Link: http://www.toonjet.com/cartoons.php?id=260

I have watched some of Van Beuren’s Tom and Jerry cartoons, and I keep finding myself wondering, “Why on earth would Hanna-Barbera use the same name for their cartoon series that was used for a previous series 10 years prior?” Were they just not aware of the series before they created the cat and mouse duo? Or, were they doing it to show how prominent their studio was in the cartoon industry?

At first, it seemed to me like the good old cat and mouse we all know was starting to look like a big rip-off, using the name from another cartoon.

Director John Foster of Van Beuren Studios was saddled with the task of competing with Disney’s Mickey Mouse, among other cartoon heavy hitters, after Van Beuren lost Paul Terry and others in 1929. During the development of the original Tom and Jerry cartoons, the two were originally envisioned as a pair of mice, but were too close visually to Mickey Mouse, so they were changed to a cat and dog. Still lacking the success they needed to stay afloat, George Stallings and George Rufle helped Foster develop the human pair that appear in the Van Beuren cartoons.

The two odd characters constantly got into bizarre situations while working in different occupations. The world they lived in was an imaginative cartoony world, where everything was alive.

Van Beuren was located across the street from Fleischer studios, and the two held certain similarities in their work.

The phrase “Tom and Jerry” is actually a phrase which refers to fighting, drinking, and causing trouble, first referred to in Pierce Egan’s book, Life in London, published in 1820. SO, the title was not only a title, but an expression.

Also related is the fact that Joseph Barbera started out doing animation and working on scripts for the Van Beuren Tom and Jerry Cartoons, and nearly a decade later in 1940, moved on to MGM to create another cartoon series under the same name.

It seems to me that Barbera may have taken to the idea of using “Tom and Jerry” as the name for a whimsical cartoon with characters who fight and get into a lot of trouble. And, when the first series failed to garner a lot of media attention, he figured, “why let a good thing go to waste?” and used it once again, perhaps as an homage, or maybe to reuse something that never quite caught on. Maybe one day I’ll find the answer I’m looking for, but until then, I’m gonna watch a more of both series until my brain explodes.

If asked what Van Beuren Studios was famous for, most people today would probably look at you with a blank stare. Other than being vaguely known for the re-releases of the infamous Charlie Chaplain series, the little known production company also helped lead the pack when it came to classic cartoons of their time.

Van Beuren Studios was started by an upstart named Amadee J. Van Beuren. Paul Terry was also involved in the studio’s history, but later left to start his own production company, called Terrytoons. Van Beuren’s most recognized characters were called “Tom and Jerry,” but bear no relation to the cat and mouse characters released by MGM Studios eight years later. Their success was modest, yielding 26 cartoons in all. Aesop’s Fables, the studio’s other front runner gave rise to the now not so recognizable Cubby Bear, one of the series’ stars.

Walt Disney Studios had already made a splash with music and sound effects in their early toons, and Van Beuren promised to follow suit and do the same later on. The producers hired Tom Palmer, who had actually worked with Walt Disney Studios, along with Leon Schleisinger Studios, and Universal Pictures cartoon studio, to create a new series in hopes of jump-starting the B-list studio’s reputation. The somewhat well-received series was called “Rainbow Parade.”

Despite the studio’s mild successes, it was forced to closed its doors when RKO Radio Pictures decided to release Walt Disney cartoons, rather than those produced by Van Beuren.

The now little known toons were shown on black & white television sets throughout the nation, but their popularity was always overshadowed by the Disney giant.

Watch Van Beuren Studios’ “Molly Moo Cow and the Butterflies”

Link: http://www.toonjet.com/cartoons/Classics/Doggone_Tired.htm

Some cartoons just make you laugh out loud! Any more, it takes a lot to make me laugh, but Tex Avery’s “Doggone Tired” forces me to put aside my routine anxieties and actually LOL! Even some Looney Tunes cartoons would sometimes rehash old gags that we’ve seen time and time again. But, this MGM Studios cartoon is fresh, as Tex Avery’s cartoons usually were.

The story revolves around a hunting dog, who has to get up in the morning to go out and hunt down a rabbit. The rabbit knows this, and tries to keep him awake any way he can. The visual gags are hilarious. I died laughing as the rabbit jumped up on the bed and honked his nose, rattled his teeth, played his tongue like a guitar, etc. The dynamite gags were hilarious as well. I particularly like the ironic gag at the end that leaves us with a *bang!*

I would watch a lot more television if cartoons were like the ones by the masters of storytelling Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Dave and Max Fleischer, and all the rest who were pioneers of the art form.

The Betty Boop world was a world of enthusiasm. “She Wronged Him Right” really displays the world as viewed through an innocent girl’s eyes, as played out in a staged production, where Betty plays the lead role. Set on Betty Boop’s farm, the main villain, “Heeza Rat,” grabs her and tries to force her to become his wife all because she doesn’t pay her mortgage payments.

And, then there’s Fearless Fred. At first, he looks to be directly from the TV show, Beverly Hills: 90210. But, as his character plays out, he ends up saving the day after Betty gets into a compromising situation with Heeza Rat.

All in all, this is a very stylized Boop Cartoon, and it reminds me of what it was like to be a kid, seeing things as being “black and white,” a time that we would all like to return to sometimes. That is what makes “She Wronged Him Right” a gem that has stuck with us for almost 75 years!

Watch Betty Boop in “She Wronged Him Right”

Where does the hidden power lie within the cartoon masterpieces of yesteryear? Is it in the funny animation? Is it in the voice talent? No one will ever know, but one thing is for sure: all of the cartoon greats had a rival of some kind. Bugs had Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, and a slew of others. Foghorn Leghorn had the floppy-eared dog, Tweety had Sylvester, Jerry had Tom. And, Popeye had Bluto. And, that is what brought to our subject today.

Bluto is a rip-off artist, as can be seen in the 1957 Popeye toon, “Spree Lunch.” I love the guy, but… Okay, so I only like the fact that there is someone for Popeye to compete with and make him totally shine because the other guy just ends up looking like a goon because he’s ripping off something Popeye is doing.

This is one of the magical things about the classic toons from that era: the odds can always be overcome, no matter how against you they are. It is inspiration for us all, because though Bluto is bigger than Popeye, and has a big bushy beard that is supposed to make him more attractive (than a moldy turnip, maybe), Popeye uses his skill for survival to keep picking himself back up and trying again and again until he finally succeeds.

So, the moral of today’s story is: if you’re going to be big and dopey, at least have original ideas!

Watch Popeye in “Spree Lunch” online on ToonJet now!