Through the whole of the 1950s, the studio had desired to release a feature film. All kinds of artistic visions had been proposed but, over the course of the decade, the people with those visions had left. Finally, UPA had to turn to its one mainstream success—Mr. Magoo—to try to ensure customers going through the box office.
Even as the film was released in 1959, the studio lost a chunk of its creative personel to a new company called Format Films, and still more followed ex Disney director Dick Kinney, both to make cartoons for TV (Kinney worked out of Format’s studio). And UPA lost its release with Columbia Pictures. Since 1957, Columbia owned a percentage of Hanna-Barbera, which was becoming hugely profitable (and popular) thanks to its TV shows. Columbia needed UPA no longer.
And Hanna-Barbera was growing. In 1959, it added the Quick Draw McGraw Show to syndication and managed to convince ABC to pick up a half-hour cartoon and put it on prime-time. Something about a family in the Stone Age that was really ‘50s suburbia.
With Hanna-Barbera’s growth came all kinds of proposals for animated television cartoons. You can read about them below, courtesy of Variety as well as some from Motion Picture Daily. Some are complete mysteries to me. There’s a little blurb about an actress named June Foray being signed to maybe her best-known cartoon role. And you’ll find also a review of a Russian feature cartoon, The Snow Queen but precious little about theatrical animation. With few exceptions, it just wasn’t making headlines.
July 8, 1959
Larry Harmon, producer of the "Bozo the Clown" television cartoon series, has acquired rights to Tintin, European cartoon character, and will use it as the basis for a series of 104 six-minute animated cartoons for worldwide distribution.
Deal was set with Herge, cartoonist-owner of the Tintin property, and Raymond Le Blanc, publisher, in Brussels during Harmon's trip through Europe. Cartoon runs in newspapers, magazines, comic-book and hard-cover children's book form throughout Europe. Harmon has already put the property into production at California Studios.
It's the public who pays for film entertainment—and not the exhibitor. This is reply from Roy O. Disney, president of Walt Disney Productions, to theatremen's complaints about this film company's sales policies.
It's no secret that the Disney organization, via its Buena Vista distribution wing, demanded top scales for Its expensive cartoon feature, "Sleeping Beauty," along with its inexpensive live-action comedy, "Shaggy Dog." The terms for "Beauty" included roadshow tariff and per-capita tickets for children at the drive-ins, latter being a situation that resulted in one antitrust suit on the allegation of price-fixing....
It's no secret either that "Sleeping Beauty" represented blue-chip investment, in the area of $6,000,000. Disney claims that "the picture will make it, but not by much," and this can be taken as his answer to some trade conjecture that "Beauty" is shaping as an economic lemon. To many, it looked wobbly at the start, what with the road-show prices for a 75-minute cartoon, but then, as one Disney spokesman observed on the side, the public pays for quality and not for quantity.
["Shaggy Dog" cost less than $1,000,000].
Although "Sleeping Beauty" has proved a nervous entry, Walt Disney is going ahead with another cartoon feature. And there will be an advantage with the next, titled "101 Dalmatians," because the cast will comprise only dogs. "Beauty" had humans, very tough to draw, and the production cost was $6,000,000. "Dalmatians," with the more easily sketched canines, is figured at $4,000,000.
July 14, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
Anderson Craig has been named to the newly-created post of director of commercials for Terrytoons, it was announced by William M. Weiss, vice-president and general manager of CBS Films, Inc., subsidiary.
In his new capacity, Craig, who was formerly the head of Anderson Craig Studios, will coordinate the work of the Terrytoons studios and advertising agencies in all pre-production and production of commercials. He will also hire creative free-lance talent for styling, animation and storyboarding.
July 15, 1959
Terrytoons, the CBS-Films subsid, is joining the parade of firms putting out new cartoons for tv. Title of Terrytoon's new half-hour entry is "Deputy Dawg." Recent cartoons either being distributed to tv or put in the drawing boards include Trans-Lux Television's "Felix the Cat," "Jayark's "Bozo, the Clown," a series of 130 five minutes episodes from Sterling Television; King Features' plan to produce new "Popeye" tv shorts; and Screen Gems' second year production of "Huckleberry Hound."
Four U.S. film shorts won awards in the Venice Festival of Documentaries and Short Subjects, a preliminary to the annual Venice International Film Festival in September.
American featurettes copping honors were: ... cartoon, "Moon Bird," by John Hurley.
July 17, 1959
New World Productions has secured rights from Thornton Burgess for production of several series based on his works. Series will consist of 104 six-minute combined live action and animated cartoon film under the title of “Storytime.”
Burgess, now 86 and still actively writing, has turned out some 16,000 stories dealing with Peter Cottontail, Paddy the Beaver, Roddy the Fox and other children's stories.
Company has signed John Rust to adapt and narrate each full-color subject. Animation will be handled by Art Scott, who is now doing the company's "Mel-O-Toons" series of 62 six-minute animated cartoons based on childrens' records.
