Hi everyone. After several weeks of working digitally around the clock, this last week has been more packing Flip the Frogs than anything else. As the weekend approaches, I’m happy to be working with our small team in getting back to working on some new films and spending a little time looking through hard drive archives.
In Thunderbean news:
First thanks to everyone for sending lots of leads on Noveltoons after last week’s post. So far it has led to finding three things in better quality than I ever thought I’d see. More on this series soon!
With Flip being out the door and the Tom and Jerry set going to replication next week, it’s been a bit of an empty nest here this week while Rainbow Parades, Mid Century Modern Volume 3, Bunin and the Comi-Color project is getting organized. There’s another project that I’m even more excited about than any of these, but I’m not talking about it at all until it’s done – it’s near and dear to my heart.
I’ve also been working on some of the films for the Fleischer project and organizing hard drives with all the pieces of the above projects, and really enjoying seeing everything we’ve got so far. The Halloween party set is finally going out early next week— hopefully just in time for Halloween. The Tom and Jerry Blu-ray, now finished, will be sent in early November.
One of the Thunderbean projects that managed to get put on a somewhat indefinite hold was a collection of the original Felix the Cat shorts. I’ll go into greater detail about what happened with that project at some point, but the short version of the story is that we scanned well over 100 shorts for the set from archives and collectors around the world before the project came to a harsh and unexpected stop as the rights for Felix were transferred to Classic Media/Dreamworks in 2014. We still have all those scans of course, and more, and as project partner Dave Gerstein and I have discussed for some time, we need to let all these cool films ‘out of the bag’ finally and put them in everyone’s hands. We hope the project get back on its feet sometime soon.
Laugh Felix, laugh! I have you in my sights!
Next weekend, I’ll be in Los Angeles with students from the College for Creative Studies for the Lightbox animation conference. It’s a wonderful time to catch up with friends, alumni and colleagues on these projects. If you see me, say hi! I’m really looking forward to the trip.
Thad Komorowski’s ‘Cartoon Logic’ was able to get his Kickstarter funded for the Aesop’s Fables collection. Now he’s trying to reach his stretch goal— and almost there with eight more days to go. You can check out the Kickstarter here.
And.. onto today’s cartoon! Happy pre-Halloween!
As I’m going through the Felix project archives (my most backed up hard drive) I’ve found that most of the films are at least decent in quality— but there are some exceptions. Skulls and Sculls (1930) is one of the last of the Felixes from the first era, but oddly is one that I’ve never seen a really good print of. I do have a few short nitrate clips of the film in terrific quality, but they are short and splicy, making it even more frustrating in some ways. Since it’s nearly Halloween, I thought I’d share the not-so-great print we do have. While not a top entry in the series, it’s still kind of spooky and odd, and I enjoy the changing model and the rubbery animation throughout- it leaves one wondering where the series would have gone if it managed to live further into the 30s.
This particular print seems to have suffered from water damage at some point. It’s a somewhat modern (70s) dupe. Hope springs eternal for better materials!
By the way, if you want a shirt of Felix getting drunk, here’s your opportunity.
Have a great week everyone!
Steve Stanchfield is an animator, educator and film archivist. He runs Thunderbean Animation, an animation studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has compiled over a dozen archival animation DVD collections devoted to such subjects at Private Snafu, The Little King and the infamous Cubby Bear. Steve is also a professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
The animators in this Felix short look like they went to or were inspired by the Mintz stuff that Harrison and Gould were doing.
Do we know who was around at this time other than Messmer?
The secret project is already known.
It’s The Steamboat Willie special edition due out on January 1 next year.
(assuming you don’t get sued by John Oliver).
I’m sure I’ve seen a better print of “Skulls and Sculls” than this, or at least a better-synchronised one.
Serves Felix right for wanting to be a member.
That exciting mystery project that’s so near and dear to your heart — could it involve a certain cartoon character created by Dick Huemer who ISN’T Toby the Pup?
Dumbo, maybe?
