![]() While Famous' best pieces pale beside the average Tex Avery cartoon, they're heads above the contemporary output of Lantz and Terry. It's interesting to see how many Tex Avery gags they, er, pay homage to-there is even an instance of characters running off the edge of the film frame! They championed the spot-gag cartoon format that Avery pioneered in the late '30s, and kept it alive into the early '60s. (Sometimes they're actually better-they can be more lively and jaunty.) The majority of their non-Popeye cartoons are as good as the output of Freleng and McKimson at Warner Brothers. ![]() They strike me as thuggish, simple-minded and crude. I honestly don't care for their Popeye cartoons after the 1940s. I really don't understand why much of Famous' output is considered lesser or mediocre. They accentuate the crisp, angular designs of the characters. I quite like the thick outlines and thin inner lines that the cel painters used in the late '50s. I can't imagine any other cartoon studio trying this-especially so late in the game.Īfter 1957, when limited animation was the order of the day for Famous, they created some impressive ways to cut corners while keeping vivid images and motion on-screen. It's remarkable that such an unorthodox technique was used in BOUNCING BENNY. PEDRO AND LORENZO and JOLLY THE CLOWN are two more one-shots I've recently viewed and enjoyed. I agree the Famous one-shots of the late '50s/early '60s are fascinating, unusual and sometimes great cartoons. It's great to be able to see so many of them, via this DVD set. I've found most of the "Modern Madcaps" from that period to have something unusual or offbeat about them. It seems as though Famous had a little burst of creative inspiration at the tail end of the '50s. Do any of the TTTP sages have some insight as to how the animation was done? It's a mild but charming cartoon, and its uncommon look is really striking to me. It looks like Space Age advertising art, with its sketchy lines and loose approach to color. Towards the end of the cartoon, the art style changes a bit. I can't tell if they were painted on the cels, or actual shadows from the cutout pieces that were exaggerated when the artwork went under the camera. ![]() The use of shadows is quite unusual in this cartoon. There is a little bit of cel animation, but it's mostly manipulated cutouts. It appears to have been done as cutout animation, painted with watercolor or gouache. "Bouncing Benny," a Modern Madcap from 1960, struck me with its unique approach to limited animation. I've found several cartoons that are truly noteworthy, such as "Finnegan's Flea," from 1958, and the insanely violent and disturbing "Kitty Kornered," with its morbid-to-the-max surprise ending. They seem so different from Leonard Maltin's dour, dismissive descriptions in OF MICE AND MAGIC. I just got the "Harveytoons" collection, and I'm surprised at how enjoyable the cartoons are.
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