Animation Anecdotes #144
Synchro-Vox. Animation fans are familiar with “Synchro-Vox” used on Cambria Studios shows like “Clutch Cargo” and “Space Angel”. Basically, talking human lips superimposed over a cartoon image of a face….
A Visit to “Scrappy’s Art Gallery” (1934)
I hope that sooner-than-later the Scrappy cartoons are released on DVD or BluRay. They remain some of the hardest of series to see, along with the Krazy Kat’s produced by…
“Goku’s Big Adventure” (1967)
Yes, I’m finally writing about a Osamu Tezuka anime. Kinda. One of the many, many comics Tezuka drew was Boku no Son Goku (My Son Goku), which ran 1952 to…
“Bugs Bunny in Storyland”: The Good, The Bad & the Bugs
Our first Spin into Bugs Bunny and Warner Brothers records features a very, very good one and another that might have been better without its earsplitting organ music. BUGS BUNNY…
Greg Martin (1956-2013)
It has just come to my attention that animation artist Greg Martin has passed away. You may not know his name – but I’ll bet you have some of his…
Hard-Boiled Horror! Two by Araki
I was asked in early September what I thought of the then-current, on Japanese TV, s-f anime series Attack on Titan that was getting such rave reviews? Well, my first…
“Plop-Plop Fizz-Fizz”: Animated Alka-Seltzer Ads
Seldom has there been a product that had the kind of savvy marketing that Alka-Seltzer has had. So many of their slogans have entered the American lexicon, like “Try it…
Animation Anecdotes #143
The Musical Flintstones. In 1988, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, a punk/new wave rock group, released a single titled “I Wanna Be A Flintstone” (peaking at number 28 on the charts)….
Cartoons Of Christmas Past
Today: The last vestige of Christmas Cartoons before putting them away for the year. Many years back, the landlord for the house we were renting stopped over just a week…
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 Cal Arts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
