keyleedaud (REAL ESTATE)

Profiles in History is having an auction entitled Icons of Animation on December 17. While the majority of items are out of my price range (maybe all of them actually), you can download a catalog of the auction for free. Even if you're not in the market to buy, the catalog is a mini history lesson by itself. It contains art from Disney, MGM, Warner Bros, Fleischer and Hanna Barbera. There is work by Bill Tytla, Fred Moore, Carl Barks, Bob Clampett, Virgil Ross, Irv Wyner, Mary Blair, Preston Blair, Gustav Tenggren, Charles Schulz, etc. There are worse ways to spend time than by paging through the download and admiring so much beautiful stuff. (link via Disney History )

Warner Bros. animation director Bob Clampett's high school yearbook is up for sale on Ebay . Starting bid is $249.99, but you can buy it now for $324.99 if you are so inclined. The listing includes many cartoons done by Clampett for the yearbook, so even if you're not in the market to buy, it's still worth visiting the link and see what Clampett's high school cartoons look like. The yearbook is from 1930 and shortly after graduating, Clampett went to work for Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising at Warner Bros. on the Merrie Melodies series. Five years later, he became a director and went on to direct some of the greatest Warner Bros. cartoons in the first half of the 1940's. (link via Mark Evanier )

Steve Stanchfield, proprietor of Thunderbean Animation , is already held in the highest regard for his historical animation DVD releases. Stanchfield works on a shoestring, yet the quality of the prints he uses, the commentaries and extras he includes, rival DVDs from multinational corporations. The simple fact is that he cares more for the contents of his DVDs than they do. Steve has outdone himself with his latest release, the Private Snafu Golden Classics . These cartoon shorts were made for the American military during World War II and were humorous tales of the many ways a soldier could screw up, risking his own life and the lives of others. What makes this release so special is that Steve has located the original 35mm negatives to use as his video masters and these cartoons, which represent the Warner Bros. studio at the height of its skills, have never looked better. Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin and Friz Freleng, with animation by Ken Harris,...

I'm frankly amazed (and amused) that the video of Disney re-use is still generating comments after more than a week. I was certainly aware of how heavily Disney re-used animation during the Reitherman years. The video didn't surprise me so much as wrap things up in a neat package. Thad Komorowski has created a similar video cataloging Bob Clampett's history of re-use, some of which I wasn't aware of. Anyone who has worked in animation production knows the twin pressures of budget and deadline. While nobody has brought it up, Chuck Jones re-used animation multiple times within his half hour TV specials, including The Grinch and Riki Tiki Tavi . We can argue over a director's motivation and judge whether the end result has value or not, but I don't doubt for a second that given the opportunity, every director would opt for new footage instead of re-use.

A rather startling layout from Chuck Jones' Bear Feat . The trees are an animated pan, adding even more interest to the shot. The latest, and last, Looney Tunes Golden Collection has been released. It's the sixth volume in a series that has delivered over 300 restored Warner Bros. cartoons as well as behind the scenes documentaries and commentaries. This edition contains two live action films of the staff made for Christmas parties in 1939 and 1940, several Captain and the Kids cartoons directed by Friz Freleng at MGM, two TV specials, a documentary on Mel Blanc, a generous selection of early black and white cartoons as well as propaganda cartoons made during World War II. All this in addition to a generous helping of the expected Warner Bros. cartoons. While Warner Bros. will undoubtedly continue to release cartoons on DVD, this may be the last time we see such elaborate extras and relatively obscure cartoons. My guess (and fear) is that we'll be inundated with no-f...