As it's now Easter, what's better fitting than posting a cartoon starring some Easter bunnies? Well.....not Easter bunnies to be exact, but this redrawn does star a lot of rabbits!
Country Boy Rabbit is a redrawn version of the two-strip technicolor Merrie Melodie short "Country Boy". The source print used is an edited, possibly damaged B&W print - the charming opening song is incomplete, and it's missing the final end gag!
For your enjoyment (or disgust), I now present the redrawn:
And here's the complete original for comparison:
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
R&TVP Redrawns - Puss in Boots
Today's post will focus on the R&TVP redrawn cartoon Puss in Boots, which was originally a Ub Iwerk's ComiColor (that's right, the original is in COLOUR - albeit two-strip) cartoon (released 17th May 1934). The source material was obviously a B&W print with piss-poor audio, and the resulting technical quality of this redrawn is really, really crap.
So, if you've done something really naughty today, punish yourself by watching this abomination (or laugh-fest, if you love watching these redrawns):
Puss in Boots - redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover
And to make yourself feel better again, here's the original for comparison:
Puss in Boots - original
Uploaded by ldglover
So, if you've done something really naughty today, punish yourself by watching this abomination (or laugh-fest, if you love watching these redrawns):
Puss in Boots - redrawn
Uploaded by ldglover
And to make yourself feel better again, here's the original for comparison:
Puss in Boots - original
Uploaded by ldglover
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Radio & Television Packagers redrawns
During the 1960's, when B&W cartoons were beginning to have little or no commercial value (or so they think), Warner Brothers and NTA decided to commission Fred Ladd's company Color Systems to redraw their respective B&W cartoons (Porky Pig and Betty Boop) in colour. The results may have been impressive at that time, but nowadays (especially in the computer-colourising age which can give much better results in colourising cartoons) one can be appalled by the poor technical quality in the redrawn animation (not every frame is traced, momentary missing limbs etc.), psychedelic colour scheme, and poor film stock.
Of course, we all moan about these redrawns, and we hardcore animation fans prefer to see these cartoons as originally intended. But the sad truth is, these redrawns still kept the spirit of the originals in the public consciousness, and has enabled many fans to seek out the originals, resulting in a big demand to see them on DVD and other media. You could say that the redrawing process was a necessary evil at that time.
There were other companies that commissioned redrawns later on. Turner, in 1986, invited Entecolor Technologies (formerly Color Systems) to redraw their B&W Popeye and Merrie Melodies cartoons, which was a rather strange decision as they were starting to colourise their feature films using a computer process. While the technical quality and colour palette was somewhat better than the redrawn Porky's and Betty's, plenty of mistakes were still made.
But perhaps the worst-looking redrawns of them all were commissioned by Radio & Television Packagers (who I shall refer to as R&TVP). They gave Color Systems a batch of (presumably) home-movie prints of (mostly) public-domain cartoons during the early 70's. Unfortunately, what R&TVP didn't know is that many of the cartoons do exist in their original colour! Also, they failed to realise that some of them were silent versions of sound cartoons (they will later add corny music to those redrawns). On one cartoon, they had the ending redrawn to something completely different!!! The result is a series of redrawns that are sooooooooo bad, they are actually quite entertaining in their own unique way.
