“Thunder Boy Pikkari B.” (1967)
The main premise of this obscure anime comedy series involves a boy living in a thunder cloud, found by an average schoolboy and adopted into his home.
Animation Anecdotes #306
Author and historian Leonard Maltin recalls, “Like most kids, I would scribble in my books – but where it would say ‘The End’, I would take a crayon and write ‘A Walt Disney Production’.”
What Would Your ‘Amazing Race’ as a Cartoon Researcher Be?
Any resemblance this post and any real events is purely co-incidental. I thought it would be fun to think about the dream/goal films-to-find in a Amazing Race-type contest between die-hard Cartoon fans.
Cartoon Voices in Live-Action Commercials
As a cartoon fan it’s always a treat to see your favorite cartoon actors on camera – even those brief glimpses you get of them in the commercials. Commercials like these.
Disney’s “Grasshopper and The Ants” on Records
In addition to narrating, Disney Legend Sterling Holloway wrote the script to flesh out the classic Silly Symphony by creating new characters and adding wry humor.
Mysterious Master: Hakuzan Kimura
Like most early animators, Hakuzan Kimura came from a background of graphic work within the movie industry; in his case, advertising posters.
Music in Popeye’s “The Dance Contest” (1934)
Right from the release of “Popeye the Sailor” in 1933, Paramount knew they had a hit on their hands.
The Once and Universal King, 1930
A restoration of Universal’s “King of Jazz” brings back a storied gem from the studio vaults, including the animated prologue produced by Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan.
Animation Anecdotes #305
“(Joe) Oriolo’s role, an important one, was to create the original graphics that accompanied my story,” said story man Seymour Reit. “He did indeed create the first drawings of Casper.”
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]