July 22, 1959
George Productions Inc., has acquired rights to the Rube Goldberg inventions, and cartoon characters of Boob McNutt and Ike and Mike, They Look Alike, for a five-minute, combo live action-animation tele-series. Dave Willock and Gordon Polk will star.
Three pilots will be lensed next week, with Lido Productions handling animation. George W. George, who wrote pilot scripts, will produce. George is Rube Goldberg's son.
July 28, 1959
Paul J. Fennell has been signed as associate producer on Larry Harmon's "Bozo, the Clown" and "Tintin" telecartoon series now in production at California Studios. For the past four months, he has been a director on Hanna and Barbera's several animated series being produced for Screen Gems.
Within the Harmon org, he will function in conjunction with Charles Shows, associate producer who heads the writing department on "Bozo" and "Tintin."
July 29, 1959
Sterling Television has made sales in nine new markets for "Famous Story Cartoons," a series of animated films for kids that downbeat sadism and depend on charm of characters and storyline.
Major recent sales include WBNS Columbus, KCOP Los Angeles, KOIN Portland, WLWI Indianapolis; KIRO Seattle. Sixty-five films are complete and 65 more will be finished in the next six months.
Walter Lantz shifts his merchandising unit which licenses "Woody Woodpecker" and other cartoon characters for commercial uses to the Coast from Chicago around Sept. 1.
Producer is remodelling part of his studio here to provide room for operation, which will bring all Lantz activities under one roof.
July 30, 1959
UPA can call itself UPA now without any static from the United Press Assn. UP two years ago protested UPA Pictures' use of the initials as a trademark. But the U.S. Commissioner of Patents has now registered the UPA sig for the cartoon company. UP no longer claims to be UPA since it merged with INS and became UPI.
July 31, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
By WARREN G. HARRIS
Weiss said that the current market for cartoons is "very good." Whereas most cartoons revenue used to come from so-called "marginal" theatres, more and more bookings are coming from first-run theatres. This trend, Weiss said, can be attributed in part to the fact that the long running times of many features today preclude any sort of supporting fare except cartoons or other short subjects. The average Terrytoon gets about 15,000 bookings in the U.S. and Canada and more than double that world-wide, he reported.
Come October, Terrytoons will celebrate its 30th anniversary, Weiss proudly announced. In that time, the company has never had a shutdown, but has undergone some radical changes. Today its business is split-up into about three equal portions-theatrical production, television programming, and TV commercials.
The theatrical Terrytoons are currently undergoing a "change in image," Weiss said. A "refinement of animation" has brought more stylized presentations, very different from the early "Farmer Alfalfa" cartoons turned out by the company. These refined techniques have also brought about a great speed-up in production. While it once took close to a year to turn out a Terrytoon, one can currently be completed in about 90 days, Weiss said.
Popular Characters to Remain
Terrytoons will continue to produce cartoons featuring the established characters of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle, but will also introduce new "personalities." The newest are Silly Sidney, Hector Heathcote and a G.I. mouse. Apart from these five or six Terrytoon "stars," however, the cartoonery is devoted to the creed of "stronger story lines than anybody else," Weiss said.
Terrytoons is "going very slow" in its thinking on production of a full-length cartoon, Weiss said, admitting that the company has been toying with the idea for many years. "To find the right project is the problem," he pointed out. "I think perhaps that it's time for a change in the subject matter of cartoon features. The fairy tale may have been around too long."
Asked whether production costs in the East for cartoons were less than in Hollywood, Weiss answered in the negative. He estimated the average cost of a seven-minute Terrytoon at between $35-50,000. With this cost in mind, it is easy to see that Terrytoons is not going to take its chances on a full-length production until it is fairly confident of reaching a receptive market.
Screened for the trade press yesterday were three Terrytoons, all in CinemaScope and color: "Fabulous Firework Family," "Hashimoto-San" and "The Minute-and-a-Half Man." The second is especially engaging, ending with a Japanese house mouse, who's spoken with an Oriental accent throughout remarking, "That's show business."
August 3, 1959
On the cartoon front, H-B is making for Screen Gems "Huckleberry Hound" and "Ruff & Reddy."
H-B moreover has two more series upcoming.
Motion Picture Daily
HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 2—Bob Dranko, production designer of “1001 Arabian Nights,” UPA’s first full-length animated feature for Columbia release, has resigned from the studio to join the John Sutherland organization as vice-president in charge of art direction. Dranko was with UPA since 1951.
August 5, 1959
Jayark Films, less than a year old, is branching out into feature film distribution with a recently acquired package of 40 theatrical pix. Jayark Films salesmen are in N. Y. this week for a series of confabs with general sales veep Harvey Victor. Firm's "Bozo the Clown" cartoon series is now in more than 90 markets.
A new production outfit known as Heritage Productions Inc. is going a two-ply route in the making of telefilm. Company has already finished making $210,000 worth of kid cartoons called "Bobo the Hobo," and in the next several weeks will launch into full-scale production of a 39-week half-hour series of sports shows, tentatively titled "Live Like A Champion."
