New Book Reviews
My occasional round-up of books I recently received, read and really enjoyed includes Mickey Mouse comics, The Marx Brothers in animation and cartoons from the 80s, 50s and 1920s.
Animation Anecdotes #368
With the popularity of Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair videogame, plans were made for a sequel involving time travel and a possible feature length animated film entitled Dragon’s Lair: The Legend.
Favorite (and not so favorite) Throwbacks and Reboot Appearances
FIRST – Some (very brief) Thunderbean News: Things continue to move forward on many things; these weeks are busy most all the time. Thunderbean is expanding whether I like it…
The Sheet Music Art of Myron “Grim” Natwick, Part 2: 1919-1921
In the Spring of 1919, Grim joined the IFS animation studio. Here he developed his wonderfully loose and eccentric drawing, known today as the “rubber hose” style.
Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins” Makes Recording Industry History
Our friend Richard Sherman turned 90 last week! Let’s celebrate the impact he and his brother Robert had on the Disney record company with their landmark score.
Warner Club News (1959) – Part 1
1959 may not have been a banner year for Looney Tunes, but a question emerges: Was “Beep Beep” the studio’s actual ‘character name’ for The Road Runner?
Songs of the South
Not since Pinocchio had the Disney music department seen such interest in songs from one of their films. Even the smallest record companies got into the act.
Animated ‘Happy Hooligan’ Endured the Perfect Storms
The biggest surprise in my investigation of the animated adventures of Happy Hooligan, was that the character wasn’t just famous – he was incredibly popular.
Animation Anecdotes #367
Space Jam’s producer Ivan Reitman said, “We estimate that we had about 500 animators who worked on the movie. We had a year less than normal for an animated film like this.”
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]
