After a pretty frazzled day here (culminating with a pretty bad hard drive crash today) I thought it would be fun to have today’s Thunderbean Thursday be all about *your* picks for cartoons. Think about these particular picks being for introducing a newcomer to different genres and eras in animation.
I teach at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and one of the things I really love about teaching the History of Animation class the is getting to pick specific films to show. It does vary from year to year, but there’s definitely some films that really need to be show no matter what.
Quite honestly, part of the big reason to start doing DVDs with Thunderbean 2004 was really wanting better copies to many of the things I wanted to show in class. It gave me a great excuse to track them down and get a good transfer on many things… and I did get a little obsessed with some of those eras for sure – and maybe I always was, a little.
Yesterday in the CCS Animation History class was WW2 day, for example, and I think it was a pretty solid show. The Cartoons for Victory disc has a great selection of posters from WW2, so we started with that bonus feature, then onto Nimbus Libéré from occupied Vichy, Bugs Bunny Bond Rally, The bonus feature from the WB Popeye set called Popeye – the Mighty Ensign, then onto Dr. Churkill, some Private Snafu cartoons, then Education for Death from Disney. I think it’s a pretty good primer on cartoons from this period. Of course there’s a lot more!
So, in the spirit of sharing, if you had a pick some cartoons for brand new eyes in each of these periods, what would your top two be? Feel free to answer one or more than one era in your reply. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts!
1) Origins of cinema animation (the earliest stuff)
2) The dawn of sound
3) The Dawn of television
4) Experimental animation (pick what era!)
5) Cartoon Network’s best Era (I know you have opinions on this!).
Have a good week all, and looking forward to your answers!
Steve Stanchfield is an animator, educator and film archivist. He runs Thunderbean Animation, an animation studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has compiled over a dozen archival animation DVD collections devoted to such subjects at Private Snafu, The Little King and the infamous Cubby Bear. Steve is also a professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Since you’ve given us two choices in each category, I’ve paired a pioneering example of each genre with one that explored its imaginative possibilities.
Early animation: Winsor McCay, “Gertie the Dinosaur”; Paul Terry, “The Fable of a Raisin and a Cake of Yeast” (aka “Chemistry Lesson”)
Early sound era: Walt Disney, “Steamboat Willie”; Max Fleischer, “Swing You Sinners!”
Early television era: Jay Ward, Crusader Rabbit; Hanna-Barbera, Jonny Quest
Experimental animation: Len Lye, “The Peanut Vendor”; Norman McLaren, “Begone Dull Care”
Cartoon Network: Powerpuff Girls; Adventure Time
It is always interesting to look at animation from televisions golden era. We all know the choice is here as far as I’m concerned so I’m not going to go into those again, but it’s nice to get good print on them. Other cartoons I always prefer seeing are those who have always Had trouble some titles sequences. I know you are probably preparing such a disc, considering how many peoples private collections you are able to borrow from. I hope this is the case. Then there are the classic TV shows that we all know and love and wish we had more of. When I was able to swap physical media with others, it was nice to find rarities from all that I mentioned above here. There were always those who were swapping either from versions they got from television or, even juicier, from their private film collections transferred to Blu-ray or DVD. At the time, Blu-ray was not even an option, but DVD and VHS were. Now it’s only DVD and Blu-ray and I couldn’t be happier because these are less volatile types of media. I look forward to finding out what you have already found that might be new to our eyes and ears on wartime cartoons, both homefront and directed at the soldiers themselves as propaganda. Those are always interesting because we are not often exposed to them on television. Good luck, as always, in finding things. I am not always aware of what your sources are or how many private collectors you know, but good luck with the archaeological dig, and thank you for all you do.
Say Steve, Since it’s “our” week… I have a question for you. When will my “Cartoons For Victory” back order arrive – it’s been a long time!
I back ordered 3 sets 1 cartoons for victory 2 ub iwerks comicolor vol I 3 ub lwerks comicolors vol 2 when should I get my orders Walter deanovichw1957@outlook.com
The set is in progress right now. Recent developments are looking like we’ll be able to get this set, and many more, done early next year.