Headed by Skip Steloff, Heritage has finished, through the facilities of Lance Productions in Hollywood, 78 five-minute "Bobo" cartoons. They have yet to be edited, which Steloff figures will be done shortly. There are 26 original "Bobo" pix, which were made by Lorraine Lester, who did the original script, story and music, but they are not being included in the fresh batch of 78. If anything, they'll be sold only as additional properties, in many cases, on a rerun basis. Miss Lester sold Steloff the rights.
Walt Disney Productions had a net profit of $2,366,497, or $1.50 per share, for the nine months (40 weeks) ended July 4. This compares with earnings of $2,900,094 or $1.89 per share, for the corresponding period last year.
However, while the nine month period was off, the third quarter of 1959 brought increased profit, amounting to 93c per share, compared with 83c for the third quarter of 1958, president Roy O. Disney reported.
Consolidated gross for the new nine-month period rose to $39,363,156, representing a gain of $5,031,023 over last year. Disney said film rentals accounted for $4,057,491 of the increase, with the rentals from "Sleeping Beauty" providing about half of the increase. This cartoon feature is now expected to recover its costs and show a small profit, Disney stated.
Television income was off $668,268 while Disneyland Park was up $1,460,786. Other enterprises, such as character merchandising, publications, music and records gained $181,014.
LONDON
Four carriages, used in the 1953 Coronation, carried film stars in a Sleeping Princess" procession to the Astoria for the preem of Disney's latest cartoon.
August 12, 1959
June Foray has been signed to record the voices of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, and Natasha, a spy, for the "Rocky and his Friends" animated tv cartoon series being produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott at Glen Glenn Studios.
August 13, 1959
Deal gives H-B (Bill Hannah and Joe Barbera) the unprecedented cartoon production goal of 39 hours of animation for the coming year. H-B production setup at Amco Studios now employs nearly 175 staffers, working on a 24-hour-a-day basis in three eight-hour shifts. It's the only production unit in Hollywood on a 24-hour schedule.
Besides "Quick Draw," which will consist of 26 animated half-hours, H-B is producing 26 half-hour "Huckleberry Hound" segments, also sponsored by Kellogg, which renewed the show for a second year; and 26 half-hours of "Ruff and Reddy," going into its third year on NBC-TV. Latter will be telecast in color in the fall.
By way of comparison, the 39 hours a year stacks up against a total of 48 minutes a year that Hanna & Barbera averaged during the 20 years they produced the "Tom & Jerry" cartoons at Metro. Those took eight weeks apiece to make, ran only six minutes, and the total studio output was eight a year. Hanna & Barbera copped seven Academy Awards with those.
Motion Picture Daily
Huckleberry Hound and his sidekick, Yogi Bear, stars of the "Huckleberry Hound" cartoon series produced for Screen Gems by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, will visit many of the country's top department stores for promotional purposes during the rest of this year.
Personal appearances are set for Boston, St. Louis, Paramus, N. J., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Chicago and Cincinnati.
August 14, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
Warner Bros. is releasing 36 technicolor cartoons, three two-reel color pictures and six color one-reelers in its 1959-1960 short-subjects program. The cartoon releases include six "Bugs Bunny Specials," 14 "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" and 16 "Blue Ribbon Cartoons."
August 25, 1959
A new tversion of Victor Herbert's "Babes In Toyland" is being created by Walt Disney. Disney is mapping a completely fresh concept to the tuneful romance for his first live-action musical.
New lyrics by Mel Leven integrated to the plot and advancing its action have been set to Herbert's original music. Human characters will appear in cartoon-like settings, along with animated toys. Teleshow is being produced and directed for Disney by Ward Kimball.
The independent Screen Cartoonists Guild and Animation Inc. are deadlocked in negotiations on the question of subcontract labor as the SCG's strike against the company nears the end of its second week.
Animation prexy Earl Klein said yesterday he feels that he is in the middle of a jurisdictional hassle between the SCG and the IATSE. Most, but not all, of the freelance artists whom Animation hires to supplement Its SCG permanent staff, are IA artists, Klein said. The SCG is holding out for a clause in the contract to require all subcontractors to be members of SCG, the prexy said.
John Harris, business representative of the SCG, said the union has developed a substantial defense fund and is prepared for a long siege, primarily on the subcontract matter.
August 26, 1959
King Features Syndicate Productions, the new division of Hearst's King Features Syndicate, has started production on 208 Popeye animated cartoons to be produced for library syndication. It's the first production of the new division, and the first time that new "Popeye" features have been made in years. Al Brodax, heading the new outfit, is producing half the films in New York and Jack Kinney is producing the other half in Hollywood. Each episode will be five and a half minutes in length.
September 9, 1959
KTTV has plucked off the choice Kellogg national spot business in the Los Angeles market, the Times indie being tapped to carry the sponsor's "Huckleberry Hound" and "Quick Draw McGraw" half-hour cartoon stanzas this year. Deal, over a 52-week period, involves some $100,000 in time billings.
