The 50 Greatest Cartoons

[Jonathan Woodward]

For the curious, here's a list of the cartoons from the
above-named book, edited by Jerry Beck.

50 Felix in Hollywood
49 The Dover Boys (CJ, 42)
48 A Unicorn in the Garden
47 Corny Concerto (BC, 43)
46 Quasi at the Quackadero
45 Book Revue (BC, 46)
44 The Man Who Planted Trees
43 The Barber of Seville
42 Cat Concerto
41 Rooty Toot Toot
40 Peace on Earth
39 Little Red Riding Rabbit (FF, 41)
38 Bambi Meets Godzilla
37 Bimbo's Initiation
36 Feed the Kitty (CJ, 52)
35 Ali Baba Bunny (CJ, 57)
34 You Ought to Be in Pictures (FF, 40)
33 Superman
32 The Cat Came Back
31 The Scarlet Pumpernickel (CJ, 50)
30 Rabbit Seasoning (CJ, 52)
29 Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Bloom
28 Northwest Hounded Police
27 Clock Cleaners
26 Brave Little Tailor
25 The Big Snit
24 The Tell-Tale Heart
23 Little Rural Riding Hood
22 Der Fuehrer's Face
21 Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (BC, 43)
20 Minnie the Moocher
19 Snow White
18 The Skeleton Dance
17 Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
16 The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (BC, 46)
15 Bad Luck Blackie
14 The Old Mill
13 Steamboat Willie
12 Rabbit of Seville (CJ, 50)
11 Three Little Pigs
10 King Size Canary
9 Gerald McBoing Boing
8 Porky in Wackyland (BC, 38)
7 Red Hot Riding Hood
6 Gertie the Dinosaur
5 One Froggy Evening (CJ, 56)
4 Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century (CJ, 53)
3 The Band Concert
2 Duck Amuck (CJ, 53)
1 What's Opera, Doc? (CJ, 57)

CJ Chuck Jones, 10 cartoons
BC Bob Clampett, 5 cartoons
FF Friz Freleng, 2 cartoons

-JW

--
Jonathan Woodward
wood...@ftp.com

[Todd Beard]

Shouldn't that be "The Rabbit of Seville" instead of "The Barber of
Seville?"
How did they define "great" for this list? Quality or significance?
I find it hard to believe anyone could consider "Bambi Meets Godzilla"
a better cartoon that "Little Red Riding Rabbit."
"Gertie the Dinosaur" and "Steamboat Willie" may have made important
technical innovations, but they don't belong on a list of the 50 most
memorable cartoons.

[Jonathan Woodward]

I suppose I should mention that I labeled all the WB cartoons
with director and year.

[Jonathan Woodward]

In article <39tb90$3...@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com> tbe...@ix.netcom.com (Todd Beard) writes:
>From: tbe...@ix.netcom.com (Todd Beard)
>Subject: Re: The 50 Greatest Cartoons
>Date: 10 Nov 1994 14:38:24 GMT

>Shouldn't that be "The Rabbit of Seville" instead of "The Barber of
>Seville?"

No, it shouldn't.

>How did they define "great" for this list? Quality or significance?

They polled the industry.

>I find it hard to believe anyone could consider "Bambi Meets Godzilla"
>a better cartoon that "Little Red Riding Rabbit."

<shrug> _I_ do.

>"Gertie the Dinosaur" and "Steamboat Willie" may have made important
>technical innovations, but they don't belong on a list of the 50 most
>memorable cartoons.

"Memorable" is just one criterion.

-JW

________________________________________
Jonathan Woodward, wood...@ftp.com

[Thomas M. Shim]

In article <39tb90$3...@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com>, Todd Beard writes:

>Shouldn't that be "The Rabbit of Seville" instead of "The Barber of
>Seville?"

The Barber of Seville is a Woody Woodpecker cartoon from the 40s, perhaps
his best, directed by Shamus Culhane, who animated the incredible Seven
Dwarves walking scene in Snow White.

>How did they define "great" for this list? Quality or significance?

They asked those of us who have interests in animation.

