Color Rhapsody

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Color Rhapsody is a series of usually one-shot animated cartoon shorts produced by Charles Mintz's studio Screen Gems for Columbia Pictures. [1] They were launched in 1934, following the phenomenal success of Walt Disney's Technicolor Silly Symphonies and Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies . Because of Disney's exclusive rights to the full three strip Technicolor process, Color Rhapsody were produced in the older two-tone Technicolor process until 1935, when Disney's exclusive contract expired.

Contents

The Color Rhapsody series is most notable for introducing the characters of The Fox and the Crow in the 1941 short The Fox and the Grapes. Two Color Rhapsody shorts, Holiday Land (1934) and The Little Match Girl (1937), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons). [2]

Filmography

1930s

TitleRelease dateDirectorCharacter(s)Notes
Holiday Land November 11, 1934Sid Marcus Scrappy
Babes at Sea December 12, 1934 Arthur Davis
The Shoemaker and the Elves January 19, 1935
Make Believe Revue March 25, 1935Ben Harrison
A Cat, a Mouse and a BellMay 14, 1935Arthur Davis
Little RoverJune 26, 1935Sid Marcus
NeighborsAugust 17, 1935Arthur Davis and Sid MarcusLost cartoon
Monkey LoveSeptember 14, 1935Arthur DavisSoundtrack exists
The Bon Bon ParadeOctober 13, 1935Ben Harrison
Doctor BluebirdJanuary 18, 1936Scrappy
Football BugsFebruary 17, 1936Arthur Davis
Glee WormsApril 5, 1936Ben Harrison
The Untrained SealMay 28, 1936Arthur Davis
Two Lazy CrowsJune 14, 1936 Ub Iwerks
In My GondolaJuly 13, 1936Sid MarcusScrappy
Merry MutineersAugust 13, 1936Ben Harrison
Birds in LoveSeptember 12, 1936
A Boy and His DogOctober 11, 1936Sid MarcusJohnny
The Novelty ShopNovember 15, 1936Ben Harrison
Gifts from the AirDecember 12, 1936
Skeleton Frolics [lower-alpha 1] January 23, 1937Ub Iwerks
Merry MannequinsMarch 16, 1937
Let's GoApril 17, 1937Ben Harrison
Mother Hen's HolidayMay 7, 1937Sid Marcus
The Foxy PupMay 21, 1937 Ub Iwerks
The Stork Takes a HolidayJune 11, 1937Sid MarcusLost cartoon
Indian SerenadeJuly 16, 1937
Spring FestivalAugust 6, 1937Ben Harrison
Scary CrowsAugust 20, 1937Sid MarcusJohnny
Hollywood PicnicOctober 17, 1937
The Little Match GirlNovember 6, 1937Arthur Davis and Sid Marcus (uncredited)
The Air HostessNovember 22, 1937Arthur Davis (uncredited)
Swing, Monkey, SwingDecember 12, 1937Ben Harrison
The Horse on the Merry-Go-RoundJanuary 16, 1938Ub Iwerks
Bluebird's BabyFebruary 14, 1938Ben HarrisonJohnny
Snow TimeMarch 13, 1938Ub Iwerks
The Foolish BunnyApril 16, 1938Sid Marcus
The Big BirdcastMay 15, 1938Ben Harrison
Window ShoppingJune 8, 1938Sid Marcus
Poor Little ButterflyJuly 4, 1938Ben Harrison
Poor ElmerJuly 23, 1938Sid Marcus
The Frog PondAugust 10, 1938Ub Iwerks
Hollywood GraduationAugust 27, 1938Arthur DavisLost cartoon
Animal Cracker CircusSeptember 26, 1938Ben HarrisonJohnny
Midnight FrolicsOctober 12, 1938Ub Iwerks
Little Moth's Big FlameNovember 12, 1938Sid Marcus
The Kangaroo KidDecember 25, 1938Ben Harrison
Peaceful NeighborsJanuary 29, 1939Sid Marcus
The Gorilla HuntFebruary 21, 1939Ub Iwerks
The Happy TotsMarch 25, 1939Ben Harrison
The House That Jack BuiltApril 16, 1939Sid Marcus
Lucky PigsMay 16, 1939Ben Harrison
Nell's YellsJune 21, 1939Ub Iwerks
Hollywood SweepstakesJuly 22, 1939Ben Harrison
Jitterbug KnightsAugust 12, 1939Sid Marcus
Crop ChasersSeptember 22, 1939Ub Iwerks
Dreams on IceOctober 20, 1939Sid Marcus
Mountain EarsNovember 12, 1939 Manny Gould
Mother Goose in SwingtimeDecember 18, 1939Manny Gould

