“Organ Grinder’s Swing” (1937)
One wonders if Fleischer’s Organ Grinders Swing could be interpreted as a protest against Mayor La Guardia’s then-recent decree that organ grinders be outlawed in the City of New York.
Forgotten Anime #47: “Joker: Marginal City”
It’s about a police officer/superman who is a genetically-engineered/cyborg shapeshifter who can absorb the DNA of any person who he touches, and becomes a duplicate of that person.
Slipping a Mickey, 1931
Walter Lantz knew that his animation staff dreamed of working at the Disney Studio, and at times he could end a mouseful of ambitions with a single phone call.
Animation Anecdotes #292
When animator, director, producer Hugh Harman passed away November 25th, 1982, he was living pretty close to the poverty line. He could no longer afford to own a car and lived in a ramschackle rooming house.
Yuletide Flickers!
The idea of “Yuletide Flickers” was to have a collection that resembled both holiday shows at movie theaters and the home movie experiences of the past.
Dick Lundy’s “The Coo-Coo Bird” (1947)
Things are looking a little cuckoo with this week’s breakdown!
The Original “Christmas with the Chipmunks” Records
The first of the two LP’s is the granddaddy of classic cartoon/novelty Christmas albums, while the second one deserves wider release with more airplay for its songs.
Two Voices-No Credit: Billy Murray and Walter Scanlan At Fleischer
There were two singers who show up repeatedly in the “Screen Songs” cartoons. They never got any screen credit. But any record collector would recognize them immediately.
Forgotten Anime #46: “Wizardry” (1991)
This “Wizardry” OAV, based on the US role-playing game, was released in Japan in 1991, produced by TMS Entertainment and released on VHS by Shochiku Fuji.
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]
