Golden age of American animation
| History of animation in the United States |
|---|
Thegolden age of American animationwas a period in thehistory of U.S. animationthat began with the popularization ofsoundsynchronizedcartoonsin 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the golden age,especially on television,were produced on cheaper budgets and with morelimited techniquesbetween the late 1950s and 1980s.[1]
Many popular and famous animated cartoon characters emerged from this period, includingDisney'sMickey Mouse,Minnie Mouse,Donald Duck,Daisy Duck,GoofyandPluto;Fleischer Studios'Popeye,Koko,Bimbo,Betty BoopandSuperman;Warner Bros.'Bugs Bunny,Daffy Duck,Elmer Fudd,Porky Pig,Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner,Yosemite Sam,TweetyandSylvester;MGM'sTom and JerryandDroopy;Van Beuren Studios'Felix the Cat;Walter Lantz'sWoody WoodpeckerandChilly Willy;Terrytoons'Mighty MouseandHeckle and Jeckle;UPA'sMr. Magoo;Screen Gems'the Fox and the Crow;andDePatie-Freleng'sPink PantherandThe Ant and the Aardvark,among others.
Over the course of these four decades, the quality of the media released throughout the golden age has often been debated. The peak of this era is usually cited as during the 1930s and 1940s, attributed to the theatrical run of studios includingWalt Disney Animation Studios,Warner Bros. Cartoons,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoons,Paramount Cartoon Studios,Walter Lantz Productions,Terrytoons,andFleischer Studios.In later decades, namely between the 1950s and 1960s, the era is sometimes divided into a "silver age" due to the emergence of studios such asUPA,DePatie-Freleng Enterprises,Hanna-Barbera Cartoons,andJay Ward Productions;these companies' presence in the industry would grow significantly with the rise of television following the golden age's conclusion.[2][3]Furthermore, thehistory of animationbecame very important artistically in theUnited States.[4]
Feature-length animation began during this period, most notably with Disney's "Walt-era" films,[5][6]spanning from 1937'sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsand 1940'sPinocchioto 1967'sThe Jungle Bookand 1970'sThe Aristocats(last animated films produced before his death in 1966).[7][2]During this period, several live-action films that included animation were made, such asSaludos Amigos(1942),Anchors Aweigh(1945),Song of the South(1946),Dangerous When Wet(1953),Mary Poppins(1964) andBedknobs and Broomsticks(1971), the last one being the last theatrical film to receive anAcademy Awardfor their animated special effects.[8][9]In addition,stop motionanimation andspecial effectswere also developed, with films such asKing Kong(1933),The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms(1953),Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy(1954),Forbidden Planet(1956),The 7th Voyage of Sinbad(1958),Jason and the Argonauts(1963) and2001: A Space Odyssey(1968).[10]
Animation also began on television during this period withCrusader Rabbit,the first animated series broadcast in1948.[11]The rise of television animation is often considered to be a factor that hastened the golden age's end.[1]However, various authors include Hanna-Barbera's earliest animated series through 1962 as part of the golden age, with shows likeRuff and Reddy(1957),Huckleberry Hound(1958),Quick Draw McGraw(1959),The Flintstones(1960),Yogi Bear(1961),Top Cat(1961),Wally Gator(1962) andThe Jetsons(1962).[12][13][14]Several of these animated series were the first to winEmmy Awardsfor their contribution to American television.[15]Other Hanna-Barbera productions related to the golden age were the theatrical animations withColumbia Pictures,such asLoopy De Loop(1959) and thefeature filmsreleased between 1964 and 1966.[16]
Major Movie/Animation Studios
[edit]Walt Disney Productions
[edit]Beginnings
[edit]Walt Disneyhad decided to become a newspaper cartoonist drawing political caricatures and comic strips.[17]However, nobody would hire Disney, so his older brotherRoy,who was working as a banker at the time, got him a job at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio where he created advertisements for newspapers, magazines, and movie theaters.[18]Here he met fellow cartoonistUb Iwerks,the two quickly became friends and in January 1920, when their time at the studio expired they decided to open up their own advertising agency together called Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists.[19]The business however got off to a rough start and Walt temporarily left for the Kansas City Film and Ad Co. to raise money for the fleeting company and Iwerks soon followed as he was unable to run the business alone.[20]
While working there he made commercials for local theaters using crudecut-out animation.Disney became fascinated by the art and decided to become an animator.[21]He then borrowed a camera from work and rented a book from the local library calledAnimated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Developmentby Edwin G. Lutz and decided thatcel animationwould produce better quality and decided to open up his own animation studio.[22]Disney then teamed up withFred Harmanand made their first film,The Little Artistwhich was nothing more than an artist (Disney) taking a cigarette break at his work desk. Harman soon dropped out of the venture, but Disney was able to strike a deal with local theater owner Frank L. Newman and animated a cartoon all by himself entitledNewman Laugh-O-Gramsscreened in roughly February 1921.[23][24]Walt then quit his job at the film and ad company and incorporatedLaugh-O-Gram Filmsin May 1922, and hired former advertising colleagues as unpaid "students" of animation includingUb Iwerksand Fred Harman's brother,Hugh Harman.[25]
Throughout 1922, the Disney company produced a series of "modernized" adaptations of fairy tales includingLittle Red Riding Hood,The Four Musicians of Bremen,Jack and the Beanstalk,Jack the Giant Killer,Goldielocks and the Three Bears,Puss in Boots,CinderellaandTommy Tucker's Tooth,the latter being mostly a live-action film about dental hygiene. None of these films turned a profit.[26]The last film made by the Disney company was a short calledAlice's Wonderland.Loosely inspired byLewis Carroll'sAlice's Adventures in Wonderland;the short featured a live-action five-year-old girl named Alice (Virginia Davis) who had adventures in a fully animated world. The film was never fully complete however as the studio went bankrupt in the summer of 1923.[25][27]
Upon the closure of Laugh-O-Grams, Walt Disney worked as a freelance filmmaker before selling his camera for a one-way ticket to Los Angeles.[28]Once arriving he moved in with his Uncle Robert and his brother Roy, who was recovering at a nearby government hospital fromtuberculosishe had suffered during the war.[29]After failing to get a job as a director of live-action films he sent the unfinishedAlice's Wonderlandreel to short-subjects distributorMargaret J. WinklerofWinkler Picturesin New York. Winkler was distributing both theFelix the CatandOut of the Inkwellcartoons at the time, but the Fleischer brothers were about to leave to set up their own distribution company,Red Seal Films,and Felix producerPat Sullivanwas constantly fighting with Winkler; therefore Winkler agreed to distribute Disney'sAlice Comediesas sort of an insurance policy.[30]
Once Walt Disney received the notice on October 15, he convinced Roy to leave the hospital and help him set up his business.[31]The next day, on October 16, 1923, Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio opened its doors at a small rented office two blocks away from his uncle's house with Roy managing business and Walt handling creative affairs.[30]He convinced Virginia Davis's parents which caused the first officialAliceshort,Alice's Day at Sea,to be released on January 1, 1924; delayed by eleven days.[30]Ub Iwerks was re-hired in February 1925 and the quality of animation on theAliceseries improved; this prompted Hugh Harman,Rudolf IsingandCarman Maxwellto follow Disney west in June 1925.[32][33]Around that time, Davis was replaced with Maggie Gay and the cartoons started to focus less on the live-action scenes and more the fully animated scenes, particularly those featuring Alice's pet sidekickJulius,who bore an uncanny resemblance to Felix the Cat.[34]In February 1926, Disney built a larger studio at 2719 Hyperion Avenue and changed the name of the company to Walt Disney Cartoons.[35][36]
In November 1923, Winkler marriedCharles Mintzand handed over the business to him when she became pregnant a few months later.[37][38]Mintz was often described as a cold, stern and ruthless chain-smoking tyrant; one employee remembered him as "a grim-faced man, with a pair of cold eyes glittering behind the pince nez" and "never talked to the staff. He looked us over like an admiral surveying a row of stanchions."[39]While Winkler had offered gentle critiques and encouragement, Mintz communicated to Disney in a harsh and cruel tone.[38][40]In 1927, Mintz ordered Disney to stop producingAlice Comediesdue to the costs of combining live-action and animation.
Mintz managed to gain a distribution deal withUniversal Studios;however it was Mintz—not Disney—that signed the deal. Disney and lead animator Ub Iwerks createdOswald the Lucky Rabbit,who debuted inTrolley Troublesshort in 1927. The Oswald series was a success and became the first hit for the Walt Disney studio.
In the spring of 1928, Disney travelled to New York to ask Mintz for a budget increase. His request was harshly denied by Mintz, who pointed out that in the contract Mintz had signed with Universal, it was Universal—not Disney—that owned the rights to the character. Mintz revealed to Disney that he had hired most of his staff away from the studio (except for Ub Iwerks,Les ClarkandWilfred Jacksonwho refused to leave) and threatened that unless he took a 20 per cent budget decrease, he would drop Disney and continue the Oswald series by himself. Walt refused, and Winkler Pictures dropped its distribution.
Mickey Mouse
[edit]While Disney was finishing the remaining cartoons for Mintz, Disney and his staff secretly came up with a new cartoon character to replace Oswald —Mickey Mouse.
The inspiration for Mickey has never been clear. Walt Disney said that he came up with the idea on the train ride back to Los Angeles shortly after the confrontation with Mintz, but other records say that he came up with the idea after he returned to the studio. Walt Disney once said that he was inspired by a pet mouse he once had at the old Laugh-O-Grams studio, but more commonly said that he chose a mouse because a mouse had never been the central character of a cartoon series before.
In 1928,Plane Crazybecame the first entry into the Mickey Mouse series; however, it was not released because of a poor reaction from test screenings and failed to gain a distributor. The second Mickey Mouse cartoonThe Gallopin' Gauchoalso failed to gain the attention of the audience and a distributor. Disney knew what was missing: sound.Sound filmhad been captivating audiences since 1927 withThe Jazz Singerand Walt decided that the next cartoonSteamboat Williewould have sound.Steamboat Williewas not the first sound cartoon,MaxandDave Fleischerhad producedSong Car-Tunessince 1926 after the release of the sound filmDon Juan.However, they failed to keep the sound synchronized with the animation and the main focus of the cartoons were thebouncing ballsing-a-longs.TheSong Car-Tuneswere not a success and some staff members doubted whether a cartoon with sound would be successful. So Disney arranged a special preview screening with the music and sound effects being played live behind stage through a microphone. TheSteamboat Willietest screening was a success and managed to gain a distributor,Celebrity PictureschiefPat Powers.However, the first attempt to synchronize the sound with the animation was a disaster with the timing being all wrong. In order to finance the second recording, Walt sold his car. This time he used a click track to keep his musicians on the beat (Disney later learned that it was easier to record the dialogue, music and sound effects first and animate to the sound). Little more than a month beforeSteamboat Willie's premiere,Paul Terryreleased his sound cartoonDinner Time;however it was not a financial success and Walt Disney described it as "a bunch of racket".