Thanks Steve again it’s cartoons for victory and ub lwerks comicolors vol I and 2 so three sets that I have paid for and back ordered thanks Steve. Walter deanovichw1957@outlook.com or deanovichw1957@gmail.com my address is 10200 122nd ave apt 3652 largo FL 33773 ph no 727-383-1214
For origins of cinema animation, I believe one of the best intros to the era is found in “The Story of the Animated Drawing” hosted by Walt Disney on an early episode of the Disneyland TV series. This is a detailed look at the world of animation as it developed in the pre-Mickey Mouse era and includes some pretty amazing footage of many early animation efforts. My second pick would be something from the “Out of the Inkwell” series such as “Tantalizing Fly” or “Koko’s Earth Control.”
Honestly, I don’t understand the question. I’ve never seen Cartoon Network and “dawn of TV” suggests 1950 or so but TV cartoons weren’t produced until later.
So I will just mention that over the 39 years I’ve been hosting weekly movie parties, in addition to the obvious (What’s Opera Doc, Superman,Bimbo’s Initiation, et al) I get many requests for the Canadian Film Board cartoons like The Big Snit, Bob’s Birthday, and of course The Cat Came Back; the French cartoon La Joie de Vivre; and the Disney Humphrey the Bear cartoon where the bears have to pick up the trash (that’s what they always ask for, and I can’t remember the name of it, haha).
“In The Bag” (1956)
Thanks! All I could think of was “Ragtime Bear” and I KNOW what cartoon THAT is.
That last one is a loaded question for this audience, considering I’ve seen commenters here say that the channel started declining when they started making new shows, which can be as little as two years in if you want to be pedantic. The answer at any age seems to be “whenever it catered to ME” because, as with any kids channel looking to stay afloat, its goals shifted rapidly over time.
I’ll do something a little different. CN was probably ideal when it was balancing its existing library with new cartoons around turn of the millenium; easily, I’d put on “Dexter and Computress Get Mandark” from Dexter’s Laboratory.
I can’t deny my attachment to the era of CN that I personally watched it with fresh eyes (although I certainly was aware of older fans’ opinions online and I now wish I wasn’t); first pick is “The Job” from The Amazing World of Gumball.
I might be here forever if I ponder the other eras, so I’ll leave it there.
That’s a toughie. I’d say somewhere in the 1920’s and early ’30’s which is when animation really started to pick up.
After re-reading the post, I realized I didn’t read the question correctly.
Going through the list:
1. Modeling- An early Out of the Inkwell short that shows both traditional and stop-motion.
2. The Karnival Kid- The first short where Mickey Mouse speaks.
3.The Flintstone Flyer- The first episode of a “real page right out of [television animation] history”.
4. The 1971 “New Stranger in Town” Levi ad- I keep forgetting who did this trippy rotoscope ad.
5. “King’s Ramses’ Curse”- One of my favorite episodes of “Courage the Cowardly Dog”.
For experimental animation I would have to go with UPA’s “Fudget’s Budget” (1954). I love how the film makes use of a finance chart style to tell a funny story about a husband and wife managing a budget!
1) Origins of cinema animation (the earliest stuff): Probably Gertie the Dinosaur or at the very least research it because the story about it is more fascinating than the cartoon
2) The dawn of sound: Well Steamboat Willie for starters. The Lee DeForest Fleischer Ko-Ko Song Cartoons. And then probably the early Merrie Melodies
3) The Dawn of television: Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and the first season of The Flintstones
4) Experimental animation (pick what era!): Well…I would have to say Daicon IV and then do research on it. It helped launch a legendary anime studio called Gainax which would produce really good anime such as Evangelion
5) Cartoon Network’s best Era (I know you have opinions on this!): Has to be between 1995-2004. Ed Edd n Eddy and Courage would be my top two picks followed by some Dexter
Oh, you’re spoiling us this week! Really, you are…
But in all fairness, here’s my picks for the Top 10 Best Picks for an Upstart Animation Historian.
1) Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) – The first animated star in Hollywood, and Winsor McKay’s legacy in a nutshell.
