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Based on the unlikely premise that a young boy named Gerald speaks not in words, but in sound effects like "boing," this simply drawn and animated series launched a revolution in animation. Gerald is reprimanded for his inability to speak in words in "Gerald McBoing Boing," celebrated for his vocal talents in "Gerald McBoing Boing's Symphony," understood through the marvels of science in "How Now Boing Boing" and looked upon as a curiosity in "Gerald McBoing! Boing! On Planet Moo."

Winner of an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject in 1950, Gerald McBoing Boing in one of the truly remarkable theatrical cartoons of the golden age. It was a collaboration between UPA (United Productions of America) and Dr. Seuss.

WARNING: This cartoon contains extreme racial stereotyping. Shown here for historical and educational purposes and to promote discussion.

Warner Brothers has refused to allow any of them to be transmitted on television or released VHS, LaserDisc or DVD.

Cartoons and movies are a window into what society's mores were at the time of their creation. Trying to erase the record of society's racial insensitivity as if it never happened does a disservice to those who fought to change societies mores. These animated shorts need to released for historical and educational purposes. Sign the petition and help free the “The Censored 11”.

The executives at Columbia TriStar don't feel that there is a market to release their cartoons to DVD. Sign the petition and help prove them wrong.

WARNING: This cartoon is a product of its time and contains racial stereotyping. Shown here for historical and educational purposes.

Soon thereafter, Sutherland began turning out animated industrial and propaganda films and was a place many animators went during periods of inactivity at the other animation studios during the 40s and 50s.

In 1957, “Time” magazine called him “one of the best makers of industrial shorts, saying that his films could turn a corporate client into ‘the nonirritating huckster’ by showcasing a company with subtlety and style.”

Special thanks to Mark Arnold for providing us with a copy of his John Sutherland article. The full article can be found in issue 12 of Hogan's Alley (2003).

In 1993, Jerry was a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board. He serves on the board of directors of ASIFA-Hollywood (The International Animated Film Society). Jerry produced Totally Tooned In for Columbia Tri-Star International Television in 1999, a 65 episode series that restored the Columbia theatrical cartoon library.

Beck is currently producing an animated pilot for Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon; is a programming consultant to Warner Bros. Home Video; and has resumed writing and producing for Rubberbug Animation.

Popeye's first theatrical appearance was in a Fleischer Studio's 1993 Betty Boop cartoon. Fleischer Studios went on to produce 108 Popeye shorts between 1933 and 1942. Famous Studios took over production in 1942 and produced 125 Popeye shorts until 1957.

Fleischer Studio's produced three 2-reel Popeye shorts between 1936 and 1939. Besides being 2-3 times the length of a standard Popeye short, they were the first appearance of Popeye in color. Fleischer Studio's answer to the multi-plane camera, the Tabletop or Setback camera, was used in two of the shorts. Their apparatus used three-dimensional miniature sets built to the scale of the animation artwork. The animation cels were placed so that various objects could pass in front of and behind them, and the entire scene was shot using a horizontal camera.

With the help of his agency's creative staff and Texas jazz musician, Bob Dorough, Three is a Magic Number was the first Schoolhouse Rock song to be produced in 1971. McCall took his song to ABC, and on the weekend of January 6-7, 1973, Three is a Magic Number along with My Hero Zero, Elementary, My Dear and The Four-Legged Zoo premiered.

Schoolhouse Rock was produced from 1973-1985 and then again from 1993-1996 and contains over 50 educational shorts divided into six categories: Multiplication Rock, Grammar Rock, America Rock, Science Rock, Money Rock and Computer Rock (also know as Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips)

Correction:

I misspoke during the podcast. The company sponsoring Schoolhouse Rock was General Foods, not General Mills.

Ub left Disney Studios in 1930 after having a falling-out with Walt Disney. Ub formed Celebrity Productions with P.A. Powers, a competitor of Disney. In 1933 Ub created the first multiplane camera, using parts from an old Chevrolet automobile. His multiplane camera was used in a number of the Willie Whopper and ComiColor cartoons. Unfortunately lightning failed to strike twice for Ub, and his studio folded within six years.

Ub took a position with Columbia Pictures until returning to Disney Studios in 1940, where he focused on technical innovation and is credited with developing techniques for optical compositing, animation xerography and film processing that revolutionized the animation business.

This week we will discuss the propaganda shorts found on the DVD collection: Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines.

In a attempt to better compete with Disney, the brothers moved their studios from New York to Florida in 1937. But the new studios, larger staff and the lack-luster success of their two animated feature files, Gulliver's Travels and Mister Bug Goes to Town resulted in financial troubles. The brothers turned to Paramount for a series of loans, putting shares of the studio up as collateral.

On May 24, 1941 after defaulting on their loans, Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer studios and reincorporated it as Famous Studios. Max and Dave, who were no longer on speaking terms, were never a major force in the animation industry again.

More info...

The Superman shorts were produced between 1941 and 1943. Sources vary on production costs from between $50,000 to $100,000 per episode. Either way, Superman was the most expensively produced cartoon to date.

Voice actors Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander reprised their roles from the Superman radio drama as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane. Also, Joe Shuster, one of the creators of Superman, drew the model sheets of Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and Superman for the series.

More info...

Correction:

I misspoke during the podcast. The most recent footage of the Superman series was discovered in the 1990s, not the 1960s as I stated.

Cartoons and movies are a window into what society’s mores were at the time of their creation. Trying to erase the record of society's racial insensitivity as if it never happened does a disservice to those who fought to change societies mores.

Below is a list of cartoons that appear on DVD collections that have been “sanitized” (I use the term “sanitized” as opposed to “censored” because I've been informed that only governments can actually censor.). I hope to add to this list and keep it current, but I will need your help to do so.

Some of the topics you might see in the future are Popeye, the works of UB Iwerks, Walter Lance, The Pink Panther, censorship, Tex Avery, and of course the many, many animated shorts of Disney and Warner Brothers. If you have an idea for a topic, please share it with us. We’re always open to suggestions.

While you’re here please take a look at our recommendations, and if something catches your fancy, we’d appreciate you following our link to Amazon. You’d be helping us pay our bills and balancing your Karma at the same time.

By the way, I want to thank Michael and Evo, the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas, the Browncoats at the Signal, and Leo Laporte for inspiring me to create this podcast.