The Golden Age of Disney
[edit]| Golden Age of Disney
Film era | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1937–1942 |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Short film(s) | |
| Animated series | Silly Symphony |
| Audio | |
| Original music | "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" |
Beginnings (1920s–30s)
[edit]Steamboat Williewas released on November 18, 1928, and was a big success. Disney quickly gained huge dominance in the animation field using sound in his future cartoons by dubbingPlane Crazy,The Gallopin' Gauchoand the nearly completedThe Barn Dance.Mickey Mouse's popularity put the animated character into the ranks of the most popular screen personalities in the world. Disney's biggest competitor,Pat Sullivanwith hisFelix the Cat,was eclipsed by Mickey's popularity and the studio closed in 1932.
Merchandising based on Disney cartoons rescued a number of companies from bankruptcy during the depths of the Depression, and Disney took advantage of this popularity to move forward with further innovations in animation. In 1929, he launched a new series entitled theSilly Symphonieswhich was based around music with no recurring characters. However, they did not become as popular as the Mickey Mouse cartoon series.
In 1930, after a falling-out with Powers, Disney switched distributors toColumbia Pictures.However, Ub Iwerks left Walt Disney after an offer from Powers to be in charge of his own studio.[41]
In 1932, Mickey Mouse had become an international sensation, but theSilly Symphonieshad not. Columbia Pictures had backed out of its distribution of the series and Disney was lured to move theSilly SymphoniesintoUnited Artistsby a budget increase. Walt Disney then worked with theTechnicolorcompany to create the first fullthree-stripcolor cartoon,Flowers and Trees.Another great success, it became the first cartoon to win the Academy Award for the Best Animated Short Film. Shortly afterward, Disney negotiated an exclusive, but temporary deal with Technicolor so only he could use the three-strip process in animated films—no other studio was permitted to use it.[42][43]However, he withheld making Mickey Mouse in color because he thought that Technicolor might boost theSilly Symphonies'popularity.
By 1932, Walt Disney had realized the success of animated films depended upon telling emotionally gripping stories that would grab the audience and not let go.[44][45]This realization led to an important innovation around 1932–1933: a "story department", separate from the animators, withstoryboard artistswho would be dedicated to working on a "story development" phase of the production pipeline.[46] In turn, Disney's continued emphasis on story development and characterization resulted in another hit in 1933:Three Little Pigs,which is seen as the first cartoon in which multiple characters displayed unique, individual personalities and is still considered to be the most successful animated short of all time,[47]and also featured the hit song that became the anthem in fighting theGreat Depression:"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf".[48] In the Mickey Mouse series, he continued to add personality to his characters; this resulted in the creation of new characters such asPlutowithThe Chain Gangin 1930,GoofywithMickey's Revuein 1932 andDonald Duckin 1934 withThe Wise Little Hen(under theSilly Symphonyseries). When Disney's contract with Technicolor expired, the Mickey Mouse series was moved into Technicolor starting withThe Band Concertin 1935. In addition, Mickey was partially redesigned for Technicolor later that year.[49] In 1937, Disney invented themultiplane camera,which gave an illusion of depth to the animated world. He first used this on the Academy Award-winningSilly SymphonycartoonThe Old Mill.[50]Much of Disney's work was heavily influenced by European stories and myths, and the work of illustrators such asDoréandBusch. Also in 1937, Disney changed distributors for theSilly SymphoniestoRKO Radio Pictures,remaining with this distributor until the early 1950s, when they were re-issued and re-released by Disney's new distribution company,Buena Vista Distribution.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937)
[edit]In 1937, Walt Disney producedSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,the first American feature-length animated musical fantasy film. This was the culmination of four years of effort by Disney studios. Walt Disney was convinced that short cartoons would not keep his studio profitable in the long run, so he took what was seen as an enormous gamble. The critics predicted thatSnow Whitewould result in financial ruin for the studio. They said that the colors would be too bright for the audience and they would get sick of the gags and leave.[51]However, the critics were proven wrong.Snow Whitewas a worldwide box office success, and was universally acclaimed as a landmark in the development of animation as a serious art form.[52]
PinocchioandFantasia(1940)
[edit]After the success ofSnow White,Disney went on to producePinocchio,which was released in 1940. However, costing twice as much to make asSnow White,Pinocchiowas not a financial success, sinceWorld War II(which began in Europe in 1939) had cut off 40% of Disney's foreign release market. Although it was a moderate success in the United States, the domestic gross alone was not enough to make back its production budget. However, the film did receive very positive reviews and has made millions from subsequent re-releases. Later that year, Disney producedFantasia.It originally started with the Mickey Mouse cartoonThe Sorcerer's Apprenticein an attempt to recapture Mickey's popularity, which had sharply declined due to the popularity of Max Fleischer'sPopeyeand Disney'sDonald Duck.[53][54]In theSorcerer's Apprentice,Mickey Mouse was redesigned byFred Moore.This redesign of Mickey is still in use today.[49]The short featured no dialogue, only music which was conducted byLeopold Stokowski.When the budget for the short grew very expensive, Stokowski suggested to Disney that it could be a feature film with other pieces of classical music matched to animation. Disney agreed and production started.Fantasiawould also become the first commercial film to be released instereophonic sound.However, likePinocchio,Fantasiawas not a financial success.Fantasiawas also the first Disney film not to be received well, receiving mixed reviews from the critics. It was looked down upon by music critics and audiences, who felt that Walt Disney was striving for something beyond his reach by trying to introduce mainstream animation to abstract art, classical music, and "elite" subjects. However, the film would be reevaluated in later years and considered an animated masterpiece.[55]
DumboandBambi(1941–42)
[edit]In 1941, in order to compensate for the relativepoor box officeofPinocchioandFantasia,Disney produced a low-budget feature film,Dumbo.Just a few days after rough animation was complete onDumbo,theDisney animators' strikebroke out. This was caused by theScreen Cartoonist's Guild(which had been formed in 1938), who severed many ties between Walt Disney and his staff, while encouraging many members of the Disney studio to leave and seek greener pastures. Later that year,Dumbobecame a big success, the first for Disney sinceSnow White.The critically acclaimed film brought in much-needed revenue and kept the studio afloat. A few months afterDumbowas released in 1941, the United States entered the war after the attack onPearl Harbor.This led to the mobilization of all movie studios (including their cartoon divisions) to producepropagandamaterial to bolster public confidence and encourage support for the war effort. The war (along with the strike) shook Walt Disney's empire, as the US Army had seized Disney's studio as soon as the US entered World War II in December 1941.[56]As a result, Disney put the feature filmsAlice in Wonderland(1951),Peter Pan(1953),Wind in the Willows(1949),Song of the South(1946),Mickey and the Beanstalk(1947) andBongo(1947) on hold until the war was over.
The only feature film that was allowed to continue production wasBambi,which was released in 1942.Bambiwas groundbreaking in terms of animating animals realistically. However, due to the war,Bambifailed at the box-office and received mixed reviews from the critics. This failure was to be short-lived as it grossed a considerable amount of money in the 1947 re-release.
Wartime Era of Disney
[edit]| Wartime Era of Disney
Film era | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1943–1949 |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Short film(s) | |
Disney was now fully committed to the war effort and contributed by producing propaganda shorts and a feature film entitledVictory Through Air Power.Victory Through Air Powerdid poorly at the box office and the studio lost around $500,000 as a result.[56]The required propaganda cartoon shorts were less popular than Disney's regular shorts, and by the time the Army ended its stay at Walt Disney Studios with the end of the war in 1945, Disney struggled to restart his studio, and had a low amount of cash on hand.[57] Further Disney feature films of the 1940s were modestly budgeted collections of animated short segments put together to make a feature film. These began withSaludos Amigosin 1942 and continued during the war withThe Three Caballerosin 1944 and after the war withMake Mine Musicin 1946,Fun and Fancy Freein 1947,Melody Timein 1948, andThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toadin 1949. For the feature filmsMickey and the Beanstalk,Bongo,andWind in the Willows,he condensed them into the package filmsFun and Fancy FreeandThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toadsince Walt feared that the low-budget animation would not become profitable.[58] The most ambitious Disney film of this period was the 1946 filmSong of the South,a musical film blending live-action and animation which drew criticism in later years for accusations ofracial stereotyping.
The Silver Age of Disney (1950–70)
[edit]| Silver Age of Disney
Film era | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1950–1970 |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Short film(s) | |
Early 1950s
[edit]In 1950, Disney producedCinderella.Cinderellawas an enormous success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1950, and became Disney's most successful film sinceSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsand Disney's first single-narrative feature film to be entirely animated sinceBambi,as films in the interim involved some live-action.[59] Disney's company started to diversify, producing live-action feature films beginning withTreasure Island(1950) andnature documentaries,the first of which beingSeal Island(1948). As a result, Walt Disney was needed on several different units at one time and was spending less time on animation. In 1951, he releasedAlice in Wonderland,a project he had been working on since the late 1930s, though it was shelved during the war.Alice in Wonderlandwas initially moderately successful and received mixed reviews from the critics. A few decades later, the film would be hailed as one of Disney's greatest classics, making millions in subsequent theatrical and home video releases. In 1953, he releasedPeter Pan,which, likeAlice in Wonderland,had been in production since the late 1930s/early 1940s and was shelved during the war. However unlikeAlice,Peter Panwas a big success both critically and financially on its first release.
When Disney's contract with RKO expired at the end of 1953, instead of renewing it as usual, Disney was concerned about the instability of RKO (due to ownerHoward Hughes' increasingly erratic control of the studio) and started distributing films through the newly createdBuena Vista Distributionsubsidiary. This allowed a higher budget for shorts and features than the last few years of cartoons made for RKO dictated, which made it possible to make some of the cartoons in the newCinemaScopeformat. However, the budget per short was nowhere near as high as it had been in the 1940s as Disney had been focusing more on live action, television, and feature animation and less on short animation. In 1953, shortly after the switch from RKO to Buena Vista, Disney released its final Mickey Mouse short,The Simple Things.From there, the studio produced fewer animated shorts by the year until the animated shorts division was eventually closed in 1956.[60]After that, any future short cartoon work was done through the feature animation division until 1969. The last Disney animated short of the golden age of American animation, the Oscar-winningIt's Tough to Be a Bird!,was released in 1969.
