The 50 Greatest Cartoons

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The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals
50 Greatest Cartoons cover.jpg
Editor Jerry Beck
Subject Animation
Publisher Turner Publishing
Publication date
October 1, 1994
Pages192
ISBN 187868549X
OCLC 467065913
791.43
LC Class NC1766.U5 F54 1994

The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals is a 1994 book by animation historian Jerry Beck, with a foreword written by Chuck Jones.

Contents

The book features the fifty greatest cartoons of all time; selected by a group of 1000 cartoon historians, animation professionals and film critics. The votes were culled from ballots sent to members of the Society for Animation Studies, the International Animated Film Association, one hundred animation studios, and film critics from more than one hundred periodicals.

The cartoons selected include work from Disney Cartoons, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Fleischer Studios, MGM Cartoons, United Productions of America, Walter Lantz, National Film Board of Canada, Winsor McCay, Otto Messmer, Sally Cruikshank, Marv Newland, Frederic Back and various independent animators. Each selection has a plot summary, production history, and a critical analysis that examines why they were selected. The book also features commentary from Leonard Maltin, John Canemaker, Joe Adamson, Steve Schneider, Charles Solomon, and Leslie Cabarga.

Criteria

It consists of articles about 50 highly regarded animated short films made in North America and other notable cartoons, which are ranked according to a poll of 1,000 people working in the animation industry and film critics. [1] [2]

Each cartoon is under 30 minutes long and cel animated (with the exception of Gertie the Dinosaur ). Seventeen of the selected films were produced for Warner Bros.'s Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, ten of which were directed by Chuck Jones, including the #1 cartoon on the list, What's Opera, Doc? and the overall #2 pick Duck Amuck . Beck said Jones was one of "the most intellectual of the Warner crowd", and that he was one of the "first cartoon directors to experiment with stylized backgrounds and animation techniques, and his cartoons are noted for their highly artistic look and comic timing." [3]

Forty-five of the selected cartoons were created and released before 1960; the exceptions are The Big Snit (1985; No. 25), [4] The Cat Came Back (1988; No. 32), Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969; No. 38), The Man Who Planted Trees (1987; No. 44) and Quasi at the Quackadero (1975; No. 46). [5]

The book's front and rear cover art shows a variety of famous cartoon stars seated in a nightclub. [6] In the appendix, a list of other cartoons with substantial votes are featured. [7]

Reception and legacy

Maryanne Dell wrote in The Orange County Register that the book "is a breeze, a visual delight that brings back childhood afternoons in front of the tube." She also mentioned how the book chronicled the "history of the genre with enough details about how these things work to satisfy anyone with a modicum of interest in the subject." Overall, she stated that the book is "worth the price of admission for the visuals, and a gem of a show." [8]

Sandra Crockett of The Baltimore Sun called the book an "animated feast". She was impressed with the illustrations in the book, complimenting the "animation cels whose colors practically leap off the page". She lauded "Ted Turner and his minions" for their appreciation and preservation of the films. [9]

In his autobiography Chuck Amuck, Jones singled out What's Opera, Doc? "for sheer production quality, magnificent music and wonderful animation, this is probably our (unit's) most elaborate and satisfying production." [10]

A mixture of the book's selections and its runner-ups were featured on Cartoon Network on March 14, 1998, as part of "The 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time" marathon. [11] The reason for this is because the network only aired cartoons owned by Warner Bros., public domain cartoons like Gertie the Dinosaur, and those licensed to the network at the time (such as The Big Snit and Bambi Meets Godzilla). The marathon also included interviews with animators such as Chuck Jones and Joe Barbera, as well as historian Leonard Maltin and voice actors Charlie Adler and June Foray. [12] [13] A similar marathon aired the following year. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Jones</span> American animator and filmmaker (1912–2002)

Charles Martin Jones was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of shorts. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, and Porky Pig, among others.

<i>Duck Amuck</i> 1953 film

Duck Amuck is an American animated surreal comedy short film directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on January 17, 1953, as part of the Merrie Melodies series, and stars Daffy Duck.

<i>Whats Opera, Doc?</i> 1957 animated short

What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 American Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on July 6, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the companion series to Looney Tunes, and featured many of the same characters as the former series. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it had been revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black and white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

<i>The Dover Boys at Pimento University</i> 1942 animated short film by Chuck Jones

The Dover Boys at Pimento University; or, The Rivals of Roquefort Hall is a 1942 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on September 19, 1942. The cartoon is a parody of the Rover Boys, a popular juvenile fiction book series of the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Maltese</span> American screenwriter (1908–1981)

Michael Maltese was an American story man for classic animated cartoon shorts. He is best known for working in the 1950s on a series of Merrie Melodies cartoons with director Chuck Jones. This collaboration produced many highly acclaimed animated shorts, including 4 of the top 5 "greatest cartoons" as judged by 1000 animation professionals; "What's Opera, Doc?" tops this list as the best animated short of all time.

