World War Woodpecker, 1941
For $21 a day, once a month, a soldier’s life was just the fit for these characters from Toyland, and Bugs Hardaway was the veteran of a real war who made up the gags.
Category Archives: WALTER LANTZ ARCHIVE
La Verne Harding and “Cynical Susie”, 1934
Her name appeared daily on this syndicated comic strip, yet she gave it all up for her budding career as an animator at Universal.
How To Upstage Kirk Douglas, 1963
Edgar O. Kiechle moved on from Lantz but remained at the studio as a set painter for Universal Pictures, leading to his scene-stealing work in “For Love or Money”.
Manuel Moreno, Lens to Destiny, 1935
Despite offers to work at Disney, this animation director stayed at Universal and was a driving force behind the success of the fledgling Walter Lantz studio.
Tex Avery Under the Razor, 1934
Usually when Lantz got summoned by Henry Henigson, he had to sit around and watch this studio executive get shaved, but then came a surprise call about Tex Avery.
Tex Avery Chills and Thrills, 1955
There is even more to this Legend of Rockabye Point than at first meets the eye. Decades later, follow a runaway holiday balloon to learn a new secret about the man who gave us Chilly Willy.
A Land Before Time in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, 1986
After completing the original Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas achieved a long-held dream by breaking into feature animation as an executive producer on this Universal film, but his influence showed a Dark Side.
Carl Laemmle Opens Universal City, 1915
When the day was over, a pall had been cast over the studio. Perhaps the karmic fate of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit had been foreshadowed too.
Oswald Strings a Treasure, 1936
The premise of Puppet Show is that Oswald is a puppeteer who loses control of his puppet’s strings. Various live-action marionettes were used, comprising some very unfortunate cultural stereotypes, yet remains a rare filmed record of a 1936 puppet show.
Witch Crafty for Halloween, 1955
For Halloween, a cartoon that makes us SCREAM: it marks the moment when the Walter Lantz cartoons take a precipitous turn for the worse, commencing a nosedive from which they never recovered.