Late 1950s–60s
[edit]In 1955, Disney createdLady and the Tramp,the first animated film inCinemaScope. Upon building Disneyland in 1955, Walt Disney regained a huge amount of popularity among the public,[61]and turned his focus to producing his most ambitious movie:Sleeping Beauty.Sleeping Beautywas filmed inSuper Technirama70 mm filmand in stereophonic sound likeFantasia.Sleeping Beautyalso signaled a change in the style of drawing, with cartoony and angular characters; taking influence fromUPA.AlthoughSleeping Beautywas the second-highest-grossing film of 1959 (just behindBen-Hur), the film went over budget, costing $6 million, and the film failed to make back its expenditure. The studio was in serious debt and had to cut the cost of animation. In 1960, this resulted in Disney switching toxerography,that replaced the traditionalhand-inking. First feature films that used Xerox cels were101 Dalmatians(1961) andThe Sword in the Stone(1963) which were box-office successes.[62]However, the Xerox resulted in films with a "sketchier" look and lacked the quality of the hand-inked films. According toFloyd Norman,who was working at Disney at the time, it felt like the end of an era.[63] On December 15, 1966, Walt Disney died oflung cancer.The last films he was involved in wereMary Poppins(1964),The Jungle Book(1967),The Love Bug(1968),The Aristocats(1970),Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971) andThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(1977); since the shortWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree(1966) was released during his lifetime and he was also involved in the production ofWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day(1968). The animated musical comedy feature,The Jungle Book,and the live-action big-screen musical,The Happiest Millionaire,were released in 1967, a year after his death, andWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Daywas released two years later, whileThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Poohwas released in 1977.Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Dayalso won the 1968Academy Award for Animated Short Film.[64]After Walt Disney's death, the animation department did not fully recover until the late 1980s and early 1990s with theDisney Renaissance.
Paramount Pictures
[edit]Fleischer Studios
[edit]Creation
[edit]One of Walt Disney's main competitors wasMax Fleischer,the head ofFleischer Studios,which produced cartoons forParamount Pictures.Fleischer Studios was a family-owned business, operated by Max Fleischer and his younger brotherDave Fleischer,who supervised the production of the cartoons. The Fleischers scored successful hits with theBetty Boopcartoons and thePopeye the Sailorseries. Popeye's popularity during the 1930s rivaled Mickey Mouse at times, and Popeye fan clubs sprang up across the country in imitation of Mickey's fan clubs; in 1935, polls showed that Popeye was even more popular than Mickey Mouse.[65]However, during the early 1930s, stricter censorship rules enforced by the newProduction Codein 1934 required animation producers to remove risqué humor. The Fleischers, in particular, had to tone down the content of their Betty Boop cartoons, which waned in popularity afterwards.[66]The Fleischers also had produced a number ofColor Classicscartoons during the 1930s which attempted to emulate Walt Disney's use of color, but the series was not a success.[67]
Feature-length films
[edit]In 1934, Max Fleischer became interested in producing an animated feature film shortly after Walt Disney's announcement ofSnow White,however Paramount vetoed the idea. In 1936, Fleischer Studios produced the first of three two-reelPopeyeTechnicolor features:Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailorin 1936,Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thievesin 1937, andAladdin and His Wonderful Lampin 1939. In 1938, after Disney's success withSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,Paramount had given the Fleischers permission to produce an animated feature film and Fleischer studio relocated itself from New York toMiami, Floridain order to avoid organized unions, which became a threat to the studio aftera five-month strikeoccurred among Fleischer Studio workers in late 1937.[68]Here the Fleischers producedGulliver's Travelswhich was released in 1939. It was a small success and encouraged the Fleischers to produce more.
Superman and the Fall of Fleischers
[edit]In May 1941, the Fleischers gave Paramount full ownership of the studio as collateral to pay off their debts left from the loans they obtained from the studio to make unsuccessful cartoons likeStone Age,Gabby,andColor Classics.However, they still maintained their positions as heads of their studio's production.[69]Under Paramount rule, the Fleischers brought Popeye into the Navy and contributed to the war effort, and would gain more success by beginning a series of spectacularSupermancartoons(the first of which was nominated for an Oscar) that have become legendary in themselves. Despite the success Superman gave the studio, a major blow to the studio would occur when the married Dave started having an adulterous affair with the Miami secretary. This led to many disputes between the Fleischer Brothers until Max and Dave were no longer speaking to each other.[69]
Later that year, Paramount planned to release their next film,Mr. Bug Goes to Town,for Christmas, but was presumably postponed after theAttack on Pearl Harbor.[69]Mr. Bugsaw a very limited in the UK, California, and New York the following year, causing it to flop at the box office.[70]Shortly after the film's poor box office, Dave Fleischer, still maintaining his position as co-chief of his studio, had left Fleischer Studios to run Columbia Pictures'Screen Gemscartoons. Due to this, Paramount Pictures had expelled Dave and Max Fleischer from their positions as the head of the cartoon studio.[69]
Famous Studios
[edit]Acquisition by Paramount
[edit]Paramount took over the Fleischer studio completely and brought it under the fold of their own studio, renaming itFamous Studiosand continuing the work that the Fleischers began.Isadore Sparber,Seymour KneitelandDan Gordonwere placed as directors (Disney veteranBill Tytladirected shorts in the mid-late 40s after Gordon left the studio), while Sam Buchwald was placed to executive producer. Paramount also discontinued the expensiveSupermancartoons in 1943, instead adapting theLittle Lulucomic strip to theaters.
Famous Studios continued to produce Popeye cartoons, which shifted to color in 1943 as well as creatingNoveltoons,an anthology short series similar to Fleischer'sColor Classics.The Noveltoons shorts series introduced many of Famous' recurring characters such asBlackie the Lamb,Wolfie(Blackie's main rival),Casper the Friendly Ghost(created byJoe OrioloandSeymour Reitfrom an unpublished children's book),Little Audrey(a character similar to and replaced Little Lulu),Herman and Katnip(A cat and mouse duel similar toTom and Jerry),Baby Hueyand several other lesser known characters. Famous also revivedScreen Songs,another series inherited from Fleischer's. The series was renamedKartunesin 1951 and would continue for two more years before being discontinued. Sam Buchwald later died from a heart attack in 1951, leaving Sparber and Kneitel as the lead producers and directors.Dave Tendlarwas promoted to director in 1953.
Decline and closure
[edit]The departure of the Fleischer brothers and Buchwald's death had an pro-longed effect on the studio: the Paramount cartoons of the war years continued to be entertaining and popular and still retained most of the Fleischer style and gloss, however animation fans and historians would note the studio's diverging tone after the end of the war, as the style was criticized for its highly formulaic story telling, lack of artistic ambition, unusually violent gags, and its overall appeal towards children rather than both kids and adults.
By October 1956, Paramount took over the studio entirely,[71]with the studio was downsized and renamed toParamount Cartoon Studios.The following year, the studio ended Popeye's theatrical run, withSpooky Swabs(directed by Sparber, who died the next year) being the last short of the series. Further perpetuated were the more strict budgets, forcing the studio uselimited animationtechniques comparable to television animation at the time. Paramount would continue to release theatrical cartoons into the 60s, but also began dabbling into television production, such as co-producing thePopeye the SailorTV series,The New Casper Cartoon ShowandFelix the Cat.Their new theatrical cartoons at this time includedModern Madcaps,The Cat, Swifty and Shorty,andComic Kings.
Kneitel's death in 1964 brought sudden changes to the studio as Paramount now had to look for new artists. CartoonistHoward Postwas initially placed as the studios primary director, and would create theHoney Halfwitchshort series. However, Post's tenure was not successful, and even brought the ire of Paramount's board of directors with the cartoonTwo By Two,a lampoon ofNoah's Arkthat not only included a clone of Warner'sDaffy Duck,but was also accused of having anti-religious overtones.[72]Post was replaced byJames Culhanein late-1965, who wanted to make diversify the content the studio made at the time, but he too also left in 1967 due to growing conflicts with studio higher ups. Ex-TerrytoonsanimatorRalph Bakshisucceeded Culhane that year, and quickly put several shorts into production. But by that point, Paramount's new owners at the time,Gulf+Western,began the process to shutdown the cartoon studio. The shutdown was completed by December.[73]
Warner Bros.
[edit]Harman-Ising era
[edit]In 1929, former Disney animatorsHugh HarmanandRudolf Isingmade a cartoon entitledBosko, the Talk-Ink Kid,and tried to sell it to a distributor in 1930.Warner Bros.who had previously tried an unsuccessful attempt to set up a cartoon studio in New York in order to compete with Disney, agreed to distribute the series. Under producerLeon Schlesinger's guidance,Harman-Ising ProductionscreatedLooney Tunes(the title being variation on Disney's award-winningSilly Symphonies) starring their characterBosko.A second Harman-Ising series,Merrie Melodies,followed in 1931. Both series showed the strong influence of the early Disney movies.
Harman & Ising break away
[edit]After disputes over the money, Harman-Ising parted company with Schlesinger (who rejected their demands for raised budgets) in 1933, takingBoskowith them to work withMetro Goldwyn Mayer.[74]Schlesinger began his own cartoon operation under the new nameLeon Schlesinger Productions.AnimatorTom Palmercreated a Bosko clone known asBuddyand answered to Walt Disney's use of color in theSilly Symphoniescartoons in 1934, and began making all futureMerrie Melodiescartoons in color.[75]However, since Walt Disney had an exclusive deal with Technicolor, Schlesinger was forced to useCinecolorand Two Strip Technicolor until 1935 when Disney's contract with Technicolor had expired. The new studio had a slow start as the Buddy cartoons did not impress audiences as well as Palmer's inexperience as a director. Schlesinger would fire Palmer and hire Harman-Ising animatorFriz Frelengand several others to run the studio instead. Buddy would later be phased out by 1935.
Creation of new stars
[edit]A 1935Merrie Melodiedirected by Friz Freleng entitledI Haven't Got a Hatwas the first screen appearance ofPorky Pig.Also in 1935, Schlesinger hired a new animation director who proceeded to revitalize the studio:Tex Avery.Schlesinger put Avery in charge of the low-budgetLooney Tunesin a low run-down old building the animators named Termite Terrace. Under Avery, Porky Pig would replace theBuddyseries and become the first Warner Bros. cartoon character to achieve star power. Also at Termite Terrace, animatorBob Clampettredesigned Porky from a fat, chubby pig to a more cute and childlike character.
Unlike the other cartoon producers at the time, Avery had no intention of competing with Walt Disney, but instead brought a new wacky, zany style of animation to the studio that would increase the Warner Bros. cartoons' popularity in the crowded marketplace. This was firmly established in 1937 when Tex Avery directedPorky's Duck Hunt.During production of the short, lead animator Bob Clampett elaborated the exit of the Duck character by having him jump up and down on his head, flip around and holler off into the sunset.[76]This created the character ofDaffy Duck.After Daffy was created, he would add even more success to Warner Bros. cartoons and replaced Porky Pig as the studio's most popular animated character,[77]and Bob Clampett took over Termite Terrace, while Tex Avery took over theMerrie Melodiesdepartment.