Here is a complete list of the 43 R&TVP cartoons, as compiled by Richard Jebe and Pietro Shakarian:
"Toy Shop" – "We're in the Money" (1933), WB
"Ain't Nature Grand?" – 1931 WB of the same name
"Barnyard Frolic" – "Moonlight for Two" (1931), WB
"Bosko's Woodland Daze" – 1932 WB of the same name
"Country Boy Rabbit" – "The Country Boy" (1935), WB (originally color)
"Magazine Rack" – "I Like Mountain Music" (1933), WB
"Off To The Races" – "Ups 'N Downs" (1931), WB
"On Duty" – "One More Time" (1931), WB
"Accidents Won't Happen" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"The Invisible Revenge" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Where Am I?" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Mixing In Mexico" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Oceans Of Trouble" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Soda Jerks" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"When Hell Froze Over" – 1926 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"The Adventures Of Mutt And Jeff And Bugoff" – "Slick Sleuths" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"Dog Missing" – "Dog Gone" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"Egyptian Daze" – "Mummy O' Mine" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"The Mail Pilot" – 1927 Aesop's Film Fable of the same name
"The Under Dog" – 1929 Aesop's Film Fable of the same name
"Tuning In" – 1929 Van Beuren of the same name
"Love Bugs" – "Fly Hi" (1931), Van Beuren
"Art For Art's Sake" – 1934 Van Beuren of the same name
"The Villian Pursues Her" – "Sinister Stuff" (1934), Van Beuren
"Chinese Lanterns" – "Japanese Lanterns" (1935), Van Beuren (originally color)
"Batter Up" – "Play Ball" (1932), Terrytoons
"Spring Cleaning" – "Kiko's Cleaning Day" (1937), Terrytoons
"The Dancing Bear" – 1937 Terrytoon on the same name
"Lumberjack" - "The Saw Mill Mystery" (1937), Terrytoons
"Music And Charm" - "The Villain Still Pursued Her" (1937), Terrytoons
"The Inventor" – "Felix Turns the Tide" (1922), Sullivan
"Sunken Treasure" – "Felix Braves the Briny" (1926), Sullivan
"Misses His Swiss" – "Felix Misses His Swiss" (1926), Sullivan
"Scoots Through Scotland" – "Felix Scoots Through Scotland" (1926), Sullivan
"Mr. Do–All" – "Jack From All Trades" (1927), Sullivan
"Jack Frost" – 1934 Iwerks of the same name (originally color)
"Puss in Boots" – 1934 Iwerks of the same name (originally color)
"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" – "The Brave Tin Soldier" (1934), Iwerks (originally color)
"Cinderella" - "Once Upon a Time" (circa 1937), Audio Productions
"Big City" – 1947 UK Bubbles and Squeek cartoon of the same name
“Grampus & Scrappy” - The Big Game (1928), Aesop's Fable
Unidentified:
"They Shall Not Pass" – Mutt and Jeff
"Double Performance" - Unknown
In these series of posts (yes, I'll be posting these, so be warned - lol),I shall be posting specially-selected redrawns, along (where possible) with their originals for comparison.
And to start off with, here's a redrawn version of Felix Misses His Swiss, starring the title character as a burgundy-coloured cat!. Unfortunately, I don't have the original to upload, but according to David Gerstein, the final scenes were missing from the original source print, so you will see a fake (clover-shaped???) iris-out before it reaches a satisfying conclusion.
Did the re-tracers really believe that Felix was grabbing his gonads at the beginning of the cartoon (lol)?
For this series, as these will mostly be public-domain cartoons, I've decided to abandon imposing a time-limit on their availability.
Of course, we all moan about these redrawns, and we hardcore animation fans prefer to see these cartoons as originally intended. But the sad truth is, these redrawns still kept the spirit of the originals in the public consciousness, and has enabled many fans to seek out the originals, resulting in a big demand to see them on DVD and other media. You could say that the redrawing process was a necessary evil at that time.
There were other companies that commissioned redrawns later on. Turner, in 1986, invited Entecolor Technologies (formerly Color Systems) to redraw their B&W Popeye and Merrie Melodies cartoons, which was a rather strange decision as they were starting to colourise their feature films using a computer process. While the technical quality and colour palette was somewhat better than the redrawn Porky's and Betty's, plenty of mistakes were still made.
But perhaps the worst-looking redrawns of them all were commissioned by Radio & Television Packagers (who I shall refer to as R&TVP). They gave Color Systems a batch of (presumably) home-movie prints of (mostly) public-domain cartoons during the early 70's. Unfortunately, what R&TVP didn't know is that many of the cartoons do exist in their original colour! Also, they failed to realise that some of them were silent versions of sound cartoons (they will later add corny music to those redrawns). On one cartoon, they had the ending redrawn to something completely different!!! The result is a series of redrawns that are sooooooooo bad, they are actually quite entertaining in their own unique way.
