“Goofy Gus and his Omnibus” (1934)
It’s been a fascinating week here at Thunderbean. I’m back from a trip to New York (more about that soon) and working on some new revisions and cleanup. Here’s a…
Long-Overdue New Book Round-Up
A few months have gone by and its time once again to weed through the books piling up from various publishers. These are the good ones. First up, an anthology…
Meet “The Beagles” (1966)
Today, a journey through the grooves of Saturday Morning rock and roll comedy. From Total TeleVision, makers of Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo and Go-Go Gophers comes one of the most obscure…
Fleischer Promo Art #15: “Popeye Lays ‘Em!”
Although it wouldn’t be released until November 1936, Paramount was keen on promoting Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor whenever and wherever it could. Dig that July 1 panel…
My Top Ten Anime Features (Part 1)
All right, here is my list of Top Ten Anime feature films. To clarify, these are my favorites; not necessarily the ten best anime theatrical features ever made. Another way…
Celebrity Impersonations Mostly Real
Back in the days when TV shows were sponsored, it wasn’t uncommon (in fact it was expected) for the stars to plug products on the program. In Previous posts we…
Animation Anecdotes #178
Who Was That Masked Man? The first Lone Ranger animated television series ran on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969. It was produced by Format Films and…
“Japanese Lanterns” (1935) and “The Three Bears” (1939)
A short one this week, but a few fun cartoons to tide us over! Japanese Lanterns (1935) is maybe the hardest to see of the Van Beuren ‘Rainbow Parade‘ cartoons….
“Easy Winners” (1958) – The Lost Gene Deitch-Jules Feiffer Terrytoons TV Pilot
One of the most intriguing “could’ve-been” projects in animation history is Easy Winners. Gene Deitch protégée Jules Feiffer came up with a kids show that was clearly ahead of its…
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]
