THE WALT DISNEY FILM ARCHIVES: The Animated Movies 1921-1968 Edited by Daniel Kothensculte (Taschen Books)
Question: When is a book not a book? Answer: When it’s a treasure trove, a museum, an archive unto itself…
Wow! Okay – this book is crazy. Crazy huge, Crazy heavy, crazy expensive – and crazy packed with information and rarely seen photos and artwork. At first it begs the questions – “Do we need another Disney art book?” “Do we need another Disney filmography?” Do we need another look behind the scenes of Snow White, Pinocchio et al? It’s difficult to say “no” when confronted with a project so tremendous, so immense, so well produced.
If you haven’t seen this book in person, it’s 620 huge pages and weighs a ton (actually 15 pounds). So what’s in it? It’s a history of Disney’s animated films, from the start of his career through Winnie the Pooh and The Jungle Book with some of the best Disney historians writing the chapters: J.B. Kaufman (Saudos Amigos, Bambi), Russell Merritt (Laugh-o-Grams and the silent era) Didier Ghez (The Reluctant Dragon), Leonard Maltin (Song of the South, So Dear To My Heart), David R. Smith (The Disneyland Tomorrowland episodes), Brian Sibley (Alice In Wonderland, Sword In The Stone, Mary Poppins), Robin Allen (Snow White, Melody Time), Charles Solomon (Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Wartime Years, etc.), Mindy Johnson (Cinderella, Peter Pan) and others on board. Editor Daniel Kothensculte, a film historian and educator in Germany, tackles several chapters himself (including Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio).
To be clear, stand-alone books like J.B. Kaufman’s Pinocchio provide deeper dives into each specific subject, but this tome is a satisfying overview – and the large format provides an in-your-face immersive exploration of each era in Disney’s animation career.
This really isn’t a book – its an experience. In standard Taschen fashion, it tries to be the Disney art book to out-do all other Disney art books. And there is no denying it succeeds. To be honest a full 50-60% of the animation art and visuals – cels, backgrounds, pencil art, inspiration art, stills, posters, frame grabs etc. – we’ve seen before (“we” being all of us who have bought every other Disney coffee table art book for the last 40 years), but presented in this large fashion the familiar images have never looked so good. The remaining 40% of the visual matter is astounding new-to-my-eyes archive stuff that blows you away on almost every page. A gallery of wartime shorts one-sheets, behind the scenes photos from Mary Poppins, story conference notes from Melody Time (Johnny Appleseed); the backstory on the production of The Sword In The Stone, I can go on and on…
Is it worth the retail list price of $200? Yeah – it is. UPDATE: It’s currently now $89.23 on Amazon. Yeah, it really is. Buy it!
GREMLIN TROUBLE! The Cursed Roald Dahl Film Disney Never Made By Jim Korkis (Theme Park Press)
Our own Jim Korkis has finally committed to print all his research (decades worth) on Disney’s ill-fated film based on Roald Dahl’s The Gremlins. His latest book, Gremlin Trouble! The Cursed Roald Dahl Film Disney Never Made, tells the tale in detail, from all aspects of its inception, production, its failure to launch – and its ultimate legacy.
Unlike most un-produced Disney films, The Gremlins characters were designed and merchandised, appeared in books and comics, endorsed products and used in military insignia – but never animated. This has had many Disney fans and historians, even the general public, scratching their heads for years. Korkis traces how the project came to be, who the characters are, the issues with the underlying copyright, the Warner Bros. cartoons, later attempted revivals, Joe Dante’s unrelated feature films, and much much more.
Every question I had about the Gremlins is essentially answered in this book – and I do recommend it as a handy reference, to sit next to my other Disney histories (including the Taschen volume reviewed above) that have given this project the short shrift. My only complaint is the lack of illustrations (this book was not authorized by The Walt Disney Company). Jim does include a personal drawing that Bill Justice gave him – and an inscription by Walt Disney in Justice’s personal copy of the 1944 Random House storybook.
Highly recommended!
THE DEPATIE-FRELENG COLLECTION DVD and blu-ray discs from Kino Lorber Video
From the sublime to the ridiculous.