<i>Rabbit Fire</i> 1951 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, the cartoon is the first in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two cartoons following it being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! It is also the first cartoon to feature a feud between Bugs and Daffy. Produced by Edward Selzer for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 by Warner Bros. Pictures and is often considered among Jones' best and most important films.

Edward Selzer was an American film producer and publicist who served as head of Warner Bros. Cartoons from 1944 to 1958. He served in the US Navy and fought as a Golden Gloves boxer. He won a boxing exhibition for the Navy and was awarded with a weekend pass. While out on leave he met a New York chorus girl named Laura Cohn; he later married Laura in 1927 and relocated to Los Angeles where they had two children; Phyllis and Robert.

<i>You Ought to Be in Pictures</i> 1940 Warner Bros. animated short starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck

You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film directed by Friz Freleng. The cartoon was released on May 18, 1940, and stars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck.

<i>The Scarlet Pumpernickel</i> 1950 film by Chuck Jones

The Scarlet Pumpernickel is a 1950 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on March 4, 1950, and features Daffy Duck, along with a number of Looney Tunes stars, including the introduction of Melissa Duck. The title is a play on the 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel.

This is a complete list of the 166 shorts in the Tom and Jerry series produced and released between 1940 and 2021. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, one is a two-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon, and two are special shorts released on HBO Max.

<i>Feed the Kitty</i> 1952 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Feed the Kitty is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on February 2, 1952, and introduces bulldog Marc Anthony and kitten Pussyfoot.

Richard Condie, is a Canadian animator, filmmaker, musician and voice actor. Condie is best known for his 1985 animated short The Big Snit at the National Film Board of Canada and has won six international awards for Getting Started in 1979. Condie lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

<i>Quasi at the Quackadero</i> 1975 film by Sally Cruikshank

Quasi at the Quackadero is a 1975 independent animated short by Sally Cruikshank. This cartoon follows two anthropomorphic ducks and a pet robot at an amusement park where phenomena such as time travel, telepathy, and reincarnation are exhibited as sideshow attractions. In 2009, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Cruikshank</span> American animator

Sarah Cruikshank is an American cartoonist, animator and artist, whose work includes animation for the Children's Television Workshop program Sesame Street, and whose short Quasi at the Quackadero (1975) was inducted into the United States National Film Registry.

<i>Felix in Hollywood</i> 1923 film

Felix in Hollywood is an American silent short film featuring Felix the Cat, released on July 15, 1923. The short was named number 50 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time in a 1994 survey of animators and cartoon historians.

This is a listing of all theatrical animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1970 and the present. It also lists shorts originally planned for theatrical release and other shorts that were not feature films, television series, or television specials.

<i>Old Glory</i> (film) 1939 animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Old Glory is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on July 1, 1939, and stars Porky Pig. The cartoon was commissioned by Warner Bros. as a counterpart for a series of live-action films about American patriotism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Beck</span> American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer

Jerry Beck is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.

References

  1. ↑ The 50 greatest cartoons: as selected by 1,000 animation professionals (Book, 1994)-WorldCat.org
  2. ↑ Ventrella, Michael A. (August 19, 2012). "Interview with Jerry Beck".
  3. ↑ Seiler, Andy (March 25, 1996). "What's up? Jones getting an Oscar". USA Today . p. 4D. ProQuest   306785010.
  4. ↑ Cavalier, Stephen (October 2014). "100 Greatest Animated Shorts / The Big Snit / Richard Condie". Skwigly.
  5. ↑ Cavalier, Stephen (June 2015). "100 Greatest Animated Shorts / Quasi at the Quackadero / Sally Cruikshank". Skwigly.
  6. ↑ "The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1, 000 Animation Professionals". Book Depository. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  7. ↑ The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals (pg.186)
  8. ↑ Dell, Maryanne (November 16, 1994). "New Book Celebrates Animation". Panama City News Herald. The Orange County Register. p. 25.
  9. ↑ Crockett, Sandra (December 11, 1994). "When you give a good book, you present volumes of pleasure". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1J. ProQuest   406899399.
  10. ↑ Neal, David J. (January 4, 1995). "Meep Meep Master is Big Screen Star". The Salt Lake Tribune . Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. Z2. ProQuest   288650489.
  11. ↑ Fanitazia, Joan (March 12, 1998). "Cartoon Network to Offer the Best in Cels-Manship". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The 50 [Almost] Greatest Cartoons". Animation World News. April 1998. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ Ulie, Chuck (February 26, 1998). "Cartoon Network To Present 50 Greatest Cartoons". Chicago Tribune .
  14. ↑ Amidi, Amid (March 22, 1999). "Cartoon Network's Greatest Cartoon Countdown". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
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