{"id":78920,"date":"2023-04-17T00:01:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T07:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=78920"},"modified":"2023-04-09T10:40:56","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T17:40:56","slug":"the-end-of-the-silver-age-of-animation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/the-end-of-the-silver-age-of-animation\/","title":{"rendered":"The End of the Silver Age of Animation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I’ve written previously<\/a> about the end of the Silver Age of theatrical cartoon shorts in 1972<\/a>. As that year ended, only one studio (DePatie-Freleng) actively produced cartoons, and only one of their series (The Blue Racer<\/em>) had new episodes released to theaters. The start of the Bronze Age in 1973 was quite different from the previous year in terms of production\u2014only fifteen new cartoons released to theaters and from only one facility, as opposed to the two dozen films from DePatie-Freleng (eleven episodes) and Walter Lantz (thirteen episodes) in 1972. However, for audiences and exhibitors, the transition from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age was smoother.<\/p>\n

Concerning production, DePatie-Freleng released more theatrical cartoons in 1973 than in 1972. Although the films from 1972 came from three series (Pink Panther, Tijuana Toads, Blue Racer<\/em>), the films of 1973 came from two series. <\/p>\n

Joining the Blue Racer was the Western sheriff Hoot Kloot\u2014the only new series of the year. Hoot Kloot<\/em> made his debut on January 19, but the follow-up did not appear in theaters until June 16. DePatie-Freleng released six episodes of the series between June 16 and October 15. <\/p>\n

DePatie-Freleng’s erratic release schedule in 1973 resulted in some long gaps between new cartoons. October 1972 was the first month in which no new cartoon from any studio was released, but in 1973 almost three months passed between the releases of DePatie-Freleng’s Wham and Eggs<\/em> (February 18) and Killarney Blarney<\/em> (May 16). The studio released nothing in July, September, November, and December.<\/p>\n