5/30/2015 – Cartoon Of The Day: “The Snowman” (1933)

I had previously seen this weird little cartoon on youtube in this black and white version missing the original title cards, and it is pretty damn creepy. Now the full color cartoon is available on the Internet Archive.

It was previously released on Bluray DVD by Thunderbean, (And if you love classic, restored public domain artoons looking the best they ever have, check out the company’s line of collections and titles.)

“The Snowman,” created by animator Ted Eshbaugh for Van Beuren Studios, a cartoon studio pretty much forgotten except by us classic cartoon nuts, starts out pretty much like other Disneyesque cartoons of the era – frolicking animals, the old alarm clocks with a dial of months instead of minutes gag, a live bear used as a bearskin blanket in bed gag, etc. It’s set at a cartoon version of the North Pole or the Antarctic or something, and the human hero is dressed like the stereotypical Eskimo, and lives in a igloo. The little animals decide to build a big snowman…and that’s when things really get dark. The snowman comes to life, evil and monstrous, and it is probably one of the scariest things I’ve seen in an old cartoon. It clearly means to harm the little animals, and goes on a destructive rampage. The cartoon becomes a nightmare. It’s up to the little Eskimo to save his animal friends. You just have to watch it yourself. Remember these cartoons were made for adult theater-goers, not the little kiddies, and that fact is pretty darn obvious in this case. I suggest you watch the black and white version on Youtube first, because the B&W just makes it all the more unsettling. The color copy on Internet Archive is beautiful, but still….unusually creepy.

3/17/2015 – Cartoon of The Day: “The Wearing of The Grin” (1951) plus bonus Bullwinkle

This is a favorite.  Plus, a bonus ditty from Bullwinkle.  Enjoy, and Happy St. Patty’s day! (Click the pictures to follow the links!)

Porky Pig and the wearing of the green shoes:

 

Bullwinkle’s Little Irish ditty:

 

1/25/2015 – Cartoon Of The Day: “Crater Face” (2010)

This is a lovely, thoughtful, heart-breaking little cartoon, created by the controversial Skyler Page.  This short was made in 2011, and Page went on to work for Cartoon Network as a writer for “Adventure Time” and creator of “Clarence.”  Page was later fired for alleged sexual harassment of a coworker.  While not excusing what Page allegedly did, Page’s friends defended his actions as a manifestation of his mental illness.  All of this kind of relates to this article I read online the other day, “A Short History of Mental Illness In Art.”

I have to confess.  I have bipolar disorder, and I have a history of schizophrenia in my family.  My illness, although not as pronounced as Page’s may be, is reflected in my work.  All artists put themselves, consciously, and subconsciously, into their work.  Put that in the perspective of Page’s actions and the little story told in his cartoon.  I can not excuse his actions, but I can relate to what he must be going through.  I see something more than a sexual assault at work here. The fact of the animated short juxtaposed with the facts of Page’s life, to me, brings home the very essence of the line from the article: “…all creativity is an irrational voyage.”

I don’t know what Mr. Page’s status is today.  Hopefully he got his life back on track and we can soon see some good stuff from him.

1/8/2013 – Cartoon Of The Day: “Cap’n Cub Scraps The Japs” (1945)

Another rare find – this involves a obscure “cutesy” cartoon character. After a rather flat bit of plane aerobatics and lot of silliness about War production, the cartoon ends with a bang as Cub is involved in a air battle against a “evil” monkey representing…guess who?

UPDATE: Ah, the ever-changing nature of the internet!  Seems Youtube has removed.the original post of this cartoon.  So, I found another one!  Sorry the link was busted for so long.  A message says that playback on other websites has been disabled, so just click through or follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yFxZLQQZuE

1/2/2013 – Cartoon Of The Day: “Ruka” (1965)

I came across this powerful film while browsing Youtube for propaganda animation. Its message will haunt me for the rest of my life. “Ruka” (1965) is a very powerful subversive film made by Czech animator Jiri Trnka.. From Wiki: “…it is about a sculptor visited by a huge hand, which seeks the completion of a sculpture of itself. By rejecting the imposition, the artist is constantly pursued by the hand, ending with induced suicide and the hand officiating at his funeral. Ruka is considered a protest against the conditions imposed by the Czechoslovak communist state to artistic creation, and even some have seen in it an anticipation of the so-called Prague Spring. Although the film initially had no problems with censorship (which Trnka blamed on carelessness or simple ignorance), after his death copies were confiscated and banned from public display in Czechoslovakia for two decades.”

12/27/2012 Cartoon of the Day: Curious Nazi Cartoon (1944)

I stumbled across this oddity while looking for propaganda animation produced during WW2. I don’t imagine these “cameos” were authorized…well, maybe in Mickey’s case….

9/12/2012 Cartoon of the Day: “Toonerville Trolly” 1936

Beautiful Van Buren cartoon, the first of three Toonerville Trolly cartoons produced, and the best.

6/15/2012 Cartoon of the Day: Private Snafu – “Booby Traps” 1943

Warner produced the Snafu series of cartoons for the War Department
during WWII. These cartoons were meant to teach lessons to soldiers in
a format more likely to stick with the men than dry text would. They
were not meant for the general public, hence they are a little “bluer”
while still remaining within the decency guidelines. This is my
favorite of the series. I love the animation of Snafu in this one.
Look at him march/walk/skip along. Pure genius! And the little Hitler
chime doorbell that helps Snafu with that catchy tune in his head
he just can’t remember correctly… Of course, the whole point is,
Snafu is the only real Boob in this film!

6/13/2012 Cartoon of the Day: Beans “A Cartoonist’s Nightmare” 1935

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x251utw_a-cartoonists-nightmare-1935_shortfilms

I really enjoy these old cartoons that give a glimpse of the “behind the scenes” world of animation. Some artistic license is used for the process of cartoon-making in order to simplify the story, but its all in fun. This one features an early Warner character called Beans, and several villains from previous cartoons, esp. the Beast from their first 2-color cartoon “Beauty and the Beast.”

UPDATE:  Youtube has eliminated this cartoon, so the above link is to the same cartoon hosted on DailyMotion.  I could have sworn it was in color, though….

6/4/2012 Cartoon of the Day: Tony White’s “Endangered Species”

I have several of Mr. White’s books – they are excellent sources of the how-to, nuts-n-bolts of animation. This is his very personal animated film honoring the history of cartooning.