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 FleischerAdolph Zukor
Release Date: 21/06/1935
"Betty Boop tries to give 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
Aesop’s Fables Studio
Filed under: studio, 1920s, Aesop's Fables, Amadee J. Van Beuren, Paul Terry, Silent, U.S.A., Van Beuren Corporation, Walt Disney, 1920
"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..."
American Animated Films: The Silent Era, 1897-1929
Filed under: resource, Silent, U.S.A., Book
Author: Dennis Gifford
"Arranged chronologically by series, this is a complete annotated listing of all the animated films produced in the US before the advent of sound."
Andy Panda’s Victory Garden
Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Technicolor, U.S.A., Universal Studios, Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, 1942
Producer(s): Walter Lantz
Release Date: 09/09/1942
"Andy Panda and Balmer try to plant a spring garden, but Charlie Chicken and a naughty worm have other ideas!"
Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons from the Sound Era
Filed under: resource, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Book
Author: Eric Loren Smoodin
"The author analyzes the animated short film and argues that cartoons appealed to a wide audience, not just children, and did indeed contribute to public debate about political matters. He examines issues often ignored in discussions of animated film..."
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-..."
Arthur (Art) Babbitt
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Director, Educator, Union Activist
"Art was born in Omaha of Russian Jewish ancestry. Soon after High School he took himself to New York where he slummed around doing odd jobs and eating stale food to put himself through Columbia College Pre Med. He tried some jobs drawing cartoons and..."
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 ..."
Ben “Bugs” Hardaway
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Animator, Storyboard Artist, Voice Actor
"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. "
Bill Nolan
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator
"Bill Nolar started in New York doing crazy cat on Felix the Cat. He worked for Lantz Studios during the mid 40s."
Bob Clampett Productions
Filed under: studio, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Beany and Cecil, Bob Clampett, Color, Commercials, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1948
"Bob Clampett left Warner Bros. in 1946 to open his own studio, Bob Clampett Productions in 1948. As many writers and fans point out, Clampett was as much fascinated with animation as he was with puppetry. As part of his new studio, Clampett created a..."
Bob Kurtz
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animation Designer, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director, Misc. Crew, Producer, Sequence Animator, Soundtrack, Storyboard Artist, Title Department, Writer
"His career started when he began writing the pink panther series."
Bosko Shipwrecked!
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Early Sound, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios, 1931
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..."
Brad Bird
Filed under: people, 3D Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Director
"Brad started his first animated cartoon at age eleven and finished it at fourteen. The film attracted the attention of Disney Studios which offered the young legend a chance to come be mentored by Milt Kahl, one of the Nine Old Men. After graduating ..."
Candy Town (1933)
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Aesop's Fables, U.S.A., Van Beuren Corporation
Release Date: 01/13/1933
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. "
Carl Thomas Anderson
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist
"Anderson was a cartoonists and comic strip artist most well-known for his drawings of Henry. Anderson began his career as a cartoonist for the Philadelphia Times drawing fashion illustrations in 1894. Throughout his career, Anderson worked for the N..."
Carl W. Stalling
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Early Sound, Looney Tunes, Music, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Composer
"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. Sta..."
Charles Augustus Nichols (“Nick”)
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director
""Nick" Nichols was an Academy Award winning animator and director who first came into prominence working for Disney Studios, hired on December 31st, in 1937. In years to come he would work ..."
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..."
Chilly Willy – Half Baked Alaska
Filed under: animation, 1960s, Color, Technicolor, U.S.A., Universal Studios, Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, 1965
Producer(s): Walter Lantz
Release Date: 01/04/1965
"Hungry and cold with a failing shoe-shine business, Chilly Willy struggles to get enough money to buy himself a stack of hotcakes."
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..."
Crowing Pains
Filed under: animation, 1940s, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1947
Producer(s): Edward Selzer
Release Date: 12/07/1947
"Foghorn Leghorn fools a young determined chicken hawk into going after Sylvester instead of himself. But when Sylvester gets wise to him, confusion ensues!"
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 ..."
Dave Fleischer
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Dave Fleischer, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, U.S.A., Director
"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..."
Dick Beals
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Stop Motion, U.S.A., Actor, Voice Actor
"Born in Detroit, as a child Dick Beals was too small to play sports, instead opting to be a cheerleader. He attended Michigan State University, where he began to lend his voice to radio broadcasting. In the 1940s, Beal began to do voice acting profes..."
Dinner Time
Filed under: animation, 1920s, Early Sound, Pathe, U.S.A., Van Beuren Corporation, 1928
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)."
Disney’s Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi
Filed under: animation, 1940s, Technicolor, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, World War 2 ( WW2 )
Producer(s): Walt Disney
Release Date: 15/01/1943
"“Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi” (1943) is one of 32 animated short propaganda film that the United States government commissioned Disney to produce. Nearing bankruptcy after the financial failure of Fantasia (1940), Disney entered a c..."