The 1940 Academy Award-nominated cartoonA Wild Hare(directed by Avery) markedBugs Bunny's official debut, as well as his first pairing withElmer Fudd(created by Chuck Jones that year). Bugs quickly replaced Daffy as the studio's top star. By 1942, Bugs had become the most popular cartoon character.[77]Because of the success of Bugs, Daffy and Porky, the Schlesinger studio now had risen to new heights, and Bugs quickly became the star of the colorMerrie Melodiescartoons, which had previously been used for one-shot character appearances.[77]Avery would leave Warner Bros. in 1941 and moved toMGMafter having a feud with Scheshinger in regard to the ending ofThe Heckling Hareand the rejection for an idea of a short series of live action animals with animated mouths (which he later sold toParamount Picturesto create theSpeaking with Animalsseries of shorts). Clampett would take over Avery's unit whileNorman McCabetook over Clampett's black-and-white unit.[78]By 1942, Warners' shorts had now surpassed Disney's in sales and popularity.[79]
Frank Tashlinalso worked with Avery in theMerrie Melodiesdepartment. He began at Warners in 1933 as an animator but was fired and joined Iwerks in 1934. Tashlin returned to Warners in 1936, taking over direction of theMerrie Melodiesdepartment, but left again in 1938, with his position soon taken byChuck Jones.He returned in 1943 after McCabe was drafted into the army, but left again for the final time in late 1944 to direct live-action films.Robert McKimson,who has a extensive career at the studio up to that point, was appointed to director to replace Tashlin.[80]
Warner Bros. Cartoons
[edit]Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in August 1944, andEdward Selzerwas in turn named the new producer. By this time, Warner cartoons' top directors of the 1940s wereFriz Freleng,Chuck Jones,Bob ClampettandRobert McKimson.Their cartoons are now considered classics of the medium. They directed some of the most beloved animated shorts of all time, including (for Clampett)Porky in Wackyland,Wabbit Twouble,A Corny Concerto,The Great Piggy Bank Robbery,The Big Snooze,(for Freleng)You Ought to Be in Pictures,Rhapsody in Rivets,Little Red Riding Rabbit,Birds Anonymous,Knighty Knight Bugs,(for Jones)Rabbit Fire,Duck Amuck,Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century,One Froggy Evening,What's Opera, Doc?,(for McKimson)Walky Talky Hawky,Hillbilly Hare,Devil May Hare,The Hole IdeaandStupor Duck.
Besides McKimson being promoted to director in the mid-1940s,Arthur Davistook over Clampett's unit in mid-1945 after abruptly leaving the studio. Clampett went to work onBeany and Cecil.Many of the studios most well known recurring characters would be created or restablished following the Warner acquisition. This includedTweety(1942),Pepé Le Pew(1945),Sylvester the Cat(1945),Yosemite Sam(1945),Foghorn Leghorn(1946),The Goofy Gophers(1947),Marvin the Martian(1948),Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner(1949),Granny(1950),Speedy Gonzales(1953),The Tasmanian Devil(1954), among others. Davis' unit was shut down in late 1947 by Warners due to budget issues, causing him to move to Freleng's unit to become one of his key animators.
In 1948, Warners could no longer force theaters to buy their movies and shorts together as packages, due to theUnited States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.anti-trust case that year. It resulted in the shorts having to be produced in increasingly tighter budgets as time went on. Warner Bros. would also close their entire animation department in 1953 due to immense popularity of3D film's, but would reopen the following year after the end of the 3-D craze. Selzer retired in 1958, with production managerJohn W. Burtontaking his place.David DePatieassumed the role as producer in 1960 after Burton also left the studio.
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
[edit]After more than two decades at the top, Warner Bros. shut down the original Termite Terrace studio in 1963 andDePatie-Freleng Enterprisesassumed production of the shorts, licensed by Warner Bros. Most of the Looney Tune characters were retired from theaters, including Warner's biggest star, Bugs Bunny. Daffy Duck, however, would still appear in theatrical cartoons, mostly paired with Speedy Gonzales.
14 original Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons were also commissioned, with the last 11 being outsourced toFormat Films,under direction of former Chuck Jones animatorRudy Larriva.These cartoons were not well received and were criticized for having the lack of spirit and charm to that of Jones' original shorts.
After DePatie-Freleng ceased production ofLooney Tunesin 1967, William Hendricks was put in charge of production of the newly renamedWarner Bros.-Seven Artsanimation studio and hired veterans such asAlex LovyandLaVerne Hardingfrom the Walter Lantz studio; Volus Jones and Ed Solomon from Disney; Jaime Diaz, who later worked onThe Fairly OddParentsas director; and David Hanan, who previously worked onRoger Ramjet.Hendricks brought only three of the originalLooney Tunesveterans to the studio; Ted Bonniscken, Norman McCabe and Bob Givens. Under Hendricks and Lovy, the studio's established Daffy-Speedy line and its new cartoon series (Cool Cat,Merlin the Magic Mouse) along with most of its one-shots from this era were critically panned and are widely considered to be the worst in the studio's history (despiteNorman Normalgaining a largecult following).
Alex Lovy left the studio in 1968 and Robert McKimson took over. McKimson used the pre-1967 characters only in bumpers forThe Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Showand in advertisements; otherwise, he mostly focused on the recurring characters Alex Lovy had created and two of his own creation,Bunny and Claude.The last of the originalLooney Tunesshorts produced wasBugged by a Beeand the lastMerrie Melodiesshort wasInjun Trouble,which shares its name with anotherLooney Tunesshort from 1938. The Warner Bros.-Seven Arts studio finally shut down in 1969. A total of 1,039 Looney Tunes shorts had been created.
A decade later, after the success of the film,The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie,which consisted predominantly of footage from the classic shorts by Jones, a new in-house studio to produce original animation opened its doors in 1980 namedWarner Bros. Animation,which exists to this day.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
[edit]Iwerk's Cartoons
[edit]At first, Mickey Mouse was drawn by Walt Disney's long-time partner and friendUb Iwerks,who was also a technical innovator in cartoons, and drew an average of 600 drawings for Disney on a daily basis;[81]Disney was responsible for the ideas in the cartoons, and Iwerks was responsible for bringing them to life.[81]However, Iwerks left the Disney studio in 1930 to form his own company, which was financially backed by Celebrity Pictures owner Pat Powers.[82]After his departure, Disney eventually found a number of different animators to replace Iwerks. Iwerks would produce two cartoon series during the 1930s:Flip the FrogandWillie Whopper.However, none of these cartoons could come close to matching the success of Disney or Fleischer cartoons, and in 1933, MGM, Iwerks' cartoon distributor since 1930, ended distribution of his cartoons in favor of distributing Harman and Ising cartoons, and Iwerks left after his contract expired in 1934.[83]
Harman & Ising and formation of MGM Cartoons
[edit]After MGM dropped Iwerks, they hired Harman and Ising away fromLeon SchlesingerandWarner Brosand appointed them heads of the studio. They began producingBoskoandHappy Harmoniescartoons which were emulative of Disney'sSilly Symphonies.[84]Harman and Ising gained success with shorts such asThe Calico Dragon,The Old Mill Pond(both nominated for Academy Awards) andTo Spring,but much like there time at Warner Bros, budget issues led their shorts to run over budget on a regular basis. By 1937, MGM decided to out Harman and Ising and establish a new in-house animation studio withFred Quimbyas producer.[85]
After Quimby took over, he kept a number of Harman and Ising's staff and scouted other animation studios for talent (including Warner director Friz Freleng for a short period of time and a bulk of animators from the New York basedTerrytoonsstudio). He created an animated adaptation of the comic book seriesThe Katzenjammer Kidswhich he re-titledThe Captain & The Kids.The Captain & The Kidsseries was unsuccessful.[85]In 1939, however, Quimby gained success after rehiring Harman & Ising. After returning to MGM, Ising created MGM's first successful animated star namedBarney Bear.Harman directed his masterpiecePeace on Earthin the meantime.[85]
Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry
[edit]In 1939,William HannaandJoseph Barberastarted a partnership that would last for more than six decades until Hanna's death in 2001. The duo's first cartoon together wasPuss Gets the Boot(1940), featuring an unnamed mouse's attempts to outwit a housecat named Jasper. Though released without fanfare, the short was financially and critically successful, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) of 1940. On the strength of the Oscar nomination and public demand,Hanna and Barberaset themselves to producing a long-running series of cat-and-mouse cartoons, soon christening the charactersTom & Jerry.Puss Gets the Bootdid not win the 1940 Academy Award for Best Cartoon, but another MGM cartoon, Rudolf Ising'sThe Milky Waydid, making MGM the first studio to wrestle the Cartoon Academy Award away from Walt Disney.
After appearing inPuss Gets the Boot,Tom and Jerry quickly became the stars of MGM cartoons. With Hanna-Barbera under their belts, MGM was finally able to compete with Walt Disney in the field of animated cartoons. The shorts were successful at the box office, many licensed products (comic books, toys, etc.) were released to the market, and the series would earn twelve more Academy Award for Short Subjects (Cartoons) nominations, with seven of theTom and Jerryshorts going on to win the Academy Award:The Yankee Doodle Mouse(1943),Mouse Trouble(1944),Quiet Please!(1945),The Cat Concerto(1946),The Little Orphan(1948),The Two Mouseketeers(1951), andJohann Mouse(1952).Tom and Jerrywas eventually tied withDisney's Silly Symphoniesas the most-awarded theatrical cartoon series. No other character-based theatrical animated series has won more awards, nor has any other series featuring the same characters. In addition to classicalTom and Jerry shorts,Hanna and Barbera also produced/directed for MGM half a dozenone-shot theatrical shortsbesides it, includingGallopin' Gals(1940),Officer Pooch(1941),War Dogs(1943) andGood Will to Men(a remake of Peace on Earth, 1955).
Key to the successes ofTom and Jerryand other MGM cartoons was the work ofScott Bradley,who scored virtually all of the cartoons for the studio from 1934 to 1958. Bradley's scores made use of both classical and jazz sensibilities. In addition, he often used songs from the scores of MGM's feature films, the most frequent of them being "The Trolley Song" fromMeet Me in St. Louis(1944) and "Sing Before Breakfast" fromBroadway Melody of 1936.
Tex Avery's Cartoons
[edit]Hugh Harman would leave for the final time in April 1941,[86]prompting Quimby to search for a good replacement. He later settled onTex Averyin September, who at that point had a fued with Leon Sleshinger at Warner Bros. that resulted in his departure.[87]Avery revitalized their cartoon studio with the same spark that had infused the Warner animators. Tex Avery's wild surreal masterpieces of his MGM studio days set new standards for "adult" entertainment inCode-eracartoons, most famously examplified in his series of shorts featuringRed Hot Riding Hood.
