Entertainment HQ's Hadrian Quan - Hadrian Quan
Th-th-th-that’s all folks! Classic lines such as those of Porky Pig's have been iconic symbols of America's golden age of cartoons. Many of us have seen the old cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny and Donald Duck, but few realize just how profoundly cartoons have been affected by the changing American environment, and vice versa. Starting in the 1920’s and ‘30’s, cartoons started out as mere teasers before such big budget films. As the country entered the late twenties, cartoons began to take on even more of a life, some being catapulted to national fame. One such cartoon, Steamboat Willie (1928) epitomized that early era of cartoon making. Sound had long existed in film, but only in such simplistic forms as music.
Steamboat Willie
The thirties also brought the first full length animated feature film, Snow White(1937), another Disney creation. An enormous commercial success, Snow White became the highest grossing animated film of all time if adjusted for inflation. This proved to the American public the worth of animation.
During WWII, the US government would capitalize on that worth. Turning to Disney and other studios, the government poured millions of dollars into animation to be used as propaganda. Many production houses had no choice but to accept this money because the Great Depression had created such little demand for film and movies. Two such classics of this time of Disney propaganda were Der Fuhrers Face(1943), and Aquarela Do Brasil(1942). The first was created to instill a negative image of German life and remind Americans how great it is “to be an American.” The second was created to improve public opinion of America in the eyes of it’s Latin neighbors.
Der Fuhers Face
Aquarela Do Brasil
However, propaganda was not the only new products made by animators.When Tex Avery began his career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a different production house, he started working on edgier, sexier cartoons. These were closely identified with what is considered his masterpiece, Red Hot Riding Hood(1943). These new cartoons, and the success of other violent shows like Tom and Jerry completely changed the standards for ‘adult’ entertainment in cartoons.
Red Hot Riding Hood
During the fifties, animation began to hit what was considered its peak. Production houses, especially Warner Brothers and MGM, began to produce hits which were quickly deemed classics. According to imdb.com many of these were later inducted into the National Film Registry. Prominent among these were Bugs Bunny cartoons, the darling of MGM. One of these such masterpieces was Whats Opera Doc.(1957). With its trademark use of music, and the vocal talents of men like Mel Blanc, it was cartoons like these which catapulted MGM to stardom.
What's Opera Doc
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The sixties brought many new changes to American film. With the rising popularity of television, Saturday morning cartoons rushed in to fill in a new entertainment niche. The production company of Hanna-Barbera produced many classic show during this time period like The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and many other shows your parents may remember from their childhood.
Unfortunately, these new successes began to wane during the seventies and well into the eighties. Walt Disney had recently died, Disney’s president had just resigned, Hanna-Barbera had created some its lowest grossing shows, and public demand for cartoons was at its lowest point.
Suddenly a bold film saved the day. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), a movie set in the gritty 1940’s, a time of “greed, sex, and murder,” with a few toon characters thrown in. The film was an unmitigated success, winning 4 Oscars and becoming at the time of its release the 20th highest grossing film of all time. With its combination of live action and animation, it renewed interest in golden age of animation, and paved the way for the resurgence of animation in the nineties.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The last decade of the twentieth century saw an explosion of animation. It witnessed the birth of new production house like Pixar, and some old ones changed as Hanna Barbera became Cartoon Network. Suddenly animation was an artform.
Recently, we have seen such an exponential increase of animation, not just in terms of cartoons, but as feature films. This goes especially true for Pixar, having now won the best Animated Film awards three times in a row. As new films like Up and Avatar continue to change the possibilities of animation, who knows what could come next?
If you enjoyed hearing about any of these cartoons you can view more of them on a number of cartoon DVD collections including––Disney Treasures: On the Front Lines, Looney Toons: Golden Age Collcetion those of the Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. And a personal favorite film of mine Who Framed Roger Rabbit.