Mel Birnkrant (born 1937) is an American toy designer and collector. He is known for his extensive collection of Mickey Mouse and other toys of pre-World War II comics characters, and for his creation of toys such as the Outer Space Men and Baby Face.
Birnkrant was born and raised in Detroit following World War II, the son of a wealthy Jewish real estate mogul. By the time he was in sixth grade, he had grown to 6' 4" and weighed 260 lbs, making it difficult, despite his wishes, for him not to stand out. [1]
In the 1950s, Birnkrant began collecting toys of primarily pre-World War II comics characters, beginning with a Mickey Mouse bank he found at a flea market in Paris, France. From that point he began to amass a collection of toys. He is drawn to the forms of the characters rather than their stories or personalities: "Mickey Mouse only interests me as three circles. Something you can draw with a quarter and two dimes. I can’t stand his little voice. Most Mickey Mouse collectors love goddamn Mickey Mouse. I love three circles and the fact that it looks alive." [1]
Birnkrant attended Cranbrook Academy of Art, the University of Michigan,[ citation needed ] New York's Pratt School of Art and Design and the Académie Julian in Paris, France. [2]
In the early 1960s, Birnkrant and his wife Eunice ran a small business in Manhattan called "Boutique Fantastique", handcrafting what Birnkrant describes as "'Authentic Reproductions' of antique toys and music boxes that never existed in the first place" and The New York Times described as "antiques that never were". [3] [4] Ideas for the designs, which included zoetropes, came from a variety of sources including Épinal prints, Victorian toy theaters and dancing automatons. [3] Birnkrant started making moving toys after a visit to the Cooper Union Museum resulted in him being given permission to repair an old toy that no longer worked. [3]
From 1964 to 1986, Birnkrant designed toys for the Colorforms company.
Birnkrant's knowledge and the extensiveness of his collection has gained the appreciation of dealers and collectors, including that of fellow Mickey Mouse collector, artist Maurice Sendak. [1] His collection was featured in the 2004 short film Mouse Heaven directed by Kenneth Anger.
Professor Ludwig Von Drake is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company. He is the paternal uncle of Donald Duck. He was first introduced as the presenter in the cartoon An Adventure in Color, part of the first episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on NBC. According to the episode The Hunting Instinct of that series he and Donald Duck's father are brothers. He is described as a scientist, lecturer, psychologist, and world traveler. The character displayed his "expert" knowledge on a variety of subjects in eighteen episodes of the classic anthology series, as well as on a number of Disneyland Records.
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Donald Duck and Goofy and his nemesis Pete among others
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.
Pluto is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a yellow-orange color, medium-sized, short-haired dog with black ears. Unlike most Disney characters, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression. He is Mickey's pet. Officially a mixed-breed dog, he made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang. Together with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy, Pluto is one of the "Sensational Six"—the biggest stars in the Disney universe. Though all six are non-human animals, Pluto alone is not dressed as a human.
Pete is a cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks of The Walt Disney Company. Pete is traditionally depicted as the villainous arch-nemesis of Mickey Mouse, and was made notorious for his repeated attempts to kidnap Minnie Mouse. Pete is the oldest continuing Disney character, having debuted in the cartoon Alice Solves the Puzzle in 1925. He originally bore the appearance of an anthropomorphic bear, but with the advent of Mickey in 1928, he was defined as a cat.
Goofy is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and is Max Goof's father. He is normally characterized as hopelessly clumsy and dim-witted, yet this interpretation is not always definitive; occasionally, Goofy is shown as intuitive and clever, albeit in his own unique, eccentric way.
Arthur Floyd Gottfredson was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the Mickey Mouse comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. His contribution to Mickey Mouse comics is comparable to Carl Barks's on the Donald Duck comics. 17 years after his death, his memory was honored with the Disney Legends award in 2003 and induction into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving Disney cartoon characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Pluto and Goofy as the primary members, and many other characters related to them, being most of them anthropomorphic animals. The universe originated from the Mickey Mouse animated short films produced by Disney starting in 1928, although its first consistent version was created by Floyd Gottfredson in the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip. Real-world versions also exist in Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, called Mickey's Toontown.
Horace Horsecollar is a cartoon character created in 1929 at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Horace is a tall anthropomorphic black horse and is one of Mickey Mouse's best friends. Characterized as a boastful show-off, Horace served as Mickey’s sidekick in Disney's early black-and-white shorts.
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck.
Sniffles is an animated cartoon and comic-book mouse character in the Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series of cartoons and comics.
Four Horsemen Studios is a collectible figure design studio and manufacturer, specializing in creating sculptures of toys and action figures. The company was founded in the late 1990s as a contractor to Mattel, and have since grown to an independent studio creating their own lines of figures as well as manufacturing third party designs under license.
Morris S. Weiss was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer. Active from the 1930s through the mid-1970s, he created the teen-comedy character Margie for Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics, and was the final cartoonist on the comic strip Mickey Finn. He also worked as a writer or illustrator on numerous other strips, including Joe Palooka.
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy, Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.
Colorforms is a creative toy named for the simple shapes and forms cut from colored vinyl sheeting that cling to a smooth backing surface without adhesives. These pieces are used to create picture graphics and designs, which can then be changed countless times by repositioning the removable color forms. The name also refers to the specific registered trademark brand these products are produced under, as well as the company that manufactures the toys, Colorforms Brand, LLC.
Donald Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous, temperamental, and pompous personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002, and has earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character.
Duffy the Disney Bear (ダッフィー) is a Disney Parks character developed for merchandise, live entertainment and meet-and-greets. The character is especially popular in Disney's Asian theme parks — Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland — and can also be found at Disneyland Paris and the Aulani resort, as well as the Disney Cruise Line. The character has struggled to find an audience at the American parks Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney World.
Baby Face is an American brand of baby dolls that were manufactured by Galoob in 1990-1991. They were designed by toy inventor Mel Birnkrant.
Timeless Tales was a 2016–18 hardcover book collection series, compiling the complete runs of several Disney comics titles from IDW Publishing, including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. The series were released as compiled collector's editions of the single issues of the run of each comic book title, while also in conjunction with the same issues being released in trade paperback collections. The first series to launch was Uncle Scrooge: Timeless Tales - Vol 1 in May 2016. After a total of ten hardcover volumes the four lines of the Timeless Tales series were cancelled, ending with the Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Vault - Vol. 1 in mid 2018.
Mickey Mouse is an American newspaper comic strip by the Walt Disney Company featuring Mickey Mouse and is the first published example of Disney comics. The strip debuted on January 13, 1930, and ran until July 29, 1995. It was syndicated by King Features Syndicate.
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