Animation Anecdotes #182
Celling Peanuts. “We used to throw the cels away (from the Peanuts specials),” stated animator and director Bill Melendez in 1995 at the height of the market for buying animation…
Celling Peanuts. “We used to throw the cels away (from the Peanuts specials),” stated animator and director Bill Melendez in 1995 at the height of the market for buying animation…
Donald’s Fighting Pose. In the earliest Donald Duck cartoons, the little quacker was quite pugnacious and audiences immediately laughed when he took his fighting pose. That pose was created by…
Seeger’s Koko the Clown. “Out of the inkwell, comes Koko the Clown. He’s so gay and he’s so jolly. He will make you laugh, by golly” went the theme song…
Happy the Humbug. Many animators tried to create their own comic strip and some were more successful than others. The character “Happy The Humbug” was first developed in 1940 by…
Who Was That Masked Man? The first Lone Ranger animated television series ran on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969. It was produced by Format Films and…
Maurice Noble and Fresh Ideas. In a 1992 interview, animation designer Maurice Noble said, “Whatever I worked on, I tried to give freshness and make as eye-appealing as possible. Always,…
Another Bomb. In 1992, animation designer Maurice Noble remembered his time working at Warners. “I would often look in to see (Mike) Maltese at work on a story idea and…
Jakob Gimpel and Tom and Jerry. Interviewed in 1990, animation legend Joe Barbera said that when it came to the Tom and Jerry short cartoons, “I love ‘Cat Concerto’ (1947)…
Hidden Initials. Matt Groening hid his initials in the hair (M) over Homer Simpson’s ear and the center of the ear (G). Extinct Jurassic Park. Artist Bill Stout was the…
Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell. In the first Pepe LePew cartoon, “Odor-able Kitty” (1945), the amorous French skunk chases a MALE tomcat who has disguised himself as a skunk to avoid…