Documentaries
1919
How Animated Cartoons are Made – Produced by Bray Studios and starring animation pioneer Wallace Carlson.
1937
A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios – Produced as an in-house documentary for RKO Radio Pictures and later recut and re-released in 1939 as How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made. Available on the 2001 DVD release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsand the 2002 Walt Disney Treasure: Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney StudioDVD.
1941
The Reluctant Dragon– Directed by Walt Disney. Available on the Walt Disney Treasure: Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney StudioDVD as well as on the Blu-ray double feature, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad/Fun and Fancy Free.
1963
A Boy Named Charlie Brown– Directed by Lee Mendelson. Produced by The Coca-Cola Company. Currently Unavailable.
1970
The Art of Lotte Reiniger– Directed by John Isaacs. Available on 16mm Film and Streaming.
1975
Bugs Bunny Superstar– Directed by Larry Jackson. Available through streaming, on DVD, and on VHS as a standalone feature and as a bonus feature in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4.
Camera Three– Season 21- Episode 2 and 3 – “The Boys of Termite Terrace”- Television Docuseries. Originally aired on CBS and PBS. Currently unavailable, though, raw interviews available at request here.
1976
Remembering Winsor McCay– Directed by John Canemaker. Available as a Bonus Feature on the DVD, Winsor McCay: The Master Edition.
1977
Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat– Directed and Written by John Canemaker. Available on the 2002 DVD and VHS, John Canemaker: Marching to a Different Toon.
1978
Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation– Directed by Will Vinton. Currently Unavailable.
1981
Disney’s Wonderful World. “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life”.Directed by William Reid. Currently unavailable.
Once Upon a Mouse– Directed by Jerry Kramer and Gary Rocklen. Currently Unavailable.
1982
The Animators– Directed by Prescott Wright. PBS documentary. Currently Unavailable.
1984
Disney Family Album (1984-1986)– Twenty episode docuseries directed by Mike Bonifer and Larry Smoot. Currently Unavailable.
1985
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal– Directed by Arnold Leibovit. Available on DVD and VHS. Watch on YouTube.
1986
Computer Animation Magic– Directed by Geoffrey de Valois. Available on VHS.
Masters of Animation– Directed by John Halas. Docuseries released on three volumes on VHS.
1988
Animating Art– Directed by Imogen Sutton. Currently Unavailable.
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown– Directed by Les Mayfield. Currently Unavailable.
Tex Avery, King of Cartoons– Directed by John Needham. Currently Unavailable.
1989
Cartoons for Big Kids– Directed by Leonard Maltin. Available on VHS.
Hanna-Barbera’s 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration– Directed by Marshall Flaum. Currently Unavailable.
1990
You Don’t Look 40, Charlie Brown– Directed by Lee Mendelson. Currently Unavailable.
1991
Chuck Amuck: The Movie– Directed by Chuck Jones and John Needham. Available as a stand alone feature on VHS and as a Bonus Feature on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Three(DVD) and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One(Blu-ray and DVD).
Of Moose and Men: The Rocky & Bullwinkle Story– Directed by Marino Amoruso. Currently Unavailable.
1992
Cartoon Madness: The Fantastic Max Fleischer Cartoon- Directed by Mark Lamberti. Available on VHS.
1993
Dinosaurs at the Movies. Similar Entertainment. Available on VHS.
1995
Biography – “Betty Boop: The Queen of Cartoons”– Created for A&E. Available on DVD.
Frank and Ollie– Directed by Theodore Thomas. Available on VHS, DVD, and Streaming.
1997
The Harryhausen Chronicles– Directed by Richard Schickle. Available as a standalone title or as a Bonus Feature on the BluRay for Ray Harryhausen Collection.
1999
Before Mickey: An Animated Anthology– Produced by Donald Crafton. Piggyback Productions. Available on VHS.
The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story– Directed by Leslie Iwerks. Available on VHS and as a Bonus Feature on Disc Two of The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit DVD, a part of the Walt Disney Treasures line.
