Gene Deitch won an Oscar, received tributes of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and ASIFA in Los Angeles, and has been praised for his adaptations of numerous children’s books animated in Communist Czechoslovakia. But perhaps he’ll be best known for a handful of Tom and Jerry cartoons that make some people want to bang their head against an iron curtain.
And that’s not quite fair.
Gene Deitch has passed away at the age of 95.
Deitch arrived in the sphere of theatrical cartoons because of his work in television. Animated commercials were hot in the 1950s. Artists who had been around for years joined newcomers in exercising their creativity in giving birth to 30 and 60-second cartoons that had a different look and sound—but were still entertaining. Deitch was one of the newcomers and he was quickly written up in trade publications (being part of the critically-loved UPA studio didn’t hurt). At the time, CBS figured it should do something with its newly-acquired Terrytoons studio besides broadcast old cartoons—something like get into the lucrative commercial animation business. So it was that Deitch was plucked from Robert Lawrence Productions in July 1956 to become creative producer at Terrytoons. Once again, Deitch proceeded to give birth to cartoons that had a different look and sound than what Terrytoons had been pumping out.
There were some high points. His Tom Terrific cartoon serial that CBS plopped down on
Captain Kangaroo was praised by parents groups everywhere for entertaining kids without all that “violence” found in the old movie shorts. It was inventive and droll. And as opposed to heroic characters for the ‘40s like Mighty Mouse, Popeye or Bugs Bunny, Deitch and his staff came up with flawed stars for the ‘50s, like the grumpy Clint Clobber the janitor and the neurotic Sidney the elephant. Unfortunately for Deitch, studio politics were thick and he found himself at a decided disadvantage. Deitch moved out in August 1958 and set up his own company. Within a few years, he had been hired by Bill Snyder, won an Oscar for a clever cartoon called
Munro, dispatched to Prague to revive the award-winning antics of Tom and Jerry, fell in love, and stayed.
Instead of his work overseas, let’s have Mr. Deitch himself talk about the earlier phase of his career, the golden era of animated TV spots. He was asked to write about using cartoons as sales tools in the July 1, 1957 edition of
Billboard magazine. Here’s what he said:
How to Spice Up the Com'l Break With Extra Hard Sell
By GENE DEITCH
Creative Director, Terrytoons
(The writer of this article is one of the bright young lights of the bright new era of animation. He was with UPA when Bert and Harry were created and had a hand in the original drawings. When John Hubley set up his own Storyboard operation, Deitch went with him. He then went to Robert Lawrence Productions. When Terrytoons was bought by CBS and entered the commercial field, Deitch joined it as creative director.)
If an advertiser can produce a smile on the consumers face and an image of his brand in the consumer's mind—at one and the same time—then, by gum, he has a nice little thing going for himself. Chances are the consumer will buy, consume and (if the product is good) buy again—regularly.
One way to achieve this happy juxtaposition is with the continuous cartoon salesman. The cartoon character, if handled honestly, can get thin the wall every TV watcher erects during commercial periods. A cartoon conies on as a bit of spice in a movie program and can be just as tasty on TV. If you give the viewer something — namely a little entertainment and the feeling you are 'leveling" with him—then he might feel like giving you something: His patronage.
A cartoon character can somehow project this honesty and good humor where a live announcer might not. For the true cartoon character, altho frankly a fantasy, is a caricature of reality that can be accepted as reality. The "real live" pitchman is publicly known to be a hired salesman, the people in live commercials are obviously actors, the ball players are paid for their testimonials—and up goes the wall between you and the consumer. But the cartoon character can leap over the wall, uttering hard-sell copy (while appearing to kid it) that a "live" commercial would have trouble in delivering convincingly.
A good cartoon character must personify the product. If he is unique and well liked, people will feel the product is also unique and will want to buy it.
