Uncle Jeffy's Sketchbook! - 8-2-12

Playing with a fat black pen on bright white paper drew me to doodling (I mean that in the most polite way possible) a few black and white era animated cartoon characters.  And if I was going to start there, I might as well delve straight back to the silent era - thought me to myself.

Otto Messmer's Felix the Cat.  Long before that new fangled Felix the Cat in the 1960's with his bag-o-tricks, Paramount produced the biggest cartoon star for the next decade Felix...

...and here's my sketch of him...my style?  When it comes to animated characters in particular, I have an extra block against getting loose with them and still keeping them recognizable.  Something keeps wanting me to try, though.

Meanwhile, Max Fleischer was doing his own "Out of the Inkwell" series and doing a lot of innovations, such as combining live action and animation and even sound.

Here's his first big star, "Ko-Ko the Clown".  Often rotoscope over brother/director Dave Fleischer. 

I have never ever ever gotten the knack for drawing Mickey Mouse...it simply eludes me.  Turns out I do the same "fall-short" job when attempting Walt Disney's earlier star, "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit". 

I like the one on the bottom, but it doesn't look much like Disney's character.  Or Walter Lantz' later version either.  But I do still kind of like it.  The top one looks like an "Animaniac".

After 1928, when Mickey Mouse did his sound gig in "Steamboat Willie", suddenly all the studios wanted their own little black and white cartoon-y star.

Here's Van Beuren's "Cubby Bear" and Harman & Ising's "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid", the very first Looney Tune.

Ub Ising's "Flip the Frog" and Fleischer's "Bimbo".

The 8 major studios each started off the 30's with a diminutive black and white anthropomorphic cartoon star.

Except Paul Terry.  "Farmer Al Falfa".  Is there a sketchbook story in there?

Hurrrmmmmmmmmm.

Talk to you soon.

Carl Stalling: Maestro of Symphonies, Melodies and Tunes

Born this date in 1891, Carl Stalling would be 118 years old today.

The musical heart and genius behind 100's of cartoons, Carl taught us about the rhythm and timing of good comedy.

He first befriended a young Walt Disney back in Kansas City, where Walt was producing his "Laugh-O-Gram" and "Alice" cartoons and Carl was a movie house organist. After the success of "Steamboat Willie" and Walt's foray into "sound cartoons", Walt sent for Carl to join his new crew in Hollywood.

Front row above: Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Carl Stalling

Carl did indeed join up and added much to the effort. It was Carl who first suggested the "Silly Symphonies" series.

Above: Carl and Ub seated with Walt standing directly over them.

When Ub Iwerks and Walt had their falling out, Carl went with Ub and worked at his studio, creating music for "Flip the Frog", "Willie Whopper" and Ub's "Comi-Color" series'.

After Ub's failure to compete with Disney, Carl made his last move. He joined the team at Warner Brothers, where 3 other Disney confederates had established a real cartoonists haven in the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series, Hugh Harman, Rudoph Ising and Friz Freleng.

This is where Carl truly blossomed and left us with a legacy of sounds and music that has become a part of all of us.

Carl's training as a movie theatre pianist/organist had ingrained in him such a library of classical music, and adding to that Warner Music Publishing's vast library which was easily stamped on his grey matter he created a whole new way of cartoon and film storytelling.



...and the "kids" still rock it today!

How boring would life be without the creativity and musical ability of this man running through the backs of our heads?

Very!

Thanks Carl!