Tex Avery and gag writer Heck Allen started this cartoon—and then the Avery unit got laid off. One of Avery’s animators, Mike Lah, finished this off with animators from the sole unit remaining, the Hanna-Barbera unit. Ken Muse, Irv Spence and Ed Barge received screen credit, along with background artist Vera Ohman.
I realize those overblown takes lost some of their impact by the time most of the cartoon studios were doing them, but they're still preferable to the ultra-restrained takes Hanna-Barbera was doing in their TV cartoons, where you sometimes find yourself studying a short sequence very intensely to determine whether or not -- "Yes, yes, there's definitely a slight outward bulge to the eyes in this drawing and the jaw has dropped just a fraction of an inch lower from where it was previously. This is definitely a Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon take!"
ReplyDeleteWhile Bill & Joe had long since embraced Averyesque takes and even some Tex-like gags in their cartoons, I wonder how much Muse, Barge and Spence enjoyed the brief break away from doing nothing but cat and mouse (and bulldog and duck) drawings on this cartoon and "Deputy Droopy"?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where can I watch this cartoon episode and what I should I search to find it?
ReplyDeleteI found it by searching google images and dragging a picture above. The show is called Tex Avery and the episode is called Cellbound
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