Finding Those Old Cartoons
Old-time animation fans can attest to the sad fact that classic cartoons have not always been readily accessible. Not that long ago die hard toonaholics had to go to some pretty gruesome extremes to view vintage stuff. I have a friend who admits to haunting shopping malls in the early eighties, looking for those little enclosed kiddie booths that showed 8mm sound cartoons for a quarter. He would wait until the passing crowd was reasonably sparse, then squeeze his adult sized bulk into this tiny fiberglass box, trying to get a glimpse of some obscure Terrytoon.
While living in Connecticut a decade or so earlier, I myself would go out of my way to frequent drive-ins, because they were among the last places to show old cartoons with regular work-a-day, unrelated feature films. That was the good news. The bad news was that in that neck of the woods, drive-in programs started ridiculously early (I think about a second and a half after sunset, but I could be exaggerating.) In any event, the ever present cartoon was for all intents and purposes, invisible. Surrounded by daylight, Mr. Magoo’s disembodied voice would rattle on as I tried to figure out exactly what film I was… um… watching, and all the time I’m squirming in the sort of exquisite torture known only to the truly obsessive.
Does anybody else have stories of the unseemly extent they have gone to in quest of a cartoon fix?
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On March 17th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Of course you are talking about the days before 24 hour cable channels, video tapes, laser discs and DVDs. And despite all of these advances it’s still rather impossible for an average person today to see Heckle & Jeckle, Woody Woodpecker and Baby Huey (not to mention Wiffle Piffle). To answer the question, In the 1960s I remember buying those silent, black & white heavily edited 8mm “home movie” editions of L’il Abner and the Fox & Crow in order to actually see one of those darn things. In the 1970s, I graduated to buying horrible 16mm dupes of Fleischer cartoons. As bad as that was, I recall being grateful to be able to see any of them - in any format and condition.
On March 17th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I just recalled the most “unseemly extent” I went to “in quest of a cartoon fix”. I’ve never admitted this before… In 1978, when I was 23 years old, I was working in Times Square, for United Artists on 48th Street. I had heard the studio was renting cartoon shorts to a porno theatre accross the street (the WORLD 49th). The theatre was using the cartoons as “chasers” - to clear the theatre after the main porno feature (instead of turning on the lights - a gruesome thought - they continually played shorts & trailers between the showings of the feature). One week I was tipped that they were running an old Technicolor print of BIRTH OF A NOTION (Daffy Duck vs. a Peter Lorre mad scientist). I had so rarely seen Warner Bros. cartoons in 35mm, in a theatre no less, I felt it was my duty as a U.A. employee and a loyal cartoon buff to check it out. And I did. And it was cool. (and yes, I stuck around for the main feature as well - I can’t recall a thing about the feature but I still remember the vivid colors of that Daffy Duck print to this day).
On March 17th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Ah, cartoons to chase the crowds away. I am old enough to remember seeing “A Hard Day’s Night” on its original release, in the same theater jam-packed with screaming teens — and I do mean screaming. These kids, female and male, started exercising their lungs the moment they entered the auditorium. This time someone had the presence of mind to include a Terrytoon to the program. It featured a character called ‘Deadwood Duck’, and it sure as hell calmed things down for six and a half minutes!
On March 18th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I have similar memories of invisible toons at the drive-in before sunset. Intead of Mr. McGoo, our local drive-in ran Depatie-Freling’s Tiajaunna Toads. The toads were later re-named the Texas Frogs to be more P.C. for broadcast television. I think the studio also redubbed the voices to sound Southern instead of Mexican.
The last cartoon I saw in a sit-down theater was in 1976. Woody Woodpecker was shown before “Midway” starring Charlton Heston, and Henry Fonda,in “SENSE-AROUND”!!!!
I didn’t get too interested in toons again until I was stationed on Guam in the early 90’s. The island had poorly done local TV broadcasts, naked Japanese language game shows, Russian TV with the Balshoi Ballet, and US mainland cable channels. The locals running the TV stations and cable companies rarely if ever ran shows at the times printed in the news paper or schedule guides. None of the programming was in the local language, so they didn’t care what times programs ran. I accumulated a huge collection of VHS tape movies and toons from the Navy and Air Force exchange stores because I could never figure out when anything was going to be on.
I wish you guys luck with the podcast.
On April 12th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I was wondering if anyone here could help me, I have been searching the Internet for many years to find somwhere I could either download of buy either of these cartoons.
Planet Kate and Family Dog.
Family Dog was Created byBrad Bird, and it was a short cartoon on MTVs Oddities in the early 90’s.
http://www.toontracker.com/familydog/familydog.htm
Planet Kate (which I can’t seem to find ANYTHING on online) was an animated pilot for a USA only show called “Oh yeah! Cartoons” on Nicktoons back in the late 90’s. (1998 I believe). It was created by Jaime Mitchell and was one of the most amazing cartoons I had ever seen (Only saw it once, and it was a friends copy).
It was never shown here in the UK, and I am desperate to find someplace to Download it, as I know it wont be available to buy.
thank you all SO much in advance for any help, I have literally been searching the net for years to find these two toons!