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 wartime era

After the success of Snow White, Disney invested heavily into three additional animated feature films, all of which have been widely acclaimed as among the greatest animated productions of all time: Pinocchio, Bambi, and Fantasia. However, none of these films were box-office hits that came anywhere near the level of Snow White. Fantasia in particular was looked down upon by literary critics and audiences, who felt that Walt was striving for something beyond his reach by trying to introduce mainstream animation to abstract art, classical music, and "elite" subjects, although later generations would hail Disney for the artist ambition of doing precisely that. To compensate for the relative failure of these projects, Disney produced a low-budget feature film (Dumbo) that brought in much-needed revenue and kept his studio afloat.

Related Topics:
Pinocchio - Bambi - Fantasia - Dumbo

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With the advent of the 1940s, two major events evoked change in the status quo of the Hollywood cartoon studios. The first was the entry of the United States into World War II, and the mobilization of all the studios (including their cartoon divisions) to produce material to bolster public confidence and encourage support for the war effort. The second was the Disney animators' strike of 1941, which severed many ties between Walt Disney and his staff, while encouraging many members of the Disney studio to leave and seek greener pastures. Some of these ex-patriates went on to form UPA, a studio which was to have a tremendous impact on the look of cartoons throughout the 1950's.

Related Topics:
1940s - United States - World War II - Disney animators' strike - 1941 - UPA

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After the US's entry into World War II, most of the resources used to create animated shorts were redirected towards producing war-related material and propaganda. The major Hollywood studios contributed greatly to the war effort, and their cartoon studios pitched in as well with various contributions. Over at the Fleischer studios, Popeye the Sailor joined the Navy and began fighting Nazis and "japs". While the Warner Bros. studio produced a series of Private Snafu cartoons especially for viewing by enlisted soldiers.

Related Topics:
World War II - Propaganda - Nazis - Private Snafu

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The war was the second of two major blows to shake Walt Disney's empire...but while Disney lagged, it didn't fall. Disney contributed heartily to the war effort with a famous propaganda film entitled Victory Through Air Power, though his further feature films of the 1940s were modestly-budgeted collections of animated short films, with titles such as Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time, and The Three Caballeros.

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The Warner Bros. studio, meanwhile, hit its stride and saw a surge in popularity that would propel its animation studio through the next fifteen to twenty years. These years are seen as the time when Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett reached the peak of their creativity. In particular, Clampett brought the six-minute animated cartoon to a level of wild surrealism that has rarely been equalled, directing such mini-masterpieces as Porky in Wackyland, Tortoise Wins By A Hare, The Big Snooze, Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, and The Old Grey Hare. In 1946, a dispute with the studio led Clampett to leave Warner Bros. and strike out on his own. He worked as one of the pioneers of children's programming in the newly-born field of television, where he created the popular Time for Beany television show.

Related Topics:
Friz Freleng - Bob Clampett - Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs - 1946 - Television - Time for Beany

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Meanwhile, after a decade of trying to topple Disney from its throne, the MGM studio was suddenly blessed with a stroke of good fortune...actually, two strokes. Resident MGM animators Will Hanna and Joe Barbera scored a hit with their short film Puss Gets The Boot, which was nominated for an Oscar, and they then set themselves to producing a long-running series of Tom and Jerry cartoons that won accolades for MGM, as well as a string of Academy Awards that was unmatched by any other studio save Disney. Meanwhile, Tex Avery left Warner Bros. after a dispute with Leon Schleisinger, and he came to MGM and revitalized their cartoon studio with the same spark that had infused the Warner animators. Between the Tom and Jerry series and Tex Avery's wild, surreal masterpieces of his MGM days (including a saucy, sexy Red Riding Hood series that set new standards for "adult" entertainment in cartoons), MGM was finally able to compete with Disney (and now Warner Bros.) in the field of animated cartoons.

Related Topics:
Will Hanna - Joe Barbera - Puss Gets The Boot - Oscar - Tom and Jerry

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Another thriving studio in the 1940s was the Walter Lantz studio. Since Oswald had worn out his welcome, Lantz and his staff worked on several ideas for possible new cartoon characters (among them Meany, Miny and Moe and Baby-Face Mouse). Eventually one of these characters clicked - his name was Andy Panda. However successful Andy was, it was not until the character's fifth cartoon, Knock Knock that a real breakthough character was introduced. This was non-other than Woody Woodpecker.

Related Topics:
Meany, Miny and Moe - Baby-Face Mouse - Andy Panda - Knock Knock - Woody Woodpecker

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The winds of change also blew in the direction of the Fleischer studios, though the results were not as beneficial and inspiring as the events at MGM. While the Fleischers brought Popeye into the Navy and contributed to the war effort, they also began a series of spectacular Superman cartoons (the first of which was nominated for an Oscar) that have become legendary in themselves. However, in the early 1940s, Paramount Pictures suddenly expelled the Fleischers from their position at the head of the cartoon studio. In a move that remains controversial to the present day (though it has not been heavily examined by film historians), Paramount took over the Fleischer studio and brought it under the fold of their own studio, renaming it Famous Studios and continuing the work that the Fleischers began. The departure of the Fleischers had an immediate effect on the studio: while the Paramount cartoons of the war years continued to be entertaining and popular, a decline in story quality began that would become more and more evident as the decade came to a close.

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