Animation Anecdotes Redux
Today to celebrate installment #400 of Suspended Animation, I am returning to my original format of random anecdotes.
Paul Vester’s “Sunbeam” (1980)
British animator Paul Vester’s short is an affectionate tribute to golden age animation, utilizing his own brilliant animation techniques.
We, Robots! (Part 5): Artificial Stupidity
We enter the 1950’s this week, where the clatter of robotic tin still continues to result in the clanking of coin for producers and distributors.
Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Bluth’s “All Dogs Go to Heaven”
It was the first animated feature made with Don Bluth in sole control without input from Amblin since The Secret of NIMH over seven years earlier.
Wishful Thinking: The 30th Anniversary of Disney’s “Aladdin”
Three decades later, it’s easy to forget just how unique Disney’s Aladdin was when it debut. It was, in fact, a game-changer.
The Birth of Hanna-Barbera’s “Smurfs”
Producer Joe Barbera said in 1982, “Even though they’re a happy little group of Smurfs, they have problems too.”
A Thunderbean Thursday – from 2013
Welcome to a Thunderbean Thanksgiving Thursday – from nine years ago.
We, Robots! (Part 4): Clanking Catastrophe
In today’s survey, robotic design and modern architecture attempt to solve the problems of everyday life – creating new problems in the process.
Max and Dave – Popeye 1938-40: It Ain’t Broke, So Why Fix It?
There was less pressure from Paramount to include songs from their features in the cartoons, though some would still show up.
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]