2) Felix in Hollywood (1923) – Because someone has to bring up Felix the Cat around here.
3) The Skeleton Dance (1929) or Mickey’s Band Concert (1935) – Like I couldn’t leave Disney off this list.
4) Superman (1941) – I wanted to add a Popeye cartoon or a Bugs Bunny short, but I felt like 1943 would be the cutoff point for “dawn of sound” era shorts.
5) Metal-Munching Mice (1960) – Of all the 50s and 60s television shows out there, Rocky and Bullwinkle deserve as much love as they did in the 90s.
6) The Flintstone Flyer (1960) – The Flintstones didn’t just start out with a bang. They started with an epochal explosion.
7) The Pink Phink (1964) – Not even Mickey or Bugs could have the honor of winning the Academy Award on their first try.
8) The Cat Came Back (1988) – If the American box office deemed this good enough to play before Who Framed Roger Rabbit, then it’s definitely worth a look.
9) Bravo-Dooby-Doo (1997) or One + One = Ed (2000) – In this corner, the most famous example of the Cartoon Cartoons using their legacy to their advantage. In that corner, a perennial crowd favorite among fans of the Cul-De-Sac.
10) And Then There Were 10 (2005) – Capping off this historical exhibit with the first episode of Ben 10. Because of course.
We’re conducting a cartoon history course here for retirees, so I’ll report some of my choices from that experience. For the earliest silents we did a thesis/antithesis/synthesis with some primitive Blackton and Cohl, followed by the 1911 Little Nemo, then a Koko cartoon with rotoscope animation. Early sound, our choice of Bosko the Talk-ink Kid is more historic than good, but it launched a thousand ships, as they say. Early TV: also not very good, but highly nostalgic for us seniors is Winky Dink, which is so coarse I can barely call it animation. The only experimental film we’re showing is “V for Victory,” scratched on raw film stock by Norman McLaren and very brief, but it’s refreshing to see when coming up for air after some of the fairly blunt WW2 films from Moscow and Nazi-occupied France. I can’t really address Cartoon Network, other than to say I always looked forward to the annual June Bugs marathon. Finally, for a personal pick outside the established categories, I’ll pick a ringer with the Milt Gross film, “Jitterbug Follies,” which I can watch over and over.
For me without a doubt start at the beginning for the first 2 Origins of animation and the Dawn of sound . You can’t get a full understanding of what came later without seeing what happened in the past with full animation.. For me everyting went down with all of the Hanna BarbaraTV stuff – I find most of them are limited in scope once they find the formula for all of their caricatures. it really starts a little earier what happened when cartoons went to TV starting Crusader Rabbit and with very limited animation. But for my taste stops with theatical cartoons
I really disagree with that as I feel like animation really picked their selves up again around the time I was born (1987).
Early animation: “Gertie the Dinosaur” and an Out of the Inkwell short (“The Fadeaway” comes to mind)
The dawn of sound: Bimbo’s Initiation, a Van Beuren T&J short (“The Magic Mummy” preferably) and a Marty Monk short
The dawn of television: Rocky and Bullwinkle, Huckleberry Hound, Col. Bleep
Experimental animation: Norman McLaren’s NFB films, Quasi at the Quackadero
CN’s best era: An episode each of Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy’, Dexter’s Lab and Powerpuff Girls. Maybe Sheep in the Big City as well, as that show desrves more love.
I think the first 3 questions have been well covered by others so I’ll limit my answers to the last 2:
The dawn of television: I’d think either Huckleberry Hound or The Flintstones would represent HB’s output. My second choice might be a bit controversial to this crowd but I think an episode of the original Astro Boy would be appropriate. I imagine you’re teaching a younger crowd and anime would definitely be part of their cartoon universe and this would show its beginnings and it of course aired here.
Cartoon Network: I really think excluding Nick is an oversight simply because it was the channel that originally allowed cartoon creators the freedom to do something original such as Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy and later Avatar The Last Airbender. As for CN I’d say The Powerpuff Girls and Adventure Time are representative, though I’d also throw in The Venture Bros. to represent Adult Swim.