Tex Avery did not like to use recurring characters but did stay faithful to a character throughout his career at MGM withDroopy,who was created inDumb-Houndedin 1943. Tex also createdScrewy Squirrelin 1944, but Tex was less fond of him and discontinued the series after five cartoons. He also created the inspiredOf Mice and MenduoGeorge and Juniorin 1946, but only four cartoons were produced. Avery's other recongnizable films for MGM includeBlitz Wolf(1942, also nominated),Northwest Hounded Police(1946),King-Size Canary(1947),The Cat That Hated People(1948)Bad Luck Blackie(1949), andMagical Maestro(1952).
Avery's influence was felt across the industry but particularly within the studio, with Hanna and Barbera adapting his brand of humor and violence into thereTom & Jerryshorts. The only exception of this being Rudolf Ising, who was unable to adjust to Avery's influences (most exemplified in 1942'sBats in the Belfrywith Jerry Brewer) and continued to make cartoons with a more thought-provoking manner. He too would later leave MGM in 1943 to work for the Army Air Force film unit as an animation supervisor.[88]
Other Studio Developments and Later Years
[edit]After Ising left MGM, animatorGeorge Gordonwas promoted to director to take his place. He directed severalBarney Bearshorts as well as a few other cartoons such asThe Storks Holiday,and two shorts starring an unnamed donkey. Gordon was left uncredited for most of the cartoons he directed, and he would leave in 1943. Later in late 1946, animatorsMichael LahandPreston Blairwere paired together to direct three moreBarney Bearcartoons. Lah himself claimed to have directedThe Unwelcome Guestinstead of Gordon.[89]Lah and Blair's three Barney cartoons were noted for having a direction more in tone to that of Hanna-Barbera and Tex Avery. The series halted abruptly again when MGM closed Lah and Blair's unit.
Later in 1950, Tex Avery briefly left MGM to take a year's sabbatical. Ex-Disney/Lantz animatorDick Lundywas brought in to take Avery's position during this time period. He would direct one Droopy cartoon,Caballero Droopy, as well as ten additional Barney Bear cartoons, where he is now voiced byPaul Frees.Avery later returned in October 1951, with Lundy leaving soon after.
In 1953, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer closed down the Avery's unit. Avery and most of his unit would move toWalter Lantz Productions,while MGM later promoted Lah to director again to take Avery's place. Fred Quimby retired in 1955, with Hanna and Barbera replacing him as producers or the remaining MGM cartoons (including the last seven of Lah'sDroopycartoons) until 1958, when the studio closed entirely, ending all the animation productions. The duo would eventually develop their own studio,Hanna-Barberain 1957, inheriting most of the staff in the process.
Rembrandt Films and MGM Animation/Visual Arts
[edit]By 1960, the high demand for moreTom and Jerrycartoons prompted MGM to search for another animation studio to produce the series, as Hanna and Barbera were busy producing their own cartoons for television andColumbia Pictures.Through the help of producer Joe Vogel, MGM eventually signed a deal with theCzechoslovakian-basedanimation studioRembrandt Filmsto produce 13 moreTom and Jerryshorts.Gene Deitch,an American animator who considered himself a "UPA man", would direct the series whileWilliam L. Snyderserved as the producer.[90]Unlike the in-house cartoons, Deitch had to work with a much smaller budget of $10,000 and overall limited resources. This resulted in his films having an oddsurrealistnature, which Deitch did not intend. His Tom and Jerry shorts were noted for their jerky, occasionally praiseworthy animation, simplistic though sometimes stylish backgrounds, and heavy use ofreverbin the soundtrack.[91][92]Despite Deitch's shorts being commercially successful, fans and critics considered them to be the worst ofTom and Jerry'soutput up to that time. However some fans appreciated Deitch's shorts for their quirkiness.[93]After Vogel was fired, MGM decided not to renew their contract with Rembrandt.[94]The last RembrandtTom and Jerrycartoon,Carmen Get It,was released on December 21, 1962.
Meanwhile,Chuck Jonesstarted his own studioSib Tower 12 Productionsafter he, and his unit of animators, were fired byWarner Bros.for violating his exclusive contract by working on the UPA filmGay Purr-ee.Jones signed a contract with MGM in 1963 to produce an additional34Tom and Jerryshorts,all of which carried his distinct style and influence he strived for during his time at Warners. Jones'Tom and Jerryshorts were more reminiscent to hisWile E. Coyote and the Road Runnercartoons due to its use ofblackout gagsand specific jokes that can be found in the former shorts. MGM later purchased the studio and renamed it toMGM Animation/Visual Artsin 1964. Around this time Jones also directed a handful of oneshots for MGM such as 1965'sThe Dot and the Lineand 1967'sThe Bear That Wasn't,the former of which won the 1965Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[95]Jones' shorts were better received and saw varying degrees of success, but MGM eventually decided to cease production of newTom and Jerryshorts in 1967.
Jones' studios other works included the 1966 TV adaptation of Dr. Seuss'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,1970'sHorton Hears a Who!and the feature length filmThe Phantom Tollboothfrom the same year. The studio would eventually close in late 1970, with Jones establishing another studio,Chuck Jones Enterprises,soon afterwards.
Columbia Pictures
[edit]Charles Mintz and Screen Gems
[edit]AfterCharles Mintzwas fired from Paramount & Universal he was still in charge of his own cartoon operation producingKrazy Katcartoons for Columbia Pictures. After the failure ofToby the Pup,whichRKO Picturesdiscontinued in favor ofVan Beuren Studios,He created a new series featuring a boy namedScrappy,created byDick Huemerin 1931. Despite Scrappy was a big break for Mintz and was also his most successful creation, Huemer would be fired from the Mintz Studio in 1933.[96]In 1934, Mintz, like most other animation studios at the time, also attempted to answer Disney's use of Technicolor, and began making color cartoons through theColor Rhapsodiesseries;[97]the series was originally in either Cinecolor or two-strip Technicolor, but moved to three-strip Technicolor after Disney's contract with Technicolor expired in 1935. With the exception of 1934'sHoliday Landand 1937'sThe Little Match Girl(both of which were nominated for anAcademy Award), the series failed to garner attention, and by 1939, Mintz was largely indebted to Columbia Pictures. As a result, Mintz sold his studio to Columbia. Columbia renamed the studio toScreen Gems;[98]and Mintz died the following year. Columbia would also sub-contractUb Iwerksto produce cartoons from his own studio from 1937 until 1940. The studio was noted for being the starting careers for several accomplished animators such as Huemer,Emery Hawkins,Arthur Davis,Manny GouldandPreston Blair.
Charles' brother-in-law George Winkler would briefly presume the role as producer before he was succeeded byFrank Tashlin,who initially worked as a storyman.[99]Tashlin had significant influence to the studio as he would hire many ex-Disney animators from the 1941Disney animators' strike(including Hawkins,Ray PattersonandVolus Jones), fired most of their initial in-house staff, and directed the 1941 shortThe Fox and the Grapes,which inadvertently created the studio's most popular characters,The Fox and the Crow.Tashlin maintained his position until he abruptly left the studio in 1942, citing a feud with Columbia hire-ups.[100][101]He was replaced byDave Fleischer,who would also be fired and replaced by a revolving door of producers. Critics and animation historians noted the quality of the studio's output had either stagnated or declined as Screen Gems was unable to rebound from the loss of Tashlin. It was argued that Columbia's mismanagement and its inability to find skullful writers and directors were key factors of the decline. Michael Barrier described their work at the time as "imitation Warner Bros."[102]
The other recurring characters Columbia would develop at this time includedWilloughby Wren,Flippity and Flop,Igor Puzzlewitz, Professor Small and Mr. Tall, Tito and his Burritoand an adaptation ofAl Capp'sLi'l Abner,of which Capp was not pleased by due to its over-simplification of his characters.[103]Columbia remained dissatisfied by the studio's output and eventually closed it in 1946, with a back catalog that lasted until 1949. TheScreen Gemsname would later be used for a TV subsidiary the same year.
United Productions of America
[edit]John Hubleywas one of many ex-Disney staffers who were hired by Tashlin to work at the Screen Gems studio. Hubley stated that while he disliked his work for Screen Gems, he had much creative freedom due to Fleischer's detachment from the employees.[102]The cartoons Hubley directed with Paul Sommer were noted for its greater use of human characters, simplistic backgrounds and abstract character designs. Much of it was inspired bylimited animationtechniquesChuck Jonesestablished for his cartoonThe Dover Boys,with Hubley and Sommer even going as far as directing a "clone" with the cartoonThe Rocky Road to Ruin.[104]
Hubley left Screen Gems in 1943 after he was enlisted in theUnited States Armed Forces.[105]At the same time, he would help establish a new studio with former Disney animators Stephen Bosustow, Zack Schwartz and David Hilberman, who—like Hubley—had left Walt's nest during the animator's strike. It was a newer, smaller animation studio that focused on pursuing Hubley's own vision of trying out newer, more abstract and experimental styles of animation.[106]Bosustow, Hilberman, and Schwartz named the new studio as Industrial Film and Poster Service, or IFPS.[106]Artistically, the studio also usedlimited animationas its main artstyle. The first short from the newly formed studio wasHell-Bent for Election(directed by Jones), a cartoon made for the re-election campaign ofFranklin D. Roosevelt.Although this new film was a success, it did not break the boundaries that Hubley and his staffers had hoped. It wasn't until the third short, Bobe Cannon'sBrotherhood of Man,that the studio began producing shorts aggressively stylized in contrast to the films of the other studios. Cannon's film even preached a message that, at the time, was looked down upon—racial tolerance. By 1946, the studio was renamed asUnited Productions of America(UPA), and Hilberman and Schwartz had sold their shares of the studio stock to Bosustow.[106]
In 1948, UPA also found a home for itself atColumbia Picturesand began producing theatrical cartoons for the general public, instead of just using propaganda and military training themes;[107]UPA also earned itself two Academy Award nominations for new cartoons starringThe Fox and the Crowduring its first two years in production. From there, the UPA animators began producing a series of cartoons that immediately stood out among the crowded field of mirror-image, copycat cartoons of the other studios. The success of UPA'sMr. Magooseries made all of the other studios sit up and take notice, and when the UPA shortGerald McBoing-Boingwon an Oscar, the effect on Hollywood was immediate and electrifying. The UPA style was markedly different from everything else being seen on movie screens, and audiences responded to the change that UPA offered from the repetition of usual cat-mouse battles. Mr Magoo would go on to be the studio's most successful cartoon character.[108]However, UPA would suffer a major blow after John Hubley was fired from the studio during theMcCarthy Erain 1952, due to suspicions of him having ties to Communism;[108]Steve Bosustow took over, but was not as successful as Hubley, and the studio was eventually sold to Henry Saperstein.[108]
By 1953, UPA had gained great influence within the industry. The Hollywood cartoon studios gradually moved away from the lush, realistic detail of the 1940s to a more simplistic, less realistic style of animation. By this time, even Disney was attempting to mimic UPA. 1953's shortsMelodyandToot, Whistle, Plunk and Boomin particular were experiments in stylization that followed in the footsteps of the newly formed studio. Around 1952,Eric Porterproposed two cartoons to Columbia, but these were rejected and both cartoons are currently in thepublic domain.
