The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons

2201 Pages·2008·21.98 MB·English

by  Jeff Lenburg

THE ENCYCLOPED IA OF
ANIMATED CARTOONS
THIRD EDITION
THE ENCYCLOPED IA OF
ANIMATED CARTOONS
THIRD EDITION
JEFF LENBURG
FOREWORD BY CHRIS BAILEY
TH E E N CYC LO P E D I A O F A N I M ATE D C A RTO O N S , T h
i rd E D I TI O N
Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Lenburg
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information
contact: Facts On File
An imprint of Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lenburg, Jeff.
The encyclopedia of animated cartoons / Jeff Lenburg.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6599-8
ISBN-10: 0-8160-6599-3
1. Animated films—United States—History and criticism. I. Title.
NC1766.U5L46 2008
791.43'34097303—dc22
2007025676
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when
purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or
sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York
at (212) 967–8800 or (800) 322–8755.
You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at
http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Cathy Rincon
Cover design by Jooyoung An
Printed in the United States of America
VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper and contains 30 percent
postconsumer recycled content. All links and Web addresses were
checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of
the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have
changed since publication and may no longer be valid.
To my wife, Debby,
for her love and devotion:
This book is for you.
fi fi fi fi fi
fi fi fi fi fi
CONTENTS
fi fi fi fi fi
FOREWORD
ix
PREFACE
xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
xiii
A NUTSHELL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN ANIMATED CARTOON
1
SILENT CARTOON SERIES
16
THEATRICAL SOUND CARTOON SERIES
51
FULL-LENGTH ANIMATED FEATURES
155
ANIMATED TELEVISION SPECIALS
246
TELEVISION CARTOON SERIES
417
AWARDS AND HONORS
682
MILESTONES OF ANIMATION
694
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
697
INDEX
fi fi fi fi fi
FOREWORD
fi fi fi fi fi
I n the beginning (this was the 1960s for me), Saturday mornings existed for the sole purpose
of watching cartoons. Before my brother and I were allowed to turn on the TV the only rule was
was running out. If only there had been a college for comic book artists back then, my problem
would have been solved (remember, this was the late ’70s before such schools existed)! Fate
stepped in that our beds had to be made, our breakfast eaten (Quisp! cereal) (as fate tends to do
when one is at a crossroads), and I found the and our teeth brushed. Of course, we were up at
the crack of dawn next best thing at CalArts in Valencia, California. so as to not miss a thing.
Luckily, with few exceptions, our taste in I had recently rediscovered Warner Bros. cartoons on TV
after cartoons was in sync (except that he liked Quake ) and the fighting school. They
were funny when I was a little kid and seemed fun-was kept to a
minimum. That was good for me since I was the nier to me as a teenager.
The Pepe Le Pew cartoon series by the “little” brother by 18 months.
Over time, the rules relaxed and our late Chuck Jones particularly
grabbed my attention. Even though cereal eating overlapped with the TV,
but the routine lasted for I had probably seen them a dozen times or so
while growing up, years. I loved all cartoons; the frosting-colored
superjocks, talking watching Pepe’s sexually charged shenanigans as a
16-year-old boy animals, new cartoons, old—it didn’t matter. was like
seeing them for the first time. They cracked me up!
It’s funny to look back from 30-plus years at the cartoons that As I
said earlier, I was a comic-book kid (or so I thought). had such a hold on
me. Most of them were terrible! Why did I like Along with my weekly
funny book purchases, I often bought a them so much? Who were the
characters and what was the cool-trade magazine called The Comics
Journal that featured news and ness factor that transcended the poor
writing and meager produc-interviews about comics and their creators.
Literally the same day tion budgets? Maybe it was the inventiveness of
the show’s that I rediscovered the coolness of cartoons in Pepe Le Pew, I
read concept. Maybe it was the music (I could listen to composer Hoyt an
article in the Journal about a Disney-sponsored character ani—Curtin’s
Jonny Quest theme all day long). All I know is that I mation program at
CalArts. My college dilemma was solved. Sure, couldn’t get enough.
Another favorite of mine was Hanna-Bar- I knew that they didn’t make
those great Warner Bros. cartoons bera’s Space Ghost, an outer space,
superhero cop designed by the anymore and TV animation was a little
girl’s toyland of Care Bears late great, Alex Toth. Brilliant! The music,
design and titles were and My Little Pony, but I figured that whatever I
learned would incredible (as in all those classic HB adventure shows).
