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1930s

A Little Soap and Water

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Adolph Zukor Dave Copeland

Release Date: 21/06/1935

"Betty Boop tries to give her dog, Pudgy, a bath, but Pudgy has other ideas."

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...."

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..."

Betty Boop for President

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 04/11/1932

"Betty Boop runs a wildly popular presidential campaign against the despised Mr. Nobody."

Bosko Shipwrecked!

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising

Release Date: 19/09/1931

"Bosko attempts to steer a boat through a storm to no avail. He then washes ashore only to be hassled by the local wildlife.Bosko and the lion's alternation between movement towards and away from the spectator deserves particular note for its innovati..."

Broken Toys

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 14/12/1935

""A sailor doll, thrown into a toy dump, rallies the demoralized dolls that were already there.""

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..."

Candy Town

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Amadee J. Van Beuren

Release Date: 01/13/1933

"Also known as Silvery Moon. "As two feline sweethearts sail along Moonlight Bay, the moon invites them up for a visit. They discover the moon is not made of green cheese, as is rumored, but is actually a land of candy, ice cream and cake.""

Carl W. Stalling

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

"Carl Stalling was the composer of Warner Bros. Cartoon classic Looney Tunes, serving as composer and arranger for over 22 years and averaging the completion of a score per week. St..."

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..."

Egyptian Melodies

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 21/06/1931

"A spider enters the Sphinx in Egypt. Inside he falls down stairs, hides from dancing mummies and witnesses murals come to life. He then runs away, afraid."

Ferdinand the Bull

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 25/11/1938

"Ferdinand is a quiet, peaceful young bull who only wants to stop and smell the flowers. But, when he is stung by a bee, the townspeople believe he is ferocious and take him to the bullfight ring."

Flip the Frog – Fiddlesticks

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Ub Iwerks Pat Powers

Release Date: 16/08/1930

"A straight forward narrative following flip and assorted animals making music."

Flip the Frog – School Days

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Release Date: 14/05/1932

"School Days features Flip trying to prevent his dog from coming to school with him. His dog eventually comes all the way to school, however, wreaking havoc in the classroom by chasing a skunk in. Everyone runs from the classroom, ending school early."

Flip the Frog – Spooks

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Ub Iwerks Pat Powers

Release Date: 21/12/1931

"Seeking shelter from a storm, Flip and his horse arrive at a house which, unbeknownst to them, is inhabited entirely by skeletons. Flip sits through a ghoulish dinner with the head of the house before enjoying a bout of dancing with a lady skeleton. ..."

Flip the Frog: Soda Squirt

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Ub Iwerks, Pat Powers

Release Date: 12/10/1933

""Flip the Frog is a soda jerk who serves movie stars, but one of his concoctions changes an effeminate man into Mr. Hyde.""

I Love to Singa

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 18/07/1936

""A spoof of Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer", a strict piano teaching owl is cursed with a son who "loves to singa", but only jazz.""

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..."

Laverne Harding

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

"Laverne Harding was the second female studio animator in history, and one of the first to receive onscreen credit for her work. She started out as an inker for the Walter Lantz Productions, moving on to do animation work for several of the Lantz Prod..."

Lillian Friedman Astor

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

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

Lillian Friedman Astor

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

"Lillian Friedman Astor was born in New York City. She developed a passion for drawing as a preteen, and went on to attend Washington Irving High School, focusing on fashion design. After a brief stint as a fashion designer upon graduation, she sought..."

Making ‘Em Move

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Release Date: 1931

"A classic 1931's cartoon from Van Beuren Studios, Make 'Em Move depicts a mischievous female character whom stumbles in onto the scene of a cartoon factory bursting with drawings and jazz music. The animals depicted create animation much like themsel..."

Martin Arnold Films

Filed under: resource, , , , , , ,

"Martin Arnold's films use segments of old American cartoons, from which he has obscured and deleted features in order to focus viewer attention on the sound, repetition and movement of specific and recurring forms.His work has been shown at 168 inter..."

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..."

Michael Maltese

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

"Born in New York City to Italian immigrants, Michael Maltese studied at the National Academy of Art and Design, before landing his first animation job working as a colourist for Betty Boop cartoons, in 1935. He and his wife, Florence Sass, later move..."

