Movie Animation
The
urge to make drawings appear to move has been traced back to the dawn
of history, when cave drawings showed animals with multiple legs, as
if to illustrate them in motion.
Mechanical animation, via such devices as the Zoetrope, developed far ahead of motion pictures, but it was almost a decade into film history, in 1906, that the first known animated film was made.
Cartoons became part of each movie program during the silent era, but it wasn't until the introduction of sound and the emergence of the talents of Walt Disney that animated films came into their own. Collecting animation today basically means collecting Disney.
While there are examples from other studios and creators, he so dominated the field that to collect non-Disney material is almost a conceit.
There is barely any printed material to be found for pre-sound cartoons, and very little for the earliest Disney animations.
A one-sheet for Steamboat Willie, for example, has long been the animation collector's Holy Grail, and the acquisition of material on
The Three Little Pigs or the Silly Symphony series should be left to those with no limit on their credit cards.
Mechanical animation, via such devices as the Zoetrope, developed far ahead of motion pictures, but it was almost a decade into film history, in 1906, that the first known animated film was made.
Cartoons became part of each movie program during the silent era, but it wasn't until the introduction of sound and the emergence of the talents of Walt Disney that animated films came into their own. Collecting animation today basically means collecting Disney.
While there are examples from other studios and creators, he so dominated the field that to collect non-Disney material is almost a conceit.
There is barely any printed material to be found for pre-sound cartoons, and very little for the earliest Disney animations.
A one-sheet for Steamboat Willie, for example, has long been the animation collector's Holy Grail, and the acquisition of material on
The Three Little Pigs or the Silly Symphony series should be left to those with no limit on their credit cards.
 |
| Movie Animation |
Despite its clever blend of animation and live action, which was a
great success, and its Oscar for Best Song with
"Zip-A-Dee- Doo-Dah," Song of the South
(1946) is now a non-film as far as Disney is concerned.
To blame is the supposed portrayal of African-Americans as happy-go-lucky stereotypes, forever singing as they work. Actually the film emphasizes instead the fantasy world of Joel Chandler Harris and the creatures he created.This is evident in the 1956 British quad, which is as reasonably priced as most paper on this title - even that from the original release.
To blame is the supposed portrayal of African-Americans as happy-go-lucky stereotypes, forever singing as they work. Actually the film emphasizes instead the fantasy world of Joel Chandler Harris and the creatures he created.This is evident in the 1956 British quad, which is as reasonably priced as most paper on this title - even that from the original release.
 |
| Movie Animation |
Once
a studio had created a popular cartoon character they put out a stock
poster, as with this 1950 one-sheet.
A theater could hold on to it for several years, popping it into a lobby display whenever they booked a film featuring that animated creature.
Woody Woodpecker was the star of Universal Studios and was created by their lead animator Walter Lantz, who started drawing cartoons in the silent era and was still working in the 1980s.
One would assume that, since they were not tied to one film, stock posters would be readily available, but this is not the case. Not only were they retained by the theater but the same poster was re-used over and over again until it was unusable.
A theater could hold on to it for several years, popping it into a lobby display whenever they booked a film featuring that animated creature.
Woody Woodpecker was the star of Universal Studios and was created by their lead animator Walter Lantz, who started drawing cartoons in the silent era and was still working in the 1980s.
One would assume that, since they were not tied to one film, stock posters would be readily available, but this is not the case. Not only were they retained by the theater but the same poster was re-used over and over again until it was unusable.
 |
| Movie Animation |
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs
(1937) was the first sound-era feature-length animated film and its
massive popularity, and the scale of Disney's achievement, caught
everyone unawares.
This poster is the basic style A original release, which was re-struck several times as it rolled out through the distribution system. It looked like the film was to play forever, and several additional posters were created in styles B and C. These were printed in smaller quantities and command higher prices than the A version.
This poster is the basic style A original release, which was re-struck several times as it rolled out through the distribution system. It looked like the film was to play forever, and several additional posters were created in styles B and C. These were printed in smaller quantities and command higher prices than the A version.
One-sheets
for cartoon shorts are not common. By 1946, the release year of this
MGM Tom and Jerry cartoon, going to the movies
was a time-consuming event: there were usually two ' full-length
features, a newsreel, a humoraus short, and a cartoon.
All of these competed for promotion space in the lobby and the animated film usually got short shrift. Collecting posters for cartoons is often an ancillary to the hobby of collecting production cells from the films: they can offer an insight into the animators' craft as they re-work their images into the larger format.
All of these competed for promotion space in the lobby and the animated film usually got short shrift. Collecting posters for cartoons is often an ancillary to the hobby of collecting production cells from the films: they can offer an insight into the animators' craft as they re-work their images into the larger format.
 |
| Movie Animation |
When
Sleeping Beauty
was released in 1959 it was Disney's most expensive feature. It was
filmed using Super Technirama 70 - one of many new wide-screen
formats created to lure people away from their TVs.
This British quad emphasized the fairy-tale aspect of the myth, as opposed to the U.S. campaign, which opted for a bucolic/romantic image. The Disney publicity machine was expert at devising different campaigns for different countries. While income from foreign releases was tiny compared to the massive U.S. grosses, Walt Disney was conscious that he was building a worldwide franchise.
part one of 3
This British quad emphasized the fairy-tale aspect of the myth, as opposed to the U.S. campaign, which opted for a bucolic/romantic image. The Disney publicity machine was expert at devising different campaigns for different countries. While income from foreign releases was tiny compared to the massive U.S. grosses, Walt Disney was conscious that he was building a worldwide franchise.
part one of 3
No comments:
Post a Comment