The shows serve me in the future and, who knew, maybe someday cool
car-themselves, well . . . not so brilliant. Nonetheless, I watched them
toons would be made again and I could be a part of them—which
religiously. Gary Owens’s voice acting didn’t hurt either. He could they
did, and then some. pull off the most ludicrous line with deadly
seriousness. Hey, if I spent the next six months educating myself about
animation Space Ghost believed in what he was saying, who was I to
argue? and working on my portfolio. I devoured every animation book I
As I got older, my cartoon watching gave way to comic-book could find.
Most focused on the artsy side of independent anima-reading. Cartoons
were on only once a week back then, but there tion, whereas I wanted to
make cartoons. Books like this one were were always more comics at the
candy store! I still watched car—invaluable and I could never get enough
of them. Many seemed to toons, but the pulp adventures of Spider-Man,
Thor, Hulk and cover the same ground, but I read them all in search of
any new countless others had won me over. Comics took the pulp adven-
grain of information. In the spring of my senior year, I was ture to a new
level, just as the animated superheroes on TV were accepted at CalArts.
becoming less superheroic and more, well, super friendly. As I CalArts
was a culture shock. Most of the other students had entered high school,
I decided that I would exploit my meager grown up wanting to be Disney
animators just as I had wanted to drawing skills in comics, or so I
thought. draw comics. They had seen all the Disney classics, knew the
Although there was never any question in my mind that I would names of
the Disney animators and directors, and I was playing go on to college,
the local university didn’t seem to be a good fit. A catch up. I had seen
many of the Disney films growing up and, fine arts school didn’t seem
right either. I wanted to tell stories, to while I had enjoyed them, I wasn’t
particularly a fan. For a kid who draw guys beating the crap out of giant
monsters, not draw pictures grew up on comic books and TV action
adventure, they didn’t to hang in a gallery. It was my junior year in high
school and time deliver the bare-knuckled thrill that I got from a good
Fantastic x THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIM ATED C ARTOONS
Four comic or Star Trek episode. Just as the tension would start to I
left Disney after animating on Hercules, but within six build in a Disney
cartoon, they would inject some gag to let you months I found myself
back at the mouse as a CG animation know that everything would be
“okay.” It was a Disney staple, and supervisor on the live-action films
Deep Rising, Mighty Joe Young I hated it. I wanted to believe that the
character could die. Other-and Inspector Gadget. These films were
among the most satisfying wise, where was the adventure, the drama?
Nonetheless, I was experiences I’ve had to date, especially working with
director Ron immersed in all things Disney and it was seductive.
Underwood on Mighty Joe Young. We developed a shorthand com-
Armed with a portfolio of gesture sketches and a short film munication—
he understood that animation was performance and produced at CalArts,
I hit the pavement looking for a job. One of not a post-production effect.
my first jobs was as an animator on the video game Space Ace for About
that time, I wrote and drew a comic book story called Don Bluth. His look
was akin to a watered-down Milt Kahl design Major Damage about a little
boy who fantasizes about his favorite from Disney, but he moved like a
superhero. I loved it! The studio comic book and video game hero, Major
Damage. I expanded the imploded within the year, but I was fortunate
enough to make a Major Damage comic story into a storyboard with the
intent of smooth transition into another job as a 3-D spaceship animator
on making a CG short film, but it sat unproduced because the tech-the
forgettable 2-D/3-D film, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. Why nology
didn’t exist to produce it as a one-man show. I mentioned is it “fortunate”
to work on a forgettable film? One, it’s always good Major Damage while
I was a guest speaker for the “Women in to be working (remember, jobs
were scarce before the animation Animation” group and met independent
film producer Kellie-Bea boom of the 1990s), and two, I learned to plot
the moves of the Cooper. She put Damage on the fast track. Kellie-Bea,
CG super-Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) spaceships. This put me
in visor Doug Cooper and I had the creative, technical and organiza-the
position of being one of the few traditional cartoon animators tional chops
to make it happen. The success of the short film led with experience in 3-
D. I had no passion for computer animation; to a few more comics—and I
got to scratch my childhood itch to my only goal was to simply become
more employable so I wouldn’t do more in this realm. starve. The
opportunity served me well as it has allowed me to In the big red apple of
animation, I had taken the Disney fea-jump back and forth from the CGI
animation world and the tradi-ture animation bite, the commercial bite,
the CGI bite and the tional animation world ever since. independent
filmmaker bite. The only thing left was TV. I had My other CGI projects
included the Mick Jagger video “Hard avoided TV for the longest time
because TV was, well, just not Woman,” a chrome Spider-Man for Marvel
Productions’ logo, a cool. But now things were different. Kevin Smith
asked me to Golden Grahams cereal commercial and a few other things
for the direct his short-lived animated series Clerks in 1998, and that led
now defunct Digital Productions. Somewhere between CalArts to my
producing and directing the first season of Kim Possible for and Digital, I
freelanced some animation for Disney on The Great the Disney Channel.