A reel of animated commercials would work good for part of the “Dawn of Television” chapter.
https://youtu.be/BD_FbOJFlks?si=HSWJNRWvIp-GG5VM
I’d like to see it all, but Cartoon Network was from my time and I’m picking that.
As an older boomer, I watched things like Bugs Bunny, Yogi Bear and Popeye every day, so they just became part of the living room furniture.
But around age 10 or 11, I finally saw my first Chuck Jones Roadrunners, and that’s when I really began appreciating the hilarious comedy that only cartoons can give you. so I would start any cartoon beginner on a healthy diet of Jones.
1) Felix Woos Whoopee
2) Anything from the early days of Fleisher Studios, (ditto with anything rubberhose era)
3) Hooky Daze (Huckleberry Hound)
4) Chuck Jones’ pre-The Draft Horse output
5) The Amazing World of Gumball (my favorite episode is The Deal), We Bare Bears (and its spinoff We Baby Bears), and Craig Of The Creek (and its spinoff Jessica’s Big Little World)
These answers are really great. It shows this audience is well-versed in history *and* has really good taste too!
Steve,
It’s been a while so I thought I’d inquire on Thunderbean Thursday on the status of my preordered Bunin Alice in Wonderland?
Disregard, I saw your expected release schedule on the Thunderbean webpage. Looking forward to November. I just hope you still have my prepaid order on file.
1) The first animated films:
Émile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” laid the foundations for American cartoons, and Winsor McCay’s “Gertie the Dinosaur” featured the first character with a truly defined personality.
2) The dawn of sound:
Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” and “The Skeleton Dance” for their clever way of synchronizing music with image, “Swing you sinners” for its inventiveness and surrealism.
3) The dawn of television:
“The Flintstones” by Hanna-Barbera for its aura as the most popular animated series of that era, “The Mighty Heroes” by Ralph Bakshi as this series was a fine attempt to raise the quality of cartoons at that time.
4) Experimental animation:
Harry Bailey’s “A Dizzy Day” (1933) is unfairly reduced to a pilot for The Little King series, although it stands out from all animated productions of the period for its unique artistic style and modernist musical achievement.
“Organchik”/”The Musical Box” (1933), an excellent Soviet animated short denouncing the abuse of power by the nobility in Tsarist Russia.
As for Cartoon Network, I don’t know much about this period, so I’d rather not get ahead of myself.
Steve, one of these days would it be possible for you to post the final exam questions from your Animation History course? I think it would be fun for us readers to test our knowledge, and it might also highlight some areas of the subject that we could stand to learn more about. (I’m assuming you’re not one of those professors who uses the exact same exam every term!)
Dawn of animation– Out of the Inkwell, Felix silents and Alice Comedies (and the first two laugh-o-grsms). Ditto Gertie the DInosuar, Little Nemo and Humorus Phases of Funny Faces! Add bobby bumps to the mic.
2- Ko-Ko’s song cartunes, Dinner Time, Steamboat Willie, The Skelekton Dance, The Karnival Kid, Noah’s Lark and last but not least- Prints with Paramount titles of Feischer Screen Songs. I found a Paramount print of the ’30-’31 online of Since I’ve Lost My Gal. Advise a sensitive trigger warning for that one due to the subject matter of the gags.
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas and Charlie Brown’s All-Stars from their very first broadcasts with just one sponsor. (Christmas workprint was duped a lot). Be great to study limited animation, the producers’ Charlie-like journey to find a miracle that made the special a success. And most importantly, how the specials a case of the “Jam Handy effect” with all of the sponsor tags and missing product placement on par with the old Jam Handy films (even the 2D Fleischer Rudolph wasn’t safe from not having a sponsor.). And with a workprint or actual CBS print you can see the mistakes and stuff that should have been left alone.
