Thunderbean Update and “Let’s Ring Doorbells” (1935)
I promised Jerry that Thunderbean Thursday would be back with a vengeance, so here it is – with updates, a new ‘special’ set offer, and a Scrappy cartoon to boot!
Hugh Harman’s “The Field Mouse” (1941)
Today, we look into one of Hugh Harman’s most lavish short cartoons, and one of his last for the MGM studio, “The Field Mouse”. Here’s the breakdown of animators who brought this film to life.
Hanna-Barbera’s “Precious Pupp” on Records
This week, we take a Spin with groovy Granny Sweet and her Muttley/Mumbly-voiced dog, Precious, on a stellar example of Hanna-Barbera vinyl virtuosity.
Famous Studios 1953-54
In 1953, Famous Studios was contracted to provide a 3D Popeye short and a 3D Casper cartoon during this season’s output. The final results found Famous superior to the other studios (including Disney) in creating dimensional cartoons.
Streamline Pictures – Part 18
While writing these columns on the history of Streamline Pictures, I came across several old files of long-forgotten and never-published information. Here is a chronologic list of all the anime-specialty companies with their initial releases.
In His Own Words: Ward Kimball’s Autobiography
“The Bulletin” was the Disney Studio in-house employee newsletter. Ward Kimball was asked write his own brief autobiography, knowing it would entertain the readers as Ward already had the reputation of being a jokester.
Animation Anecdotes #225
Friz Freleng’s “Two Crows From Tacos” is basically about two incredibly stupid Mexicali crows who chase a grasshopper. The crows were later redesigned as cats, and later as toads. Here are the voices behind these funny characters.
UPDATE: “Cartoon Carnival: The Documentary”
I recently promised more news for everyone, and now I am happy to finally share it with readers. Here’s our latest trailer and exclusive clips of our documentary film-in-progress.
Harman-Ising’s “Good Wrinkles” (1951)
A look at Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising’s rarely seen 1951 industrial film “Good Wrinkles” – A twenty-two minute Technicolor cartoon, narrated by radio personality John Nesbitt, created with the intent on educating viewers on the virtues of Prunes.
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 USC in Los Angeles, CalArts in Santa Clarita, and UCLA in Westwood – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
