Animation Anecdotes #280
“It all pretty much started when I was sitting in (Michael) Eisner’s living room with a dish of Gummi Bears sitting on the coffee table.” – Gary Krisel, on the origin of The Disney Afternoon.
Famous Studios at MoMA / “Quack-A Doodle-Do” (1949) Storyboard comparison
Here’s the first “Baby Huey” cartoon, a 35mm Technicolor print, along with a comparison video using rare photostats of the original story boards.
Walt Disney’s “Music Land” (1935)
Come to the Land of Symphony, or maybe you’d like to sail over to the Isle of Jazz, for this week’s breakdown!
Hanna-Barbera’s “Josie and the Pussycats” on Records
Generally noted because of the singing voice of “Charlie’s Angel” Cheryl Ladd, this well-produced ’70’s cartoon pop LP shines with top talent and appealing tunes.
Mel Blanc: From Anonymity To Offscreen Superstar (The advent of on-screen voice credits)
Clarifying the facts behind the Mel Blanc’s exclusivity deal, and putting to rest some long-running falsehoods and wrong assumptions.
“Forgotten” Anime #34: “Roots Search”
A blatant rip-off of Alien – It was horribly produced, with horrible art design and a horrible story that makes no sense. Nobody (that I’ve found) has a good thing to say about it.
Segregation and the Selling of “Deputy Dawg”
Terrytoons’ Deputy Dawg aired on television during the last years of legal segregation in the early 1960s, and Jim Crow in the South significantly shaped the program.
Animation Anecdotes #279
Ren And Stimpy producer Jim Ballantine said “A lot of people assume Ren and Stimpy are gay. Two guys who sleep in the same bed. Just like Laurel and Hardy – but no one ever suspected them of being gay.”
Hirschfeld Meets Harman/Ising
Harman and Ising’s Good Little Monkeys (1935) may not have been the successor to the Three Little Pigs – but it did boast publicity art by none other than Al Hirschfeld!
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]