1940s

TitleRelease dateDirectorCharacter(s)Notes
A Boy, a Gun, and BirdsJanuary 13, 1940Ben Harrison
The Happy Tots' ExpeditionFebruary 6, 1940
Blackboard RevueMarch 13, 1940Ub Iwerks
The Greyhound and the RabbitApril 13, 1940Sid Marcus
The Egg HuntMay 21, 1940Ub Iwerks
Ye Olde Swap ShoppeJune 22, 1940
The Timid PupJuly 16, 1940Ben Harrison
Tangled TelevisionAugust 14, 1940Sid Marcus
Mr. Elephant Goes to TownOctober 14, 1940Arthur Davis
The Mad HatterNovember 3, 1940Sid Marcus
Wise OwlDecember 8, 1940Ub Iwerks
A Helping PawJanuary 14, 1941Sid Marcus
The Way of All PestsFebruary 22, 1941Arthur Davis
The CarpentersMarch 14, 1941Paul Fennell
The Land of FunApril 19, 1941Sid Marcus
Tom Thumb's BrotherJune 16, 1941 Tom Thumb
The Cuckoo I.Q.July 23, 1941
Who's Zoo in HollywoodNovember 17, 1941Lost cartoon
The Fox and the GrapesDecember 6, 1941 Frank Tashlin The Fox and the Crow
Red Riding Hood Rides AgainDecember 21, 1941Sid Marcus
A Hollywood DetourJanuary 24, 1942Frank Tashlin
Wacky WigwamsFebruary 22, 1942Alec Geiss
Concerto in B Flat MinorMarch 24, 1942Bob Wickersham
Cinderella Goes to a PartyMay 17, 1942Alec Geiss
Woodman, Spare That TreeJuly 6, 1942Bob WickershamThe Fox and the Crow
Song of VictorySeptember 8, 1942
Toll Bridge TroublesOctober 20, 1942The Fox and the Crow
Tito's GuitarNovember 23, 1942Tito, Burrito and Rosita
King Midas JuniorDecember 22, 1942 John Hubley and Paul Sommer
Slay it with FlowersJanuary 16, 1943Bob WickershamThe Fox and the Crow
There's Something About a SoldierFebruary 26, 1943Alec GeissLost cartoon
Professor Small and Mr. TallMarch 28, 1943John Hubley and Paul SommerProfessor Small and Mr. Tall
Plenty Below ZeroApril 19, 1943Bob WickershamThe Fox and the Crow
Tree for TwoJune 21, 1943
He Can't Make It StickJuly 25, 1943John Hubley and Paul SommerPartially lost
A-Hunting We Won't GoAugust 23, 1943Bob WickershamThe Fox and the Crow
The Rocky Road to Ruin [lower-alpha 2] October 20, 1943Paul Sommer
ImaginationNovember 16, 1943Bob Wickersham
The Herring Murder MysteryJanuary 23, 1944Dun Roman
The Disillusioned BluebirdJune 13, 1944Howard Swift
Dog, Cat and CanaryJanuary 5, 1945Flippy
Fiesta TimeApril 4, 1945Bob WickershamTito, Burrito and Rosita
Rippling RomanceJune 20, 1945Soundtrack exists
Hot Foot LightsAugust 6, 1945Howard Swift
Carnival CourageSeptember 8, 1945 Willoughby Wren
River RibberOctober 4, 1945Paul SommerProfessor Small and Mr. Tall
Polar PlaymatesApril 25, 1946Howard Swift
Picnic PanicJune 20, 1946Bob WickershamTito, Burrito and Rosita
Loco LoboJanuary 9, 1947Howard Swift
Cockatoos for TwoFebruary 1947Bob Wickersham
Mother Hubba-Hubba-HubbardMarch 29, 1947
Up N' AtomJuly 10, 1947Sid Marcus
Swiss TeaseSeptember 11, 1947
Boston Beanie [3] December 4, 1947
FloraMarch 18, 1948 Alex Lovy
Pickled PussSeptember 2, 1948Howard Swift
Lo, the Poor BuffalNovember 14, 1948Alex Lovy
The Coo-Coo Bird DogFebruary 2, 1949Sid Marcus
Grape NuttyApril 14, 1949Alex LovyThe Fox and the Crow
Cat-TastrophyJune 30, 1949Sid Marcus

Accolades

FilmAwardCategoryResultRef.
Holiday Land 7th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [4]
The Little Match Girl 10th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, CartoonsNominated [5]
Imagination 16th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, CartoonsNominated [6]
Dog, Cat and Canary 17th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, CartoonsNominated [7]
Rippling Romance 18th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, CartoonsNominated [8]

Notes

  1. Very similar to The Skeleton Dance , also drawn by Iwerks.[ citation needed ]
  2. This cartoon is notable for its similarities to Chuck Jones' The Dover Boys , a short released by Warner Bros. the previous year.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 66–67. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 170–171. ISBN   9781476672939.
  3. Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic (revised edition). p. 418. ISBN   0-452-25993-2.
  4. "THE 7TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1935". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  5. "THE 10TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1938". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. "THE 16TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1944". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  7. "THE 17TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1945". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  8. "THE 18TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1946". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.