"Huckleberry Hound" switches from KNXT, which had the Hanna-Barbera cartoon stanza all last year under Kellogg sponsorship. "Quick Draw" is a new entry out of the H-B shop which Kellogg has also purchased nationally. KTTV will slot the latter Mondays at 7, starting Sept. 28, with "Huckleberry" starting the following night, also at 7. "Superman," another Kellogg national spot stanza which KTTV has been carrying, goes Thursdays at 7.
September 16, 1959
The Los Angeles City Council today will note cartoon film producer Walter Lantz' 40th anniversary in the business with a resolution end a scroll, commending him for civic and industry leadership.
Prudential-sponsored "20th Century," not supposed to start until Oct. 25 on CBS-TV, has been pushed forward five weeks so that the half-hour stanza can expose its "Reaching For the Moon" documentary, originally planned for Sunday, Nov. 1.
Reason for the switch is because the network wants to get it on while the atmosphere still rebounds with the recent Soviet right - on - the – button moon shot. Program will feature a Russian - made cartoon on its moon rocket and "20th" will also interview three scientists on the subject of the moon.
September 25, 1959
Stephen Bosustow produced "Nights" and Jack Kinney directed. Voices heard in the film are those of Jim Backus, Kathryn Grant, Dwayne Hickman and Hans Conried.
September 28, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
Arthur J. Steele, executive vice-president of Cinema-Vue Corp., will leave shortly for the Orient to present the new Tom Puss cartoon series and other TV properties. He will visit Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia.
September 30, 1959
Walter Lantz prepping two-minute "Woody Woodpecker" cartoon for Permanent Charities Committee.
Jack Pearl, who was Baron Munchausen on radio, has just completed a series of animated cartoons, "Adventures of Baron Munchausen," in which he is once again the voice of the famed baron. The films are being considered for theatrical short subjects prior to their release to tv.
October 7, 1959
Universal, which first intended to release the Soviet cartoon feature, "Snow Queen," for this Christmas has changed its plans and will hold the animated film until next Easter.
Thinking behind the switch is that its release this Christmas will put it into competition with Columbia's full-length McGoo cartoon, "1001 Arabian Nights." "Snow Queen," which is getting a top-drawer dubbing job, with such calibre players as Sandra Dee doing the English dialog, has the potential of a top grosser, is the Universal feeling, and there is no time element in rushing it into release.
Consequently, rather than lose some audience potential by pitting it against another feature cartoon, "Snow Queen" will be held until Easter at least.
Felix Zelenka, who exited UPA a few weeks ago, has returned to serve as production manager at the cartoon studio. He and Hal Elias, new studio manager, replace Bud Getzler, who left last week with Herb Klynn, commercial department head.
"Clutch Cargo," animated color cartoon series, is a new Friday at 7 p.m. entry on WWJ-TV.
October 14, 1959
New York, Oct. 13.—Trans-Lux Television Corp. has completed lensing of its 52d "Felix the Cat" cartoon segment for tv, assuring a Jan. 1 national release date for the property. Series has grossed upwards of $2,000,000 in sales to date, according to Richard Carlton, company veepee.
Motion Picture Daily
Twenty-seven Technicolor short subjects, plus one three-reel feature, all produced by Walt Disney, will be released by Buena Vista in the coming 12 months. This represents a boost of seven films over the same period last year.
Some 13 one-reel cartoons, five two-reel shorts, nine three-reel subjects, and re-release of the three-reel "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," combining Disney and Bing Crosby, comprise the lineup.
October 19, 1959
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera enplane Wednesday for three weeks' meetings in Tokyo and Hong Kong with tv producers and to get "Huckleberry Hound" dubbed in Japanese.
Motion Picture Daily
The other cartoons are: "A Broken Leghorn," "Wild About Hurry," "Unnatural History," "Tweet Dreams," "Fastest with the Mostest," "West of the Pesos," "Wild Wild World," "Drip Along Daffy," "Often an Orphan," "Putty Tat Trouble," "Hot Cross Bunny," "A Bear for Punishment," "A Bone for a Bone," "The Prize Pest" and "Tweety's S.O.S."
San Francisco, Oct. 18. — Universal-International is putting its Russian-made, full-length cartoon, "The Snow Queen," into Frisco Film Festival on an out-of-competition basis.
Joint announcement of showing is coming from UI vice-president David A. Lipton in Hollywood and festival director Irving M. Levin in Frisco. Lipton's also expected to announce entry of a UI-distributed two-reeler, "The Boy Who Owned An Elephant," In short subjects competition for a Golden Gate award.
Levin said "Snow Queen" must be out of competition because it was previously shown at Vancouver, B.C., Festival and thus doesn't qualify under IFFPA rules. Film, based on Hans Christian Andersen fable, will be distributed in U.S. by UI, which has dubbed in soundtrack using voices of such contract players as Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk and Patty McCormack, music by Frank Skinner.
Two-reeler was produced by Gayle-Swimmer-Anthony, written by Malvin Wald.
Fete opens Nov. 11 at 1,000-seat Metro Theatre and will run through Nov. 24.
