Talkartoons Explained

Talkartoons is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures from 1929 to 1932.[1]

History

For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contract with Paramount Pictures, and without the burden of Red Seal Pictures and Alfred Weiss, Max Fleischer was free to experiment with new, bold ideas. First he changed the name of the Ko-Ko Song Cartunes series to Screen Songs. Although the Screen Songs were successful, Fleischer felt that it wasn't enough; Walt Disney seemed to gain a great amount of fame through his sound cartoons as well. He decided to work with his brother, Dave on a new series of cartoons where the characters did more than just simply dance to the music of the "bouncing ball". The name for the new series was to be Talkartoons. When the idea was pitched to Paramount, they leaped at the opportunity.[2]

The Talkartoons started out as one-shot cartoons. The first entry in the series was Noah's Lark, released on October 26, 1929. Although a Fleischer cartoon, it appeared to be patterned after the Aesop's Film Fables of Paul Terry. In it, a Farmer Al Falfa-esque Noah allows the animals of his ark to visit Luna Park. When he brings them back into the ship, the weight is so heavy that it sinks. In the end, Noah chases topless mermaids throughout the ocean waters. Lark has very few gray tones, due to employing the paper-cutout animation process utilized in the Screen Songs produced during the same time and the earlier Fleischer silent works. It also included copyright-free songs, mostly utilized from old 78-rpm's.

The series began to take a new direction, however, with the arrival of Max and Dave's brother, Lou Fleischer, whose skills in music and mathematics made a great impact at the studio. A dog named Bimbo gradually became the featured character of the series. The first cartoon that featured Bimbo was Hot Dog (1930),[3] the first Fleischer cartoon to be animated on cels, and thus to employ a full range of greys. New animators such as Grim Natwick, Shamus Culhane, and Rudy Zamora began entering the Fleischer Studio, with new ideas that pushed the Talkartoons into a league of their own. Natwick especially had an off-beat style of animating that helped give the shorts more of a surreal quality. Perhaps his greatest contribution to the Talkartoons series and the Fleischer Studio was the creation of Betty Boop with Dizzy Dishes in 1930.

By late 1931, Betty Boop dominated the series. Koko the Clown was brought out of retirement from the silent days as a third character to Betty and Bimbo. By 1932, the series was at an inevitable end and instead, Betty Boop would be given her own series, with Bimbo and Koko as secondary characters.

Filmography

Dave Fleischer was the credited director on every cartoon produced by Fleischer Studios. Fleischer's actual duties were those of a film producer and creative supervisor, with the head animators doing much of the work assigned to animation directors in other studios. The head animator is the first animator listed.[4] Credited animators are therefore listed for each short. Many of the shorts from 1931-32 don't have their animator credits listed, as they were cut when the shorts were sold to television and had their titles replaced.

1929

No. Film Original release date Credited animators Notes
1Noah's LarkOctober 26No animators credited
  • First Talkartoon.

1930

No. Film Original release date Credited animators Notes
2Marriage WowsJanuary 12No animators credited
  • UCLA has nitrate elements on this title, therefore is not a lost cartoon.
  • Working title: Wedding Belles[5]
3Radio RiotFebruary 10No animators credited
  • The bedtime story broadcast at the end was written by Yip Harburg.
4Hot DogMarch 29No animators credited
  • First appearance of Bimbo (as yet unnamed).
  • First Fleischer cartoon to feature gray tones.
  • First Fleischer cartoon to be scored by Lou Fleischer.
  • Utilizes a recording of "Saint Louis Blues" by Eddie Peabody within the soundtrack.
5Fire BugsMay 9Ted Sears
Grim Natwick
  • A Bimbo cartoon (though he is still unnamed).
  • First Fleischer cartoon to credit animators.
6Wise FliesJuly 14Willard Bowsky
Ted Sears
7Dizzy DishesAugust 9Grim Natwick
Ted Sears
  • A Bimbo cartoon. First appearance of Betty Boop (though she and Bimbo are both unnamed).
  • First appearance of a new title card design that would remain through the series.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2.
8Barnacle BillAugust 25Rudy Zamora
Seymour Kneitel
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon, featuring them in the (named) roles of Barnacle Bill and Nancy Lee.
  • Uncredited animator: Grim Natwick
9Swing You Sinners!September 22Ted SearsWillard Bowsky
  • A Bimbo cartoon (though he is still unnamed).
  • Includes caricature of Jewish comedian Max Davidson.
  • Uncredited animators: Grim Natwick, Jimmie Culhane
10Grand UproarOctober 12Seymour Kneitel
Al Eugster
  • A Bimbo cartoon (though he is still unnamed).
11Sky ScrapingNovember 1Ted Sears
Willard Bowsky
  • A Bimbo cartoon, naming him in the title card; from here onward, he is usually named.
12Up to MarsNovember 23Rudy Zamora
Jimmie Culhane
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
13Accordion JoeDecember 12Ted Sears
Grim Natwick
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon (though Betty is still unnamed).
  • Some sources incorrectly label this as a 1929 release.
14Mysterious MoseDecember 27Willard Bowsky
Ted Sears
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon (though Betty is still unnamed).
  • Uncredited animator: Grim Natwick