Midnight Frolics

Filed under: animation, , , , , ,

Producer(s): Charles Mintz

Release Date: 24/11/1938

""A mouse and a cuckoo bird, skeptical about the existence of ghosts, are startled by a midnight visit from a sextet of spirits, all men who once wooed a Florador show-girl.""

Milton (Milt) Kahl

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

"Milt Kahl was an renown animator and director who was a part of Disney's group of “Nine Old Men”, who created and designed many Disney characters, and whose distinctive style had a large influence within the history of the studio. "

Minnie the Moocher

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer 

Release Date: 11/03/1932

"“Minnie the Moocher” begins with a live action performance by Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Cab Calloway of “St. James Infirmary Blues,” which segues into the Betty Boop cartoon. The cartoon begins with a typical mealtime setting i..."

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 ..."

Oskar Fischinger

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

"Oskar Fischinger was a German-American painter, filmmaker and abstract animator. He invented several tools and techniques for special effects. While personally producing a vast amount of abstract fine art and film, he also collaborated with pioneer f..."

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 ..."

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..."

Pigs is Pigs

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 30/01/1937

"This 1937 Merrie Melodies short stereotypes pigs as gluttonous, insatiable beings whose mortal sins have explosive consequences. Piggy has a hunger that cannot be fulfilled, and much to the chagrin of his mother all he does throughout the day is fant..."

Popeye the Sailor

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 14/07/1933

"This Popeye The Sailor cartoon features Betty Boop, as well as a live action intro featuring Popeye on the cover of a real newspaper. In this cartoon short Olive and Popeye go to the fun fare, and play games in attempt to win prizes, only to be usu..."

Popeye the Sailor: Seasin’s Greetinks!

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 17/12/1933

"Popeye and Olive Oyl go for a skate on a chilly winter day. Bluto tries to spoil their fun, but of course he's no match for Popeye and his spinach. "

Porky’s Romance

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 03/04/1937

"Porky attempts to woo Petunia with flowers and candy. Though she initially spurns him, she invites him in when she sees the chocolate. Porky proposes to her, only to be cruelly rejected. He attempts to hang himself, only for the branch to break under..."

Puddle Pranks

Filed under: animation, , , ,

Producer(s): Ub Iwerks Pat Powers

Release Date: 1930

"Flip and his sweetheart ride a cricket drawn wagon only to be pursued by a relentless stork."

Robert Fred “Freddie” Moore

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

"Freddie Moore was a highly influential animator with Walt Disney Productions in a crucial era of its development during the 30s, up until the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and the establishment of the core group of animators k..."

Sadie Friedlander Bodin

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

"Sadie Bodin was an extremely influential animator, being the first to picket an animation studio during the fight for animation workers' rights in the 1930s. Bodin was also one of the few women animators to move up into managerial positions, becoming..."

Sammy Timberg

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

"Sammy Timberg was the musical director for Fleischer Studios and one of the most important composers of music in the history of American cartoons. Although Timberg had a long career that began in vaudeville in the 1910s, Timberg is best known for th..."

Scott Bradley

Filed under: people, , , , , ,

"Scott Bradley was a film composer who wrote acclaimed music for many memorable cartoons during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He is best known for his work at MGM, scoring the..."

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."

Shiver Me Timbers!

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Fleischer Studios

Release Date: 27/07/1934

"Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy stumble across a ghost ship. They climb aboard, and it proceeds to scare them in various ways."

Silly Scandals

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Adolph Zukor

Release Date: 23/05/1931

"This cartoon marks the origin of Betty Boop (at least the name anyway, the character, or at least one with an uncanny resemblance, had appeared before). Bimbo sneaks into a vaudeville theater to see Betty perform. He is enthralled with her performanc..."

Sinkin’ In The Bathtub

Filed under: animation, , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 19/04/1930

"Both racist and a blatant ripoff of Mickey Mouse, this is the first Looney Tunes cartoon. It follows Bosko bathing and then having an adventure on a tiny anthropomorphic train, during this he courts Honey. "

Snow White

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 31/03/1933

"A slim musical adaptation of Snow White's tale. Despite the queen's order to behead Betty (Snow White), the two guards, Bimbo and Koko, rescued Betty and entered a cave where Koko's renowned dancing rotoscoped from Cab Calloway. The evil queen pursue..."