October 21, 1959
America, which sent only the William Marshall feature, "Hello God," with Errol Flynn as its star; "The Sermon of the Mount" (National Council of Catholic Men) and the eight-minute short, "The Violinist," to the Cork International Film Festival, collected no more than the fourth Certificate of Merit in the cartoon class for "The Violinist."
Top award in the cartoons went to "The Mouse and the Cat" (Film Polski) and "Lui et Elle" (He and She) (Jab Films, Paris). Both received St. Finbarr statuettes, the Fest's "Oscars."
October 28, 1959
Edward L. Kingsley's Kingsley-International has acquired the prize-winning cartoon (At Edinburgh) "The Violinist," made by Pintoff Productions.
October 29, 1959
Titled "The Tale of Old Whiff," the cartoon, like the feature, will use the unique Todd process which releases viaducts scattered throughout theatres, odors cued to the dramatic action. Format took over the work on the cartoon from another animation outfit, Hubley Co. of New York.
Herb Klynn and Bud Getzler, president and v.p. respectively of Format, revealed that in its initial three weeks of operation the company has started work on some $100,000 worth of contracts, including about a dozen commercial spots.
The firm currently has about 20 full-time employes. The plant is located in a former blueprint shop in Burbank but Klynn said the company will soon move to the old Cathedral Films building which stands in the path of the projected Hollywood Freeway extension. He figures he'll have about two years there before construction begins.
Klynn said Format has two half-hour animated television pilots in development, that the company plans to put the emphasis on theatrical and television entertainment films, while maintaining a "healthy" diversification. Explaining latter comment he said the company will also work on industrials, commercials, motion picture titles and the like and eventually plans to have its own national sales network.
October 30, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
The cartoon, "The Violinist," produced by Pintoff Productions, which received the Roy Thompson Award at the recent Edinburgh Festival, has been acquired for American distribution by Kingsley International Pictures.
November 2, 1959
"Christmas Journey," reportedly the first Russian filmed cartoon to be shown on U.S. television, is being sponsored by Martin Gilbert, owner of Gilmar Records, on some 100 telestations across the country, according to Gilbert. The 10-minute cartoon was purchased in Russia last July by Gilbert, who plans to plug his company's Christmas records packages via sponsorship of the film.
In addition, Gilbert says he has sold the film to Bill Burrud Productions for special Christmas beaming on Burrud's "Holiday" show.
November 3, 1959
Army Archerd column
Show biz and showmanship will be major factors in the [1960 Winter] Olympics [in Squaw Valley, Calif.], thus it is not surprising that Walt Disney is Pageantry Committee Chairman . . . From the start of the games, with the traditional relay of the Olympic torch — this time over mountains, ski slopes, ice rinks — to the final ceremonies, Disney will add his artists and artistry to make this the most warm winter Olympics . . . Disney's secret weapon is, of course, children . . . Over 2,000 youngsters, clad In white costumes will hymn thru the snow, marching into the arena, blending their tiny voices in the opening ceremonies choir. Following will be a band of 1,000 brightly-uniformed kids from California's schools . . . Cannons, located at the perimeter of the viewing stands will fire "missiles" 800 feet into the air — they'll explode, releasing flags of the participating nations. Then, Disney unleashes thousands of balloons to float skyward maybe up to Russia's mooniks? . . . Next, the 2,000 kids in the choir will each release a dove . . . The 86,000 spectators will feel the Disney influence as soon as they arrive in the mammoth parking lots which will feature giant statues of the famous cartoon characters, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc., carved from mountainous blocks of ice.
November 11, 1959
UPA is expanding into the live action field, the depletion of personnel paused by resignations and layoffs has been made up by re-hirings, and the company will kick off its "unlimited play agreement" system Dec. 14 with 80 some prints already sold to circuits, according to UPA prexy Stephen Bosustow. Bosustow, in a state-of-the-company statement, said his commercial department will gross about $1,000,000 this year, one of the company's better years in this field, which accounts for roughly half the gross income, UPA's first feature-length cartoon, "1001 Arabian Nights," cost about $2,000,000 to make and will be released by Columbia around Christmastime with "The Flying Fontaines," a circus picture produced for Col by Sam Katzman. UPA's said to retain about a 40% interest in the animated feature, which "stars" Mr. Magoo.
Bosustow said some 80 prints have been sold for the Dec. 14 opener, "Mr. Magoo Meets Gerald McBoingg Boingg." The number, he said, provides a good foundation, on which to continue the program but he expects to offer franchises next year to states-righters so as to cover the smaller circuits and indie exhibs.
The expansion into live action, the UPA chief noted, was not the company's first venture in that area: UPA had made live commercials around 1950 and Hal Elias, new studio manager, has extensive credits in that field. A 10-minute live action industrial rolls today and the company will produce a combination live-and-animated film for the American Cancer Society, "Magoo's Check-Up." [released as "Inside Magoo"]
Concerning the rash of resignations last month which presaged the foundation of Format Films Inc., under Herb Klynn and Bud Getzler, long-time UPA stalwarts, Bosustow pronounced a benediction. It was the nature of the current animation business to regroup and splinter and he opined that the creative freedom which UPA allows and will allow was partly responsible for the recent and previous splitaways which resulted in the formation of new companies.
