63-484: Animated short film series Modern Madcaps [REDACTED] The opening card in 1965. Production companies Paramount Cartoon Studios (1958–1967) Rembrandt Films (1962) Hal Seeger Productions (1963) Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date 1958–1967 Running time 6–8 minutes (one reel) Country United States Language English Modern Madcaps
126-590: A heart attack in 1964, and Paramount brought in comic-book veteran Howard Post to run the cartoon studio. Under Post's supervision, Paramount began new cartoon series and characters such as Swifty and Shorty and Honey Halfwitch (the latter having originated from the Modern Madcaps series in the 1965 short Poor Little Witch Girl ), and allowed comic strip artist Jack Mendelsohn to direct two well-received cartoons based upon children's imaginations and drawing styles: The Story of George Washington and A Leak in
189-824: A Badtime Story October 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Jack Ehret Larry Silverman I. Klein Jack Mercer Anton Loeb Goodie the Gremlin The Pigs' Feat October 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras Jack Mercer Irv Dressler Robert Little Sour Gripes October 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Irving Dressler Robert Little Luigi Goodie's Good Deed November 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Wm.B.Pattengill Jack Mercer Irv Dressler Robert Little Goodie
252-907: A Tenant February 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden George Gemanetti Larry Silverman Irving Dressler Robert Owen Luigi One Weak Vacation March 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras John Gentilella I. Klein Jack Mercer Robert Owen Trash Program April 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Jack Ehret Larry Silverman Irving Dressler Robert Little Harry Happy September 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras John Gentilella Wm.B.Pattengill Al Pross I. Klein Anton Loeb Tell Me
315-563: A heart attack in 1951. Seymour Kneitel and Isadore Sparber became the production heads of the studio shortly afterward, and Dave Tendlar was promoted to director in 1953. The mid- and late-1950s brought a number of significant changes for Famous Studios. In 1955, Paramount sold most of its 1942–1950 shorts and cartoons (except for the Popeye and Superman shorts) to U.M. & M. TV Corporation for television distribution. The Popeye cartoons were acquired by Associated Artists Productions , and
378-520: A replacement. That same year Famous resurrected an old Fleischer series, Screen Songs , introducing a new series of musical cartoons featuring a " bouncing ball " sing-along. In 1951, the Screen Songs became "Kartune Musical Shorts," which ended in 1953 after Max Fleischer claimed ownership of the "bouncing ball" trademark. Only two more musical cartoons were released (as one-shot Noveltoons): 1954's Candy Cabaret and 1963's Hobo's Holiday . Although
441-445: A second feature, Mr. Bug Goes to Town (also known as Hoppity Goes to Town ). Compounding the problems the studio was facing was the fact that the studio's co-founders, brothers Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer , were becoming increasingly estranged, and by this time were no longer speaking to each other due to personal and professional disputes. On May 25, 1941, Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, and required
504-526: A significantly downsized Famous Studios back to New York, a move completed early in 1943. Virtually all of the Famous staff, including voice artist/storyman Jack Mercer , storyman Carl Meyer, voice artist Mae Questel , and animators such as Myron Waldman , David Tendlar , Thomas Johnson, Nicholas Tafuri, and Al Eugster , were holdovers from the Fleischer era. These artists remained with Famous/Paramount for much of
567-691: A three-disc DVD set titled Casper the Friendly Ghost: The Complete Collection . On November 2, 2021, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (through Studio Distribution Services joint venture label) released all of the Harvey-owned Famous Studios cartoons on a three-disc DVD boxset titled The Best of the Harveytoons Show . 36th Academy Awards The 36th Academy Awards , honoring the best in film for 1963 , were held on April 13, 1964, hosted by Jack Lemmon at
630-534: Is an animated film series produced by Paramount Pictures ' Famous Studios animation division between the years 1958 and 1967. The series featured assorted characters that later became part of the Harvey Comics library. A total of 56 shorts were produced and released. List of shorts [ edit ] Overview of Modern Madcaps shorts Title Release date Direction Animation Story Scenics Characters Notes Right Off
693-763: Is displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame . Throughout the 1950s, most of the major Hollywood studios sold off their film libraries to various television companies. In the case of Paramount, throughout the decade, they sold off the Famous Studios library to various different TV syndication companies resulting in multiple studios owning different cartoons. In January 1956, Paramount sold the February 1942-October 1950 Fleischer and Famous Studios cartoons (excluding Popeye and Superman ) to U.M. & M. TV Corporation for $ 3 million, equal to $ 33,620,563 today. In 1957, U.M & M
SECTION 10
#1733084874667756-457: The Herman and Katnip cartoon series. Despite the studio submitting some of their shorts for Academy Award consideration, none received a nomination. Paramount sold its 1950–59 cartoon film library and the rights to its established characters to Harvey Comics in 1959; however, the final theatrical cartoon to have any of their established characters already acquired by Harvey Comics since
819-507: The 30th Academy Awards . Patricia Neal controversially won Best Actress for her role in Hud , despite having a relatively small amount of screen time and having expected a baby in England. Melvyn Douglas won Best Supporting Actor for the same film, making it the second and, to date, last film to win two acting awards without being nominated for Best Picture (the other being The Miracle Worker
