The Golden Age of Hollywood animation

The Golden Age of Hollywood Animation (or more appropriately The Golden Age of American Animation) is a period in American animation history that began with the advent of sound cartoons in 1928 and lasted into the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts slowly began losing to the new medium of television animation. Many of the most memorable characters emerged from this period including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Popeye, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, and Mr. Magoo.

The early years

The motion picture industry had been shaken to its roots with the introduction of sound film in 1927, and two years later a similar revolution took place in the field of animation. Walt Disney took what was seen as an enormous financial gamble, and he produced the first cartoon with a fully synchronized soundtrack: Steamboat Willie, featuring the third theatrical appearance of Mickey Mouse. The cartoon was a phenomenal box-office success, drawing in crowds and sparking a meteoric rise to fame for Disney—one of several triumphs he would achieve in his career.

Related Topics:
Sound - 1927 - Walt Disney - Steamboat Willie - Mickey Mouse

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During the early 1930s, the world of animation seemed to be divided into two factions: Walt Disney and "everyone else." Mickey Mouse's phenomenal popularity put the animated character into the ranks of the most popular screen personalities in the world (ranking alongside Charlie Chaplin), and for a while it seemed that everything Disney touched turned to gold. Merchandising based on Disney cartoons rescued a number of companies from bankruptcy during the depths of the Depression, and Disney took advantage of this popularity to move forward with further innovations in animation. Disney is responsible for the development of the three-strip Technicolor process in motion pictures (the Technicolor company worked with Disney to perfect the process), and the first full-color theatrical cartoon was a Disney short, Flowers and Trees (1932). Disney also developed the idea of lifelike realism in animation to a degree that has rarely been surpassed since. His animation production staff, including technical innovator Ub Iwerks, developed the multiplane camera to provide additional depth and perception in animation (as opposed to the typical two-dimensional drawings used to produce animated film), while a continuing emphasis on story development and characterization resulted in yet another smash hit for Disney: Three Little Pigs (1933), which is seen as the first cartoon in which multiple characters displayed unique, individual personalities.

Related Topics:
Charlie Chaplin - Technicolor - Flowers and Trees - 1932 - Ub Iwerks - Multiplane camera - Three Little Pigs - 1933

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Disney did face a number of competitors, though none were able to topple his studio from the throne of animation until the 1940s. Disney's greatest competition during the silent era, the Pat Sullivan studio, faced one of the greatest downfalls during this period after a rather uninspired attempt at bringing Felix the Cat into the sound medium.

Related Topics:
1940s - Pat Sullivan - Felix the Cat

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In terms of quality, Disney's closest competitor was Max Fleischer, the head of Fleischer Studios (which produced cartoons for Paramount Pictures). The Fleischers continued the innovation and creativity they had developed during the silent film era, and they scored successful hits with the sexy Betty Boop cartoons and the surreal Popeye the Sailor series. Popeye's popularity during the 1930s rivaled Mickey Mouse at times, and Popeye fan clubs sprang up across the country in imitation of Mickey's fan clubs. However, during the early 1930s public outcry over "immorality" in the movies reached its peak, prompting the motion picture industry to clean up the "indecency" of the movies and accept the authority of the Production Code in 1934. This form of voluntary censorship applied to cartoons as well and even Mickey Mouse was forced to clean up his act. The Fleischers were especially hard-hit with Betty Boop having to be desexualized among other changes, and for a while their cartoons seem to lose some of their zest and creativity. The Fleischers produced a number of forgettable cartoons during late 1930s when they unwisely attempted to emulate Walt Disney, though their Popeye series remained strong.

Related Topics:
Max Fleischer - Fleischer Studios - Paramount Pictures - Silent film - Betty Boop - Popeye the Sailor - Production Code - 1934

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Meanwhile, former Disney animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising moved to the newly created Leon Schlesinger studio which had recently secured a contract to produce cartoons for Warner Bros.. Harman and Ising directed their own cartoons there. While they were successful on their own, the team of Harman and Ising lacked the innovative quality of Disney, and many of their cartoons suffered from a "cuteness" that failed to impact with many viewing audiences. The Warner Bros. cartoons of the early 1930s by Harman and Ising (along with the earliest directorial efforts of animator Friz Freleng) were largely forgettable, formula cartoons that did try for innovation, but strived too hard to imitate Disney.

Related Topics:
Hugh Harman - Rudolf Ising - Leon Schlesinger - Warner Bros. - Friz Freleng

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However, in 1935, Schlesinger hired a new animation director who proceeded to revitalize the studio: Tex Avery. Avery brought a wild and wacky style of animation to the studio that would propel Warner Bros. cartoons to the top of the heap in the crowded field of animated cartoons. With Avery's influence, Warner Bros. gave birth to a new crowd of animated cartoons stars whose names are known worldwide: Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and many others.