To be most effective the cartoon salesman must be a product identifier. As soon as the viewer sees the character on the screen, he should identify the product brand. Secondly, the viewer should look forward to more than just a sales pitch. Unusual animation and clever design are not enough. An animated figure becomes a "character" only when he has definite acceptable characteristics other than merely visual. Where does he come from? Who does he represent? What are his attitudes? How does he react to certain situations? Does he mean what he says? Is he a "real guy?"
A cartoon character becomes salesman when he represents the product in name, in quality and in purpose. A dancing cereal box or bouncing can of dog food does not necessarily present a sales message sage. Nor does a frolicsome fairy or merry jinnee relate to a real-life product. The character can be animal or human, but whatever specie, he must have personality depth. If the audience is to believe, he character must relate to contemporary experience in speech and action.
To create a cartoon salesman, analyze your product. Is there a theme for the character to stand for? A well-known slogan, a visual device, ingredient, quality? Can the name of the product be name of the character? (that is usually best.) When you decide upon the character idea, build a background -make him real. He must be sincere and convincing but still unrestrained.
There is no need to to compromise. You are now in the world of fantasy. Be willing to kid yourself and the product a little to put yourself on-the-level with the viewer. Make yourself likable.
By developing his own character, a client benefits. He has property with the inherent quality of his product, an advertising campaign that has wearing ability. With each new story situation, a cartoon salesman grows in acceptance.
To use a character that has already been established in another medium is the animated version of testimonial advertising. In such a case, the cartoon salesman may tend to dominate the product. As a selling tool, he may not hate the "memory value" associated with an original product identifier. However, there is no denying the tremendous loyalty a hero like Mighty Mouse can generate with children.
For the film producer and the advertising agency, the cartoon salesman can be the perfect employee. He is not being paid to drink soda pop or shave his beard. He honestly typifies the product. He is ageless, sitting on the drawing board, ready to go to work at any time, never asking for a raise.
Being always available has many technical assets, too. Once the design of the salesman has formulated and his pattern of behavior charted, any animated film company can take the blueprints and produce a commercial. One series of spots featuring the cartoon star can be produced by one film company and another series can be produced by a completely different studio, with no apparent variation in the total effect. Just as comic strips, thru the years, have been drawn by a series of artists with no noticeable change to the reader, the same is true of an established television commercial property.
The cartoon character exists apart from the animator and the actor. Eton the voice can be imitated.
With cartoon salesman, the client is never troubled with props, costumes or location spots. The settings for commercial stories are unending.
Terrytoons, well-known for thirty years as a theatrical cartoon company, has only been in the business of the animated cartoon commercial for one year. However, the studio has already been involved with three cartoon salesmen -P. J. Tootsie and Bert and Harry Piel.
P.J. Tootsie, the Candy King, was created by Terrytoons to sell Tootsie Rolls for Sweets Company of America. The campaign of three one-minute spots was directed mainly to children. According to an independent survey of youngsters, the commercials rated as high as the entertainment on the same program. Mr. Tootsie was quickly identified as "The Candy King."
The flamboyant executive, P. J. Tootsie, is intent on selling his product in each spot. His techniques are so exaggerated that they amusingly spoof the sales attitude of an advertising executive. Everytime P. J. Tootsie repeats the slogan, "Everybody loves me, because I make Tootsie Rolls," he gets a firm plug for his product.
Deitch’s reference to Mighty Mouse is ironic, considering he banished the ripped rodent from the big screen in favour of his own “up-to-date” characters.
And Deitch’s assessment that “unusual animation and clever design are not enough” was something the people he left behind at UPA didn’t quite realise, contributing to the studio’s demise.
Until days ago, he was chatting away with animation lovers on Facebook, posting pictures of the changing seasons in the neighbourhood behind his home and coping with being stuck indoors because of the present worldwide health emergency. He maintained humour and friendliness to the end, even to those who didn’t think much of his work about 60 years ago with a cat and mouse.
Rest in peace, Gene.