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 Band Concert

Filed under: animation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 23/02/1935

"Mickey and his friends Peter Pig, Paddy Pig, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, and Goofy try to put on an outdoor concert. As they attempt to play the William Tell Overture they face many problems, chief among them Donald Duck and a pesky bee. "

The Bandmaster

Filed under: animation, , , , ,

Producer(s): Walter Lantz

Release Date: 18/05/1931

"Oswald conducts, and then a slew of seemingly random events ensue. Although at moments narrative causality matters, for the most part spectacle drives the cartoon (for example, when objects seemingly magically transform)."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1937-09-06

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Carl Ed, Les Forgrave, Chester Gould, King, Lichty, J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel, George McManus, Paul Robinson

"Page 1Grin and Bear It (Lichty)Dick Tracy (Chester Gould) - "Crime Does Not Pay"Etta Kett (Paul Robinson) - "The Modern Miss"Dixie Dugan (J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel) - "Thomas Slips a Mooring"Big Sister (Leslie Forgrave) - "Under Cover"Bringing ..."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1937-09-07

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Carl Anderson, Branner, Fanny Cory, Carl Ed, Gus Edson, Les Forgrave, Chester Gould, Zane Grey, King, Lichty, J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel, George McManus, William Ritt and Clarence Gray, Paul Robinson, George Swan

"Page 1Grin and Bear it (Lichty)Dick Tracy (Chester Gould) - "Crime Does Not Pay"Etta Kett (Paul Robinson) - "The Depths of Reason"Dixie Dugan (J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel) - "The Love Birds" Big Sister (Leslie Forgrave)- "As It Glitters" Bringing..."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1937-12-06

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Carl Ed, Les Forgrave, Chester Gould, King, Lichty, J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel, George McManus, Paul Robinson

"Page 1Grin and Bear it (Lichty)Dick Tracy (Chester Gould)- "Crime Does Not Pay"Etta Kett (Paul Robinson) - "Music to His Ears"Dixie Dugan (J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel) - "She Isn't Through Yet!"Big Sister (Leslie Forgrave) - "The Boys are Being W..."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1937-12-07

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Carl Anderson, Branner, Fanny Cory, Gus Edson, Zane Grey, William Ritt and Clarence Gray, George Swan

"Page 1Brick Bradford (William Ritt and Clarence Gray) - "What Is Brick Up To?"Little Miss Muffet (Fanny Cory) - "Something Is Wrong"Henry (Carl Anderson)- "The Wonder Child"The Gumps (Gus Edson) - "Min's Not So Dumb"King of the Royal Mounted (Zane Gr..."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1937-12-08

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Carl Ed, Les Forgrave, Chester Gould, King, Lichty, J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel, George McManus, Paul Robinson

"Page 1Grin and Bear It (Lichty)Dick Tracy (Chester Gould)- "Crime Does Not Pay"Etta Kett (Paul Robinson) - "Happy Days!"Dixie Dugan (J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel) - "Danger!"Big Sister (Leslie Forgrave) - "A Turkey is Nearby"Bringing Up Father (G..."

The Minneapolis Journal – 1938-03-27

Filed under: resource, ,

Author: Gene Ahern, Carl Anderson, Ed Anthony, Branner, Loy Byrnes, Edwina Dumm, Carl Ed, Gus Edson, Zane Grey, Chester Gould, Bill Holman, Frank King, Ed Leffingwell, Lichty, J.P. McEvoy and J.H. Striebel, George McManus, Zack Mosley, Al Posen, Paul Robinson, Sidney Smith

"Page 1Dick Tracy (Chester Gould).Page 3Henry (Carl Anderson)The Pussycat Princess (Ed Anthony)

The Minneapolis Journal – undated

Filed under: resource, , ,

Author: Edwin Alger, Carl Anderson, Branner, Fanny Cory, Carl Ed, Gus Edson, Les Forgave, Zane Grey, King, Lichty, J. P. McEvoy and J. H. Striebel, George McManus, Paul Robinson, George Swan

" Page 1Little Miss Muffet (Fanny Cory) - "Cook's Help"Etta Kett (Paul Robinson) - "The Life of Parents"The Gumps (Sidney Smith) - "Ma's Obsession"Ben Webster's Career (Edwin Alger) - "Checking Up"Winnie Winkle, the Breadwinner (Branner) - "Doubl..."