Feature-length films and Decline
[edit]In 1959, UPA released1001 Arabian Nightsstarring Mr Magoo, however, this was proved to be a failure, as this cost UPA their distribution deal withColumbia Pictures.they tried once more in 1962, UPA releasedGay Purr-eewith the voice talents ofJudy Garland,this time, with a distributor inWarner Bros.In 1964, UPA decided to abandon animation and simply become a distribution company, where they would go on to distribute some of theGodzillamovies to America.
Hanna-Barbera
[edit]Prior to UPA's termination, Columbia struck a 10-year distribution deal withHanna-Barbera,which had just left the freshly shut downMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon Studio.This deal would mostly be involved with Columbia's TV division,Screen Gems,which ironically borrowed the name from the animation studio. In 1959, Hanna-Barbera produced the only theatrical series for Columbia,Loopy De Loop.This series was a success, and ran until 1965. Hanna-Barbera also produced 2 movies for Columbia, which wasHey There, It's Yogi Bear!andThe Man Called Flintstone.Columbia's 10-year contract with Hanna-Barbera expired in 1967, and was not renewed, thus ending Columbia's association with Hanna-Barbera in every way.
Universal Pictures/Walter Lantz Productions
[edit]Early Developments
[edit]In 1928,Walter Lantzreplaced Charles Mintz as producer of Universal Studios cartoons. Walter Lantz's main character at this time wasOswald the Lucky Rabbit,whose earlier cartoons had been produced by both Walt Disney andCharles Mintz.Lantz also started to experiment with color cartoons, and the first one, calledJolly Little Elves,was released in 1934. In 1935, Walter Lantz made his studio independent from Universal Studios, and the studio was now only the distributors of his cartoons, instead of the direct owners.[109] After seeing Disney's success of their first filmSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,Lantz planned to produce a full-length animated film based on the storyAladdin,starring the famous comedy duoAbbot and Costello.However, the project was not developed afterMr. Bug Goes to Townbombed at the box office.[110]
New Stars and United Artists
[edit]By the late 30s, Oswald began to lose popularity. Lantz and his staff worked on several ideas for possible new cartoon characters (among themMeany, Miny, and Moe,Lil' EightballandBaby-Face Mouse). Eventually one of these characters clicked; his name wasAndy Panda,[111]who premiered in Technicolor. However successful Andy was, it was not until the character's fifth cartoon,Knock Knockthat a real breakthrough character was introduced. This was none other thanWoody Woodpecker,who become Lantz's most successful creation.[112]
By the early 1940's, Lantz and animatorAlex Lovydirected cartoons through the of one unit until 1943, whenJames Culhane(an ex-Disney/Fleischer animator who recently had a brief stint at Warner Bros.) took their roles as director, starting with the cartoonPass the Biscuits Mirandy!Culhane's tenure at Lantz was noted for introducingRussian avant-gardeinfluenced experimentation, minimalist backgrounds andfast cutting,which made his shorts truely stand out from the studios previous work. Lantz would also introduce a new film series under the nameSwing Symphony,which were musical shorts based around contemporary swing music at the time. Culhane later left Lantz in late-1945 following a pay dispute. Ex-Disney animatorDick Lundyassumed the role as direction after Culhanes departure. Unlike Culhane, Lundy focused much more on sight gags and the animation. Critics noted the animations jump in quality in the late 40's, mainly due to Lundy's influence as well as the arrival of more Ex-Disney animations, such asEd Love,Fred Mooreand Ken O'Brien.
In 1947, Lantz was negotiating with Universal about his 7-year contract when it was abruptly transformed into Universal-International. The new management insisted on keeping the merchandising and licensing rights of his characters. Lantz refused, instead he withdrew from his parent company and contracted his shorts to be distributed byUnited Artistsbetween 1947 and 1949. This was also the era whereAndy Pandawas officially discontinued due to his waning popularity. In total, 12 shorts were released under United Artists.
Restructuring and later years
[edit]Lantz' studio went through severe financial issues during its time with United Artist, which caused him to close the studio in 1949.[113]It opened again in 1950 with a downsized staff, mainly because Lantz was able recoup from his losses and signed a deal with Universal-International for more Woody Woodpecker cartoons, starting with 1951'sPuny Express.Woody would continue to appear in cartoons until the early 1970s. Lantz served as the sole director and writer for his own cartoons for two years before it was assumed by animatorDon Pattersonand writerHomer Brightman.The studio was still able benefit from obtaining additional animators and writers throughout its second life; With MGM downsizing its animation studio and Warner Bros. briefly closing its entire animation department in the 50's, Lantz was able to build up staff to the point he can establish a second unit in his studio.Paul J. Smith,a Warner Bros. veteran who worked for Lantz in the 40's, would be the director for this new unit.
Smith would createChilly Willyin 1953, and would become the studios 2nd most prominent character in the 50s. He would later be refined byTex Averyin the following year, who left MGM earlier that decade. Avery would direct 4 shorts during his time at Walter Lantz Productions, until he left in 1955 over pay disputes. Additional directional contributions included,Jack Hannah,Sid Marcus andAlex Lovy,who returned to the studio since the early 40s. The Lantz studio would also make several more recurring characters in this era, such asMaw and Paw,Maggie & Sam,Windy & Breezy,Inspector Willoughby,Hickory, Dickory, and Doc,andThe Beary Family
Lantz eventually closed his studio's doors for the final time in 1972, saying that continuing to produce shorts would be impossible due to the rising production costs. However, for Lantz, Woody Woodpecker's survival was lengthened when he started appearing inThe Woody Woodpecker Showfrom 1957 to 1987, from which it entered syndication until 1990. NBC revived the show three times—in 1991, 1992, and 1997, Lantz sold all of theWoody Woodpeckershorts toUniversal,then part ofMCA.
Terrytoons
[edit]Pre-Terrytoons era
[edit]Before Paul Terry created his own studio, he was employed byBray Productionsin 1916, where he created his first popular character,Farmer Al Falfa.Later in 1921, he worked atFables Pictures, Inc,founded byKeith-Albee-Orpheumand soon purchased byAmedee J. Van Beurenin 1928. There he would work on theAesop's Film Fablescartoon series. Van Beuren however became anxious due to the phenomenon of a new film format of pre-synchronized sound in film. Beuren urged Terry to produce films in this format, but refused, forcing him to fire Terry in 1929.
Formation and Financial Backing
[edit]After losing hisAesop's Film Fablesseries to Van Beuren Studios in 1929, Terry established a new studio calledTerrytoons.Terrytoons produced 26 cartoons a year forE.W. Hammons'Educational Pictures,which in turn supplied short-subject product to theFox Film Corporation.When the studio was later reformed into20th Century Foxin 1935, the studio withdrew support of Educational Pictures and financially backed Terry's studio instead. Educational Pictures would eventually fold in the late 30's. Terry's cartoons of the 1930s were mainly produced black-and-white and has very few recurring characters, with the exception ofFarmer Al Falfa,who had appeared in Paul Terry's cartoons since the silent era.
The 1930s and 1940s brought Terry's most popular and successful characters,Gandy Goosebeginning in 1938,Mighty Mousebeginning in 1942, andHeckle and Jeckle,developed by combining what was originally a husband-and-wife pair of mischievousmagpiesfrom the 1946Farmer Al FalfacartoonThe Talking Magpieswith Terry's notion that twin brothers or look-alikes had comic possibilities. Other characters includeDinky Duckin 1939, Dimwit the Dog (originally paired with Heckle and Jeckle),Sourpuss(usually paired with Gandy Goose) and among others. Terrytoons was also nominated four times for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film:All Out for Vin 1942,My Boy, Johnnyin 1944,Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Lifein 1945, andSidney's Family Treein 1958. Despite the success, the Terrytoon cartoons are known to have the lowest-budgets out of any major studio at the time. Paul Terry mainly produced cartoons from a business point of view rather than for their artistic value. He would also go on to say, "Let Walt Disney be theTiffany'sof the business. I want to be theWoolworth's!"[114]However, Terrytoons is considered an early stepping stone for several prominent animators, such asJoseph Barbera,andArt Babbitt.
The CBS era
[edit]Terry retired after selling his company and its backlog toCBSin 1956. CBS continued to operate the studio for the rest of its lifetime, withGene Deitchnow in charge as a creative director. Terrytoons underwent significant changes under Deitch's leadership. Unlike Terry, Deitch wanted to stray away from the studios strict contemperary format, and make cartoons in a more minimalist style, similar to that ofUPA.Terrytoons was also divided between producing theatrical short and cartoons for television, as well as having new characters such asTom Terrific,Lariat Sam,Deputy Dawg,Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon, John Doormat, and Clint Clobber (often confused as Tom's human owner in Deitch'sTom and Jerry). Deitch was later fired in 1959, and was replaced with William M. Weiss, who reverted some of Deitch's decision's for the studio. The era is also well known as the starting career ofRalph Bakshi,who started out as an opaquer and later a director. Bakshi would later move toFamous Studiosin 1967. Terrytoons eventually fizzled out and closed in 1972.
Other Known Animation Studios
[edit]Van Beuren Studios
[edit]
In 1928, producerAmadee J. Van BeurenboughtKeith-Albee-Orpheum'sFables PicturesStudio and formed a partnership withPaul Terryfor the production of theAesop's Film Fablescartoon series. In 1929, Terry left to start his own studio and was replaced by John Foster who took over the animation department, and renamed the studioVan Beuren Studios. Van Beuren continued the Aesop's Fables series, and unsuccessfully tried a cartoon adaptation ofradioblackfacecomediansAmos 'n Andy.Other Van Beuren cartoons featuredTom and Jerry(not the cat and mouse, but aMutt and Jeff-like human duo,) andOtto Soglow's comic strip characterThe Little King.Frank TashlinandJoseph Barberawere among animators who worked briefly for the studio during its short life.
