Almost everyone my age remembers the Saturday morning cartoon, Muppet Babies. But next to no-one remembers its one-time sister program, Little Muppet Monsters. Here’s a look at this forgotten Henson series.
Paramount was able to release 21 new cartoons this season due to a clever arrangement with King Features – plus a new alliance with Gene Deitch which yielded two additional shorts.
This was a pretty good year for Paramount. They survived the sale of its library to Harvey Comics and had a robust order for 20 new theatricals. And then there was “The Cat”.
The 1959-60 season was a busy one for the Paramount Cartoon Studio – but not all of the work was for Paramount, nor was it for the big screen.
I couldn’t let 1959 go without a little close up on a “cult cartoon” Paramount produced during this season. La Petite Parade, for those of us who grew up watching the “Harveytoons”, was particularly memorable.
On July 27th 1958 it was made official – Harvey Comics bought the post-1950 Paramount Pictures cartoons. Paramount’s in-house animation department would now continue on – sans its popular creations.
Though Popeye was no longer being produced, the cartoons released in the 1957-58 season would be a last hurrah for the veteran crew before the budgets were completely slashed, staff was cut and the production order reduced.
On October 1st 1956, Paramount Pictures took full control of Famous Studios and major changes were taking place behind the scenes. On screen, the 1956-57 cartoons began to sport a new look inspired by UPA.
The 1955-56 season. This would be the final one for Famous Studios as we know it. The pre-1950 films were sold to UM&M; The Popeye cartoons were transferred to AAP. Change was in the wind.
Paramount readies to sell its cartoon shorts to television; the studio reconfigures its pictures to fill new wide screen standards; and Irv Spector boards a classic in this week’s survey of Famous Studio cartoons.