2000
Cartoons Kick Ass– Directed by Stephen Lennhoff. Currently unavailable.
Chuck Jones Extremes and In-Betweens – A Life in Animation– Directed by Margaret Selby. Available on VHS and DVD.
CyberWorld – Directed by Colin Davies and Elaine Despins. Currently Unavailable.
My Wasted Life– Directed by Selina Mehta. Currently Unavailable.
2001
Disney’s ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’: Still the Fairest One of All– Directed by Harry Arends. Available on DVD as a Bonus Feature to Platinum Edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Lotte Reiniger: Homage to the Inventor of Silhouette Film– Directed by Katja Raganelli. Available on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray as a Bonus Feature on The Adventures of Prince Achmed.
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth– Directed by Jean-Pierre Isbouts. Available on VHS and DVD. 2012 Re-release by Disney Family Museum Edition on DVD and Blu-ray.
2002
The Sweatbox– Directed by Trudie Styler and John-Paul Davidson. Currently Unavailable.
2003
The Animated Century– Directed by Irina Margolina and Adam Snyder. Available to libraries and schools for rental from Rembrandt Films or The Fremantle Corporation.
Anime – Concept to Reality– Directed by Terrence Walker. Available on DVD.
Imagine – From Pencils To Pixels– BBC Special. Currently Unavailable.
Pink Panther – Behind the Feline: The Cartoon Phenomenon– Directed by John Cork. Available on The Pink Panther Film Collectionon DVD, The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection on DVD and The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collectionon Blu-ray.
2004
Monster Road – Directed by Brett Ingram. Available on DVD.
2005
An Animated Life: The Phil Roman Story– Directed by Kenny Saylors and Kyle Saylors. Currently Unavailable.
Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings– Available on the Diamond Edition of BambiDVD/Blu-ray as a Bonus feature.
Dream On Silly Dreamer– Directed by Dan Lund. Available on DVD and streaming.
“Once an Ed…Always an Ed… “- Available as an unlockable Bonus Feature on the 2005 video game, Ed, Edd, N’ Eddy: The Mis-Edventures (GameCube, PS2).
Fine Tooning: Restoring the Warner Bros. Cartoons– Created for and featured as a Bonus Feature on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3DVD set.
Taint of Greatness: The Journey of Beavis and Butt-Head– Produced by Jon Mefford. Split into three parts over the three volumes of Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collectionon DVD and Blu-ray.
2006
Gumby Dharma– Directed by Robina Marchesi for KQED. Available through Streaming.
2007
Anime: Drawing the Revolution– Directed by Karen Somers. Currently unavailable.
Disneyland – Secrets, Stories, & Magic. Directed by Bob Garner. Available on the Walt Disney Treasures DVD set of the same name.
Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation 1900-1920– Produced by Greg Ford and Mark Nassief. Available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1DVD set.
Hanna-Barbera: From H to B– Available on the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The Complete Third SeasonDVD set as well as The Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Complete Serieson DVD and Blu-ray.
I Yam What I Yam: The Story of Popeye the Sailor– Directed by Costantine Nasr and Mark Nassief. Available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1collection on DVD as a Bonus Feature.
In Search of Moebius: Jean Giraud– Directed by Hasko Baumann. Currently unavailable.
The Pixar Story– Directed by Leslie Iwerks. Available through Streaming and on the Wall*eDVD and Blu-ray Releases as a Special Feature.
Quirino Cristiani: The Mystery of the First Animated Movies– Directed by Gabriele Zucchelli. Available on DVD.
2008
A Christmas Miracle: The Making of a Charlie Brown Christmas. Available on the A Charlie Brown Christmas 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD, BluRay, and 4K BluRay.
Directing the Sailor: The Art of Myron Waldman– Available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3DVD set.
Tokyo Otaku – Directed by Ray Castle. Available on DVD and Streaming.
Drawn for Glory: Animation’s Triumph at the Oscars– Produced by Constantine Nasr. Available on the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection on DVD.
Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation, 1921-1930– Produced by Greg Ford and Mark Nassief. Available on the Popeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3DVD set.