Here is a complete list of the 43 R&TVP cartoons, as compiled by Richard Jebe and Pietro Shakarian:
"Toy Shop" – "We're in the Money" (1933), WB
"Ain't Nature Grand?" – 1931 WB of the same name
"Barnyard Frolic" – "Moonlight for Two" (1931), WB
"Bosko's Woodland Daze" – 1932 WB of the same name
"Country Boy Rabbit" – "The Country Boy" (1935), WB (originally color)
"Magazine Rack" – "I Like Mountain Music" (1933), WB
"Off To The Races" – "Ups 'N Downs" (1931), WB
"On Duty" – "One More Time" (1931), WB
"Accidents Won't Happen" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"The Invisible Revenge" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Where Am I?" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Mixing In Mexico" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Oceans Of Trouble" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"Soda Jerks" – 1925 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"When Hell Froze Over" – 1926 Mutt and Jeff of the same name
"The Adventures Of Mutt And Jeff And Bugoff" – "Slick Sleuths" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"Dog Missing" – "Dog Gone" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"Egyptian Daze" – "Mummy O' Mine" (1926), Mutt and Jeff
"The Mail Pilot" – 1927 Aesop's Film Fable of the same name
"The Under Dog" – 1929 Aesop's Film Fable of the same name
"Tuning In" – 1929 Van Beuren of the same name
"Love Bugs" – "Fly Hi" (1931), Van Beuren
"Art For Art's Sake" – 1934 Van Beuren of the same name
"The Villian Pursues Her" – "Sinister Stuff" (1934), Van Beuren
"Chinese Lanterns" – "Japanese Lanterns" (1935), Van Beuren (originally color)
"Batter Up" – "Play Ball" (1932), Terrytoons
"Spring Cleaning" – "Kiko's Cleaning Day" (1937), Terrytoons
"The Dancing Bear" – 1937 Terrytoon on the same name
"Lumberjack" - "The Saw Mill Mystery" (1937), Terrytoons
"Music And Charm" - "The Villain Still Pursued Her" (1937), Terrytoons
"The Inventor" – "Felix Turns the Tide" (1922), Sullivan
"Sunken Treasure" – "Felix Braves the Briny" (1926), Sullivan
"Misses His Swiss" – "Felix Misses His Swiss" (1926), Sullivan
"Scoots Through Scotland" – "Felix Scoots Through Scotland" (1926), Sullivan
"Mr. Do–All" – "Jack From All Trades" (1927), Sullivan
"Jack Frost" – 1934 Iwerks of the same name (originally color)
"Puss in Boots" – 1934 Iwerks of the same name (originally color)
"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" – "The Brave Tin Soldier" (1934), Iwerks (originally color)
"Cinderella" - "Once Upon a Time" (circa 1937), Audio Productions
"Big City" – 1947 UK Bubbles and Squeek cartoon of the same name
“Grampus & Scrappy” - The Big Game (1928), Aesop's Fable
Unidentified:
"They Shall Not Pass" – Mutt and Jeff
"Double Performance" - Unknown
In these series of posts (yes, I'll be posting these, so be warned - lol),I shall be posting specially-selected redrawns, along (where possible) with their originals for comparison.
And to start off with, here's a redrawn version of Felix Misses His Swiss, starring the title character as a burgundy-coloured cat!. Unfortunately, I don't have the original to upload, but according to David Gerstein, the final scenes were missing from the original source print, so you will see a fake (clover-shaped???) iris-out before it reaches a satisfying conclusion.
Did the re-tracers really believe that Felix was grabbing his gonads at the beginning of the cartoon (lol)?
For this series, as these will mostly be public-domain cartoons, I've decided to abandon imposing a time-limit on their availability.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Cartoon Lookalikes
A couple of cartoon lookalikes for you today.
Recently, I caught a glimpse of a DVD cover of Are You Being Served?, and the picture of a scowling Mrs Slocombe (Mollie Sugden)...
...instantly reminded me of Chicken Pie in the Herman cartoon Scrappily Married.
And why does the map of my native West Country...
...always remind me of the head of a certain aardvark?
Recently, I caught a glimpse of a DVD cover of Are You Being Served?, and the picture of a scowling Mrs Slocombe (Mollie Sugden)...
...instantly reminded me of Chicken Pie in the Herman cartoon Scrappily Married.
And why does the map of my native West Country...
...always remind me of the head of a certain aardvark?
