Paul Whiteman Tops a Jazz Rabbit, 1930
The assignment that really accelerated the Lantz studio’s sophistication with musical sync was the animated introduction to “The King of Jazz”, a feature film that showcased the music of Paul Whiteman.
Animation Anecdotes #234
For a recording session at the Disney Studio, Paul Frees pulled up to the gate, but the guard couldn’t find his name on the list. “Should I call someone?” asked the guard. “Don’t bother,” said Frees, before driving away.
Halloween Continues: “Felix Dines And Pines” (1927)
For this week’s cartoon, I pulled “Felix Dines and Pines”, an especially weird entry in the great silent Felix the Cat series that qualifies quite nicely as a ‘spooky’ cartoon.
“Woody The Giant Killer” (1947)
Today, we look at one of Dick Lundy’s best Walter Lantz cartoons – The immortal tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, as filtered through Woody Woodpecker.
Disney’s “Goliath II” (and Kevin Corcoran) on Records
A look at the vinyl version of the first Disney short to use the Xerox process – and we pay tribute to Disney Legend Kevin “Moochie” Corcoran, who passed away last week.
Paramount Cartoons 1960-1961
This was a pretty good year for Paramount. They survived the sale of its library to Harvey Comics and had a robust order for 20 new theatricals. And then there was “The Cat”.
Argentine Animated Features, Part 8: 2007
Part eight of my survey of Argentine animated feature films – featuring Patoruzú’s friend Isidoro Cañones as an adult.
Japanese Animated Commercials – Part 6
Here’s another post covering those wacky Japanese animated commercials. So innocent, so cute, so bizarre!
Animation Anecdotes #233
Who was Disney animator Lee Morehouse? How did Art Stevens land in Ward Kimball’s Disney unit? And how many character voices did William Conrad have? The answers (and more) in this week’s column.
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]
