Plane Crazy is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, and an executive from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer saw the film, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success; Plane Crazy was officially released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be given a wide release after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho and The Barn Dance (1929).
The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928, began to decline around 1957, and ended by 1969, when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the Golden Age were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited animation techniques by companies such as Terrytoons, UPA, Famous Studios, Jay Ward Productions, Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Rankin/Bass and Filmation. In artefact, the history of animation became very important in the United States.
Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973. Terrytoons was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including Fanny Zilch, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character Farmer Al Falfa was also featured often in the series.
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of thirty-nine Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros. He was voiced by Carman Maxwell, Johnny Murray, and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas during the 1920s and 1930s and once by Don Messick during the 1990s.
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he is often considered one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history. Felix was the first fully realized animal character in the history of American film animation.
Hugh Harman was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons studios and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the Golden Age of American animation.
Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team and company known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. In 1929, the studio was founded under the name "Harman-Ising Productions", producing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Leon Schlesinger from 1930 to 1933. From 1934 to 1938, Harman-Ising produced the Happy Harmonies series, with William Hanna as their employee.
Talkartoons is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932.
Margaret J. Winkler Mintz was a key figure in silent animation history, having a crucial role to play in the histories of Max and Dave Fleischer, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer, and Walt Disney. She was the first woman to produce and distribute animated films. Winkler was the subject of a feature film Walt Before Mickey.
The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936.
The Laugh-O-Gram Studio was an animation studio located on the second floor of the McConahay Building at 1127 East 31st in Kansas City, Missouri, that operated from June 28, 1921, to October 16, 1923.
Burton F. Gillett was a director of animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Disney, particularly the 1932 short film Flowers and Trees and the 1933 short film Three Little Pigs, both of which were awarded the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and both of which were selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
Farmer Al Falfa, also known as Farmer Alfalfa, is an animated cartoon character created by American cartoonist Paul Terry. He first appeared in Down On the Phoney Farm (1915), a short Terry cartoon distributed by the Thanhouser Company. Next came a series of shorts produced by Terry for Bray Studios, starting with Farmer Al Falfa's Cat-Tastrophe (1916).
Dinner Time (1928) is an American animated short subject produced by Amadee J. Van Beuren, directed by Paul Terry, co-directed by John Foster, and produced at Van Beuren Studios. Josiah Zuro arranged and conducted the "synchronized" music score. The film is part of a series entitled Aesop's Fables and features the Terry creation Farmer Al Falfa who works as a butcher, fending off a group of pesky dogs.
Paul Houlton Terry was an American cartoonist, screenwriter, film director and producer. He produced over 1,300 cartoons between 1915 and 1955 including the many Terrytoons cartoons. His studio's most famous character is Mighty Mouse, and also created Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose and Dinky Duck.
Circus Capers is a 1930 animated short film made by The Van Beuren Corporation and distributed by Pathé Exchange. The film, which featured the characters Milton Mouse and Rita, is part of the early sound cartoon series entitled Aesop's Sound Fables, though it is not based on an Aesop fable.
A Close Call is a 1929 animated short film which is part of the early sound cartoon series entitled Aesop's Sound Fables. It was produced by The Van Beuren Corporation and released by Pathé.
Laundry Blues is a 1930 animated short film produced by The Van Beuren Corporation and released by Pathe. The film, which takes place in a laundromat run by Chinese caricatures, was released on August 17, 1930.
Western Whoopee is a 1930 animated short film directed by John Foster and Harry Bailey. It is part of the early cartoon series Aesop's Sound Fables. It was produced by The Van Beuren Corporation and released by the film company Pathé. It, like other Sound Fables at that time, features Milton Mouse and Rita, who resemble Mickey and Minnie Mouse to such an extent that Disney sued Van Beuren for the resemblance.
Milton Mouse is an animated character created at Fables Studios for Paul Terry's cartoon series Aesop's Fables. The character was introduced in 1921, and appeared in dozens of cartoon shorts through 1931. Milton often appeared alongside a girlfriend mouse, usually named Rita.
