Disney’s Preview Palace: The Alex Theater
Today, animation fans watch their favorite animated cartoons (even the classic cartoons of the Golden Age) on high-tech equipment on a huge high definition screen in the comforts of their…
Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” on Records
Before Disney had an in-house record company, other major labels made their records, including this adaptation with film cast members and voice acting greats. Walt Disney’s LADY AND THE TRAMP…
Paramount Sales News #50 – Famous Studios 1944
January-August 1944 The danger signs begin in earnest, with this entry spanning eight months of 1944. The increasing juvenility of the Famous cartoons cost them the widespread market the competition’s…
Streamline Pictures – Part 4
Continuing the outline format and chronology of Streamline Pictures history, where I was employed from January 1991 through March 2002. This week I cover the company’s output from 1994 through…
“I’m No Fool with a Bicycle” (1955)
EDITOR’S NOTE: For the next several weeks, our colleague J.B. Kaufman will exclusively grace this site with some of his research into the nooks and crannies of Disney’s most obscure…
Animation Anecdotes #211
The Origin of Yogi Bear. From the first issue of Exposure Sheet (July 1967), the in-house Hanna-Barbera Studio newsletter, from an article entitled “The Improbable World of Hanna-Barbera” credited to…
“Horse Laffs” (1934)
Here’s one of my favorite oddities: Horse Laffs (1934). The end title of this film proclaims you’ve just watched ‘A Daffy Doo-Funny Picture’. It was most likely made by John…
Paul Terry’s “The Lorelei” (1931)
Today, we’re going to the East Coast, with an early sound Terrytoon! Before he got into animation, producer Paul Terry quit high school to follow his older brother John’s footsteps…
Disney’s First “Peter Pan” Soundtrack Album
It’s been reissued often on vinyl and CD, but Peter Pan’s soundtrack debut on records had the best cover art and the shortest running time. Walt Disney’s PETER PAN All…
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]