It had humor, action, a great theme—every—Mouse Detective and Sport
Goofy. When Digital closed its doors, I thing I could want. And if you’ve
ever wondered why Kim’s black went back to Disney as an animator on
Oliver & Company, The sweatshirt went only midway down her forearms,
look no further Little Mermaid and others. than Jonny Quest. As for why
her shirt went just midway down her You’d think one would be content to
be an animator at Disney, belly, take a wild guess. Kim’s creators Mark
McCorkle and Bob but I saw the animation world as a shiny red apple
and I couldn’t Schooley and I envisioned her as a female Jonny Quest for
the ’90s take a big enough bite. I was always on the lookout for new free-
and the signature turtleneck was our homage. I was not only work-lance
challenges, and my first supervisory position was a freelance ing on a
great show, but also scratching that old cartoon itch at the gig, working on
Paula Abdul’s video “Opposites Attract,” where same time.
she danced alongside a 2-D Scat Cat. I did it after-hours and on I’m
back in the CG/live action world now, translating 2-D weekends during a
slow time at Disney between The Little Mermaid cartoon characters into
3-D for the Garfield films and the Alvin and The Rescuers Down Under. I
had a pencil test machine set up and the Chipmunks movie. in the
garage and animators would come over to pencil test their I’ve never lost
touch with the little Saturday morning cartoon shots. After that, I began
directing theme park projects for Disney, fan inside of me, but he fades
away from time to time. Luckily which included “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” in
Disney’s Wild Kingdom there are books like this one to jog my memory
and give me an (now known as “Animal Kingdom”) and Disney’s
California excuse to reminisce about what inspired me to enter this crazy,
fun Adventure Park and the “It’s a Small World” Post Show in Disney-
business. To Jeff, a profound thank you! To the rest of you, enjoy land
Resort Paris. My direction on Mickey Mouse’s “Runaway this book.
Reacquaint yourself with old cartoon friends and make Brain” earned an
Academy Award nomination in 1995 for best some new ones. Our
animation history is rich and should be animated short. Hocus Pocus was
my first film supervising anima—remembered and enjoyed. tion for live
action and I coordinated the live-action, animatronic and animated cat
used in the film. Chris Bailey fi fi fi fi fi
PREFACE
fi fi fi fi fi
T wenty-seven years ago I penned what was intended to be the most complete book on
animated cartoon series ever, The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoon Series. The book was born
tory, voice credits (except silent cartoons, of course), the year produced or broadcast, and
complete filmographies (except in the case For easy reference, each entry provides the following:
series his-out of the dream that there be a major reference on animated of animated television
specials and animated television series). cartoons. This volume became the first to document
hundreds of Silent cartoon entries include a complete historical account of cartoon series—silent
cartoons, theatrical cartoons and television each series and, where available, director and
producer credits, and cartoons. release dates (month, day and year) of each cartoon in the series.
In 1991 on the 10th anniversary of the original edition and For
theatrical sound cartoon series, director credits (overall and for again in
1999, Facts On File published my updated and expanded each cartoon),
voice credits, release dates (month, day and year), versions of the
former, retitled The Encyclopedia of Animated Car—reissue dates
(abbreviated as “re”), working titles (original titles of toons. Unlike my first
encyclopedia, each entry was more defini—cartoons before they were
changed for release), episode costars tive in scope, chronicling the
history of every silent cartoon series, (example: with Porky Pig),
Academy Award nominations (listed theatrical cartoon series, animated
feature, animated television as A.A. nominee or A.A. winner) and special
film format (i.e., special and animated television series. Cinecolor,
CinemaScope, Technicolor, etc.) are listed under the In my relentless
pursuit to fully document the history of this respective series.