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Rare Felix Cards
Below are scans taken from a set of very rare Felix the Cat cards that I managed to obtain a few years ago. Little is known about about the origins of these, but it is beleved that these came as a gift from either confectionary or tobacco products that were sold in Britain during the late 20's or early 30's. If any of you guys know more about these, please let me know.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Kitty Caddy
Kitty Caddy (which only survives in soundtrack form in the Columbia archives) is one of the last Screen Gems cartoons to be made, produced in the Harry Binder - Ray Katz era. It features a cat & dog's attempts to play a peaceful game of golf, but it turns out anything but peaceful, especially when Bob Hope and Bing Crosby keep stealing the scenes (and something else besides). One note: you see the cat & dog holding hands when they arrive in the park - are they more than just friends (tee-hee!)?
Out of all the lost toons, this is one of the better shorts, and I'm proud to present this in its entirety. Enjoy!
Kitty Caddy
Uploaded by ldglover
Available to view for 1 month.
And that's all, folks (I know. Wrong tagline for these cartoons)! It took a long time (for reasons I won't go into), but this series of lost Columbia cartoons has finally drawn to a close. I hope that you enjoyed viewing these clips, and I also hope that those of you who haven't or have little of these cartoons in your collection will seek out for more, and not just these lost toons. Many of these are by no means classics, but are certainly underappreciated.
Watch out for my new series of posts about the crappiest-looking redrawns ever, and I will be posting more Columbia cartoons in the future.
Thanks for reading the Lost Columbia Cartoons series!
Out of all the lost toons, this is one of the better shorts, and I'm proud to present this in its entirety. Enjoy!
Kitty Caddy
Uploaded by ldglover
Available to view for 1 month.
And that's all, folks (I know. Wrong tagline for these cartoons)! It took a long time (for reasons I won't go into), but this series of lost Columbia cartoons has finally drawn to a close. I hope that you enjoyed viewing these clips, and I also hope that those of you who haven't or have little of these cartoons in your collection will seek out for more, and not just these lost toons. Many of these are by no means classics, but are certainly underappreciated.
Watch out for my new series of posts about the crappiest-looking redrawns ever, and I will be posting more Columbia cartoons in the future.
Thanks for reading the Lost Columbia Cartoons series!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Major Google
Major Google was the last of the Barney Google cartoon quartet, and, like the previous three, this is a lacklustre effort. Even with the absence of sound on the surviving home movie prints, you can still visually see why the transfer from printed to animated cartoon was not successful.
The cartoon apparantly survives in the Columbia archives as a B&W print (don't know if it is with or without sound) and a redrawn (but silent) version. I've managed to obtain copies of two silent, truncated home movie versions. Sadly, there's not enough material to make a almost-complete reconstruction as each one is 2-and-a-half minutes long and only a few differences in each print. However, I've uploaded the best-looking of the two prints for your viewing pleasure.
As always, the video will be available to view for a month.
The cartoon apparantly survives in the Columbia archives as a B&W print (don't know if it is with or without sound) and a redrawn (but silent) version. I've managed to obtain copies of two silent, truncated home movie versions. Sadly, there's not enough material to make a almost-complete reconstruction as each one is 2-and-a-half minutes long and only a few differences in each print. However, I've uploaded the best-looking of the two prints for your viewing pleasure.
As always, the video will be available to view for a month.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Dreams on Ice
This 1939 cartoon, directed by Sid Marcus, is apparantly non-existant in the Columbia archives, but does survive in the collectors'/traders' circuits as a 16mm B&W print. This is one of a handful of "Sparky" cartoons, where he attempts to do ice-skating by flooding his bedroom with water and opening his window to let the freezing wind through.
IMHO it's a drab, Disney-esque cartoon, but nevertheless, here's the complete short for you to enjoy:
Available to view for 1 month.
IMHO it's a drab, Disney-esque cartoon, but nevertheless, here's the complete short for you to enjoy:
Available to view for 1 month.
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - The Herring Murder Mystery / Hollywood Sweepstales
A double-bill of short clips for you, today.
The Herring Murder Mystery (a 1943 cartoon which apparantly only exists in the Columbia archives as a segment of the first two minutes) features the story of a herring pickler, who, after being arrested - and thrown into the sea - by the fish police, is on trial for murder (well, he did pickle them to death!).