4. I don’t know right now.
5. Dexter’s Lab and Robot Jones (if any of you still have Cartoon Cartoon Fridays blocks with episodes contaning the original Text-to-Speech AI voice blocks instead of the mid-late 2000s altered versions give those Steve pronto . It maybe annoying but its history,).Dexters Lab just had a complete series DVD Time squad would be good for those who got expouse to Peobody’s Imporable History through the CGI movie Mr Peabody and Sherman. Johnny Bravo was cool back in the day,,,,
And to add to Cartoon Network it would be nice to compare the pacing and timing- pitting Seasons 1-3 of SpongeBob, Seasons 1-5 of Fairly Odd Parents and the Jimmy Neutron TV show with Dexter’s Lab Seasons 1-2 (the first official episode through Last But Not Beast), the very early episodes of the original PPG (show the ones where the girls kick butt instead of just being cute), and Ed, Edd, and Eddy to see which show is timed, paced, and writen/storyboarded well….
Thanks,
ParamountCartoons
1) probably have to pick something Winsor McCay for this one , I’d go with Lusitania because it reminds us that animation could’ve become something very different.
2) not sure how long this period covers. If it’s only a couple years in the late 20s, probably have to be something Silly symphonies – I think skeleton dance holds up a little better than steamboat willie
3) seems like this has to be something jay ward – I’d go with his never picked up pilot Hamhock Jones. For some reason I like hearing a tv cartoon reference Truman and the’48 election. Every time I think of this one I wonder what they would’ve done with the story. Maybe someone could also pick Beany & Cecil here.
4) this is the category I’d like to learn more about – like to see more posts about. I really don’t know the eras for it. Most of the things I can think of that fit it feel like they were anomalies in their time. I’d go with something by Caroline Leaf – probably metamorphosis or two sisters.
5) not too sure what the different eras are for this one either. I feel like ever since Space Ghost coast to coast they’ve had some of the best programming on tv. My personal favorite is regular show.
Yes, for early animation you have to include Gertie the Dinosaur. However, it’s a huge anomaly! There won’t be anything close to it again for another 20 years. It’s an artistic niche product.. So to balance it I’d then show a Bobby Bumps, a Colonel Heeza Liar, and a Mutt and Jeff, as examples of early limited commercial animation. And then a Felix and a Koko for examples of the best of the commercial animation of the period. And if you have time, throw in a Walter Lantz, a Paul Terry, and a Disney Alice and Oswald to round things out.
For early talkies, yeah, you pretty much have to do Steamboat Willie and The Skeleton Dance, along with a Betty Boop. I’d probably next show a sub-category, early talkies in color. So Betty Boop’s Cinderella, and then Disney’s Flowers and Trees, The Band Concert, and/or The Old Mill, and a Van Beuren, perhaps the Jack Frost one.
Don’t have any solid ideas for the other three categories. All the previous suggestions for these have been excellent.
1) Winsor McCay
2) Disney’s early stuff with Mickey and the Silly Symphonies
3) Jay Ward
4) Um…let’s see…Forties with McLaren, maybe…?
5) The 90s when Hanna-Barbera owned the thing
A well curated Gandy the Goose (and Sourpuss) DVD collection. I think Gandy is one of the great overlooked characters in the Golden Age. At times it was the best series Terrytoons ever did.
Totally agree.
ANOTHER hard drive crash?! AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!
Do you feel at least some regret looking at old Thunderbean DVDs? I mean, if a film is scanned as high resolutions, that calls for a Bluray. And when THAT comes out, all prior DVDs become obsolete. All that effort…..
The first three Mickey cartoons, previously unrestored Noveltoons, pioneers like McCay, early Lantz Oswalds (for when they become PD in less than two months) are what’s on my mind right now.
Early animation: Felix Gets the Can
The Dawn of Sound: The Band Concert (I know it’s a later one but it is one of the best uses of sound in a 30s cartoon)
The Dawn of Television: Yogi Bear
Experimental animation: Claymation Comedy of Horrors (90s Will Vinton special)
Cartoon Network’s best era: The early to mid 2000s when they were still showing the classic stuff and had a great mix of new stuff.
Just realized the prompt said two for each!
Early animation: Great Guns (1927)
The Dawn of Sound: The Barnyard Battle (1929)
The Dawn of Television: Gumby
Experimental animation: Day & Night (2010)