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Post by brutalis on Apr 26, 2018 8:26:24 GMT -5
In the halcyon days of cartoon shorts before movies there be giants. Disney and Warner Bros' reigned supreme along with MGM. We all grew up with them across the years of our growth. Talking about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry and their kinfolk. There was the Disney Mickey/Donald/Goofy and other shorts which were silly and fun and gorgeously drawn. All of the Warner Bro's characters were downright outrageous and sarcastic and violently funny. Tom and Jerry were creatively antagonistic or best of chums hurting and defying each other. You had to love them all but what/who where your favorite(s) and why? Or choose Other like a special shout out to an insane redheaded woodpecker or beloved cartoons.
They almost reflect our lives growing up: we start out with the simpler easygoing Disney as a child then grow into the Warner world as teens and tom and Jerry reflect our adult struggles. Scary ain't it folks? And while there are a lot of other secondary and thirds and fourths and fifths helpings along the way it was always Disney, Warner's and MGM at the top of the list!
my votes:
1. Warner Bro's. Their cartoons were simply more inventive, creative and exciting while the characters had much more real substance to them for me in their antics.
2. tom and Jerry: the eternal struggle and chase and revenge from mostly silent characters whose life was shown in screwball comedic action and sound effects. I hear poor Tom's owwwhoooowhooooowhoo's in my mind in response to many things every day.
3. Disney: they hold a special charm and warmth in my heart but they never quite did as much for me as a youth.
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Post by The Captain on Apr 26, 2018 8:44:21 GMT -5
There's no question. It's Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and their assorted colleagues in mirth and mayhem.
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Post by Cei-U! on Apr 26, 2018 9:01:47 GMT -5
It's the Warners gang for me, too, with an honorable mention for the original black-and-white Fleischer Studio Popeyes.
Cei-U!
Arf, arf, arf!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 9:29:15 GMT -5
Warner Bros for the win!
And I liked Woody Woodpecker/ Heckle & Jeckle more than Tom & Jerry.
The Disney stuff was too tame except Donald Duck.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 10:48:19 GMT -5
Warners Bros -- I wished that they did more Playboy (2 animated shorts) Penguin and the gang of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote, and the Roadrunner was too much for anyone to watch and ... outside of these powerhouses ... I loved Heckle and Jeckle and Woody Woodpecker! 
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 11:04:04 GMT -5
Warners Bros -- I wished that they did more Playboy (2 animated shorts) Penguin and the gang of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote, and the Roadrunner was too much for anyone to watch and ... outside of these powerhouses ... I loved Heckle and Jeckle and Woody Woodpecker! Yes! Another person that liked Heckle & Jeckle & Woody Woodpecker! |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 26, 2018 11:12:27 GMT -5
Warner Brothers. By a country mile. The characters, the stories, the animation, the direction...everything was there to hit viewers of all ages. And I just never get tired of them. They're as fresh today as when I watched them as a kid.
Of those mentioned...I like Disney's shorts. They clearly had the best animation of any short subjects. I like Donald's shorts generally and think Goofy's were a ton of fun. I think the problem was that the comic book/strip adventures of the Disney characters out shined their cinema adventures by an couple orders of magnitude.
I'm not a big fan of Tom and Jerry. The animation was pretty lush, particularly early on, probably second only to Disney. But they had a sameness to them to me. I do love a lot of the work Tex Avery did for MGM after he left Warners. Avery's Droopy and Wolfie shorts are generally gold as are a lot of his one-offs.
Of those not mentioned...
I'll echo Kurt and the Fleisher Popeyes...but also their Superman cartoons. And remember kids...Uncle Slam hates Superman...so that's high praise.
UPA, a late-comer to animated shorts who did work for Paramount was a huge shake-up for animated shorts. Even when UPA wasn't wholly successful they were interesting. When they were successful (Gerald McBoing Boing, Rooty Toot Toot, The Oompahs) nobody could touch them. I've actually considered doing a review thread of the UPA shorts.
I was a fan of Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker and company as a child. But I haven't seen any of those shorts for probably close to 40 years and have no idea how they'd hold up to adult viewing. I probably should remedy that, particularly with regard to the shorts that Tex Avery did for Lantz.
It's been a long time since I've watched any TerryToons either.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 11:34:41 GMT -5
Warner Brothers. By a country mile. The characters, the stories, the animation, the direction...everything was there to hit viewers of all ages. And I just never get tired of them. They're as fresh today as when I watched them as a kid. Agreed ... 100%Of those not mentioned... I'll echo Kurt and the Fleisher Popeyes...but also their Superman cartoons. And remember kids...Uncle Slam hates Superman...so that's high praise. I'm a big fan of both Popeye and Superman!I was a fan of Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker and company as a child. But I haven't seen any of those shorts for probably close to 40 years and have no idea how they'd hold up to adult viewing. I probably should remedy that, particularly with regard to the shorts that Tex Avery did for Lantz. As a kid, I've never, ever gotten tired of Woody Woodpecker! |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 26, 2018 13:42:03 GMT -5
Yeah, the various characters from the Warner Bros. stable are definitely the best by a long shot, they really ruled the roost for cartoons. Too bad the comics (at the least those I remember reading in the '70s) were never that good - that's where Disney produced the far better material.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2018 14:50:57 GMT -5
Of those listed, Warner's Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies would be tops, but the Fleischer stuff would rank slightly higher for me, especially the Superman ones which are my favorite version of Superman and my favorite cartoon shorts of all.
