70 Years of “Peanuts” – and All That Jazz
What better way to celebrate Peanuts than with fine jazz artists playing music from and inspired by the animated specials and the comic strip from which they sprang forth?
Working with Spike Jones, Jay Ward, and More: A Conversation with Skip Craig
For this edition of my interview series, I spoke with a living legend.
Ruby-Spears “Superman”
No one seems to talk about the 1988 Saturday morning television series entitled produced by Ruby-Spears created to coincide with the character’s 50th anniversary.
The “On Hold” Blu-ray Is Done
I’ve managed to get my ‘On Hold’ set finished this last week, so here is a little sneak preview of what it contains.
Toons Trip Out (Part 10)
It’s been an extended journey and now its time for our traveling toons to finally come home.
Looney Tunes 1942-43: Hello, Technicolor!
There were only a dozen Looney Tunes cartoons produced this season… and some of those were now released in Technicolor.
“Orphans’ Benefit” Revisited
While preparing an upcoming in-depth book about Donald Duck, we’ve made a number of fascinating discoveries which undercut the history we’ve all learned over the years.
Dragon’s Lair: The Movies That Never Were
This recent announcement of a feature film was not the first time that Don Bluth and Gary Goldman tried to develop the game into a theatrical feature.
Toby the Pup in “The Museum” (1930)
The original negatives for the RKO Toby the Pup cartoons remain lost. Here’s what one of those cartoons looked like.
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