>I find it hard to believe anyone could consider "Bambi Meets Godzilla"
>a better cartoon that "Little Red Riding Rabbit."

That's your opinion. Obviously, the cartoon garnered enough votes out of
thousands of ballots to make the list.

>"Gertie the Dinosaur" and "Steamboat Willie" may have made important
>technical innovations, but they don't belong on a list of the 50 most
>memorable cartoons.

Apologies if I'm wrong, but you're being awfully self-centered, aren't you?

==========================================================================
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[Stephen W. Worth]

> >"Gertie the Dinosaur" and "Steamboat Willie" may have made important
> >technical innovations, but they don't belong on a list of the 50 most
> >memorable cartoons.

Steamboat Willie perhaps, but have you ever seen Gertie the Dinosaur?!!!!
It's as good as they get.

____________________________________________
Stephen Worth Animation Art
vin...@lightside.com Restoration, Authentication,
Appraisal and Sales

[James Steel]

I don't believe it! 'The Man Who Planted Trees' in 44th place?
44th place? What were people thinking! Surely it has to rate a
lot higher than that.

This is not a .sig

[Jonathan Woodward]

Bruce Dykes (bruce...@the-boss.com) wrote:
: MSGID: 1:2604/309 875CEA2C
: Phosphor emissions from Jonathan Woodward to All relayed here \/
: JW> 48 A Unicorn in the Garden
: Is this an adaptation of the Thurber story? Who made it, and when?

Yes. I don't recall. Buy the book; it's lots of fun.

: JW> 37 Bimbo's Initiation
: Is this a Tex Avery short? From what?

It's an early Fleischer (sp?) short, with Betty Boop in it.

: JW> 22 Der Fuehrer's Face
: Is this done to the Spike Jones song of the same name? I saw a film
: accompaniment but it featured Spike Jones and band live and in person...

No, it's a WW2 Disney short with Donald Duck.

[...]
: JW> 7 Red Hot Riding Hood
: Any idea where I can find these? I know most of them aren't WB, but the
: titles have my curiosity piqued...

Try Whole Toon Access, a must-have catalog for the toon fan. I'm
afraid I don't have their number right now. Anyone?

[Bruce Dykes]

MSGID: 1:2604/309 875CEA2C
Phosphor emissions from Jonathan Woodward to All relayed here \/

JW> For the curious, here's a list of the cartoons from the
JW> above-named book, edited by Jerry Beck.

JW> 48 A Unicorn in the Garden

Is this an adaptation of the Thurber story? Who made it, and when?

JW> 38 Bambi Meets Godzilla

Absolutely magnificent!

JW> 37 Bimbo's Initiation

Is this a Tex Avery short? From what?

JW> 24 The Tell-Tale Heart

JW> 22 Der Fuehrer's Face

Is this done to the Spike Jones song of the same name? I saw a film
accompaniment but it featured Spike Jones and band live and in person...

JW> 21 Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (BC, 43)

Bet this one never gets aired in this day and age <G>.

JW> 20 Minnie the Moocher
JW> 18 The Skeleton Dance

JW> 8 Porky in Wackyland (BC, 38)

JW> 7 Red Hot Riding Hood

Any idea where I can find these? I know most of them aren't WB, but the
titles have my curiosity piqued...

... In a moment, my little piranhafish...
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BBS: (201) 568-7293 bruce...@the-boss.com
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[Stephen W. Worth]

In article <1f1.17...@the-boss.com>, bruce...@the-boss.com (Bruce
Dykes) wrote:

> JW> 48 A Unicorn in the Garden
> Is this an adaptation of the Thurber story? Who made it, and when?

U.P.A. in the early 50's. It's on a Columbia / RCA VHS tape along with the
Tell Tale Heart. UPA is one of the most underrated studios in my opinion.
Check it out...

