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Topic: MGM CARTOONS
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted January 20, 2009 02:16 PM
That's a good question Chris. besides a few, (such as "Peace on earth") I haven't seen too many of the Harman Ising MGM cartoons available.
I have to differ in that one opinion however. Though MGM's animation was quite good in the 1930's cartoons, (MGM always had some of the biggest budgets for they're films), the quality of story was what set Disney and MGM apart. MGM during the 30's was certainly capable of doing great work, but when you look at the cartoons as a whole, you find that Disney was leap years ahead of MGM.
... and this comes from a person who has, quite frankly, soured on Disney's animation for some time.
All the different american animation studio's were suffering from "Disney Envy" in the thirties and when hey all created thier own identity, (which started in the late 1930's), they then created thier own style and what made them famous, instead of the "also ran" category.
Good luck on searching for them, however.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Christopher P Quinn
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 210
From: Bedfordshire
Registered: Sep 2008
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posted January 29, 2009 10:48 AM
I have got Flowers and Trees the first Technicolor cartoon made by Disney on super 8 a great print to. I was looking for MGM's and i will try and get some of there classic's on film. For the time being i have acquired the HAPPY HARMONIES Laserdisc Box set which include all these MGM classics...
SIDE 1 - MUSICAL FANTASIAS
Tale of the Vienna Woods
The Blue Danube
The Mad Maestro
Art Gallery
Abdul the Bulbul Ameer
Dance of the Weed
SIDE 2 - LITTLE CUTIES
Poor Little Me
Barnyard Babies
Two Little Pups
Little Cheeser
The Little Goldfish
The Little Mole
SIDE 3 - COLORFUL CHARACTERS
The Calico Dragon
Hey-Hey Fever
Bosko's Easter Eggs
The Old Plantation
Little Buck Cheeser
The Lonesome Stranger
SIDE 4 - SWINGIN' CATS AND CRITTERS
Toyland Broadcast
Honeyland
The Chinese Nightingale
Tom Turkey And His Harmonica Humdingers
Romeo in Rythm
Swing Wedding
SIDE 5 - BEDTIME STORIES
Bottles
To Spring
Pipe Dreams
The Bookworm
Peace on Earth
The Milky Way
SIDE 6 - BARNEY BEAR
The Bear That Couldn't Sleep
The Fishing Bear
The Flying Bear
The Bear and the Beavers
Barney Bear's Victory Garden
Barney Bear And "The Uninvited Pest"
SIDE 7 - CARTOON CLASSICS
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Home on the Range
Mrs. Ladybug
The Alley Cat
The Field Mouse
The Boy and The Wolf
If anyone can give me a list of MGM cartoons not Tom & Jerry, available on film, i will then move on to that next.
I have to say i am not saying that Disney was not the number animation house, of course it was, but, there are some MGM cartoons out there that are in my humble opinion just as good.
I am trying to find time to read about early animation, and starting to build a collection of classic cartoons up over 3 formats FILM, DVD, LASERDISC. Although i get some funny looks, even trying to explain the art form of these cartoons goes over a lot of people’s heads.
Any help and info is always appreciated.
Thanks for your comments.
Chris.
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Chris Quinn Rides again.
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Christopher P Quinn
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 210
From: Bedfordshire
Registered: Sep 2008
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posted January 30, 2009 09:49 AM
Thanks Guy's,
As I read up on the Harman-Ising era, I am gaining more and more respect. They refused to cut costs, much to MGM's frustration. MGM opened its own cartoon house and hired sales executive Fred Quimbly, but it was quite apparent to Quimbly after a while that the in house cartoons such as Captain and the kids, were not working, so he re-hired the duo Harman-Ising. In 1939 Ising produced the first Barney bear cartoon The Bear who couldn’t Sleep. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IrVlu8MaFsA 1940 Rudolf Ising won an academy award for The Milky Way http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V2URYX9nfQA and MGM became the first studio to wrestle an academy award away from Disney. Although not a favourite of mine, I much prefer The Blue Danube http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=slXuyAeK-QE&feature=PlayList&p=D2CB3867D6785351&playnext=1&index=15
Peace on Earth also was nominated for an academy and the Nobel peace prize! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J8OYvHPpGDY
Sorry I’m waffling on, but I am excited to get the chance to view these cartoons on my home cinema set up for the first time. I am in the process of trying to buy a laserdisc player.
I will keep my eye open for the super 8 versions, I hope though that they are the full versions and have not been edited I will find out in time.
If you have more info, please, please, post.
Thanks very much Guy’s
Chris.
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Chris Quinn Rides again.
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted January 31, 2009 11:55 AM
Actually Chris, those last Droopy cartoons, (made during MGM's final original years), we're not directed by Hanna or Barbera.
I can't remember the name of the fellow, but he was Tex Avery's assistant director, so he took over direction for Tex Avery for those last year releases.
Also, according to the way these studio's would do the releases, they would have thier cartoons slated far ahead, (as, at MGM, from the time that they started work on a cartoon until the time it actually hit the screen, was a year and a half!), so all but one of the "non Tex Avery cartoons" were actually scripted and largely gag filled by Tex Avery Himself! The timing of the gags, however, were slightly off, as this was what made Tex Avery's "look" unique. Still, on a whole, the non Tex Droopy's looked far better than the Tom and Jerry's of that same period, and this was because Tex's stamp was upon those Droopy's. You see that very clearly on "One Droopy Knight".
