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1920s

Aesop’s Fables Studio

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , ,

"Aesop's Fables Studio was a small animation studio. Aesop's Fables Studio was founded by Paul Terry in 1920 with financial support from the Keith-Albee vaudeville team in order to produce a series of animated shorts called Aesop’s Film Fables. The..."

Aesop’s Fables: Summertime

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Amedee J. Van Beuren Paul Terry

Release Date: 13/10/1929

"This animated short is comprised of three separate scenes featuring various animals. Scene one: The squirrel enjoys listening to the music played by frog and monkey. However, the owl dislikes the monkey-frog duet. Scene two: On a heated day, a ..."

Ann “Little” Rothschild

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Ann L. Rothschild, better known as Little Ann Little, started in show business in 1925 as a part of the Greenwich Village Follies. In the early 1930s, she auditioned for the part of a new cartoon character at Fleischer Studios. Impressed by her high-..."

Bea Benaderet

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Born in New York City to a Turkish-Sephardic tobacconist and an Irish-American woman, Bea Benaderet made a name for herself in the first half of the twentieth century displaying her vocal and comedic talents in animation, radio, television, and film...."

Bedtime

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Alfred Weiss

Release Date: 01/12/1923

"Max Fleischer leaves his creation Koko the Clown stranded on a mountain top so he can get some sleep. Koko gets off the mountain and searches for Fleischer, terrorizing New York (he's grown in size at this point) in the process. The very interesting ..."

Ben “Bugs” Hardaway

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , ,

"Ben Hardaway was an American storyboard artist, voice actor, animator and gagman during the Golden Age of American animation. Supplying the voice of Woody Woodpecker in many cartoon shorts, Hardaway was the man who gave "Bugs Bunny" his iconic name. "

Ben Sharpsteen

Filed under: people, , , , , , , ,

"Ben Sharpsteen was born in Tacoma, Washington on November 4th, 1895 and got his start working for many of the major studios in New York including Hearst, Paramount, and F..."

Burt Gillett

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Burt Gillett was one of the first novice animators to come to Walt Disney Studios and work alongside Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He took a number of important directorial positions at the studio, directing a few of Disney's most important early animat..."

Dave Fleischer

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , ,

"First generation American Jew who grew up in Manhattan. His father had emigrated from Austria in the late 1880’s. He and his brother, Max, distributed their Out of the Inkwell Series by themselves in mid-1921. Sometime in 1922 they signed with dist..."

Dinner Time

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Paul Terry

Release Date: 17/12/1928 (copyright date, possibly not release date)

"An early example of sound animation. In it, animals square off against each other and then join forces against a Butcher (Farmer Alfalfa)."

Émile (Eugène Jean Louis) Courtet

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Émile Cohl was an important early independent cartoonist and animator, who was a caricaturist in the "Incoherent Movement" and has often been called "The Father of the Animated Cartoon.""

Felix Goes to Hollywood

Filed under: animation, , ,

Producer(s): Pat Sullivan

Release Date: 15/07/1923

"Felix the Cat wants to travel to Hollywood but has no money. The owner of a failing shoe store promises Felix $500 if he can help bring in new business. Felix brings in new business but the owner doesn't give him any money. Felix finds a way to get t..."

Felix the Cat – Felix the Ghost-Breaker

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Patrick (Pat) Sullivan

Release Date: 01/01/1923

"Felix (the cat) is trying to sleep in a graveyard, but a ghost keeps waking him up. The ghost escapes to a nearby farm and terrorizes the old farmer. When Felix chases after the ghost, suspecting something fishy is going on, he helps the farmer as a ..."

Hell’s Bells

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 30/10/1929

"In this Silly Symphony, we are introduced to the many creatures of Hell. Satan sits while creatures entertain him and feed him firemilk. When Satan tries to feed a little demon to his hound Cerberus, it runs away and kicks him off the cliff of Hell."

International Film Service

Filed under: studio, , , , , ,

"A subsidiary of William Randolph Hearst's International News Service, IFS was created to translate popular comic strips of the day into cartoons, making them into "living comic strips", and intended to boost paper sales. Following the successes of hi..."

Interplanetary Revolution

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Release Date: 08/18/1924

"Comrade Kominterov undertakes an intergalactic mission to defeat the capitalists and fascists of Mars, and beyond, in this experimental parody of Aelita (Protazanov, 1924)."

Jam Handy Organization

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Jam Handy Organization was founded by Jam Handy just before the First World War. The company produced educational, advertising, and training films. During the First and Second World Wars, Jam Handy Organization animated and produced training and inst..."

Kenzō Masaoka

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Masaoka was one of the first Japanese animators, who also trained and guided artists who would move on to become the next generation of animators. Masaoka is credited with creating the earliest anime using cel animation and recorded sound. He has als..."

