Ralph Bakshi is an American animator, filmmaker and painter. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1994, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, predominantly urban dramas and fantasy films, five of which he wrote. He has also been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator.
Mighty Mouse is an American animated character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character is a anthropomorphic superhero mouse, originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short The Mouse of Tomorrow. The name was changed to Mighty Mouse in his eighth film, 1944's The Wreck of the Hesperus, and the character went on to star in 80 theatrical shorts, concluding in 1961 with Cat Alarm.
Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that slowly set in with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and the popularization of television animation that started in the late 1950s, reached its peak during the 1970s, and ended around the mid-1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children. Due to the perceived cheap production values, poor animation, and mixed critical and commercial reception, the era is generally looked back upon negatively by critics and animation historians. The television animation of this period is often referred to as the dark age of American animation, while the theatrical animation from the time is sometimes referred as the bronze age.
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.
Famous Studios was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control of the aforementioned studio amid the departure of its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1942. The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers—Popeye the Sailor, Superman, and Screen Songs—as well as Little Audrey, Little Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Honey Halfwitch, Herman and Katnip, Baby Huey, and the anthology Noveltoons series.
Gerald Jinx "Jerry" Mouse is a fictional character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical animated short films and other animated media, usually acting as the protagonist opposite his rival Tom Cat. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Jerry is an anthropomorphic brown house mouse, who first appeared as a mouse named Jinx in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot. Hanna gave the mouse's original name as "Jinx", while Barbera claimed the mouse went unnamed in his first appearance.
Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964.
Cool Cat is a fictional cartoon character created by director Alex Lovy for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation. He was the final star of the original Warner Bros. theatrical cartoons. His first appearance was in an eponymous short in 1967. He was voiced by Larry Storch. Robert McKimson took over as director for the last two cartoons in this series.
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures is an American animated television series. It is a revival of the Mighty Mouse cartoon character. Produced by Bakshi-Hyde Ventures and Terrytoons, the show aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from fall 1987 through the 1988–89 season. It was briefly rerun on Saturday mornings on Fox Kids in November and December 1992.
Daniel Campbell Gordon was an American storyboard artist and film director who was best known for his work at Famous Studios and Hanna-Barbera Productions. Gordon was one of the first famous film directors. He wrote and directed several Popeye the Sailor and Superman cartoons. Later in his career, he worked on several cartoons featuring Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and many others. His younger brother, George Gordon, also worked for Hanna-Barbera.
Hashimoto-san is a fictional Japanese mouse created by the Japanese-born animator Bob Kuwahara and Eli Bauer for the Terrytoons animation company. Hashimoto is a jujutsu instructor living in Japan with his wife Hanako, son Saburo, and daughter Yuriko.
Merlin the Magic Mouse is an animated cartoon mouse, who starred in five Warner Bros. Looney Tunes shorts late in the series, from 1967 to 1969. The first cartoon was Merlin the Magic Mouse, directed by Alex Lovy.
The Mighty Heroes is an American Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 21 episodes.
The Astronut Show is an animated TV series, produced by the Terrytoons animation studio. It first aired on August 23, 1965. In the late 1960s, each episode included Astronut, Hashimoto-san, and Luno the White Stallion. In the early 1970s, the episodes were reprogrammed; these episodes included Astronut, Sad Cat and James Hound.
Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and executive Walter Bien as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts, the TV specials Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth, all released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Robert McFadden was an American singer, impressionist, and voice-over actor perhaps best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons.
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to accompany MGM feature films in Loew's Theaters, which included popular cartoon characters Tom, Jerry, Droopy, Butch, Spike, Tyke, and Barney Bear.
Lionel Wilson was an American voice actor, reader of audiobooks, stage actor, and author of children's books. He was known for his roles from Tom Terrific through to his last role, voicing Eustace Bagge on the Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Hector Heathcote is a Terrytoons animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer and Ralph Bakshi, he first appeared on July 18, 1959, in The Minute and a Half Man. He was voiced by John Myhers. Terrytoons created the character for television, but the cartoons also received theatrical distribution.