In 1934, as other studios were putting animated cartoons in Technicolor as an answer to Disney'sSilly Symphoniescartoon series, Van Beuren Studio abandoned its remaining cartoons and answered Disney's use of Technicolor by creating theRainbow Paradeseries, which was all color. However, the series was not a success, and by 1936,RKO Pictures,the distributor of Van Beuren's cartoons, ended their contract with them to distribute Disney's cartoons instead.[115]Van Beuren would close the studio in 1938, and pass away not long after. Most of its staff would either move toTerrytoons,Fleischer Studiosor other studios in the East or West Coast.
This studio along with Fleischer were cited for causing the formation of theScreen Cartoonist's Guildin 1938, as Van Beuren's studio was noted for its poor treatment of union workers by either Van Beuren himself or directorBurt Gillett.[116][117]Van Beuren has said to have closed his studio as he refused to accept unionization within his business.[118]
The Iwerks Studio/Cartoon Films Limited
[edit]In 1930, distributorPat Powersconvinced Walt Disney animatorUb Iwerksto leave the Disney studio and create his own, believing that Iwerks was responsible for much of Disney's early success. Iwerks opened his studio that year with Powers as his financial backer. Iwerk's first made cartoons forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer,creating characters such asFlip the FrogandWillie Whopper.MGM later ended distributing his cartoons in favor of releasingHarman and Ising's cartoons instead.
After his stay with MGM, Iwerks' cartoons were distributed by Celebrity Pictures, and Iwerks would answer to Disney's use of Technicolor and create theComiColor Cartoonseries, which aired cartoons in two-strip Cinecolor.[119]However, by 1936, the Iwerks Studio began to experience financial setbacks and closed after Powers withdrew financial aid to the studio.[120]After animating atWarner Bros.,creatingGabby Goatand subcontracting cartoons forColumbia Picturesat the time, Iwerks returned to Disney in 1940, where he worked as the head of the "special effectsdevelopment "division until his death in 1971.
Iwerks left behind his animation studio following his return to Disney. It would soon be reorganized asCartoon Films Ltd,with British-based angel investor Lawson Harris becoming the studio producer and Paul Fennell as the director.[121]The studio's main output were animated shorts for products,[122]but were most known for their specialties for Columbia. One short-lived series,The Changing World,was planned to have six shorts produced and would be intended to document events before and duringWorld War II,but was later scrapped after two shorts.[123]Another short entitledThe Carptenderswas produced and featured the antics of Mr. Teewilliger and his bumbling employees Clancy and Herman. The studio would continue to produce animated commercials following their work with Columbia.
Republic Pictures
[edit]In 1946, Republic Pictures incorporated a piece of animation by Walter Lantz intoSioux City,a western starring Gene Autry. That same year,Bob Clampett,who had just left Warner Bros., got to direct one cartoon with the titleIt's a Grand Old Nagbefore the company cancelled a potential animated series.[124]
Later in 1949, Republic started a new cartoon series calledJerky Journeys,led by radio comedy writer Leonard L. Levinson. The cartoons were noted to use limited animation, and were described as satirical travelogue films with small budgets.[125]Art Heinemann was the lead layout designer, Miles Pike provided the special effects and Warner artist'sRobert Gribbroek,Peter AlvaradoandPaul Julianprovided the background paintings. Republic discontinued the series after four cartoons were made.
John Sutherland Productions
[edit]John Sutherlandfounded his own studioJohn Sutherland Productionsin 1945 after working inWalt Disney Productionsand the US Army with a series of World War II training films.[126]The studio would mainly be known for producing educational/instructional based animation granted by theHarding Collegewith the help ofAlfred P. Sloan.One of their more notable films isMake Mine Freedom,a 1948 cartoon that was the first in a series of pro-free enterprisefilms produced by the studio. Sutherland was able to hire prominent artists in the industry such asEmery Hawkins,Phil Roman and a large bulk of ex-Harman & Ising animators to work on his cartoons. Sutherland's studio was able to develop a relationship with MGM, who would distribute some of there shorts in the late 40s to early 50s. Sutherland would also dabble into stop-motion animation as well, such as producing theDaffy Dittyshorts withLarry MoreyforUnited Artists.[127]Sutherland produced 45 films from 1945 until his retirement in 1973.
George Pal Productions
[edit]George Palwas a Hungarian filmmaker who originally produced traditionally animated and stop motion puppetry cartoons in Europe during the 1930's. Unlike other films that feature puppetry, Pal's shorts utilized replacement animation, which uses a series of different carved wooden puppets for each frame to emulated movement, rather than using a single puppet. It was considered to be early version ofstop motion animation.Some of his shorts were advertisements for specific products, such as thePhilipsRadio system inThe Ship of the EtherandPhilips Cavalcade.
Pal moved to the United States in 1939 and was contracted by Paramount to produce a series of stop-motion based puppet shorts, under the nameMadcap Modelsand laterPuppetoons.Seven Puppetoon films from 1941 to 1947 were nominated for Academy Awards forBest Animated Short Film,and would create several recurring characters, such as Jasper and Mr. Strauss. By 1947 however, rising production costs made Paramount to discontinue the series. Pal would continue to work with Paramount as a producer and a director for there live action movies.
Jerry Fairbanks Productions
[edit]While not mainly involved in the medium,Jerry Fairbanksdid work on several animation projects for. In 1941, Fairbanks produced the successfulSpeaking of Animalsshort subjects based on an idea conceptualized byTex Avery,resulting in being nominated twice for anAcademy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.In the late 40's and early 50's, Fairbanks also produced industrial based films with occasion animated sequences byManny Gould,Lou Lillyand Anna Osborn. Fairbanks also worked onCrusader Rabbitas a supervising producer.
Jay Ward Productions
[edit]Founded in 1948 by animatorJay Ward,Jay Ward Productions aired the first cartoon made for television,Crusader Rabbitand is also remembered forThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends(1959–1964), as well as several iconic advertisements, such as those for breakfast cereals. Employing alimited animationstyle, the success of Jay Ward cartoons laid in its densely-packed visual gags and wordplay.
The Jam Handy Organization
[edit]Jam Handy, a known Olympic swimmer and water polo player, was known for founding his ownChicago-based studio, The Jam Handy Organization, after working as an industrial representative forBray Productions.Though he is best known for producing films for the auto industry, Handy has also dabbled into animation as well. Handy has made numerous animated shorts featuringNicky Nome,a character made to advertise theChevroletforGeneral Motors.[128]
Perhaps Handy's best known animated short was the1948 adaptationofRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,sponsored byMontgomery Ward.It was the first known animated adaptation of the titular character and was produced and directed byMax Fleischer.[129]
Trends
[edit]Sound in animation
[edit]While much of the focus in an animated cartoon is on the visuals, the vocal talents and symphonic scores that accompanied the images were also very important to the animated cartoons' success. As motion pictures drew audiences away from their radio sets, it also drew talented actors and vocal impressionists into film and animation.Mel Blancgave voice to most of Warner Bros. more popular characters, including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig (starting in 1937), and Daffy Duck. Other voices and personalities fromvaudevilleandradiocontributed to the popularity of animated films in the Golden Era. Some of these (generally uncredited) actors includedCliff Edwards(also known asUkulele Ike),Arthur Q. Bryan,Stan Freberg,Bea Benaderet,Bill Thompson,Grace Stafford,Jim Backus,June Foray,andDaws Butler.
Cartoons of this era also included scores played bystudio orchestras.Carl Stallingat Schlesinger/Warner Bros.,Scott Bradleyat MGM andSammy Timberg/Winston Sharplesat Paramount composed numerous cartoon soundtracks, creating original material as well as incorporating familiar classical and popular melodies. Many of the early cartoons, particularly those of Disney'sSilly Symphoniesseries, were built around classical pieces. These cartoons sometimes featured star characters, but many had simple nature themes.
Stop motion and special effects
[edit]For a great part of the history of Hollywood animation, the production of animated films was an exclusive industry that did not branch off very often into other areas. The various animation studios worked almost exclusively on producing animated cartoons and animated titles for movies. Only occasionally was animation used for other aspects of the movie industry. The low-budgetSuperman serialsof the 1940s used animated sequences of Superman flying and performing super-powered feats which were used in the place of live-action special effects, but this was not a common practice.
The exclusivity of animation also resulted in the birth of a sister industry that was used almost exclusively for motion picture special effects:stop motionanimation. In spite of their similarities, the two genres of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation rarely came together during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Stop-motion animation made a name for itself with the 1933 box-office hitKing Kong,where animatorWillis O'Briendefined many of the major stop motion techniques used for the next 50 years. The success ofKing Kongled to a number of other early special effects films, includingMighty Joe Young,which was also animated by O'Brien and helped to start the careers of several animators, includingRay Harryhausen,who came into his own in the 1950s.George Palwas the only stop-motion animator to produce a series of stop-motion animated cartoons for theatrical release, thePuppetoonseries for Paramount, some of which were animated by Ray Harryhausen. Pal went on to produce several live-action special effects-laden feature films.
Stop motion animation reached the height of its popularity during the 1950s. The exploding popularity ofscience fictionfilms led to an exponential development in the field of special effects, and George Pal became the producer of several popular special effects-laden films. Meanwhile, Ray Harryhausen's work on such films asThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms,Earth vs. the Flying Saucers,andThe Seventh Voyage of Sinbaddrew in large crowds and encouraged the development of "realistic" special effects in films. These effects used many of the same techniques as cel animation, but still the two media did not often come together. Stop motion developed to the point whereDouglas Trumbull's effects in2001: A Space Odysseyseemed lifelike to an unearthly degree.
Hollywood special effects continued to develop in a manner that largely avoidedcel animation,though several memorable animated sequences were included in live-action feature films of the era. The most famous of these was a scene during the movieAnchors Aweigh,in which actorGene Kellydanced with an animatedJerry Mouse(ofTom and Jerryfame). But except for occasional sequences of this sort, the only real integration of cel animation into live-action films came in the development of animated credit and title sequences.Saul Bass' opening sequences forAlfred Hitchcock's films (includingVertigo,North by Northwest,andPsycho) are highly praised, and inspired several imitators.
The wartime era
[edit]The major Hollywood studios contributed greatly to the war effort, and their cartoon studios pitched in as well with various contributions. At the Fleischer studios, Popeye the Sailor joined the Navy and began fightingNazisand "Japs"; while the Warner Bros. studio produced a series ofPrivate Snafuinstructional film cartoons especially for viewing by enlisted soldiers. Even Disney was involved in the war effort, producing both satirical comedies such asDer Fuhrer's Face,and commentaries such asEducation for Death.
Decline of theatrical shorts
[edit]DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
[edit]The 1960s saw some creative sparks in the theatrical film medium, in particular fromDePatie–Freleng Enterprises.Their first and most successful project was animating the opening titles for the 1964 film,The Pink Panther,starringPeter Sellers.The film and its animated sequences were so successful thatUnited Artistscommissioned the studio to produce a Pink Panther cartoon series. The first short,The Pink Phink,won theAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film of 1964.The studio also produced other successful cartoon series such asThe InspectorandThe Ant and the Aardvark.
