The Tezuka Pro TV Specials, 1978-1989 #1 – Bander’s Book
1. The background and Bander’s Book. A note (or warning): I have previously described how, when Dr. Tezuka showed Bander Book at the C/FO meeting in December 1978, I told…
Celebrity Voices Impersonated
Ever since the advent of sound film, celebrity vocal impersonations have been a staple of animation. Some of cartoondom’s brightest stars (Gandy Goose and Sourpuss anyone?) have been patterned after…
Animation Anecdotes #162
The Universal Animation Studio Tour That Never Was. In 1966, Grantray-Lawrence studios produced 195 six minute shorts featuring the Marvel superheroes Iron Man, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Captain America and Thor. (Previously…
What are Your Favorite Cartoons with “Lesser-known” Characters?
These have continued to be busy weeks! The new Blu-ray as well as a new DVD title will both be back in the coming weeks from mastering, finally. New projects…
Which Is The Ugliest MGM Cartoon Poster? (NSFW)
Man, these posters are ugly! MGM made some of the best short cartoons ever, with brilliant directors like Tex Avery, Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera – and perhaps the…
Flintstone Bedtime Stories
The entire TV cast of The Flintstones made just a few Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series albums together, but each was top of the line—superbly written, edited and voiced. THE FLINTSTONES: FLIP…
In His Own Words: Ward Kimball Tells Some Disney Stories
Ward Walrath Kimball was born on March 14, 1914 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1934, he joined the Disney Studios staff as an in-betweener and quickly rose in the ranks to…
Disney’s Live Action Cartoons
Disney has recently been increasing the publicity for its Maleficent live-action feature due to be released on May 30, 2014. It is obviously based on Disney’s earlier feature cartoon classic;…
He’s a Work of Art with a Sponsor’s Heart: “Linus the Lionhearted”
He’s the host who shills for Post! I’m talkin’ about Linus the Lionhearted, the product spokesman (spokeslion?) who became a cartoon series star before vanishing off the airwaves. Part of…
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]
