Animal Kingdom: The 50th Anniversary of Disney’s “Robin Hood”
Fifty years later, produced at that uncertain time at Disney and dismissed by a number of critics, has developed quite the audience from multiple generations.
The Yearly Redford Theatre Cartoon Show (featuring Fleischer Restorations) and “The Great Experiment” (1934)
Evil scientist Hugo Plotz, a giant of a person, is keeping Scrappy in a tall petri dish. Another Screen Gems classic.
Unpredictable as Weather (Part 32)
Today we survey some of the last storm stories to grace the big screen – some still impressive, a few rather dreadful.
The Music of Van Beuren Studios 1929
1929 saw Van Beuren cartoons with peppy music tracks, and an occasional line of dialogue.
Two Must-Have Cartoon Collections
David Gerstein was pivotal to both these projects – both are close to his heart: Disney Comics and Flip The Frog.
New York State of Mind: The 35th Anniversary of “Oliver & Company”
An excellent “warm-up lap” for the artistic leaps and box-office blowouts on the horizon for Disney.
In Honor of the Day of the Dead: Animated Friends That Have Left Us
I thought it might be nice to chat a little bit about two animation-related folks I’ve known and worked with in the animation industry.
Unpredictable as Weather (Part 31)
Weather still continued to figure into sporadic offerings in later years, including Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, and two Deitch Tom and Jerrys.
Halloween with Cartoon Voice All-Stars
A special Spin selection of chilling, thrilling, and comical albums by some of the greatest voice and character actors of the twentieth century.
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]