Drawn for Glory: Animation’s Triumph at the Oscars– Directed by Constantine Nasr. Available on the DVD, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection,as a Bonus Feature.
Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices– Directed by Constantine Nasr. Available on Disc Four of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Sixas a Bonus Feature.
Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story– Produced by Constantine Nasr and Mark Nassief. Available on Disc One of the Popeye The Sailor 1938-1940, Volume TwoDVD set.
Walt and El Grupo– Directed by Theodore Thomas. Available through Streaming and DVD.
2009
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story– Directed by Jeffrey Sherman and Gregory Sherman. Available on DVD and Streaming.
Chuck Jones: Memories of a Childhood– Directed by Peggy Stern. Available on The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume OneBlu-ray collection as a Bonus Feature.
The Great Jonny Quest Documentary– Uncredited. Available through Streaming.
Inside The Wrong Trousers- A Wallace and Gromit Mini Documentary. Produced by Aardman Animations. Available as a special feature on the Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection DVD and Blu-ray set.
Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants– Directed by Patrick Creadon. Available on the DVD collection SpongeBob: The First 100 Episodesand SpongeBob: The Best 200 Episodes Everas a Bonus Feature.
Waking Sleeping Beauty– Directed by Don Hahn. Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Streaming.
2010
Avatar Spirits– Directed by Kurt Mattila. Available on the Avatar: The Last Airbender Book One Collector’s Editionas a Bonus Feature.
Breaking the Mold: The Re-Making of Mighty Mouse– Directed by Jeffrey Eagle. Available on the Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures – The Complete Series DVD set.
Deconstructing Dad– Directed by Stan Warnow. Available on DVD and Streaming.
History of Computer Animation: Volume 1. Directed by Geoffrey de Valois. Available on DVD and Streaming.
2011
Adventures of Plymptoons!– Directed by Alexia Anastasio. Available on DVD and through Streaming.
Making ‘Em Move– Directed by Steve Stanchfield. Available on DVD.
Six Days to Air– Directed by Arthur Bradford. Available through Streaming.
2012
Between the Frames: The Art of Brazilian Animation (Luz Anima Ação) – Directed by Eduardo Calvet. Available on DVD.
Blinky & Me– Directed by Tomasz Magierski. Available on DVD.
Carl Macek’s Robotech Universe. Directed by Keith Maxwell. Available on DVD.
Leon Schlesinger: The Merrie Cartoon Mogul– Available on The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2DVD and Blu-ray.
Persistence of Vision– Directed by Kevin Schreck. Available on DVD.
Seoul Sessions: Tales of a Black Animator in South Korea– Five episode web series directed by LeSean Thomas. Available through Streaming.
2013
I Know That Voice– Directed by Lawrence Sapiro. Available on DVD and through Streaming.
Inside Pixar– Directed by Alex Dean. Available through Streaming.
Saving Mr. Banks – (Biographical Drama) – Directed by John Lee Hancock. Available through streaming, DVD and Blu-ray.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness– Directed by Mami Sunada. Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Streaming.
The One and Only June Foray – Directed by Gavin Freitas. Currently Unavailable.
2014
Magic Nose Monkeys: The Ren & Stimpy Story– Directed by John Smith. Currently Unavailable.
The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic– Directed by Rudy Bednar. Available through Streaming.
Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles– Directed by Randall Lobb. Available on DVD and Streaming.
2015
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman- Directed by Richard Mears. Available through Streaming.
American Experience- “Walt Disney” – Directed by Sarah Colt. Available on DVD and Streaming.
Where No One Goes: The Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2– Available on the How to Train Your Dragon 2DVD and Blu-ray as a Bonus Feature.
2016
Bricks in Motion– Directed by Philip Heinrich. Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Streaming.
Floyd Norman: An Animated Life– Directed by Michael Fiore and Erik Shakey. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
The Giant’s Dream– Directed by Anthony Giacchino. Available on the Signature Edition of The Iron Gianton Blu-ray as a Bonus Feature.
