cat and mouse wanted for their feature length debut. As a stand alone movie this movie is entertaining but largely forgettable. This was in fact not the first time Tom and Jerry were considered as subjects for a feature. Chuck Jones was going to make one in the 1970's, however he could not find a suitable script.
Although it has often times been called the first animated feature, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs was actually the ninth animated feature. Snow White still remains one of the most important films in animation history, and a true masterpiece. What I am doing here is not trying to take away from the importance of Snow White but rather to call attention to these historically, and often times artistically important films that deserve more attention.
The first two animated features, El Apostol (1917) and Without a Trace (1918) are unfortunately both lost films. Both are from Argentina and directed by Quirino Cristiani. Both films were political satires featuring both traditional and cutout animation. Sadly because these films are lost there is not much more to say about these films. This helps show the importance of film preservation.
In 1926 the earliest existing animated feature film was released, and it is a masterpiece. This is The Adventures of Prince Achmed, directed by Lotte Reiniger. This film was made using silhouette animation, which is animation in which the characters are only visible through black silhouette, in this movie that is accomplished through cardboard cutouts. Collaborating with Lotte Reiniger on this film are Berthold Bartosch (Who in 1932 would make a masterpiece of an animated short called The Idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ2jRrSb5QA), Carl Kosh (assistant director on 1937's La Grande Illusion), and Walter Ruttman (director of Berlin: Symphony of a Great City and assistant director on Triumph of The Will). This film is a very loose adaptation of 1001 Arabian Knights. The animation still remains quite impressive today, and often times down-right beautiful. The story while fairly simple is engaging and entertaining. This is not just a film to view for historical reasons, but also because it is a very good movie that has held up to the test of time.
The fourth animated feature film is another lost film. This film is Peludópolis. It is another Argentinian film directed by Quirino Cristiani. This film is also another political satire. Released in 1931, this is the first animated feature film with sound.
