In 1918, Max Fleischer, the innovative mind behind early Walt Disney Studios rival Fleischer Studios, began producing a series of silent cartoon shorts called Out of the Inkwell. Much like earlier efforts by animation pioneers such as Winsor McCay, many entries in this series combined live-action with animation, showing Fleischer drawing the figures that would then…
By 1930, Mickey Mouse had become a bona fide animated star. Since his creation two years earlier at the hands of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, he had starred in almost two dozen black-and-white shorts, ranging from his ever-popular debut in Steamboat Willie to Mickey’s Follies (1929), which introduced “Minnie’s Yoo Hoo,” the song that would remain Mickey’s theme for…
After leaving Disney Brothers, Ub Iwerks’ own self-named animation venture, the Iwerks Studio, opened in 1930. Backed by Celebrity Pictures, with a distribution deal from major studio MGM, Iwerks was in an enviable position right out of the gate, making more money than he had ever made working with Walt Disney. He hired a group…
Like many early figures in the slowly-emerging field of animated film, Winsor McCay initially developed his artistic talent as a comic strip artist and vaudevillian. Born in Canada and educated in the United States, McCay got his start in entertainment doing “chalk talks” on the vaudeville circuit. Much like J. Stuart Blackton, a groundbreaking figure in…
Today, my blog partners Carrie and Nikki celebrate their (mmph mmphth) birthday! Yes, they were born on the exact same day on the exact same year (and no, they aren’t twins). To celebrate the occasion, for today’s Saturday Morning Cartoons entry, I’m posting the appropriately-titled Disney short “Donald’s Happy Birthday” from 1949. Enjoy! Wishing a…
Posting has been somewhat irregular this week, what with life’s many interruptions (in my case, this includes babysitting four children, five cats, and five dogs, in addition to everything else on my overflowing plate). Hopefully, next week we’ll be getting back in the swing of things. For today’s Saturday Morning Cartoons entry, we’re once again…
This week, TIME announced its list of what it considers to be the “All-TIME 25 Best Animated Films,” as determined by film critic Richard Corliss. Let’s just say there are some puzzling inclusions, and some even more startling omissions. The list: 25. Lady and the Tramp (1955) 24. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) 23. Yellow Submarine…
From Make Mine Music, you might recognize this one. If you do, enjoy the nostalgia. If you don’t, you should see it. It’s pretty cute. Fair warning: this song gets in your head. Notice how the box with the bow is similar to boxes in Lady and the Tramp … that’s the only thing I could…
True Classics 