Cartoon Modern.

12/01/2023

"The Rise of Duton Lang"
1955
Columbia Pictures - UPA Animation
Direction by Osmond Evans

a Freeloading Gent Spins the Tale of a Brilliant Man Who Bit Off More Than He Can Chew. More Over, This was a Cartoon I Watched Back in My Youth, and the Nos...

10/26/2017

Gerald McBoing-Boing.
UPA 1950.

The winner of the 1950 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, Gerald McBoing-Boing is the story of a little boy who speaks through sound effects instead of spoken words.

It was adapted by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott from a story by Dr. Seuss, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley.

In 1995, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Directed by Bobe Cannon. Created by Theador "Dr. Seuss" Geisel.

02/01/2017

" Those damn Commies down river"

A clip from the documentary "American Experience: Walt Disney"

Disney used to call UPA "Those damn Commies down river."

02/01/2017

Nabisco Snack Crackers, ad from 1950's by UPA

Nabisco Snack Crackers Commercial - 1950's from UPA

11/10/2016

"Man Alive!"
1952, UPA.
American Cancer Society.
Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/8800584A
See it featured also at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collection...

In animated cartoons, an analogy is made between a man with a badly functioning car and a man with physical symptoms which could indicate the presence of a n...

09/11/2015

"It's everybody's Business" (1954)

Art Direction by Maurice Noble.
Produced by John Sutherland.

It's Everybody's Business (1954) Courtesy: Preligner Archives

10/23/2014

"The Twilight Zone" Opening Title by UPA (1959).

Theme music by Bernard Herrmann Crafted by UPA in the spring of 1958. The man in charge of this project was Herb Klynn, big boss of many things at the studio...

10/23/2014

A funny student's animation tell us a short story of animation and the style in the era.

P.S. Great Mr.T moral message at the end.

Our group's final animation project for History of Animation, in a comical PSA format, covering a high school overview of style in the 1950's Cartoon Modern ...

06/30/2014

"The Brotherhood of man" (1946)
Director: Bobe Cannon
Designer: John Hubley

Based upon the pamphlet "Races Of Mankind" by Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish, Brotherhood of Man is a controversial 10-minute cartoon from 1945 which explores the inherent equality of all peoples, and promotes the tolerance of other cultures.

It was sponsored by the UAW (United Auto Workers) union and produced by UPA (United Productions of America).

Ring Lardner Jr., one of the UPA writers of this adaptation, soon came under the scrutiny of the Joseph McCarthy Red Scare and was blacklisted along with nine other Hollywood writers and directors in 1947. Known as the "Hollywood Ten", they were investigated by the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) and refused to answer any questions during appeals, claiming their rights from the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The HUAC and courts disagreed and all were found guilty of contempt of Congress. Lardner was sentenced to 12 months in Danbury Prison and fined $1,000.

Though blacklisted by the Hollywood studios, Lardner returned triumphantly in Robert Altman's "MASH", for which he won an Academy Award (Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay).

Brotherhood of Man was directed by Robert Cannon, animated by John Hubley, and features music by Paul John Smith

The Brotherhood of Man is an animated cartoon based on the pamphlet "The Races of Mankind," by Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish. It explains that there are no...

03/13/2014

"Destination Earth"
Design by Tom Oreb and Vic Haboush, backgrounds by Joe Montel, for John Sutherland Productions.

(1956)

The American Petroleum Institute, with the help of cartoon Martian dissidents, teach us that oil and competition are the things that made America a great nat...

12/19/2013

Today's artist: Jim Flora.

James (Jim) Flora is best-known for his wild jazz and classical album covers for Columbia Records (late 1940s) and RCA Victor (1950s). He authored and illustrated 17 popular children's books and flourished for decades as a magazine illustrator. Few realize, however, that Flora (1914-1998) was also a prolific fine artist with a devilish sense of humor and a flair for juxtaposing playfulness, absurdity and violence. Discover more at: www.jimflora.com

12/19/2013

Contemporary influences - "How to listen to music" by derek·art ( find more at: www.derekart.com )