Full disclosure: I’m involved with this DVD/blu-ray series. Kino/Lorber has been releasing the entire DePatie Freleng theatrical cartoon collection (except the Pink Panther shorts) on DVD and blu-ray – whether you like them or not.
Last year Kino released five sets – The Inspector, Roland and Ratfink, The Ant and The Aardvark, Tijuana Toads and Crazy Legs Crane. This month they’ve added two more: Hoot Kloot and The Blue Racer. They’ve got The Dogfather and Mister Jaw on tap for early next year.
I know what you’re thinking: Why? And why am I involved? Let’s answer this in several ways. First off, let it be known I want all cartoons released and available. I want the 1960s and 70s Woody Woodpecker/Chilly Willy/ Beary Family cartoons released on DVD. I want Sad Cat/Luno/James Hound committed to blu ray. So yeah, I’m into digging into the barrel of DePatie-Freleng. Even to the bottom of it. That, and I like DePatie Freleng.
Confession: I love the 1964-1970 DePatie Freleng cartoons. No, not the shorts they produced for Warner Bros. during this period – but practically everything else they did was good and well-worth a look. That includes TV commercials (Apple Jacks, etc.), TV series (Super 6), specials, animated titles (Pink Panther and numerous others) and segments for features and TV shows (My World and Welcome To It). And especially the shorts they released through United Artists.
The UA-Mirisch cartoons (unlike the DPF cartoons produced for WB) are a more realistic take on what the Warner Bros. cartoons might have morphed into had the studio maintained its staff past 1962. The house style of the cartoons (1964-1970) is progressive. The studio moved into the 1960s with an artistic daring, with no comparison to what UPA had done in the 50s, or what Disney and Hanna-Barbera (or any other studio) were doing in the 60s.
Artists like John Dunn, Dick Ung and Corny Cole, not to mention Hawley Pratt, Art Davis and Art Leonardi were doing great work here that collectively defined a new look for theatrical cartoons of the era.
Are all these shorts worth collecting? No – but the good ones are just that… really good. And I have been delighted to discover that there is usually at least “one” good cartoon (sometimes more than one) on each set. (There are no good cartoons on the Crazy Legs Crane set… but that one is worth getting for my inspired audio track commentary).
“Hurts and Flowers” (1969)
The Inspector shorts, especially the first year (1965-66) when William Lava was doing the music, are especially fine and funny- with visually creative “villains” like the shape shifting “Blotch” and the three-headed Brothers Matzoriiley. The “pilot” cartoon for the Blue Racer, Support Your Local Serpent (1972) directed by Art Davis, surprised me with great art direction (by Richard Thomas) and fine animation (by Dick Thompson). The Hoot Kloot cartoon Gold Struck (1974), directed and designed by Roy Morita, is the closest thing to a theatrical Jay Ward cartoon you’ll ever see. Really.
Greg Ford, Mark Arnold and I provide informative commentary, occasionally with archival audio from directors Friz Freleng, Art Davis and Bob Balser. Constantine Nasr (who did the “Behind-The-Tunes” segments on the Looney Tunes Golden Collections) directed several bonus documentaries – a few of them featuring me, or interviews I did with Art Leonardi, Doug Goodwin, Joe Siracusa and others. Greg Ford and William Hohauser produced these sets at the same level they had on the Warner’s Popeye and Looney Tunes Golden sets. Oh and hey, did I mention the cartoons themselves look gorgeous in these hi-def restorations.
These are not everyone’s cup of tea – but with at least a few good cartoons and some entertaining extras, I think you’ll enjoy them. I hope you’ll try one.
Post Script: I know what you’re thinking. Has it come to this? Is there no hope for the hundreds of classic theatricals (not to mention the Tex Avery’s) still not restored and released on disc? I promise to make it up to you this fall. SHHH-H-H-H! I’m working with Warner Archives now on a special “classic cartoon” collection that will be announced very soon. And hopefully it will be the first of many more…
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
I think it’s very good that you’re making HD transfers of these cartoons (I particularly like the Inspector), because otherwise few people would bother with many of them and we would be stuck with 20-30 year old tape copies.