Presenting here is a short segment from a complete print. Personally, it's shad roe, shad roe, shad roe to me!
Another short clip below is taken from Hollywood Sweepstakes, a 1939 cartoon (directed by Ben Harrison) that is officially missing in the Columbia archives (but survives among us collectors as a 16mm colour print). It does feature a host of celebrity characitures, but they're mostly token - it's really about a pony's attempt to win a derby. Here's the second half of this cartoon for you to enjoy:
The Herring Murder Mystery (a 1943 cartoon which apparantly only exists in the Columbia archives as a segment of the first two minutes) features the story of a herring pickler, who, after being arrested - and thrown into the sea - by the fish police, is on trial for murder (well, he did pickle them to death!).
Presenting here is a short segment from a complete print. Personally, it's shad roe, shad roe, shad roe to me!
Another short clip below is taken from Hollywood Sweepstakes, a 1939 cartoon (directed by Ben Harrison) that is officially missing in the Columbia archives (but survives among us collectors as a 16mm colour print). It does feature a host of celebrity characitures, but they're mostly token - it's really about a pony's attempt to win a derby. Here's the second half of this cartoon for you to enjoy:
Clips are available to view for a month.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Kickapoo Juice
Hi gang! At long last, I'm able to start posting the remaining "lost" cartoons.
Kickapoo Juice (which currently exists in the Columbia archives as a B&W print) was the fifth and last Li'l Abner cartoon to be released (in 1944). Producer Dave Fleischer bought the animation rights to this famous cartoon strip, hoping to turn this character into a movie success in a similar way as Popeye was. However, this was not to be.
I've seen all five cartoons, but can't really comment on how bad (or indeed, how good) these adaptations were, as I've never read the strips. What I can say is that these cartoons, although not truly awful, are not particularly memorable or funny.
Nevertheless, I'm proud to present this cartoon complete and uncut, and is available to view on this blog for 1 month. Enjoy!
Kickapoo Juice
Uploaded by ldglover
Kickapoo Juice (which currently exists in the Columbia archives as a B&W print) was the fifth and last Li'l Abner cartoon to be released (in 1944). Producer Dave Fleischer bought the animation rights to this famous cartoon strip, hoping to turn this character into a movie success in a similar way as Popeye was. However, this was not to be.
I've seen all five cartoons, but can't really comment on how bad (or indeed, how good) these adaptations were, as I've never read the strips. What I can say is that these cartoons, although not truly awful, are not particularly memorable or funny.
Nevertheless, I'm proud to present this cartoon complete and uncut, and is available to view on this blog for 1 month. Enjoy!
Kickapoo Juice
Uploaded by ldglover
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
A New Year, And A New Look!
Hi, guys! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
And I decided that this is the perfect time to relaunch my blog, not only with a new template, but also with a brand new (and dangerously-titled) name. The inspiration for this comes from the title of a series of cartoon strips I drew for my University magazine, before the new millenium (an example can be seen by clicking on the image below):
And I decided that this is the perfect time to relaunch my blog, not only with a new template, but also with a brand new (and dangerously-titled) name. The inspiration for this comes from the title of a series of cartoon strips I drew for my University magazine, before the new millenium (an example can be seen by clicking on the image below):
Throughout January, I will be finishing off my series of posts about the "lost" Columbia cartoons. The remaining cartoons to be posted here include:
Major Google
Hollywood Sweepstakes
Dreams on Ice
The Herring Murder Mystery
Kickapoo Juice
Kitty Caddy.
And starting this February, I will be making a series of posts regarding the worst-looking redrawn cartoons ever: The Radio & Television Packagers cartoons. These will include specially-selected video clips, with (where possible) the originals. Just to whet your apppetite (or to warn you), here are some hilarious-looking frames taking from the beginning of the redrawn version of Felix Misses His Swiss:
I didn't know Felix had a weak bladder!
Also, I've decided to change the links section to include only those that contains info about the classic cartoons. But if you have a blog (which can be almost-anything) and is interested in becoming one of my "blogger buddies" (where we promote each other's blogs), let me know in the comments section. Cheers!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas Everybody!
Hi everyone! I'm back!