Ko-Ko Trains ‘Em

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Alfred Weiss

Release Date: 09/05/1925

"Ko-Ko becomes jealous of Max's attention to his young ward and her dog, and tries to create a circus by training animals, then fleas."

Laugh-O-Gram Studio

Filed under: studio, , , , ,

"Walt Disney incorporated Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc. in May 1922. He set up a studio on the second floor of the McConahy Building at Thirty-first and Forest in New York City. As Paul Terry had used Aesop's Fables for the basis of his cartoons, Disney us..."

Lillian Friedman Astor

Filed under: people, , , , , , , ,

"Lilian Friedman Astor was the first American female studio animator and worked at Fleischer studios."

Margaret Mintz nee Winkler

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , ,

"A crucial figure in the history of the American animation industry, Margaret Winkler was the first woman to produce and distribute animated films, including early works of the Dave and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Active from 1929 to 1957, MGM produced some of the most well-known and well-liked cartoons syndicated all over the world, featuring characters such as Barney Bear, Droopy, and the now-iconic Tom and Jerry. MGM's first foray into animation was thr..."

Nikolai Khodataev

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Born in the village of Konstantinovsk in 1892, the son of a wealthy tsarist official, Nikolai Khodataev took painting lessons in his youth, eventually enrolling in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, at the age of twenty. In ..."

Oswald – All Wet

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Charles Mintz George Winkler

Release Date: 31/10/1927

"Oswald has a hotdog stand that is plagued by mice. He closes the stand to pursue Fanny romantically. After Fanny rejects Oswald's advances, he bribes a lifeguard to let him take over in order that Oswald can impress Fanny. After Fanny notices Oswald ..."

Ōten Shimokawa

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , ,

"Ōten Shimokawa was one of the pioneers of Japanese animation, who is believed to have produced the very first “true” anime film.Shimokawa was born in Maiyakojima Prefecture in 1892, though moved to Tokyo when we was 9. He began his working life..."

Otto Messmer

Filed under: people, , , , , , , ,

"Messmer was a legendary American cartoonist and animator, who was best know as the creator of Felix the Cat, who is considered the first major cartoon star."

Out of the Inkwell Films/Fleischer Studios

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Out of the Inkwell Films, renamed Fleischer Studios in 1929, was founded by brothers- Dave and Max Fleischer, in 1921. The Fleischers' studio was one of the most influential and successful animation studios in the silent era as well as in the Golden ..."

Pat Sullivan

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , ,

"Pat Sullivan was born in 1885 as Patrick Peter O’Sullivan in a working-class suburb of Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pat is best known for producing the Felix the Cat cartoons. There has been controversy surrounding who crea..."

Patrick Anthony (Pat) Powers

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Pat Powers was an influential American businessman who was involved with the film and animation developments inAmericaduring the first part of the twentieth century. His most important development being the work of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, who he b..."

Seymour Kneitel

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Seymour Kneitel was an early American animator, most well known for his work with Fleischer Studios. After the studio closed, he headed its successor, Famous Studios."

Sterling Holloway

Filed under: people, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Born in Cedartown, Georgia to a grocer, Sterling Holloway's acting career began in his teens, when he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where his classmates included Spencer Tracy and Pat O'Brien. After graduation, h..."

Terrytoons

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Paul Terry opened his own animation studio, called Terrytoons, in 1929.   Paul Terry is known in the animation industry for producing his cartoons quickly, and for resisting improvements. Terry’s goal was to produce cartoons at the lowest cost po..."

The Cartoon Factory

Filed under: animation, , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Alfred Weiss

Release Date: 21/02/1924

""KoKo the Clown and a live-action Max Fleischer. Max has invented a new, electric, drawing device. He uses this to finish the drawing and then, with a somewhat maniacal grin on his face, he turns the device on poor, hapless KoKo.""

The Skeleton Dance

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 22/08/1929

"As we hear the chimes at midnight and bats flutter from a belfry; as a hound howls at the full moon and black cats brawl on the tombstones; Through the gloom, white skeletons pass, Running and leaping in their shrouds!"

Van Beuren Studios

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Van Beuren Studios was an animation studio in the 1930s.  After Paul Terry left Aesop's Fables Studio, due to a disagreement over sound with his partner, Amadee J. Van Beuren, Van Beuren reorganized the studio, prepared it for the production of soun..."

Walt Disney Studio

Filed under: studio, , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Walt Disney's Studio first found its headquarters in Burbank, California. A personal winner of of twenty Academy Awards within his lifetime, with a total of 63 total nominations, as well as 4 Special or Honorary Oscars, Disney is remembered as an ico..."