Mugzee in “Buzz Saws and Dynamite”
I just got back from transferring this week’s film… …and it’s my new favorite bizarre obscure animated short. My friend Ken Preibe had wanted to see this short for years…
16mm Rarities for Valentine’s Day
It’s almost that time: this weekend, many will be exchanging red cardboard hearts filled with chocolates, cards, and a shared night out on the town. Any holiday, however, is best…
A Rankin-Bass Valentine
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, this week’s Animation Spin celebrates our love of the Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass with two of their most outstanding soundtrack albums. THE DAYDREAMER The Original Sound…
“The Mighty Hunters” (1940)
Leon Schlesinger’s Merrie Melodies cartoon The Mighty Hunters (1940) is one of a brief experiment by the producer to adapt other artists work to animation (Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hatches The…
Early Anime Features: 1958-1960
In this post, I will take a closer look at Tōei Dōga’s first three anime features. All of them received an Amercian release despite the fact they were each based…
Flintstones Oddball Advertising
The Flintstones cartoon show premiered in 1960, and the characters have been popular ever since. With great popularity comes great demand to be a product spokesman. The Flintstones have appeared…
Animation Anecdotes #148
Origin of Christopher Crumpet. Thornton Hee (“T. Hee”) was responsible for “Christopher Crumpet” (1953) a UPA short about a little boy who turns into a chicken whenever he doesn’t get…
“Dolly Daisy in Hearts and Flowers” (1930)
I’m back to my Thursday postings this week – but first an update: The Gulliver Travels BluRay is finally coming back next week from replication, ending the longest Thunderbean wait…
“Wild And Woody” (1948)
Long before Pixar and and Toy Story, another “Sheriff Woody” roamed the wild west. And when he did, he was accompanied by master animators Freddy Moore, Ed Love and Pat…
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]
