When Smurfs Ruled Record Stores
A dive into the first wave of Smurf albums to hit the U.S. when Hanna-Barbera’s series debuted – and the soundtrack to Belvision’s 1975 Animated Smurfeature.
Network Status Reports 1956-1964
These internal memos – I believe from the files of CBS – I post for no other reason than they’re just a few more pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of animation history.
Music For Some “Metal Munching Moon Mice”
Rather than hire somebody to write a plethora of old-sounding songs, the Jay Ward people went to Bill Scott’s memory of old songs he’d learned at camp.
Wild and Woody
Long before ‘infinity and beyond’, there was an original Sheriff Woody and a rival named Buzz.
Animation Anecdotes #309
Bill Clinton told Time Magazine in 1993, “I’m a lot like Baby Huey. I’m fat. I’m ugly. But if you push me down, I keep coming back. I just keep coming back.”
Scrappy in ‘The Wolf at the Door’ (1932)
Scrappy as a Canadian Mountie, who should be arrested for sending Oopy out in sub-zero weather – in what appears to be only a nightshirt.
Complimentary Mintz: Krazy Kat and Toby the Pup: 1929-31
Shedding some light on the Mintz studio, with focus on the early sound period from 1929 to 1931.
Disney’s “Funny Bunnies” on Record
In 1962, Disneyland Records combined stories based on Funny Little Bunnies, the White Rabbit and Bambi’s friend Thumper on a low-key LP featuring Lucille Bliss.
The Mills Brothers in Cartoons – Part 2
Although the Mills Brothers appeared in three of Max Fleischer’s “Screen Songs”, other studios went out of their way to obtain a Mills Brothers sound — if needed.
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]
