“Cosmic Voyage” (1936) at the SFSFF
Heads up, West Coasters! This year’s cinematic festivities at the The San Francisco Silent Film Festival are right around the corner. The festival, which has screened over 150 silent films…
Planes, Trains, and… “Cars”?
Ever since Pixar’s Cars in 2006, animated anthropomorphic vehicles have become “in”. Cars led to Cars Toons, a series of 7-minute short films on TV or DVDs from 2008 and…
We’re Gonna Turn It On: Animation from “The Electric Company”
The Electric Company premiered in the fall of 1971 on PBS. It was supposed to be a companion show to Sesame Street, or rather a show that kids could “graduate”…
Animation Anecdotes #158
Vegetarian Shaggy. Casey Kasem did the voice of Shaggy Rogers in Scooby-Doo series from 1968-1990. In the 1970s, Kasem became a vegetarian and by the 1980s refused to do any…
“The Kool Penguins” (1935) and Other Smoking Hot Cartoons
Just a quick note: I think it’s important to share the history of animated films if you’re lucky enough to be able to. It seems a huge shame to me…
BOOK REVIEW: “Mickey Mouse Outwits The Phantom Blot”
It’s been almost a year since I last wrote a rave review for one of David Gerstein’s books about Mickey Mouse – so I guess I’m about due for another…
“Felix the Cat” on Records
Warning: Watching Felix the Cat may not be for everyone. Side effects include laughing so much that your sides might ache and your heart may go pitter-pat. Ask your doctor…
The Story of Disney’s “The Art of Animation”
When Walt Disney was producing the animated feature film Sleeping Beauty, he realized that a great way to publicize the “high art” approach of the film as well as address…
Animated Treasure Islands #2: 1986 – 2006
This is the second of my two-part checklist and survey of international animated interpretations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island. For the first part of this survey, click…
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]
