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…
A peek at the soundtrack album to animation’s most expensive-yet-experimental, corporate-yet-independent and mainstream-yet-eccentric theatrical feature – ever! RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Columbia Records…
Continuing my weekly postings of these rare Fleischer Studio promotional illustrations – this time from the May and June 1936 issues of in-house trade publication Paramount Sales News. As summer…
Top Ten lists are popular. I have been asked (before Steve Stanchfield brought it up on Cartoon Research) what I think are the Top Ten (Japanese) anime features, or what…
If you’re like me, you would be more inclined to take the word of a cartoon animal than a real live human being. Maybe that’s why animals make the perfect…
Maurice Noble and Fresh Ideas. In a 1992 interview, animation designer Maurice Noble said, “Whatever I worked on, I tried to give freshness and make as eye-appealing as possible. Always,…
Today was another film transfer day, but because of school meetings I wasn’t able to supervise the whole session; I dropped the films off and Pat Mathews, colorist and Telecine…
The summer has been quite a busy one for this animation historian and archivist. As those of you who tuned in to our host Jerry Beck’s appearance on a recent…
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…
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]