I had a print of “Skulls and Sculls.” It lacks the flair of prime Felixes from two or three years earlier. The Sullivan Studio was clearly near its end, relying heavily on cost-cutting loops that became an exercise in monotony.
It’s quite absurd seeing synchronized sound in a Felix cartoon that isn’t a modern revival or something by Van Beuren – even if the anything-goes rubberhose style reminds one of their work. But it’s definitely a delight to see, even if it’s one of the last of an era before Disney and Harman-Ising overhauled the entire medium.
As an aside, that shirt of Felix you linked to comes from a punk band called The Queers, who used that ‘five senses of Felix’ image (and a few other images) for their 1993 release “Love Songs For The Retarded”.
How is the overall quality of the FELIX THE CAT cartoons that Alpha Vdeo puts out some film collector by the name of John R. Carpenter? Who is he and are some of these FELIX cartoons in decent film quality?
I have an interesting story to tell. (Now it can be told!) When our old friend Mr. Stanchfield was working on the Felix project about ten years ago, he e-mailed me about it because I was curious about Felix, and I asked him. (I’m sure he’s forgotten.) He let me know about the project – and swore me to secrecy – and, until now, I haven’t mentioned it.
So a few months ago, HE let the proverbial cat (HAUGH!) out of the proverbial bag.
That’s a project I’ve long been waiting for, and I haven’t given up hope. Felix is my thrid favorite cartoon character (tied with Betty Boop – interesting combination!).
I’m surprised somebody hasn’t mentioned the Alpha Video Felixes sooner. I know about them, and have purchased them.
(Plural of Felix – “Felices?”)
As for the “secret project” – well, maybe it is the one mentioned above, but I certainly hope there will eventually be a Toby the Pup DVD! But those cartoons are hard to track down.
Yes, Jim, “Felices” is the correct Latin plural of “Felix” in the nominative case. My father would have been very pleased with you. But when writing in English about Felix the Cat cartoons, “Felixes” is probably the way to go. Sorry, Dad.
By the way, there are dozens of saints named Felix, and three of them were popes. Pious fans of silent cartoons who want to celebrate the feast day of St. Felix can do so about once a week.
Steve:
There is STILL no word on when my copy of Flip The Frog will be shipped out. I would have thought that those of us, who preordered the set
would receive it sooner than we have.
Please tell me it won’t be long
-Chris
Well, I just got a notice that the FLIP set has been shipped out to me. So, it probably won’t be too long!
So, Mr. Roebuck … are any of these Alpha Video FELIX DVDs worth getting? I’ve never seen any real reviews of them!
Oh. You mean actually _watch_ them? I didn’t know I was supposed to do that. You must have me confused with somebody who has brains.
My bad – as the kids say today!
Who is John R. Carpenter, though?
His name is John K. Carpenter — mind that middle initial — and he’s a film collector specialising in silent comedies, based on Long Island. He calls himself “The Movie Man” on Facebook.
Sorry, that was a “typo.” I did mean “John K. Carpenter. I take it he’s no relation to the horror film director, hence the emphasis on the middle initial?
But, I take it he has a vast selection of silent comedies and cartoons in his collection? I’m just curious about the film quality. Does he restore them or search for exception print quality? I ask this, because certain film collectors who let companies borrow – usually with a license – their rare films. Ala – I’m making this up, but you get the idea – from the William K. Everson collection – or something.
Well, I looked up info. on John K. Carpenter up and apparently he’s a 16mm film collector and over the years, he’s gotten a huge collection of very rare comedy shorts – silents to the early ’50s and a bunch of cartoons. If I see the FELIX sets on sale, I’ll try to get one and see how the quality is. I may as well, nobody else seems to have done it.
On the other hand, if Steve and Tommy Stathes put’s together a collection, it’s probably going to be a big step up in quality over anybody else’s collections. Still, I’ve been amazed at some of the things that the folks at Alpha Video have un-earthed and some of it has been of exceptional quality!