Apologies for the delay, as my relocation to Norwich took longer than I thought, and a few difficulties were encountered during my stay (I won't bore you with the details). However, everything is more or less settled, and I'm able to resume posting again! But in the meantime, my PC is still in Plymouth, where I'll be staying during the Christmas and New Year period.
And for the next two weeks, I intend to finish my series of Lost Columbia Cartoons posts before I relaunch my blog, which will focus on rare and unusual classic cartoons.
As a special Christmas present, I've reloaded the festive Famous Studios cartoon "Santa's Surprise", for you to enjoy during the festive season!
Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
Apologies for the delay, as my relocation to Norwich took longer than I thought, and a few difficulties were encountered during my stay (I won't bore you with the details). However, everything is more or less settled, and I'm able to resume posting again! But in the meantime, my PC is still in Plymouth, where I'll be staying during the Christmas and New Year period.
And for the next two weeks, I intend to finish my series of Lost Columbia Cartoons posts before I relaunch my blog, which will focus on rare and unusual classic cartoons.
As a special Christmas present, I've reloaded the festive Famous Studios cartoon "Santa's Surprise", for you to enjoy during the festive season!
Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Arrivederci, for the time being...
Hi guys!
Most of you have notice my recent lack of posts on my blog. This was due to me working nights for the past three months, meaning that I didn't have as much time to post here as I would have liked. For this, I apologise.
Also, I'm going to move to Norwich and start my new job there, but due to the huge distance between Norwich and Plymouth (where I'm currently staying), it's going to take a month moving all of my stuff there, and I decided that my PC will be the last thing I'm taking, so I will not be online for the whole of October (I should imagine the cold turkey will be unbearable)!
But I will start posting here again in November, in which I will post more clips of the remaining "Lost Columbia Cartoons". I've also decided to focus solely on classic theatrical cartoons, with a slant towards the rare and the unusual. Talking about the latter, watch out for a new series of posts showcasing some wacky-looking redrawn cartoons!
To anyone I'm making trades with, it's alright to post them to my old address. As it is in fact my parents' address, I know that they will arrive safe and sound. If you want to post them to my new address, please wait until November when I will be able to contact you.
Please note that an automated message will be sent to you if you e-mail me, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Oh, I almost forgot! The video clips on my blog will still be available throughout October.
See you guys in November!
Most of you have notice my recent lack of posts on my blog. This was due to me working nights for the past three months, meaning that I didn't have as much time to post here as I would have liked. For this, I apologise.
Also, I'm going to move to Norwich and start my new job there, but due to the huge distance between Norwich and Plymouth (where I'm currently staying), it's going to take a month moving all of my stuff there, and I decided that my PC will be the last thing I'm taking, so I will not be online for the whole of October (I should imagine the cold turkey will be unbearable)!
But I will start posting here again in November, in which I will post more clips of the remaining "Lost Columbia Cartoons". I've also decided to focus solely on classic theatrical cartoons, with a slant towards the rare and the unusual. Talking about the latter, watch out for a new series of posts showcasing some wacky-looking redrawn cartoons!
To anyone I'm making trades with, it's alright to post them to my old address. As it is in fact my parents' address, I know that they will arrive safe and sound. If you want to post them to my new address, please wait until November when I will be able to contact you.
Please note that an automated message will be sent to you if you e-mail me, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Oh, I almost forgot! The video clips on my blog will still be available throughout October.
See you guys in November!
Monday, August 27, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Spark Plug
It's been a very busy couple of months for yours truly, hence the irregular posting, for which I apologise. But over here in Blighty, we had a bank holiday weekend, which allowed me the time to do something special - another cartoon reconstruction!
This "lost" Columbia cartoon (released 12th April 1936) features Barney Google's attempt to win a derby with his horse, Spark Plug (ain't that a great name?). It is the third of the four Barney Google cartoons that Charles Mintz produced, and is IMHO the best one the Screen Gems studio did.
This apparantly survives in the Columbia archives as a 16mm B&W print, but I was able to do a virtual reconstruction using three silent home-movie prints, using the redrawn version as a template. A few brief missing scenes here and there, but nothing greatly vital to the story. In fact, the redrawn version also has a few missing scenes that are present in my version.