Just a little animation history for ya!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted February 02, 2009 12:23 PM
The last Tex Avery Droopy, if I remember correctly, was the one, (name escapes me), in which Droopy is a Deputy, (Hey! I bet it was called "Deputy Droopy", and it had that very UPA inspired look that you talked aboout. Also, the release before that one, Dixieland Droopy" was also very UPA inspired, so that translation to highly stylized graphics and charaters, was well underway ...
Which is funny, as Tex Avery's one scope Droopy release, "Millionaire Droopy", (which was a scope release on Super 8, I used to have it), had very UPA stylized graphics, yet had the very old 40.s inspired Droopy. They simply took the same animation from the 40's (as it was a remake) and simply put stylized new graphics behind it, (they also got rid of one of the gags, to cut down on running time and save money).
Tex, in some interviews, had said that he had really tired of the whole assembly line production methods, and except for four or five cartoons done for Walter lantz, (Crazy Mixed Up Pup, a classic! Also availalble on Super 8!), he retired from theatrical cartoons.
What was strange, (and kind of sad) was that Tex would return to cartoon animation shorts, by working for the Hanna barbera cartoon studio in the early 1980's. he did the cartoons that starred a tough guy "Cave Mouse" which was pat of a Flinstones weekly variety show.
... and, we'll always remember his "Raid" animated commericials!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Panayotis A. Carayannis
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 969
From: Athens,Greece
Registered: Jul 2008
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posted February 02, 2009 04:55 PM
Dear Chris
In fact,there have been too many MGM Harman-Ising cartoons on the 8mm market,if you care to dig into the one-pound baskets at the film fairs.In the older std 8 days,Mountain (or Heritage,or Enfield or whatever) did release a number of Happy Harmonies, including the first one THE DISCONTENTED CANARY (1934), unfortunately,either in complete b&w versions or shortened color ones and often with changed titles (Or, Heritage released them under their original title and Mountain under another!) i.e. THE OLD PIONEER became "Wagon Train";TOYLAND BROADCAST ,"Toyland Capers"; HONEYLAND,"Busy Bees";BARNYARD BABIES,"Showtime";LITTLE BUCK CHEEZER,"Moon Mouse".Retaining their original titles: TOYLAND BROADCAST;THE CALICO DRAGON (later released complete by Red Fox);WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY;THE HOUND AND THE RABBIT;LITTLE BANTAMWEIGHT;THE PUPS' CHRISTMAS;TWO LITTLE PUPS; PUPS'PICNIC; THE EARLY BIRD AND THE WORM;Most were also issued in Super 8. Five Boscos were issued by Steve Vilarino; HEY,HEY FEVER;BOSCO AND THE CANNIBALS;BOSCO AND THE PIRATES;THE OLD HOUSE;BOSCO'S EASTER EGGS; also ,SWING WEDDING.Red Fox issued PEACE ON EARTH, and I'm sure I am missing a few! "Recent" releases include TO SPRING ,ROOKIE BEAR and A RAINY DAY.
Then we have about 60 (yes, sixty!) Tom and Jerrys,including only one or two from the Chuck Jones period.
Doug pretty much covered the Avery titles to which I may add JERKY TURKEY and SENOR DROOPY (directed by Dick Lundy) and Derann did release flat versions of originally scope cartoons. Tex Avery did share the direction of his later cartoons with Michael Lah,and after he left,Lah continued the Droopy series alone.Droopy's design did become simplified (and unappealing) by the mid fifties,until he became an UPA clone.
Well,that covers the story,more or less.Additions and corrections,welcome.
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Panayotis A. Carayannis
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 969
From: Athens,Greece
Registered: Jul 2008
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posted July 21, 2013 03:09 AM
Somewhat belatedly (!)I discovered that Film Office also released five Barney Bears,renaming him Barnabe.SLEEPYTIME SQUIRRELL (Barnabe & l'ecureil),BEAR AND THE BEANS (B.& le haricot sauteur),HALF PINT PALOMINO (B. & le petit cheval),BEAR AND THE BEAVERS (B. joue au castor) and IMPOSSIBLE POSSUM (B. et l' opossum).F.O. also released, as a "Barnabe",Avery's ROCK A BYE BEAR (B. ronfleur).
Moving to Spain,the releases of which I am only recently
discovering, a company called Mahier Films issued the first Barney cartoon,THE BEAR THAT COULDN'T SLEEP (El oso que no podia dormir). Mahier also released other MGMs from the thirties and early forties.I have:A TALE OF THE VIENNA WOODS (Bosques de Vienna),ROMEO IN RHYTHM (Romeo el intrepido),THE BLUE DANUBE (El Danubo Azul)and ABDUL THE BULBUL AMIR (Abdul,el gran califa).All films are in their original english with good soundtracks.The F.O.s are exellent in pictorial quality and lacking only the original credits,but retaining the Barney Bear logo. The Ms are complete from beginning to end leader,credits intact,but have all turned red by now. Has anyone info on other Mahier,or other's, titles? Any lists,or catalogues to scan? 
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