How soon the announcement will be made, Jerry? Before summer?
I’ll announce it when they tell me I can – sometimes news leaks out before I’m permitted to talk about it. It should be announced by the time of San Diego’s Comic Con – or at the Comic Con.
Warner Archive? That means BD-R.. but if that means more cartoons in BD, I’m happy.
Unless they recently and quietly changed their policy, Warner Archive only does pressed Blu-rays, not recordables….assuming we are talking about BD as the format, of course.
That’s right. Warner Archive never does BD-Rs, and likely never will.
I have that Inspector DVD, and it’s a HOOT! Kudos to Kino for these DFE DVDs (ouch!).
Re: the DePatie-Freleng cartoons on Blu-ray. Why no Pink Panther?
My lips are sealed. 🤐
The Pink Panther cartoons aren’t under the license Kino has.
Thanks, Thad.
Yes, I will echo Jerry Beck (above) and say that these DePatie/Freleng sets are worth owning, not just “taking a look at”. I’m thankful for his and others’ commentaries as well, lending me good descriptive elements and reasons as to why the cartoons are collectable, and Art Leonardi’s comments are worthwhile as well. Man, I only wish I could see to further examine the “cut-out” style of animation that define some of the opening credit sequences to some of the cartoons and, until we all have this next secret Warner Archive project in our hot little hands, this is very, very close to Warner Brothers animation of the golden age. And I’ve become fascinated with the voice over work on these toons as well. You can even imagine some of ’em as actual theatrical LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES if you like. They’re not all horrible. In fact, although I still own the last PINK PANTHER 5-disc completist set, I’d love to see an all-new restoration of the series with these informed commentaries, because that was the series that helped launch everything else. And hey, why not allow, on future sets, some of those DePatie/Freleng classic TV commercials? Here’s a chance to do for these cartoons what Classic Media would not allow you or anyone else to do for the Jay Ward stuff–really dig in and add stuff that many of us might not immediately be aware of. You’ve also peaked my interest in this Disney book, but of course, I can’t appreciate it. Instead, might I shout out another unheeded plea for such a hefty volume on DVD featuring all the classic Disney animated films, this time without all the DVNR which “fixes” the celluloid color scheme or alters this and that scene for whatever reason? Books are marvelous, but DVD’s and blu-rays are even better!
I have all those Depatie-Freleng sets. My “Blue Racer” and “Hoot Kloot” DVDs just came in the mail today.
The post-Inspector series D-FE did all seemed to suffer from the same problem, in that the characters who might be good for 1-2 appearances (think the Jones-Maltese late 40s-early 50s limited series) were being asked to carry a continuing series and simply didn’t have either the personality depth or the animation budgets to do it.
Disney’s abandonment of Dahl’s characters ended up leaving Bob Clampett as the chief propagator of animated gremlins. Which in the end wasn’t all that bad a thing (wonder if Leon would have allowed Bob to do both cartoons if the Disney project actually had gone forward — he seemed worried enough with the Bugs effort to order the cartoon’s title be changed).
These are three really awesome recommendations (I have a soft spot for the 1960ies DPF cartoons, too), but I have to admit that the Post Script is the most exciting part of your review.
Hurts and Flowers has to be one of the funniest Roland and Rattfink cartoons ever! Love the title card describing Roland as a Flower Child and Rattfink as a Weed. Note even though there are no spoken dialogue throughout the cartoons Roland’s screams of agony and other vosfx (such as his sighing and sneezing) were provided by the legendary Mel Blanc but I wonder who did Rattfink’s evil laugh and the one hippie who said “Man! He had a bad trip” ? And that drumbeat that Roland preformed sounded like the drum opening from Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.
When you say “everything”, I hope you really mean “everything”–including “Super President and Spy Shadow”.
I may be the only one around here who’d be happy to pick up an arvhival set of this series, and replace the murky dark-gray-market DVD or the few uploads that are on YT (and which are probably from the dark-gray-market DVDs).