His only gripe, he said, was with some "disgruntled employee" (unnamed) who falsely told the press that UPA planned to can some 41 employees after several had already resigned. (The story was published elsewhere, not in VARIETY). Only 21 left the company, the UPA prexy said, and of these only 12 were dismissed. Since then the company has hired 16 new employees, including about a half-dozen animators. He emphasized that he mentioned this only to set the record straight.
Concerning the projected "Robin Hood Magoo'' feature, Bosustow said he'll wait until the votes are in on the company's first feature before committing himself on the second.
The new "Popeye" series being produced by King Features TV Productions is currently being sold with strings attached. Al Brodax, head of KFTP, which is currently producing 208 segments of the cartoon, already has chalked up billings of $650,000 in 28 markets for the five-and-a-half-minute strip. However, this is subject to cancellation should a. network deal materialize by Jan. 1.
The new series, part of which is being animated by Paramount (which distributed the original "Popeye" strip), will go on the market next September. Brodax is continuing to sell the series via syndication, despite network negotiations.
November 18, 1959
Mel Blanc has joined the Warner label. Blanc, who created the voices for such characters as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Tweetie Pie for the Loonie Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, will concentrate on novelty singles for the label but will also be available for album production. His first release, pegged for the Christmas market, will be a coupling of "I Keep Hearing Those Bells" and "Tweetie's Twistmas Twouble."
November 20, 1959
The Snow Queen
(Feature Cartoon-Eastman Color)
(additional voice cast from Weekly Variety review of Nov. 25th:
The Snow Queen ... Louise Arthur
Ol' Dreamy ... Paul Frees
The Raven .... Paul Frees
Court Raven .... June Foray
The Princess ...... Joyce Terry
The Prince ..... Richard Beals
Granny .... Lillian Buyeff
Russian film animators prove their worth and know-how in this particular creative art in this first Soviet feature-length cartoon to hit the American theatrical market. Based upon Hans Christian Andersen's classic, "The Snow Queen," its 64-minutes' animation running time displays fine style and certain Old World charm which should prove a natural for young audiences and evoke considerable interest among adults as well.
Originally skedded as a Christmas release by Universal-Intemational, which will distrib in U.S. and Canada, a six-minute Yuletime prolog starring Art Linkletter and a group of moppets was propped to introduce the fairy tale. Release was set back to Easter, however, due to Columbia slating another cartoon feature, UPA's "1001 Arabian Nights," for Christmas. Opening, with its patent Yule atmosphere, consequently may be somewhat out of place. Once the footage gets into its actual story, though, the spell of Denmark's great storyteller is socked over.
Made by Soyuzmultfilm Productions of Russia, UI set Robert Faber as producer of its English dialog version, with Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk and Patty McCormack undertaking the voices of the principal characters. Animation and quality stack up well with American standards and the fine and subdued use of color is a definite added asset. Film's comparative short length should meet with exhib approval.
Story, told tersely and appealing to American audiences, follows two young children, a boy and a girl in a quaint European town of yore, and the wicked Snow Queen who turns the lad into an evil boy and takes him to her ice palace in the north. When the boy fails to return, the girl starts to search for him, a quest which takes her through many adventures until she finds him in the Snow Queen's palace.
Trio of original songs, cleffed by Diane Lamport and Richard Loring and one of them, "Do It While You're Young," sung by Sandra Dee, lend musical enjoyment, to which Frank Skinner's score further contributes. Dialog written by Alan Lipscott and Bob Fisher and supervised by Hugo Grimaldi, who also does slick editing, is natural and in good sync, and Dave Fleischner [sic] handled technical supervision. Phil Patton directed prolog. Whit.
Carl Reiner, who did 18 voices plus a barking dog for a cartoon, "The Violinist," can't take his kids to see it — it’s playing with "The Lovers."
November 25, 1959
ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS
Producer-Director: Jay Ward, Bill Scott
30 Mins., Thurs., 5:30 p.m.
PARTICIPATING
ABC-TV (film)
Rocky and his friends are the kind of cartoon characters that should win a place in the heart of the moppet audience and a sigh of relief from parents. The approach to kid humor is intelligent; maybe not as subtle as "Huckleberry Hound," but a thankful departure from the violent slapstick that makes up the bulk of tele cartoon fare.
Production credits indicate quality. Rocky's creators at Producers Associates of Television, Hollywood, are Jay Ward, one of the producers of "Crusader Rabbit," and Bill Scott, originator of UPA's "Gerald McBoing-Boing" and a scripter of several "Mr. Magoo" shorts.
"Rocky" becomes the Thursday entry in ABC's 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday juve strip that features "Rin Tin Tin" and "My Friend Flicka" reruns on other nights. Opener was solidly bankrolled with no less than six blurbs spotted through the half-hour. Sponsors include Marx toys, General Mills and Tootsie Rolls. Bill.