This version will be available on this blog for two months. Yep, you read that right (lol!). Enjoy!
This "lost" Columbia cartoon (released 12th April 1936) features Barney Google's attempt to win a derby with his horse, Spark Plug (ain't that a great name?). It is the third of the four Barney Google cartoons that Charles Mintz produced, and is IMHO the best one the Screen Gems studio did.
This apparantly survives in the Columbia archives as a 16mm B&W print, but I was able to do a virtual reconstruction using three silent home-movie prints, using the redrawn version as a template. A few brief missing scenes here and there, but nothing greatly vital to the story. In fact, the redrawn version also has a few missing scenes that are present in my version.
This version will be available on this blog for two months. Yep, you read that right (lol!). Enjoy!
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Mysto Fox
Apologies for the long delay in posting.
Mysto Fox (released 29th August 1947) is the only Fox & Crow cartoon not currently existing in its original form. The soundtrack of this cartoon is what apparantly survives in the Columbia archives, but it does exist among collectors as a 16mm B&W television print without any opening & closing titles.
I'm proud to present the complete surviving print, available to view on this blog for four weeks:
Mysto Fox
Uploaded by ldglover
Mysto Fox (released 29th August 1947) is the only Fox & Crow cartoon not currently existing in its original form. The soundtrack of this cartoon is what apparantly survives in the Columbia archives, but it does exist among collectors as a 16mm B&W television print without any opening & closing titles.
I'm proud to present the complete surviving print, available to view on this blog for four weeks:
Mysto Fox
Uploaded by ldglover
Monday, July 09, 2007
Naughty But Mice - My Own Restoration
I seem to be posting nothing but lost Columbia cartoons during the past couple of months, so just to break the monotomy a little, here's my own restoration of the well-known PD cartoon Naughty But Mice, with one missing scene reinstated from an old NTA print (hence the lower quality). Please excuse the DVD "play" graphic at the start of the cartoon (I was unable to remove it):
As always, this video will be available for four weeks only.
As always, this video will be available for four weeks only.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Patch Mah Britches
Patch Mah Britches (released 19th December 1935) is the second of the four Barney Google cartoons made by Screen Gems, and was directed by Sid Marcus.
This apparantly survives in the Columbia archive as a 16mm B&W print (whether this is a sound or silent print I'm unable to find out), but during my years of trading and collecting, I can only obtain a copy of a shortened home-movie silent print. A redrawn, colourised silent version (full-length) is also available in the collectors'/traders' circuit, which I also have in my collection.
It is from this sole home-movie print that I've made available to view on my blog. Like the first short, it's not particurly funny, but due to its rarity (King Features, at the time, insisted to movie studios that all films starring their characters - with the exception of the Popeye, Blondie, and Flash Gordon films - be destroyed after ten years), it's still an essential watch. Hope you enjoy this as much as the first one:
The cartoon will be available for four weeks only.
This apparantly survives in the Columbia archive as a 16mm B&W print (whether this is a sound or silent print I'm unable to find out), but during my years of trading and collecting, I can only obtain a copy of a shortened home-movie silent print. A redrawn, colourised silent version (full-length) is also available in the collectors'/traders' circuit, which I also have in my collection.
It is from this sole home-movie print that I've made available to view on my blog. Like the first short, it's not particurly funny, but due to its rarity (King Features, at the time, insisted to movie studios that all films starring their characters - with the exception of the Popeye, Blondie, and Flash Gordon films - be destroyed after ten years), it's still an essential watch. Hope you enjoy this as much as the first one:
The cartoon will be available for four weeks only.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - River Ribber
This cartoon (released 4th October 1945) is a sequel to an earlier cartoon Professor Small & Mister Tall (26th March 1943), which does survive in its original (albeit re-released) condition. For those of you who haven't seen the first film, here's a very funny exerpt:
This sequel, however, is missing from the Columbia archives, but it does survive in the collectors'/traders' circuits as a 16mm B&W version, without any front and end titles.
Unlike the first film (which sport angular designs and stylistic backgrounds that would later be associated with Screen Gems's successor, UPA), this cartoon features more conventional animation and design, with the two principal characters being redesigned quite significantly (Prof. Small is now almost-bald and clean shaven). The cartoon was directed by Paul Sommer, who also co-directed the original with John Hubley.