-M
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 26, 2018 17:43:43 GMT -5
Warner Brothers by light years. The gang at Termite Terrace were masters of the cartoon short and knew how to time the gags, poke fun at pop culture (and still be timeless) and create memorable and loveable characters. Disney never mastered the short the way they did the feature, though Donald Duck comes far closer to the spirit that inhabits Looney tunes and Merry Melodies. Not talking politics; but, I believe that Walt's conservatism held them back in that area. Warner was pretty much anything goes and was willing to be a bit anti-authoritarian, without seeming to be subversive.
Tom and Jerry had some real standouts; but, a lot of the same old bits, time and again. They had a really limited creative window, as far as I am concerned. However, they pretty much crafted the template of the "chase" comedy, which influenced the Coyote and Roadrunner, where Chuck Jones took that to a new level (especially some of his later Roadrunners, where he had the gags build upon one another). Ironically, when he took over Tom & Jerry, it wasn't nearly as good (though better than what preceded it).
Woody Woodpecker had some good ones, though I haven't been as exposed to those, or Heckle & Jeckle. Those didn't play much in syndication, where I grew up.
MGM did some pretty good stuff with the Pink Panther (well, Depatie-Freleng, who were contracted to do it). Those also transitioned well to tv and they crafted some excellent ones there, on a tv budget.
For the Fleischers, it's Superman and Popeye. Some of the other stuff is fine; but, they kind of shoved a lot of stuff into them, without much of a story.
The UPA stuff was great to look at and Gerald McBoing-Boing was pretty fun, if bizarre.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 7:45:35 GMT -5
Warner Brothers, especially Daffy Duck!
Count me in as a fan of Woody Woodpecker and Heckle & Jeckle--also Tennessee Tuxedo!
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Post by brutalis on Apr 27, 2018 9:33:42 GMT -5
Like codystarbuck mentioned it mostly depended upon what we grew up watching in our local areas. I have fond remembrances of Woody Woodpecker and Heckle and Jeckle somewhat. Never really watched much of the Fleischer Popeye and Superman as they always seemed to run weekdays earlier than I was up and getting ready for school which was the regular time-slot for Woody and Tom and Jerry and Heckle and Jeckle here in Phoenix. I also remember watching Pink Panther and Aardvark/Ant in the afternoons but that one always jumped a lot from station to station so was irregular watching. Some of the Might Mouse stuff was OK but not every one of them. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 27, 2018 12:03:37 GMT -5
We didn't really have much in the way of local cartoon shows, where I grew up. I remember Rocky & Bullwinkle and Underdog & Tennessee Tuxedo being shown weekday mornings, as well as Abbott & Costello (the cartoon), the New 3 Stooges (again, cartoon) and Space Angel (from Cambria, creators of Clutch Cargo). The rest was Saturday Morning. When I was young, there was both the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show and Tom & Jerry, both showing the theatrical shorts. The Wonderful World of Disney would show Disney shorts, in themed shows (Like Kids is Kids, with Ludwig Von Drake linking Donald Duck Cartoons, or The Ranger of Brownstone). I only saw Terry Toons if I was visiting a relative and saw Woody Woodpecker cartoons in either special Holiday matinees of school Holiday assemblies (we would get some cartoons and a feature, like Snoopy Come Home). Popeye I saw on the networks, with the later shows, then some of the Fleischer material when visiting relatives and when we got cable. Heck, where I lived, we had trouble tuning in CBS; so, I mostly watched ABC and NBC-broadcast cartoons.
I have never seen the Harvey Toons and very little Terry Toons.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 12:12:53 GMT -5
We didn't really have much in the way of local cartoon shows, where I grew up. I remember Rocky & Bullwinkle and Underdog & Tennessee Tuxedo being shown weekday mornings, as well as Abbott & Costello (the cartoon), the New 3 Stooges (again, cartoon) and Space Angel (from Cambria, creators of Clutch Cargo). The rest was Saturday Morning. When I was young, there was both the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show and Tom & Jerry, both showing the theatrical shorts. The Wonderful World of Disney would show Disney shorts, in themed shows (Like Kids is Kids, with Ludwig Von Drake linking Donald Duck Cartoons, or The Ranger of Brownstone). I only saw Terry Toons if I was visiting a relative and saw Woody Woodpecker cartoons in either special Holiday matinees of school Holiday assemblies (we would get some cartoons and a feature, like Snoopy Come Home). Popeye I saw on the networks, with the later shows, then some of the Fleischer material when visiting relatives and when we got cable. Heck, where I lived, we had trouble tuning in CBS; so, I mostly watched ABC and NBC-broadcast cartoons. I have never seen the Harvey Toons and very little Terry Toons. I was fortunate. I grew up in a western suburb of Philadelphia. In the 60's & 70's we had 7 stations that you could get with rabbit ears. 3 (NBC). 6 (ABC). 10 (CBS). 12 (PBS). 17. 29. 48. They were independent that broadcasted a lot of reruns, syndicated programs, old cartoons & movies. Later 29 became FOX & 57 was added that became the CW.
I now live in Lancaster and can get the 5 broadcast networks (plus PBS & 2 IND stations) with an outdoor antenna.
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