November 27, 1959
Comedy writer Phil Davis has formed Cinemagic Internationale, a new company to make animated cartoons for television. Films will be produced at the Zagreb Studios in Yugoslavia, and voice tracks will be done in Paris with American actors. First series of 89 telefilms is titled "Hound for Hire" and deals with adventures or a private-eye dog.
Davis left for New York yesterday, and arrives in Paris Dec 2 en route to Yugoslavia for production.
November 30, 1959
Martin Gilbert, importer and producer of the Soviet cartoon, "A Christmas Journey," said yesterday the short has been bought by Fremantle of Canada Ltd. for telecasting on the entire Canadian Broadcasting Corp. network Christmas Day.
Cartoon short also has been set for viewing this week on KABC and approximately 100 other U.S. vidstations, Gilbert said. Russian short has English narration.
December 2, 1959
By Larry Glenn
Hanna & Barbera will be the exclusive theatrical cartoon producers for Columbia under a contract now nearing the signing stage, according to company officials Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. H-B thus takes over the spot held by UPA Pictures, whose option Col did not renew earlier this year. The company, formed under the presidency of director George Sidney out of the inactivation of Metro's cartoon department, is now grossing an estimated $2,000,000 per year and has nearly tripled its staff (35 or 40 at Metro) since its formation in July, 1967.
Hanna and Barbera pointed out that the theatrical cartoon chore —the first they've undertaken since becoming an indie—will not cause a staff increase since the 10 "Loopy De Loop" (A French Wolf) cartoons per year for Col will be made during the slack season of their tv operation (Oct.-Dec.). H-B now makes three weekly half-hour television cartoon series distributed via Screen Gems. Col vidsubsid.
Under the theatrical pact, Col will have exclusive call on H-B's theatrical product and will retain annual options for five years—so the deal's to be mutually exclusive. On the boards is still another half-hour weekly cartoon teleseries, a situation comedy for adults.
"We've actually turned out in one year more footage than we did at Metro in 20 years," said Bill Hanna. "We used to make eight Tom & Jerry's' (about 7 mins. each) a year. Last year we averaged five cartoons a week" Speed-up's explained in large part, of course, by the elimination of "in-betweening," i.e., detail. H-B calls it "planned animation."
Hanna and Barbera said they have for the time being abandoned any plans to have any of their work done overseas. The final cost, they said, is apt to be higher than doing it here.
December 3, 1959
Sid Pink and Norman Maurer, joint owners of the new film process, Cinemagic, have instructed their attorneys to take legal action to restrain writer Phil Davis from making use of their registered trade name for a new cartoon series planned for production in Yugoslavia. Davis last week announced his new firm would employ trade tab of Cinemagic Internationale.
Pink and Maurer claim their registration specifically covers title and rights to Cinemagic, used for the first time in their current release, "The Angry Red Planet.
December 9, 1959
Jazz and cartoon,films are being harnessed to a campaign aimed at getting teenagers to drive safely. Sponsor of the jazz approach is the General Board of Temperance of the Methodist Church which has produced an animated cartoon under the title "Stop Driving Us. Crazy," which represents the first time a. church organization has used the jazz-cartoon idiom.
Benny Golson, modern jazz saxist, wrote the original jazz score which is being promoted via a specially pressed 45 rpm disk. Howard Morris does the narration for the film.
1001 Arabian Nights
Clever animated telling of the story of Aladdin and his lamp. Mister Magoo stars in pic which is best for kids, indicating good b.o.
Hollywood, Dec. 4.
Columbia release of a UPA Production. Produced by Stephen Bosustow. Directed by Jack Kinney. Screenplay, Czenai Ormonde; story, Dick Shaw, Dick Kinney, Leo Salkin, Pete Burness, Lew Keller, Ed Nofziger, Ted Allan, Margaret Schneider; production design, Robert Dranko; layout, Shirley Silvey, Gene Miller; color design, Jules Engel, Bob McIntosh; background, "Barbara Beggs, Boris Gorelick, Rosemary O'Conner; animation director, Abe Levitow; sequence directors, Rudy Larriva, Gil Turner, Osmond Evans, Tom McDonald, Alan Zaslove; animators, Harvey Toombs, Phil Duncan, Clarke Mallery, Bob Carlson, Hank Smith, Ken Hultgren, Jim Davis, Casey Onaitis, Sanford Strother, Ed Friedman, Jack Campbell, Herman Cohen, Rudy Zamora, Stan Wilkins; editors, Joe Siracusa, Skip Craig, Earl Bennett; camera supervisor. Jack Eckes; sound, John Livadary, Marne Fallis; music, George Dunning; songs, Dunning and Ned Washington; conductor, Morris Stoloff; orchestration, Arthur Morton. Stars the voices of Jim Backus, Kathryn Grant, Dwayne Hickman, Hans Conried, Herschel Bernardi. Daws Butler, Alan Reed and the Clark Sisters. Running time, 76 MINS.