MGM Animation/Visual Arts
[edit]Meanwhile, Chuck Jones, who had been fired from Warner Bros., moved to MGM to produce thirty-four theatricalTom and Jerrycartoons in late 1963. These cartoons were animated in his distinctive style, but they never quite matched the popularity of the Hanna-Barbera originals of the 1940s and 1950s heyday. However, they were more successful than theGene DeitchTom and Jerryshorts, which were produced overseas during 1961 and 1962.
From 1964 to 1967, DePatie–Freleng producedLooney TunesandMerrie Melodiesshorts under contract with Warner Bros. These cartoons can be recognized easily because they use the modern abstract WB logos instead of the famous bullseye WB shield concentric circles. The studio also subcontracted 11Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runnercartoons to Format Films. DePatie–Freleng ceased production ofLooney Tunesand moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1967 to continue production of theirPink Panthercartoons producing the final original theatrical cartoon in 1977. The subsequent Pink Panther shorts 1978–1981 were originally produced for television and then released into theaters. In 1967, WB would resume production on their own cartoons, before shutting down the theatrical animated cartoon department altogether in 1969. In 1981, the studio was purchased byMarvel Comicsand was renamedMarvel Productions.
Hanna-Barbera
[edit]In 1946, the animation union of the time negotiated a pay increase of 25%, making the cartoons more expensive to produce on a general basis. After the 1948 verdict following theHollywood Antitrust case,there was no longer a booking guarantee on the theatres for cartoons from any of the studios, making it a more risky business and because of this less resources were invested in the theatrical shorts, causing a gradual decline. By the beginning of the 1950s, the medium of television was beginning to gain more momentum, and the animation industry began to change as a result. At the head of this change were the tandem ofWilliam HannaandJoseph Barbera,the creators ofTom and Jerry.The newHanna-Barberautilized thelimited animationstyle that UPA had pioneered. With this limited animation, Hanna and Barbera created several characters includingHuckleberry Hound,The Flintstones,Yogi Bear,Top CatandThe Jetsons.With television's growing popularity, which included theSaturday morning cartoons,a much more significant decline began in movie-going in the 1960s. To face the competition from TV, the theaters did what they could to reduce their own costs. One way of doing so was booking features only and avoiding the expenses of shorts, which were considered unnecessary and too expensive. Those few shorts that found their way to the theaters despite this are often viewed by critics as inferior to their predecessors.
Timeline
[edit]This is a timeline of golden age ofAmerican animationstudios' active production of regularly released animated cartoon shorts for theatrical exhibition. Some studios continue to release animated shorts to theaters on an infrequent basis. The colors correspond to the american animation studio's associated theatrical distributor.
Legacy
[edit]Seven animated features from Disney (Snow White,Pinocchio,Fantasia,Dumbo,Bambi,CinderellaandSleeping Beauty) and several animated cartoon shorts (Steamboat Willie,Betty Boop's take ofSnow White,Three Little Pigs,Popeye Meets Sinbad the Sailor,Porky in Wackyland,Gerald McBoing Boing,The Tell-Tale Heart,Duck AmuckandWhat's Opera Doc?) were each inducted into theNational Film Registry.[130]The aforementioned shorts were also part of animation historian'sJerry Beck's 1994 book survey ofThe 50 Greatest Cartoons.[131]
Depictions in popular culture
[edit]The 1988 filmWho Framed Roger Rabbithas honored both the golden age of American animation andclassical Hollywood cinema.[132]The film featured cameos of various famous animated cartoon characters from multiple animation studios, such as Disney, Warner Bros., Fleischer Studios, Universal, among others. The film also contains the only time in cinematic history that Disney'sMickey MouseandDonald Duckcross over with Warner Bros. Studios'Bugs BunnyandDaffy Duck,respectively, onscreen. In fact, the golden age of American animation is very influential in that it would later pave the way to certain animated cartoon shows like:Tiny Toon Adventures,Animaniacs,Bonkers,Taz-ManiaandDuck Dodgers(influenced by theLooney Tunesshort films),Ren and Stimpy(influenced by the Warner Bros. and MGM cartoons), the animated series ofBatmanandSuperman(influenced by theatrical cartoons ofSuperman),The Simpsons(influenced byThe Flintstones), andMickey Mouse WorksandHouse of Mouse(influenced by Walt Disney's cartoons).[133][134][135][136][137][138][139]Likewise, the Fleischer aesthetic of the aforementioned animated superhero series was combined to recreate the futuristic designs ofBatman Beyond,Loonatics UnleashedandThe Spectacular Spider-Man,[140][141][142]whileThe Jetsonsaesthetic influenced the retro designs ofKim Possible.[143]
Most of theDisney Renaissancemovies and the feature filmThe Princess and the Frogwere made with similar animation techniques to those of the golden age.[144]In addition, the 1999 feature filmFantasia 2000is a direct sequel to the original 1940 feature filmFantasia.Generally also linked to the Disney Renaissance, as it commemorates the 59th anniversary and 60th anniversary of Walt Disney's third animated movie.[145]Furthermore,CGIfeature films likeCars,Tangled,Frozen,Puss in Boots: The Last WishandThe Wild Robot,were also inspired by classic animations.[146][147][148][149][150]On the other hand,Robin Hoodwas produced with recycled animations and designs from the original Walt Disney films, while the short filmMickey's Christmas Carolwas recognized for the return of classic Disney characters to theatrical animation.[151][152]In fact, the golden age has also influenced other animated short films, such asPaperman,Get a Horse!,Prise de BecandThe Brave Locomotive.[153][154][155]Likewise, the first Winnie the Pooh animated shorts were compiled with new ones in the feature filmThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,getting its own popular franchise.[156]On the other hand, Ray Harryhausen's stop motion animation served as inspiration for the production of the feature filmThe Nightmare Before Christmas,[157]while the special effects themes inForbidden Planetand2001: A Space Odysseyinspired other science fiction productions, including the firstStar Trektelevision series, the firstStar Warsfilm trilogy, plus the moviesAlien,Blade RunnerandThe Terminator.[158][159][160]
Other animated feature films such as:The Rescuers,The Brave Little Toaster,Oliver & Company,The Land Before Time,All Dogs Go to Heaven,The Nutcracker Prince,Thumbelina,The Swan Princess,Balto,Cats Don't Dance,Anastasia,The King and IandThe Iron Giant,were also influenced by the aesthetics in the animations of the golden age.[161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169]This trend of making animations with classic designs was very relevant during therenaissance age of American animation,a period in which the nostalgia market was particularly strong among the audience, starting withThe Great Mouse DetectiveandAn American Tail.[170][171]
Tex Avery's cartoons served as inspiration for the development of the video game franchisesCrash Bandicoot,Spyro the Dragon,Jak and Daxter,Ratchet & ClankandTy the Tasmanian Tiger,[172][173][174][175][176]as well as heavily influencing the designs andslapstickhumor of the originalIce Age,MadagascarandKung Fu Pandaanimated trilogies.[177][178][179]Similarly,Banjo-Kazooiewas made to attract a wide audience and with reference to Walt Disney's classic films,[180]whileSly Cooperwas influenced by the designs of classiccelanimated films.[181]Additionally, Disney's period during thesilent eraand the golden age influenced the development of the 2010 video gameEpic Mickey.[182]In addition, the 2017 video gameCupheadand the 2022interactive filmCat Burglarfeature a classic animation style inspired by the works of Disney, Tex Avery and Fleischer from this period.[183][184]
Impact in other countries
[edit]The golden age of American animation, especiallyWalt Disney's cartoons, was very influential around the world, particularly:
- InChina,the Chinese animatorsWan brotherswere influenced by Disney and Fleischer animated feature films in makingPrincess Iron Fan(1941) andHavoc in Heaven(1961).[185][186]
- InFrance,the French animatorPaul Grimaultwas influenced by Disney's animated feature films in making hismagnum opusThe King and the Mockingbird(first released in 1952 and starringPeter Ustinovas the mockingbird; in 1980 Grimault would release his own version after retaining the rights to the film).[187]
- InGermany,the German animatorHans Fischerkoesenwas influenced by the theatrical cartoons of this period.[188]Likewise, Walt Disney's cartoons served as inspiration forRolf Kaukain German comics, especially withFix and Foxi,and the 1973 feature filmOnce Upon a Time.[189]
- InItaly,the incompleted 1936 animated feature filmThe Adventures of Pinocchioalmost managed to compete with Walt Disney's animated productions.[190]
- InJapan,the Japanese mangakaOsamu Tezukawas greatly influenced by Walt Disney's animation alongside the Fleischers. This allowed him to make the drawings ofKimba the White Lion,Astro BoyandPrincess Knight.[191]Likewise, Walt Disney's cartoons served as inspiration forShigeru Miyamoto,thus developing theSuper Mariovideo game franchise.[192]Similarly,Naoto Ohshimawas inspired by the mixed designs ofFelix the CatandMickey Mouseto createSonic the Hedgehog.[193]In addition,PopeyeandKing Kongserved as inspiration in making the 1981 arcade video gameDonkey Kong,[194]while theRhedosaurusserved as inspiration forIshirō Hondain the production of the 1954 Japanese feature filmGodzilla,developing thekaijufilm genre during theAtomic Age.[195][196]
- InRussia,the Russian animatorLev Atamanovwas influenced by Disney's animated feature films in makingThe Snow Queen(1957).[197]
- InSpain,the golden age influenced Spanish animators such as:Arturo Moreno,José María Blay, Cruz Delgado,Sergio Pablosor theCifesastudio. Highlighting feature films:Garbancito de la Mancha(1945),Alegres vacaciones(1948),Érase una vez...(1950),Los sueños de Tay-Pi(1952),Mágica aventura(1973),Los viajes de Gulliver(1983) andKlaus(2019), as well as the popular animated adaptations ofDon Quixote(1979) andLos Trotamúsicos(1989).[198][199][200][201]Likewise, Walt Disney's cartoons served as inspiration forJosé Sanchis Grauin Spanish comics, especially withEl Soldadito PepeandPumby.[202]
- In theUnited Kingdom,Ray Harryhausen's stop motion animation inspiredFirst Men in the Moon(1964) andOne Million Years B.C.(1966).[203][204]
See also
[edit]
- History of animation
- Animated cartoon
- Animation
- Cartoon
- List of animation shorts
- Animation in the United States during the silent era
- Golden Age of Comic Books
- Golden Age of Hollywood
- Golden Age of Radio
- Golden Age of Television
- Rubber hose animation
- Toon In With Me- theMeTVprogram featuring Golden Age cartoons
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