Treasures From The British Pathé Archive
This month, notable film archive British Pathé has made its entire library of over 85,000 videos available to a wider audience by uploading them to YouTube. These films had been…
Animated “Treasure Islands” 1922 to 1980
One of the things that the early C/FO in the late 1970s noted about anime was that the Japanese animation industry seemed to love Robert Louis Stevenson’s boys’ adventure novel…
UPA Advertising
Throughout the 1950’s, television commercials were an important part of the UPA cartoon studio’s output. In fact, it’s widely believed that commercial work kept the company afloat, as their Columbia-released…
Animation Anecdotes #156
Doesn’t Anyone Want Credit for Elmer Fudd? It is tough to research animation history but back when I first started it was even worse. Just take a look at articles…
Some Sneak Previews – and News on New Sets!
As the snow vanishes (and reappears here!). My ‘real’ job is as a professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, and as classes wind down each year I…
What’s New Mr. Magoo – and Felix The Cat
Without question, Felix the Cat is one of the all-time classic cartoon characters – and I’ll always be grateful to the 1959 TV series that brought him to my attention…
“Gulliver’s Travels” on Records
My, my… the Fleischer version of Gulliver’s Travels was a musical giant, resulting in popular hit parade tunes and several fascinating recordings that span over 50 years. GULLIVER’S TRAVELS The…
The Japanese Studios of Rankin/Bass
If there’s one thing that Rankin/Bass set the precedent for in the animation industry, it was their use of foreign labor. They were one of the first studios to use…
Fred’s Musings: Laika Studio and “Noah’s Ark”
The Laika Studio – and Their Trend Towards Horror I have recently seen Laika’s new trailer for The Boxtrolls, due in theaters on September 26, 2014. I enjoyed the stop-motion…
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 Cal Arts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