1931

No. Film Original release date Credited animators Notes
15Ace of SpadesJanuary 6Rudy Zamora
Al Eugster
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
  • Television materials exist as with most of the other Talkartoons, but prints are more scarce.
16Tree SapsJanuary 19Grim Natwick
Ted Sears
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
17Teacher's PestFebruary 7Grim Natwick
Seymour Kneitel
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon (though Betty, who only appears briefly, is still unnamed).
18The Cow's HusbandMarch 14Jimmie Culhane
R. Eggeman
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
  • The bull's dance was rotoscoped.
19The Bum BanditApril 6Willard Bowsky
Al Eugster
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon (though Betty is named "Dangerous Nan McGrew").
  • First time Betty Boop is seen with her slender physique.
  • Uncredited animator: Grim Natwick
20The Male ManApril 24Ted Sears
Seymour Kneitel
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
  • Uncredited animator: Grim Natwick
21Twenty Legs Under the SeaMay 5Willard Bowsky
Tom Bonfiglio
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
22Silly ScandalsMay 23Unknown
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon. First time Betty is named, though only as "Betty" (no surname given).
23The Herring Murder CaseJune 24Unknown
  • A Bimbo cartoon. First time Bimbo is animated in his most familiar design.
  • First sound cartoon appearance of Koko the Clown.
24Bimbo's InitiationJuly 27Unknown
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon.
  • Placed at #37 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2.
25Bimbo's ExpressAugust 22Unknown
  • A Bimbo and Betty cartoon (formally billed as such in the titles, still giving Betty no surname).
26Minding the BabySeptember 28Jimmie Culhane
Bernard Wolf
  • A Betty and Bimbo cartoon (first time Betty's full name appears in the titles, stylized as "Betty-Boop").
27In the Shade of the Old Apple SauceOctober 19Unknown
  • A Bimbo cartoon.
  • Not to be confused with the 1929 similarly-titled Screen Song, In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree. Lost cartoon.
28Mask-A-RaidNovember 9Unknown
  • A Betty and Bimbo cartoon.
  • The first Talkartoon to put the director and animator credits on a separate title card.
  • First time Betty is depicted as a human, with her dog ears replaced by hoop earrings.
29Jack and the BeanstalkNovember 22Roland CrandallSam Stimson
  • A Betty and Bimbo cartoon.
  • Final time Betty Boop is depicted as a dog.
30Dizzy Red Riding HoodDecember 12Unknown
  • A Betty and Bimbo cartoon.

1932

No. Film Original release date Credited animators Notes
31Any Rags?January 5Willard Bowsky
Thomas Bonfiglio
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
  • The surviving master negative has the original opening title card intact.
32Boop-Oop-a-DoopJanuary 16Unknown
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
  • First use of the song "Sweet Betty", which would become the theme song for the Betty Boop series.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2.
33The RobotFebruary 8Unknown
  • A Bimbo cartoon, seemingly held over from earlier production (Bimbo appears in a primitive design; Bimbo's girlfriend is largely a generic one-off, but drawn as Betty in some close-ups that look to have been added later).
34Minnie the MoocherFebruary 28Willard Bowsky
Ralph Somerville
  • A Betty, Bimbo and (briefly) Koko cartoon.
  • Music performed by Cab Calloway and his orchestra. This short contains the earliest known footage of him and his orchestra performing.
  • The walrus' dancing is rotoscoped from footage of Calloway himself.
  • Sometimes seen with a refilmed TV title card; transfers with original titles were featured on some on 1980s video compilations.
  • Named #20 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 3.
35Swim or SinkMarch 13Seymour Knitel
Bernard Wolf
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
  • The original title cards likely animated the short's title; the later, commonly seen TV title card is taken from a single frame of the original, captured at a point where the title reads just "S O S".
36Crazy TownMarch 26James H. Culhane
David Tendlar
  • A Betty and Bimbo cartoon.
  • Contains special live-action title cards.
37The Dancing FoolApril 6Seymour Kneitel
Bernard Wolf
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
38Chess-NutsApril 18James H. Culhane
William Henning
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 1.
39A-Hunting We Will GoMay 3Alfred Eugster
Rudolph Eggeman
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
40Hide and SeekMay 14Roland Crandall
  • A Bimbo cartoon, seemingly held over from earlier production (Bimbo appears in a primitive design; Bimbo's girlfriend is a generic one-off).
41Admission FreeJune 10Thomas Johnson
Rudolph Eggeman
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
42The Betty Boop LimitedJuly 18Willard Bowsky
Thomas Bonfiglio
  • A Betty, Bimbo and Koko cartoon.
  • Final Talkartoon.
  • Officially released on Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2.

See also

References

Sources
Notes

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lenburg . Jeff . The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons . 1999 . Checkmark Books . 0-8160-3831-7 . 6 June 2020 . 142.
  2. Book: Fleischer . Richard . Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution . 2005 . The University Press of Kentucky . 0-8131-2355-0 . 49-50.
  3. Book: Pointer . Ray . The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer . 2017 . McFarland . 9781476663678 . 66.
  4. [Shamus Culhane|Culhane, Shamus]
  5. Web site: Marriage Wows (Wedding Belles) (1930) - Talkartoons Theatrical Cartoon Series . https://archive.today/20130628172922/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/1667-Marriage_Wows.html . dead . June 28, 2013 . Bcdb.com . 2017-01-08.