Shirley Temple Does Disney
This week we pay tribute to the greatest child actress of all time, Shirley Temple, who passed away last week, February 10th 2014, at age 85. During her vast and…
BOOK REVIEW: “Jacky’s Diary” by Jack Mendelsohn
Why am I reviewing and recommending you buy a hard cover reprint book featuring a comic strip that looks like crudely drawn child’s scrawl? Because you need it. And because…
Early Anime Features: Two 1960s Classics
In 1961, after the American box office failure of Tōei Dōga’s first three animated features, Japanese theatrical animation was relegated to being sold as children’s cartoons in the U.S. –…
Playhouse Potpourri
This week we bring you an assortment of miscellaneous goodies from the Playhouse files. Playhouse Pictures was founded by Ade Woolery in 1952. Ade had worked at Disney, Screen Gems,…
Animation Anecdotes #149
Bye, Bye, Yogi. A Colpix record album jacket (1961) with the huge face of Yogi Bear is propped up on the leg of a chair in the scene (pictured above)…
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…
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]