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): 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."
Earl Hurd
Filed under: people, Bray Productions, Terrytoons Animated Shorts, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney
"Hurd was a pioneering American animator who worked at the beginning of the early animation age, noted for creating the silent animated short Bobby Bumpbs, and working for John Randolph Bray's company Bray Productions. Together, the pair developed ..."
Egyptian Melodies
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Jazz, Musical, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, 1931
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."
Émile (Eugène Jean Louis) Courtet
Filed under: people, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Early Sound, France, Pixilation, U.S.A., World War 1 ( WW1 ), Animator, Artist, Background Artist, Cartoonist, Director, Writer
"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.""
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. "
Feed the Kitty
Filed under: animation, 1950s, Merrie Melodies, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1952
Producer(s): Edward Selzer
Release Date: 02/02/1952
"Marc Antony meets an adorable kitten, but his mistress says he can't bring anything else into the house. He struggles to hide the kitten from her. "
Feline Follies
Filed under: animation, 1910s, 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..."
Fiddlesticks
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Celebrity Productions, Musical, U.S.A., 1930
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 – Spooks
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Animated film history and criticism, Early Sound, Flip the Frog, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, 1931
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. ..."
Floyd Ernest Norman
Filed under: people, Hanna-Barbera Studios, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Animation Designer, Director
"Floyd Norman is an American animation legend responsible for directing a number of feature animated films for Walt Disney Studios, including Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmations (1961), and The Jungle Book (1967). Having worked fo..."
Foghorn Leghorn, “A Broken Leghorn”
Filed under: animation, 1950s, Animation Series, Color, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1959
Producer(s): John Burton Sr.
Release Date: 26/09/1959
"The cartoon opens with three hens gossiping about Miss Prissy, who has failed to produce any eggs. Foghorn Leghorn decides to help her out by placing another hen’s egg in her nest. When the egg hatches, Foghorn Leghorn is affronted when he discover..."
Frank Moser
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Director
"Similarly to other animators, Moser started his career as a cartoonist for newspapers and print publications. Soon, however, he turned his attention to animation, and in 1915 started working for Barré Studio, where he animated The Animated Grouch Ch..."
Hell’s Bells (1929)
Filed under: animation, 1920s, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios
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."
Hell-Bent for Election
Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Cultural Industries, Propaganda, U.S.A., United Productions of America (UPA), World War 2 ( WW2 )
Producer(s): Stephen Bosustow
Release Date: 1944
"It's just a normal day for Joe, a railway worker, until he realizes that two trains - the Win the War Special and the Defeatist Limited - are on their way to the same tracks. While Joe is stuck deciding which one to let pass first, a wealthy-looking ..."
Hollywood Steps Out
Filed under: animation, 1940s, Cultural Industries, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1941
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
Filed under: animation, 1900s, Silent, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios, 1906
Release Date: 06/04/1906
"Often considered to be the earliest surviving U.S. animated film. The film follows chalkboard sketches that seemingly come to life."
I Love to Singa (1936)
Filed under: animation, 1930s, Animation Series, Color, Merrie Melodies, Musical, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1936
Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger
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..."
Jam Handy Organization
Filed under: studio, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Commercials, Early Sound, Educational films, Max Fleischer, Propaganda, Silent, Technicolor, Training films, U.S.A., World War 1 ( WW1 ), World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1914
"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..."
Ken O’Connor
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Art Director, Layout Artist
"Ken O'Connor was born in Perth, Australia, and died in Burbank California. He was a legendary Disney layout artist, designer as well as art director. During his time at Disney, he helped the studio achieve a high level of visual dynamism in their cla..."
Kevin Altieri
Filed under: people, 1990s, U.S.A., Animator, Director
"Kevin Alteri is an American television director of animated cartoons. He is best known for his work on Batman: The Animated Series and Pearl Jam's music video "Do the Evolution". A versatile talent lent to a long and project filed career in animation..."
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."
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 (1916)
Filed under: animation, 1910s, Early Sound, Krazy Kat, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios
Lambert the Sheepish Lion
Filed under: animation, 1950s, Color, Technicolor, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, 1952
Producer(s): Walt Disney
Release Date: 08/02/1952
"Lambert, a lion cub mistakenly delivered to a lonely ewe by a stork, struggles to fit in with a flock of sheep. Despite his ferocious appearance, the other lambs bully him, and he grows up shy, sensitive, and easily frightened. But his temperament is..."
Laugh-O-Gram Studio
Filed under: studio, 1920s, Silent, U.S.A., Walt Disney, 1922
"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..."