Magoo ..... Jim Backus
Princess Yasminda . . . . . . . Kathryn Grant
Aladdin ..... Dwayne Hickman
The Wicked Wazir . . . . . . . Hans Conried
The Jinni ... Herschel Bernardi
The Sultan .... Alan Reed
Omar the Rug Maker .... Daws Butler
Three Maids From Damascus .... Clark Sisters
After tripping through 53 one-reelers in 11 years, the Nearsighted Mister Magoo has hopped aboard a full-length magic carpet accompanied by a cat he thinks is a dog. While "1001 Arabian Nights" is not the kind of perceptive material that made Magoo a favorite of all ages, it abounds in enough animated fun and evil to lure more children than the Pied Piper. The UPA film, being released this Christmas by Columbia, is a brightly wrapped present which, when opened, should reveal a profitable treasure.
Voices are well chosen to support the rollicking sounds of Jim Backus as Magoo. Kathryn Grant makes an enchanting princess, Dwayne Hickman a lively Aladdin and Hans Conried a terrifyingly sinful wazir. Alan Reed's voice is perfectly suited to the Sultan, as is Daws Butler's to Omar the rug maker. The Clark Sisters are heard as the Three Little Maids from Damascus.
Twenty-eight persons are credited with the visual creation of "1001 Arabian Nights" under the effective over-all direction of Jack Kinney. Major credit goes to production designer Robert Dranko, layout heads Shirley Silvey and Gene Miller, color designers Jules Engel and Bob McIntosh and animation director Abe Leyitow. Dunning and Ned Washington wrote three special tones to complement the score, the best being "You Are My Dream," a romantic ballad sung by a chorus behind an imaginative lover's meeting. Audio portion of the film, with sound by John Livadary and Marne Fallis, is exceptionally crisp. Ron.
December 14, 1959
Motion Picture Daily
Ben Adler Advertising Service announced here at the weekend it has been assigned to co-create, with Trans-Lux Television Corp., exploitation aids for the new "Felix the Cat" cartoon series which Trans-Lux has already sold to more than 50 TV stations.
In addition to the exploitation kit put out by Trans-Lux, the Adler Service will issue a campaign sheet illustrating a wide range of aids it can offer individual stations, Ben Adler said. Campaign items will include trailers, slides, stills, window cards, car stickers, buttons, shopping bags and life-size models of "Felix" for display use.
December 16, 1959
Busustow, creator of Mister Magoo and Gerald McBoing-Boing, declared his company will go all out on this one. He said he has personally researched the life of the colorful Jelly Roll in the library of Congress and "we already have five minutes scenes completed with jazz ready for the picture."
However; said Busustow, Jelly Roll is mainly on the drawing boards, where he will remain "until we can convince people animated cartoons are not just for kids."
Busustow was here to promote "1001 Arabian Nights," UPA's initial feature-length cartoon pix, a Columbia release opening at the Orpheum Theatre (16).
If the public takes to Uncle Abdul Azziz Magoo, said Busustow, next will come "Robin Hood Magoo." After that it will be the life of New Orleans’ Jelly Roll without Magoo, a serious motion picture work told in animated cartoon.
Motion Picture Daily
Westinghouse Broadcasting and Trans-Lux TV Corp. tossing a party and special screening of "Felix The Cat," Tues. Dec. 29, at the Trans-Lux Theatre on Broadway for the benefit of Care, Inc. The teleseries, "Felix The Cat," the world's oldest animated cartoon (41 years) will debut nationally next month.
December 24, 1959
Rex Allen has been signed by Walt Disney to narrate his latest cartoon, "Wind Wagon Smith." Allen will also sing the title song, "The Saga of Wind Wagon Smith," accompanied by "The Sons of the Pioneers." Production starts Monday with Nick Nichols directing.
December 30, 1959
An undeniably unique television deal is now being finalized by ABC-TV and Hanna-Barbera Productions, which of late has become perhaps the busiest animation house in video. The network will underwrite at least 26 fully animated half-hour programs for prime time. "The Flagstones," which is the name of the program, is tv's first example of an adult situation comedy in cartoon form.
All last week, co-producer Joe Barbera was in New York, showing ad agencies and the webs all that he had to show of “The Flagstones,” which was about five-minutes of sample cartoon footage, plus several story boards. ABC-TV is closing the deal on the basis of that and the unavoidable observation that in the past two years Hanna-Barbera has gotten real hot in network video.
Production firm, which is partnered with Screen Gems, has a combination of cartoon shows, "Quick Draw McGraw" and "Huckleberry Hound" spot booked into roughly 170 markets, with Kellogg paying the tab (having just renewed for another year). Production team also has "Rough & Reddy" [sic] on NBC-TV Saturdays.
Wow!! Hashimoto Mouse. I haven't thought of that cartoon since it ran on our local ABC affiliate in the early to mid 1960's.
ReplyDeleteDidn't June Foray (and Paul Frees) perform on the "Snow Queen" English soundtrack?
ReplyDeleteAnd Dick Beals. For whatever reason, Daily Variety's review (above) doesn't list them in the cast, but Weekly Variety's five days later does. I've added them.
Delete