Related Topics:
1935 - Tex Avery - Porky Pig - Daffy Duck - Bugs Bunny

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Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. and moved to the MGM cartoon studio, where they were blessed with much higher budgets for their cartoons, and they produced a number of richly animated cartoons that often featured stunning animated sequences. But the Harman-Ising storytelling style still caused the MGM cartoons to suffer in quality: while they were visual feasts, the stories themselves were often unmemorable. MGM's studio remained in this state through the 1930s, even though their cartoons were often nominated for Academy Awards.

Related Topics:
MGM - Academy Award

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In addition to these studios, a number of other cartoon studios thrived during the 1930s. Walter Lantz and his associate, Bill Nolan had worked in New York for most of their animation career, so it comes as no surprise that the early cartoons of the Walter Lantz Studio were just as outrageous and surreal as the Fleischer product. Lantz's main character at this time was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who was handed down from Walt Disney and Charles Mintz. In the 1933 cartoon, Confidence, Oswald pays a visit to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt walks out from behind his desk and tells the rabbit to spread confidence to wipe out the Great Depression.

Related Topics:
Walter Lantz - Bill Nolan - Walter Lantz Studio - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Charles Mintz - 1933 - Confidence - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Great Depression

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Former Oswald owner, Charles Mintz, meanwhile, was still in charge of his own cartoon operation producing Krazy Kat cartoons as well as a new series featuring a boy named Scrappy, created by Dick Huemer in 1931. After losing his Aesop's Film Fables series to the Van Beuren Studio, Paul Terry established a new studio called Terrytoons. However, in spite of the generally entertaining quality of the early Terry cartoons, they failed to achieve the success of the major competitors (especially Disney). The cartoons of the Van Beuren Studio demonstrated a similar weakness.

Related Topics:
Krazy Kat - Scrappy - Dick Huemer - 1931 - Aesop's Film Fables - Van Beuren Studio - Paul Terry - Terrytoons

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Disney's long-time partner and friend, Ub Iwerks eventually decided to leave the Disney studio and formed his own in 1930. There were three main series to emerge from the Iwerks studio during its short tenure. These were Flip the Frog, Willie Whopper, and the ComiColor Cartoons. Although Iwerks' studio was short-lived, his cartoons were hits with audiences and critics alike for their off-beat style.

Related Topics:
1930 - Flip the Frog - Willie Whopper - ComiColor Cartoons

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In 1937, Walt Disney produced Snow White, the first feature-length animated movie. This was the culmination of two years of effort from the Disney studios. Disney was convinced that short cartoons would not be able to supply the necessary revenue to keep his studio profitable in the long run, and he took what was—yet again—seen as an enormous gamble. Disney's financial ruin was predicted as a result of Snow White, but his critics were proven wrong. Snow White was a worldwide box office success, and a landmark in the development of animation as a serious art form.

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However, Disney was not the first animation producer to make an animated cartoon longer than the standard one reel. In 1936, Fleischer Studios produced the first of three two-reel Popeye Technicolor features: Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936), Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937), and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939). After the success of Snow White, Paramount asked the Fleischers to produce a feature-length animated film of their own. Although the Fleischers were doubtful that they could make a quality feature-length cartoon, they accepted the offer. The Fleischer studio relocated from New York to Miami, Florida in 1938 and there the Fleischers produced an animated version of Gulliver's Travels in 1939. A small success, it was followed by Mister Bug Goes to Town in 1941, which proved to be a costly flop. The Fleischers were fired from their own studio, which was now completely owned by Paramount; the facility was renamed Famous Studios and moved back to New York. The Fleischer features were the only American animated features other than Disney's until the late 1950s.

Related Topics:
Reel - 1936 - Fleischer Studios - Popeye - Technicolor - Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor - Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves - 1937 - Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp - 1939 - Miami, Florida - 1938 - Gulliver's Travels - Mister Bug Goes to Town - 1941 - Famous Studios - 1950s

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Disney concentrated on the production of animated feature films, and he did not personally oversee his short cartoons in the manner that he had before. While the Disney short films remained inventive, entertaining, and always featured exquisite animation, the stories began to lag and become predictable. This left the way open for the up-and-coming Termite Terrace animators at Warner Bros. to burst forth with a plethora of outstanding, side-splittingly funny cartoons that influenced animators for generations afterwards. Warners' cartoon directors came into their own at this time, and the 1940s cartoons of Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett are legendary.

Related Topics:
Termite Terrace - Warner Bros. - 1940s - Friz Freleng - Chuck Jones - Bob Clampett

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