Yes I do. 😉
In fact I spoke to someone in the know yesterday about SUPER PRESIDENT (and “Spy Shadow”). I am led to believe that the sub-licensor who put out SUPER SIX a few years ago also has the rights for SUPER PRESIDENT.
The SUPER SIX set was distributed by TGG Direct (TGG stands for “The Garr Group”) who seem to have the rights to numerous UA titles owned by MGM – and have sublicensed these from 20th Century Fox (who has the master MGM/UA home video license). Writing to TGG (or the Garr Group) would seem to be the way to get these released.
Jerry, do we know if Taschen will be publishing a Volume 2 covering 1969 to the present? I asked Taschen that question a few months ago via e-mail but never received a response.
Very excited about your work with Warner Archives. Between you and Steve Stanchfield we classic animation fans are in great hands! Thanks Much!
Based on what I know – there is indeed a Vol. 2 in the works. They apparently have a license to do a series of books based on Disney history.
Excellent news, Mr. Beck. By the way, aside from Crazy Legs Crane, are there any other terrible cartoons that you would like to see remade?
I never suggested they remake Crazy Legs Crane. But I think any cartoon can be “re-booted”. Not that they should be “re-booted”, but sometimes good things come out of that. Think Ralph Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse, or the recent Mickey Mouse shorts, or even that re-do of The Ant And The Aardvark (and The Dogfather) from the 2010 Cartoon Network “Pink Panther And Pals” series. I really liked those.
The Pink Panther cartoons ran weekday afternoons on a local station when I was a kid. (This would have been in the early ’80s.) Don’t know what was included in that syndication package, but all I ever remember seeing between Panther cartoons was the Inspector, the Ant and the Aardvark and the Tijuana Toads. I have no memory at all of ever seeing Roland and Ratfink, the Blue Racer, Crazylegs Crane, Hoot Kloot, the Dogfather or Mister Jaw back then. (Actually, I’ve never even heard of Hoot Kloot, the Dogfather or Mister Jaw.) I do know that the Toads were rechristened the Texas Toads for network television at one point and got a dubbing job to eliminate the comic south-of-the-border dialects. I presume what’s on the Blu-ray are the original versions.
I like the earlier DFE’s, even if grumpy ol’ Leonard Maltin didn’t, based on that quote from OF MICE AND MAGIC somebody posted a couple of days ago. From what I’ve seen of the later ones, though, too many look like less-inspired hands trying to get a little more mileage out of the old Warner Bros. formulas, which were getting pretty threadbare by that point.
I can vouch for Jon here, the package MGM/UA put out during the 80’s of the DFE cartoons for local stations to run usually only contained a few series, Pink Panther obviously, The Inspector, The Ant and the Aardvark, the Tijuana Toads and oddly Misterjaw episodes (since those were from the mid 70’s TV airings of Pink Panther). Nothing else was included and I suppose they felt they had enough for a package to ship out.
I rememeber when the BBC ran various versions of Pink Panther shows throughout the 80s. The only series I don’t recall cropping up were Hoot Kloot, Blue Racer and Dogfather (and even then I’m not so sure about that last one as the name sounds familiar). My granda used to tape them all for me and I distinctly recall catching at least a couple of Toads and R&Rs. They never returned in the 90s though. By then it was all Inspectors, A&A and CLC (don’t worry I still love ya!)
I’ll have to get these if only for the sake of completion, though I do actually rather enjoy Hoot Kloot.
My DVD of Droopy is not in the best of shape and the cost of that out-of-print compilation is getting too high, so I am hoping we are going into SOME Tex Avery territory in the not-so-distant future. I am not picky about how “digitally enhanced” the restoration is or if UNCLE TOM’S CABANA must be loaded with “warnings” before you can see it. Oh… and another Tom & Jerry collection continuing with MOUSE CLEANING would be nice too. I mean… by now we have ALL seen Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in blackface multiple times on TCM so the shock value certainly won’t be as great.
Regarding Leonard’s comments on DFE quality going downhill after the first year in his OF MICE AND MAGIC, I wonder if he just needed an “excuse” not to include both a chapter on them and a “filmography” in the back of his book. Covering Hanna-Barbera would have been even more exhausting, but at least he gave a nod to the “theatrical” Loopy De Loop in the same rest-of-the-story chapter.
