A Musical Up-Roar 1939-40
The cartoons were starting to retreat from the ooey-gooey style of the early Happy Harmonies. And at times, they could create an unexpected classic.
The cartoons were starting to retreat from the ooey-gooey style of the early Happy Harmonies. And at times, they could create an unexpected classic.
In the 1939 season, Harman and Ising came back, each heading their own unit, and offering once again the benefits of full Technicolor.
At MGM, the Harman-Ising cartoons had been becoming more elaborate and more expensive with each passing season.
With their trademark ootsy-cutesie style continuing, and branching out into “swing” cartoons in Technicolor, the MGM cartoons kept the pace, musically at least.
At MGM, Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising found the mojo they had been seeking ever since they left Warner Brothers.
We finish off the Van Beuren studio, then move on to a new – the thundering roar of MGM.
Van Beuren made deals to get rights to well-known characters, either from comic strips (Toonerville Folks) or the well-remembered Felix the Cat.
Winston Sharples depended on his own compositions, rather than the standards used for years.
1934 was a year of change, which included the passing of the musical baton from Gene Rodemich to Winston Sharples.
More from the prolific year 1933, with RKO still riding high, and its cartoon output continuing to improve in its technical abilities.