Imagining Zootopia– Directed by Natalie Osma and Kristopher Rios. Available through Streaming.
Life, Animated.– Directed by Roger Ross Williams. Available through Streaming and DVD.
2017
American Masters: Tyrus– Season 31, Episode 7. Available on DVD and Streaming.
Crazy Frog – The Not So Crazy Frog. Directed by Bobby Werner. Available on Streaming.
Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning– Produced by Jesse Kowalski. Streaming on the Norman Rockwell Museum YouTube channel.
Voice of the Island– Available on the Moana Blu-ray as a Bonus Feature.
The Problem with Apu –Directed by Michael Melamedoff. Available through The Fallout of a Callout>Streaming. “The Fallout of a Callout“, a follow-up conversation between Hari Kondabolu and Hank Azaria six years since the original documentary, featured on NPR’s CodeSwitch by Olivia Chilkoti, Gene Demby, Kumari Devarajan, and Dalia Mortada.
2018
Benjamin Rabier, The Man Who Made the Animals Laugh. Directed by Marc Faye. 2018. Available on Streaming.
Carl Bell – A Life in Animation– Available through streaming.
Secrets of British Animation– Directed by Sebastion Barfield. Currently Unavailable.
Lotte That Silhouette Girl. Directed by Elizabeth Beech and Carla Patullo. Currently Unavailable.
Heart of Batman– Directed by Alexander Gray. Available on the Blu-ray collection of Batman: The Animated Seriesand Streaming.
Howard– Directed by Don Hahn. Available through Streaming.
The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass: Making Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other Holiday Classics– Directed by Constantine Nasr. Available on The Original Christmas Specials CollectionBlu-ray.
2019
Animation Outlaws- Directed by Kat Alioshin. Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Streaming.
Enter the Anime– Directed by Alex Burunova. Available through Streaming.
Hayao Miyazaki: 10 Years with the Master– Directed by Kaku Arakawa. Available through Streaming.
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki– Directed by Kaku Arakawa. Available on Blu-ray.
One Day at Disney – Produced by Victoria Chamlee. Available through Streaming.
The Making of Aladdin. Available on the Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King collection for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe– Directed by Randall Lobb and Robert McCallum. Available through Streaming.
2020
Hand Drawn– Directed by Felicity Morland. Available through Streaming and Blu-ray.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story– Directed by Ron Cicero and Kime Easterwood. Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Streaming.
Inside Pixar– Directed by Tony Kaplan and Erica Milsom. Episodic docuseries. Available through Streaming.
Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II– Directed by Megan Harding. Available through Streaming.
The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story– Directed by Scott Barber and Adam Sweeney. Available through DVD, Blu-ray and Streaming.
2021
Cartoon Carnival: The Documentary– Produced by Andrew T. Smith. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Jones, Amber. Bill Scott: The Portrait of a Moose. 2021. Available through streaming.
Le Mystère Méliès– Directed by Eric Lange. Available through streaming.
Who Are You, Charlie Brown?– Directed by Michael Bonfiglio. Available through streaming.
2022
The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales– Directed by Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes. Currently showing at festivals.
Before Mickey Mouse: A History of American Animation– Directed by Ronald Schwarz. Broadcasts September 29, 2022. Home media release forthcoming.
ClayDream – Directed by Marq Evans available on Streaming, DVD, and Blu-ray. Available through streaming. Original Soundtrack available as a Vinyl Record or Digital Download.
Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse- Directed by Jeff Malmberg. Available through Streaming.
Sketchbook– Directed by Jason Sterman. Available through streaming.
2023
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema – Available via Streaming.
George Debels: Dutch Animation Pioneer– Directed by Salome de Jong, Tess Jones, Yannick Kline, Suzanne van Leeuwen and Elena Umbgrove. Available via Streaming.
Pencil vs. Pixels – Directed by Bay Dariz and Phil Earnest. Available via Streaming.
2024
How Disney Built America. One Season – Six Episodes. Six West Originals, LLC. Available on Streaming.
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