I tend to find some of the Pink Panther material of 1965 a bit muddled. Not necessarily downhill and, positively, experimental in an interesting way. They were not quite sure how to handle the series’ immediate success and were working with different hit and miss ideas (like making him talk briefly or have other characters constantly talking on screen). By 1967-69, that series definitely was at its grooviest with a succession of mini-masterpieces that can hold their own with the best of other companies in any era: SKY BLUE PINK, PSYCHEDELIC PINK, TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE PINK, PINK SPHYNX, IN THE PINK OF THE NIGHT and EXTINCT PINK. Pity the Oscar nominations ended earlier since these were even better than THE PINK PHINK and THE PINK BLUE PRINT.
The earliest Rolland & Ratfink and Ant & Aardvark titles of the 68-69 season also hold up pretty well, as if a sign that the staff was enjoying themselves after putting the Inspector into semi-retirement. Apparently they got bored with that series fast, but even some of those are great; CIRRHOSIS OF THE LOUVRE never loses its laughs.
Humorously I consider Michael Mill’s EVOLUTION from the National Film Board of Canada to be the funniest DFE cartoon not made by DFE. It is tempting to think director Hawley Pratt crossed the border to help make that one.
JLewis:
If you’re talking about the French DVD box set collecting almost all of Avery’s MGM films, it’s actually not out of print. The set has been reissued several times since its first edition, with the latest repackage coming out last September. It can be purchased straight from Amazon France for the reasonable price of 15 euros: https://www.amazon.fr/Tex-Avery-Fred/dp/B01GKD339U/
That’s not to say I find the French box set anywhere near perfect, though. When I watched some cartoons on it recently, I was shocked to see how heavily DVNR-ed they were. The box apparently used Turner TV prints from the 90s, that era when DNR-ing cartoons was all the rage. Even sadder, though: the great “Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection Vol. 2” from a few years ago used masters with the exact same DVNR issues in its “The Best of the Rest of Tex” selection of Avery’s MGM cartoons. “Red Hot Riding Hood” looked just molested. I realize they couldn’t spend money on restoring those bonus cartoons, but they REALLY should have used a different set of masters.
Actually, when Maltin makes that comment in his book, he is specifically referring to all the series DFE started AFTER the success of the Pink Panther — i.e. “The Inspector”, “The Ant and the Aardwark” and so on. Not the Panther himself.
I am referring to Warner’s Droopy Collection, which wasn’t pressed as well as other animation DVDs. The second disc looks like it is in decline. The French DVD looks fascinating though. Not sure if the “region” is compatible for me.
About Leonard, you may be right or I may be right. He simply says “these shorts went straight downhill after the first year and their always pleasing graphic design could barely make up for the labored attempts at comedy”. Well… I guess I could argue in my defense that those non-Pink Panther series did not all come out all at once. In fairness, he may be thinking of the many repeat gags carried over from the Looney Tune gags (i.e. one Ant & Aardvark short repeats GREEDY FOR TWEETY). Yet I have to agree with many here that Leonard may have been too harsh.
Hey, I like James Hound, wise guy! 🙂
The Hoot Kloot cartoon Gold Struck (1974), directed and designed by Roy Morita, is the closest thing to a theatrical Jay Ward cartoon you’ll ever see. Really.
No love for “The Phox, the Box, and the Lox” (1999)? Shame that its forever tainted by the crappy feature it was paired with.
There are several DFE series that I would love to see released (or rereleased) on DVD/blu-ray
1. Doctor Doolittle (based on the live action musical film)
2. Here Comes The Grump
3. The DFE Christmas specials The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas and The Tiny Tree
4. LuvCast USA
5. Oh, while I’m at it: Bailey’s Comets, The Oddball Couple, Baggy Pants and The Nitwits and… Super President!
I think “Luvcast USA” was a one-shot for the “Saturday Superstar Movie.” It was obviously inspired by “Love, American Style.” a big hit for ABC at the time.
