Cartoon Characters

A Little Soap and Water

Filed under: animation, 1930s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Dave Fleischer, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., 1935

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."

Acrobatty Bunny

Filed under: animation, Animation Series, Bugs Bunny, Color, Looney Tunes, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1946

Producer(s): Edward Selzer

Release Date: 29/06/1946

"When the circus arrives they put the lion's cage right over Bugs' rabbit hole."

Ann “Little” Rothschild

Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Dave Fleischer, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., Actor, Voice Actor

"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-..."

Ballot Box Bunny

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Bugs Bunny, Merrie Melodies, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1951

Producer(s): Edward Selzer

Release Date: 06/10/1951

"A political Warner Bros. cartoon in which Yosemite Sam runs a violent campaign for mayor against his challenger Bugs Bunny."

Bea Benaderet

Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., Actor, Voice Actor

"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, 1920s, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Koko the Clown, Silent, U.S.A., 1923

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 ..."

Betty Boop for President

Filed under: animation, 1930s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., 1932

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 04/11/1932

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

Burt Gillett

Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Rainbow Parade, Silly Symphonies, Technicolor, Ub Iwerks, Van Beuren Corporation, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz Productions, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director

"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..."

Carl Barks

Filed under: people, Donald Duck, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Animator, Cartoonist, Storyboard Artist, Storyman

"Carl Barks was an American cartoonist who was most well-known for drawing Donald Duck as well as creating the iconic character of Scrooge McDuck. "

Charles B. Mintz

Filed under: people, Krazy Kat, U.S.A., Producer

"Mintz got his start as a producer of animation after his marriage to Margaret J. Winkler of Winkler Pictures. The company produced over 370 cartoon shorts between 1925-1939. The Columbia cartoon producer studied at St. Lawrence University and started..."

Chuck Jones

Filed under: people, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Looney Tunes, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Porky Pig, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., Warner Bros., Animator, Director

"Chuck Jones was a 14 time Oscar nominee who created over 300 hundred animated films, including some of Warner Bros. most memorable cartoon characters, as well as producing many television specials, and full-length features."

Clayton “Bud” Collyer

Filed under: people, Dave Fleischer, Max Fleischer, Superman, Technicolor, U.S.A., Actor, Voice Actor

"Born in Manhattan to Clayton Johnson Heermance and Caroline Collyer as Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., Clayton "Bud" Collyer initially intended to pursue law as his profession. While attending Fordham University, he began work as a radio singer and an..."

Daffy the Commando

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Daffy Duck, Leon Schlesinger Studios, Looney Tunes, Propaganda, U.S.A., Warner Bros., World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1943

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 20/11/1943

"Daffy Duck parachutes onto a German base in WW2 and torments some Nazis. As he is shot by a cannon, he flies over (whilst holding two American flags, none the less) to a Nazi rally, and smacks Hitler with a hammer. Elements of propaganda abound, but ..."

Dick Huemer

Filed under: people, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Koko the Clown, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios

"An animator during the golden age of animation, Huemer worked for the Disney organization from 1933-1973, an impressive 50 years. Alongside his working partner Joe Grant, Huemer helped create some of the most compelling and memorable animations durin..."

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., 1947

Producer(s): William Hanna Fred Quimby

Release Date: 14/06/1947

"A Tom and Jerry cartoon, riffing off of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which Tom concocts a deadly potion but finds that it only makes Jerry stronger."

Excerpt from Destination Moon

Filed under: animation, 1950s, George Pal, Technicolor, U.S.A., Woody Woodpecker, 1950

Producer(s): George Pal

Release Date: 27/06/1950

"In this excerpt from the film Destination Moon (1950), the physics of rockets and space travel are explained with the iconic cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. "

Feline Follies

Filed under: animation, 1910s, Felix the Cat, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, U.S.A., 1919

Producer(s): Pat Sullivan

Release Date: 01/09/1919

"Master Tom (who would later be renamed Felix the Cat) falls in love with Miss Kitty White. While he is out romancing her, mice create a mess. Master Tom is thrown out due to his ineffective pest control. When he returns to Miss Kitty White he finds a..."

Felix the Cat – Felix the Ghost-Breaker

Filed under: animation, 1920s, Felix the Cat, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, U.S.A., 1923

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 ..."

