Bugs Bunny Breaks a Sweat
In today’s column, we listen to a classic recording of Bugs Bunny’s race against Cecil Turtle, with Mel Blanc; on another LP, Bugs takes a cruise to Fort Lauderdale, without…
Fleischer Promo Art #13: “Popeye Adds Up The Profits”
Continuing our weekly posting of these rare Fleischer Studio promotional illustrations – this time from the March and April 1936 issues of in-house trade publication Paramount Sales News. Please click…
Animated Knock-Offs #2: Not Quite ‘Mockbusters’!
Last week’s column covered the indisputable “mockbusters”; animated features made for DVD release just to impersonate popular theatrical features. This week’s focuses on ripoff packaging; foreign animated theatrical features repackaged…
Philling Airtime: More Spots Animated by Phil Duncan
Conventional or far out. Cheap or extravagant. Phil Duncan did it all and it did it superbly. Today we take another look at the work of mighty Mr. Duncan, animator…
Animation Anecdotes #176
Another Bomb. In 1992, animation designer Maurice Noble remembered his time working at Warners. “I would often look in to see (Mike) Maltese at work on a story idea and…
Animated Pilots That Never Made It
Editor’s Note: This week Steve Stanchfield is on the road – off to explore several film collections away from his Ann Arbor home base. Filling in today is our resident…
Robotan (1966)
Sometimes there comes a show that’s just plain mystery because very little of it that survives. What the show was like, who worked on it, where it came from. Today,…
Hanna-Barbera’s First Movie Soundtrack
Fifty years ago, a top-flight Hollywood team of animation and music talents brought Yogi Bear and friends to the big screen and to a soundtrack album. HEY THERE, IT’S YOGI…
Fleischer Promo Art #12: “Betty Boop And The Little King”
Big things happened for Popeye in 1936, whereas they remained stagnant as ever for Betty (aren’t you just tired of reading that?). That release season has been cited recently as…
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]
