The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Stories
Did Aesop ever know that his stories would be routinely used for advertising purposes? Did any of the known and unknown authors of children’s literature know? I suspect not, otherwise…
Animation Anecdotes #180
Seeger’s Koko the Clown. “Out of the inkwell, comes Koko the Clown. He’s so gay and he’s so jolly. He will make you laugh, by golly” went the theme song…
More Animated Pilots
Today I continue with more cartoon pilots that never went anywhere. Hang on tight, because there are more of these than you thought lying around. Here’s a fresh crop. Samson…
Paul Terry’s Terryscope
My friend Eric Kurland, visual effects animator (Osmosis Jones) and 3D consultant (Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare), recently came into ownership of a very strange 3-D/Cartoon item. It appears…
Hanna-Barbera’s “Cinderella á Go-Go”
Groovin’ through Paul Frees and June Foray’s steeped-in-the-‘60s spoof of the fairy tale that is, like, for non-squares, you know? PIXIE & DIXIE WITH MR. JINKS TELL THE STORY OF…
Fleischer Promo Art #16: “Betty Slays ‘Em!”
Did Paramount Sales News get sent to exhibitors around the globe, I wonder? Paramount had its international news trade, but I suspect even these crossed the border regularly, since Fleischer…
My Top Ten Anime Features (Part 2)
Continuing my list of “Top Ten” favorite anime features, with a few I was personally involved with from my days with Streamline Pictures. 4. Laputa: The Castle in the Sky….
Lost Cartoon Pilot: “Black, Kloke & Dagga” (1967)
Think of the TV cartoon studios of the 1960’s and you may think of Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng, Filmation, and JKL Productions. JKL Productions? Who are they? I’m glad I asked that,…
Animation Anecdotes #179
Happy the Humbug. Many animators tried to create their own comic strip and some were more successful than others. The character “Happy The Humbug” was first developed in 1940 by…
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]
