“Can You Handle It?” (1958)
While the graphics owe more than a little to UPA and Saul Steinberg’s design sensibilities, I love seeing our “Brotherhood of Man” hero learn the fine details of heavy lifting.
Flights of Fancy (Part 29): The Sum “Total” of All Parts
Total Television Productions was luckier – and flew higher – than many early small-budget producers for the small screen.
Max and Dave: Betty Boop 1935-36
In a number of these cartoons, she ceded the spotlight to subsidiary characters, most notably a dog named Pudgy, and an old inventor named Grampy.
New York Animation: Felix the Cash Cow
This is how Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer came to meet – and dozens of other details in the legacy of Felix The Cat.
A Tribute To Abe Levitow (1922-1975)
An animator and director who worked with some of the biggest animation studios in Hollywood during the Golden Age.
Tinker Bell Peanut Butter Commercials
As Disney historian Mindy Johnson wrote, “She became the pitch pixie for a wide range of sponsors’ products.
Halas and Batchelor’s “Piping Hot” (1959)
Gas commercials with some really nice design elements are always a good way to start or end a Thursday.
Flights of Fancy (Part 28): Learning Wright from Wrong
Our instruments are beginning to give indication that we are nearing our final destination.
Otogi Production’s “Sparrow in the Gourd” (1959)
A film from the animation studio founded by Ryuichi Yokoyama (1909-2001), author and cartoonist best known for his long-running comic strip Fuku-chan.
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]