[JWOtter]

In article <3aflbp$e...@illuminati.io.com>, wood...@io.com (Jonathan
Woodward) writes:

>>>Try Whole Toon Access, a must-have catalog for the toon fan. I'm
afraid I don't have their number right now. Anyone?<<<

Sure!
Whole Toon Access
P.O. Box 369
Issaquah, WA 98027
USA
tel: (206) 391-8747
Fax (206) 391-9064

I just got their newest catalog. Great new stuff!
-Otter

[Thomas M. Shim]

In article <1f1.17...@the-boss.com>, Bruce Dykes writes:

> JW> 48 A Unicorn in the Garden
>Is this an adaptation of the Thurber story? Who made it, and when?

UPA, around the 50s. Look at the book.

> JW> 37 Bimbo's Initiation
>Is this a Tex Avery short? From what?

It's a Fleischer Betty Boop. Look at the book.

> JW> 22 Der Fuehrer's Face
>Is this done to the Spike Jones song of the same name? I saw a film
>accompaniment but it featured Spike Jones and band live and in person...

No, it's a Donald Duck dream/nightmare. Look at the book.

> JW> 21 Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (BC, 43)
>Bet this one never gets aired in this day and age <G>.

It's available on many videotapes.

> JW> 20 Minnie the Moocher
> JW> 18 The Skeleton Dance
> JW> 8 Porky in Wackyland (BC, 38)
> JW> 7 Red Hot Riding Hood
>Any idea where I can find these? I know most of them aren't WB, but the
>titles have my curiosity piqued...

Fleischer, Disney (scored by soon-to-be Warner composer Carl Stalling),
Clampett/WB, and Avery/MGM.

Finally, look at the book. It's fine and dandy if you have a few
questions, but come on, Bruce, with that many straightforward questions
that can easily be answered in much more detail than I've provided simply
by flipping through a book, one would logically assume you would do just
that.

[Joseph D. Cabrera]

I have to agree that the book isn't really a list of the 50 Greatest
Cartoons. Would such a list really show such a wide range of cartoons?
it's more like a list of a good variety of 50 great cartoons. Beck even
says in his Editor's Note that they "were chosen in a survey of more than
one thousand animators, cartoon historians, and animation professionals. .
. . No single person picked these fifty films. ... this is an
extraordinarily well-rounded collection of classic animation." I doubt
that these were even the top 50 choices from the surveys. And although the
cartoons are numbered, this isn't also their ranking, is it? (I didn't
notice any reference to this.)

[garrison]

On 17 Nov 1994, Jonathan Woodward wrote:

> : JW> 48 A Unicorn in the Garden
> : Is this an adaptation of the Thurber story? Who made it, and when?
>
> Yes. I don't recall. Buy the book; it's lots of fun.
>

UPA made the cartoon in 1953, Bill Hurtz directing.

[Jonathan Woodward]

Joseph D. Cabrera (Toon...@tiac.net) wrote:
: I have to agree that the book isn't really a list of the 50 Greatest

I spoke to Mr. Beck shortly before the book came out; the 50
cartoons listed are the 50 cartoons that got the most votes, in order.
I.e., "What's Opera Doc?" got the most votes out of the 1000+ surveys
received, "Duck Amuck" got the next highest number, and so on.

-JW

--
Jonathan Woodward
wood...@ftp.com

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[Thomas M. Shim]

In article <3aings$i...@ixnews1.ix.netcom.com>, Todd Beard writes:

>>That's your opinion. Obviously, the cartoon garnered enough votes out
>>of thousands of ballots to make the list.
>

>No, it is not my opinion. The opinions I express are those of Mrs.
>Gladys Underhill, 90, of Luxomni, Georgia.

I stand corrected. (Was that supposed to be funny?)

>>Apologies if I'm wrong, but you're being awfully self-centered, aren't
>you?
>

>What??????????
>I don't agree with those 2 being on the list and it makes me
>self-centered?

Sorry, of course, you were just expressing your own, er, Ms. Underhill's
opinion.

>If I were making this list, just about all 50 would be WB. There would
>be room for some Tex Avery MGM stuff, but not much else can compete with
>Termite Terrace.

Again, that's one person's opinion (is it yours this time?). That doesn't
discount others', which I perceive (perhaps wrongly) you seem to be
implying.