Animator Breakdown: “Tortoise Beats Hare” (1941)
Here’s an unexpected breakthrough—an animator draft/breakdown video of a pivotal film from Tex Avery’s directorial career at Schlesinger’s studio!
The Best of the Pest: A Tiny Tribute to Pixar’s “Ratatouille”
Hailed by critics and audiences, this Oscar winning feature continues to be remembered as the movie “about cooking that stars a rat”.
Commercials from the “Stop Motion Marvels” Blu-ray
Happy 4/20, everyone. To celebrate the day, we’re screening a reel of far-out stop-mo commercials.
Unpredictable as Weather (Part 2)
Bosko, Mickey Mouse and Oswald Rabbit versus nature’s big bad villains: the rain, the sleet and the snow.
TOP CEL: Face Of A Union Local – Part 2
An overview of the animator editors and format of the New York Screen Cartoonists newsletter in the 1940s and 50s.
The End of the Silver Age of Animation
In 1973 the dearth of new offerings and the innovations in repackaging old ones for theaters set the tone for the remainder of the Bronze Age.
Reality Bytes: Celebrating “Tron”
Tron signaled the start of a new age, the computer age, of filmmaking – and was a flashpoint for all we see today.
Van Beuren’s “Jungle Jam” (1931)
While Jungle Jam is the usual sort of VB cannibal cartoon, there’s some fun and bizarre gags – and a great Rodemich score – despite its stereotypes.
Unpredictable As Weather (Part 1)
Our latest trail will focus on the weather – in all forms. Drought. Tornado. Blizzard. You name it – and a toon’s been through it.
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]