“Bailey’s Comets” was basically “Wacky Races on skates.” “The Oddball Couple” – yup, the Odd Couple, as a cat and dog (with Neil Simon’s consent; he got onscreen credit). “Baggy Pants & the Nitwits” – well, Baggy Pants was Charlie Chaplin as a cat (scenes of Baggy tipping his hat and grinning sheepishly, and of him doing the Chaplin corner-skid, would be repeated ad nauseam); and the Nitwits… ah, here’s where DFE’s creativity got weird, as often it did… were the “Tyrone and Gladys” characters Arte Johnson and Ruth Buzzi played on “Laugh-In” (a creepy old guy on a park bench hitting on a rather plain woman, who responds to his lame pickup lines by swatting him with her purse, eventually knocking him out). Their animated counterparts became… superheroes. And married.
And another DFE oddity: “The Houndcats.” Odd because its apparent inspiration was an unsuccessful CBS series, “Bearcats” – a variant on “Route 66,” with Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as adventurers touring the west circa the WW1 era in a Stutz Bearcat. “The Houndcats” ran on NBC, and its protagonists set out in a similar car (In fact the Houndcats’ leader was named “Stutz”). “If you’ve got a problem, way out west, who do you call? You call the best…”
Oh god yes! Yes yes YES!
What’s neat about the The Ant and the Aardvark was the musical score by Doug Goodwin which included a lot of the best jazz/Dixieland musicians in the business including….
Ray Brown on Bass
Billy Byers on Trombone
Pete Candoli on Trumpet
Jimmy Rowles on Piano
Tommy Tedesco on Guitar/Banjo
And
Shelly Manne on Drums
Doug Goodwin also used the same group of musicians from The Ant and the Aardvark for the score on Extinct Pink which portions of the music was used in several episodes of The Ant and the Aardvark.
Didn’t Shelly Manne perform on “Three Little Bops”?
These cartoons are just a lot of fun – and that is what cartoons should be first and foremost – They often get overshadowed by the output of the other studios but DFE’s are always a lot of fun to watch.
This is great news. Of all the DFE cartoons, I really enjoy “Hurts and Flowers” the most. Any idea which vocal actor spoke the line about the “bad trip”?
That’s what I’m wondering! Maybe it might be Marvin Miller who was the third voice of The Commissioner after Larry Storch and Paul Frees
Fun Fact: Mark Skor was the voice of the RCMP Commissioner when the Inspector went to Canada in a exchange program for police officers.
I always wonder just who Mark Skor is. He shows up in the Canadian mountie Inspector episodes (and Super President)…..and that’s it! I can’t find any information on him elsewhere.
Just wondering have they been restored with their original United Artists/Transamerica intros ?
I hope the MGM cartoons made by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising are restored and available on DVD/Blu-Ray. I used to watch a majority of those on Boomerang and I find them simply charming.
In 1981 GTV-9 here in Melbourne aired a documentary on the making of a Pink Panther cartoon in 1980, behind the scenes at Depatie-Freleng I recall it running around twenty minutes. I can’t find any reference to it in Mark Arnold’s book. If it could be located it would be a great extra for any future Pink Panther Blu-Ray Release.
Surprised if nobody in the Melbourne area had a VCR and thought to record it when it aired.
So far, I have The Ant and the Aardvark and The Tijuana Toads. 🙂
If I get any gift cards during my B-Day Pic-a-nic over at Jimmy’s, I might get The Blue Racer, Hoot Kloot or Crazylegs Crane next.
I’m hoping this special “classic cartoon” collection project will involve the series I love the most. :3
Thank you to everyone here who’ve commented! I just finished watching The Blue Racer BD(as I practically wrenched it out of the mailmans hands earlier) and then whilst looking up “where the hell is MisterJaw?” I came across this stream and read each and everyone’s comments! Viva-La-toons!!!
I will patiently await the further releases from all the studios involved, and I look forward to more of your appearance on future discs Mr. Beck!
Hi there; is there any news about the upcoming dvd release of special classic cartoon? Thanks in advance!