The films features the main characters in charge of a steamboat on the Mississippi river, and is challenged by a familiar face to a boat race. This film is not as good as the original, but it does have some amusing moments.
This exerpt is taken from the start of the film.
River Ribber exerpt
Uploaded by ldglover
This sequel, however, is missing from the Columbia archives, but it does survive in the collectors'/traders' circuits as a 16mm B&W version, without any front and end titles.
Unlike the first film (which sport angular designs and stylistic backgrounds that would later be associated with Screen Gems's successor, UPA), this cartoon features more conventional animation and design, with the two principal characters being redesigned quite significantly (Prof. Small is now almost-bald and clean shaven). The cartoon was directed by Paul Sommer, who also co-directed the original with John Hubley.
The films features the main characters in charge of a steamboat on the Mississippi river, and is challenged by a familiar face to a boat race. This film is not as good as the original, but it does have some amusing moments.
This exerpt is taken from the start of the film.
River Ribber exerpt
Uploaded by ldglover
This video will be available for four weeks only.
Watch out for my next post, which will feature more Barney Google!
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - Tetched In The Head
Tetched in the Head (released October 24th 1935) marked the debut of comic-strip character Barney Google, created by Billy DeBeck. Charles Mintz had high hopes that his transfer to the animated screen would be a big success, but that did not happen. The character did not have the qualities to be an animated cartoon star, and was quickly retired after just four cartoons. Watching this and his later cartoons, it's not hard to see why. They're just not funny.
This cartoon apparantly only survives in the Columbia archives as a 16mm B&W copy, but it also exists in the collectors'/traders' circuits as an experimental redrawn colourised short (without any sound) and several truncated B&W silent prints.
Using the redrawn version as a template, I've managed to reconstruct the cartoon using three different silent prints. It's almost complete (at least one very-brief scene is missing, during the introduction of Barney). I've decided not to add a music sound track, as I don't think it's really necessary.
Hope you like this version. Enjoy!
Barney Google - Tetched in the Head
Uploaded by ldglover
This video will be available for the next four weeks.
I'll be making posts of the other three Barney cartoons in the near future.
This cartoon apparantly only survives in the Columbia archives as a 16mm B&W copy, but it also exists in the collectors'/traders' circuits as an experimental redrawn colourised short (without any sound) and several truncated B&W silent prints.
Using the redrawn version as a template, I've managed to reconstruct the cartoon using three different silent prints. It's almost complete (at least one very-brief scene is missing, during the introduction of Barney). I've decided not to add a music sound track, as I don't think it's really necessary.
Hope you like this version. Enjoy!
Barney Google - Tetched in the Head
Uploaded by ldglover
This video will be available for the next four weeks.
I'll be making posts of the other three Barney cartoons in the near future.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Lost Columbia Cartoons - King Midas Jr.
Firstly, apologies for the recent lack of posts. Been a busy few weeks for yours truly.
And secondly, for this series, I decided not to make screenshots of whole cartoons, and instead I will post short video extracts of the remaining Columbia cartoons (but watch out for the occasional complete cartoon). The reason for this is because my computer just can not cope with DVD playback (I mainly get frozen pictures), which results in making the process of obtaining screenshots time-consuming, tedious, and just damn annoying! Nevertheless, I do hope that these video extracts will prove fascinating to you good folks.
Ok, I'll stop moaning about my computer now!
Today's post will be...
This cartoon, King Midas Jr., was directed by John Hubley and Paul Sommer, and was released on 18th December 1942. This apparantly no longer exists in the Columbia archive, but does survive in the collectors'/traders' circuits as a complete 16mm colour print.
The short focuses on King Midas Jr, who is given the power of touch by his infamous father. Unfortunately, a mix-up by the angels/telegram boys results in him turning everything he touches into...rubber!
This 1m 30s extract is taken from the ending where, after his futile attempt to eat a banquet without turning everything rubbery, he attempts suicide, but it's not that easy! However, there is some hope for the little king (which relates to a conservation effort during WW2)...
King Midas Jr exerpt
Uploaded by ldglover
This video will be available for the next four weeks.
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