Ferdinand Horvath

Filed under: people, Aesop's Fables, Color, Columbia Pictures, Early Sound, George Pal, Krazy Kat, Mickey Mouse, Painted Animation, Paul Terry, Puppetoons, Silly Symphonies, Technicolor, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Animation Designer, Animator, Background Artist, Character Designer, Illustrator, Layout Artist, Storyboard Artist

"Ferdinand Horvath was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1891. Horvath was an animator and illustrator at various major animation studios such as Fable Studios, Inc., Walt Disney, and Screen Gems (Columbia Pictures) Horvath died of a stroke on Novem..."

Hamilton (Ham) Luske

Filed under: people, Color, Educational films, Mickey Mouse, Painted Animation, Silly Symphonies, Technicolor, Training films, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Animation Designer, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director, Editorial Cartoonist, Producer, Sequence Animator

"Hamilton Luske was born in Chicago on October 16, 1903. He was an animator, animation supervisor, film director, and producer at Walt Disney for several commercial feature and short-length projects at the studio, as well as working on some of Disn..."

International Film Service

Filed under: studio, 1910s, 1920s, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., 1915

"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..."

Irv Spence

Filed under: people, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Tom and Jerry, Ub Iwerks, Animator, Cartoonist

"Irv Spence was an American animator, sometimes credited as Irven or even Irvin Spence. Spence was best known for his work on MGM’s famous Tom and Jerry, cat and mouse series, but got his start in this month’s featured cartoon working for Ub Iwer..."

Jack Mercer

Filed under: people, Popeye, U.S.A., Voice Actor

"Jack Mercer was born on January 31, 1910. Mercer today is known as the most iconic voice of Popeye. He was an in-betweener at Fleischer before auditioning for the voice of Popeye, ultimately landing the role and recording the voice for the televis..."

John Nelson (Jack) Carey

Filed under: people, Bob Clampett, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Leon Schlesinger Studios, Looney Tunes, Porky Pig, Warner Bros., Winnie the Pooh, Woody Woodpecker, Animator

"Carey's entire career in the field of animation is associated with Leon Schlesinger Productions/Warner Bros. Cartoons, where he started in 1935 as in-betweener and assistant animator for Looney Tunes, and Merrie Melodies. After two years at the studi..."

Joseph (Joe) Oriolo

Filed under: people, Casper the Ghost, Felix the Cat, Animator, Cartoonist

"Oriolo was a cartoon animator who was born in Union City in 1913. He created the famed Casper the Friendly Ghost character, and directed more than one thousand cartoons, including the first syndicated television series of Felix the Cat. "

Ko-Ko Trains ‘Em

Filed under: animation, 1920s, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Koko the Clown, Silent, U.S.A., 1925

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."

Koko’s Earth Control

Filed under: animation, Koko the Clown, 1928

Producer(s): Alfred Weiss Max Fleischer

Release Date: 31/03/1928

""Koko the Clown and his dog Fitz walk into a building where levers that control various aspects of the Earth are located. After Fitz presses a particular lever, the world goes topsy-turvy and out-of-control.""

Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus

Filed under: animation, 1910s, Animated film history and criticism, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., 1916

Producer(s): William Randolph Hearst

Release Date: 17/03/1916

"While at the circus, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse enter into a rivalry over whether cats or mice are braver."

Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing

Filed under: animation, 1910s, Early Sound, Krazy Kat, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios, 1916

Release Date: 29/02/1916

Laverne Harding

Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Daffy Duck, Early Sound, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Joe Barbera, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Oswald, Speedy Gonzales, Technicolor, The Road Runner, U.S.A., Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist

"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..."

Leon Searl

Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist

"Leon Searl (whose name is alternatively spelt "Leon Searle") got his start as a newspaper cartoonist, first working for the Pulitzer Papers on the comic strip "Jimmy Johnnypants" from November of 1905 to February of 1906. He later went on to write at..."

Let’s Celebrake!

Filed under: animation, Early Sound, Popeye, U.S.A., 1938

Producer(s): Max Fleischer

Release Date: 1938

""Popeye invites Olive's grandmother along for a New Year's Eve party.""

Lillian Friedman Astor

Filed under: people, 1930s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Color, Dave Fleischer, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, Popeye, U.S.A., Animator

"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..."

Margaret Mintz nee Winkler

Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, Oswald, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animator, Producer

"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