882-1185: The 32nd Academy Awards for an Oscar consideration, but wasn't nominated. Mike the Masquerader January 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Wm.B.Pattengill Nick Tafuri Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Fiddle Faddle February 26, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Irving Dressler Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen From Dime to Dime March 25, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Irving Dressler Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Trigger Treat April 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson William Henning Irving Dressler Robert Owen The Shoe Must Go On June 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector Morey Reden Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Electronica July 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Nick Tafuri Morey Reden Irving Dressler Robert Owen Shootin' Stars August 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Morey Reden Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Disguise
945-2032: The 38th Academy Awards for an Oscar consideration, but wasn't nominated. Solitary Refinement September 1, 1965 Howard Post Morey Reden Tony Peters Robert Little Boobie Baboon The Outside Dope November 1, 1965 Howard Post Nick Tauri Jack Mendelsohn Robert Little Boobie Baboon I Want My Mummy March 1, 1966 Shamus Culhane Chuck Harriton Bill Dana Jose Jimenez A Balmy Knight June 1, 1966 Shamus Culhane Chuck Harriton Al Eugster Nick Tafuri Heywood Kling Sir Blur A Wedding Knight August 1, 1966 Shamus Culhane Chuck Harriton Al Eugster Nick Tafuri Heywood Kling Dante Barbetta Howard Beckerman Robert Little Sir Blur Two by Two December 1, 1966 Howard Post Al Eugster Howard Post Wacky Quack Held back in release due to alleged anti-religious undertones. The Blacksheep Blacksmith January 1, 1967 Shamus Culhane Nick Tafuri Al Eugster Heywood Kling Dante Barbetta Howard Beckerman Gil Miret Sir Blur List of outsourced shorts [ edit ] Overview of Modern Madcaps made by studios other than Paramount Title Produced By Original release date Direction Story Samson Scrap Rembrandt Films March 1962 Gene Deitch Gene Deitch Allen Swift Boy Pest with Osh Hal Seeger Productions October 29, 1963 Myron Waldman References [ edit ] ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons . Checkmark Books. pp. 112–113. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020 . ^ "Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1959 | Cartoon Research" . cartoonresearch.com . ^ https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/paramount-cartoons-1960-1961/ ^ "Cartoons Considered For
1008-510: The King Features Trilogy cartoons, starring characters such as Krazy Kat , Little Lulu, Beetle Bailey , and Snuffy Smith , were released theatrically by Paramount in 1962 under the title Comic Kings . In 1963, Paramount sold its pre-March 1962 cartoons to Harvey for one U.S. dollar, as part of a larger agreement to produce 26 new Casper cartoons for Harvey's The New Casper Cartoon Show for 78,000 dollars. Seymour Kneitel died of
1071-600: The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California . This ceremony introduced the category for Best Sound Effects , with It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World being the first film to win the award. Best Picture winner Tom Jones is the only film to date to receive three Best Supporting Actress nominations; it also tied the Oscar record of five unsuccessful acting nominations, set by Peyton Place at
1134-462: The Superman cartoons had already reverted to Superman's owners National Comics after the studio's film rights to the character had expired. On October 1, 1956, Famous Studios was downsized and reorganized. Paramount assumed full control of the studio, integrating it as a division named Paramount Cartoon Studios . Around the same time, Isadore Sparber was fired, leaving Seymour Kneitel in sole charge of
1197-522: The previous year ). At age 71, Margaret Rutherford set a then-record as the oldest winner for Best Supporting Actress , a year after Patty Duke set a then-record as the youngest winner. Rutherford was also only the second Oscar winner over the age of 70 (the other was Edmund Gwenn ), as well as the last person born in the 19th century to win an acting Oscar. This was the only year in Academy history that all Best Supporting Actress nominees were born outside
1260-616: The Academy Award – 1963 | Cartoon Research" . cartoonresearch.com . ^ "Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1965 | Cartoon Research" . cartoonresearch.com . External links [ edit ] [REDACTED] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Modern Madcaps . Modern Madcaps at the Big Cartoon Database v t e Paramount Pictures Cartoon Studios Theatrical short film series Popeye
1323-1006: The Bat November 17, 1958 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Frank Endres Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Little Fit to be Toyed February 16, 1959 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Wm.B.Pattengill Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen La Petite Parade March 16, 1959 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Nick Tafuri Irving Spector Robert Little Renoir Spooking of Ghosts June 1, 1959 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Nick Tafuri Sam Dann Irving Spector Robert Owen Talking Horse Sense September 14, 1959 Seymour Kneitel Frank Endres Wm.B.Pattengill Sam Dann Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Oscar Gullible T.V. Fuddlehead October 26, 1959 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson William Henning Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Submitted and screened at
SECTION 20
#17330848746671386-910: The Cat (1958–1962) Matty's Funday Funnies (1959–1962 season) Popeye the Sailor (1960–1963) The New Casper Cartoon Show (1963–1964) The Mighty Thor (1966) Bray Productions Fleischer Studios Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Madcaps&oldid=1253529812 " Categories : Film series introduced in 1958 Famous Studios series and characters American animation anthology series Anthology film series Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Pages using infobox film with nonstandard dates Commons category link from Wikidata Paramount Cartoon Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956)
1449-600: The Dike (both 1965). However, Post left the studio due to internal conflicts with the Paramount staff. His replacement was Shamus Culhane , a veteran of the Fleischer Studios . Culhane completed a few films that Post started and then ignored the rule book and made films that were very different from the previous regime. In 1966, the studio subcontracted The Mighty Thor cartoons from Grantray-Lawrence Animation , producers of
1512-555: The Family December 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras Wm.B.Pattengill Larry Silverman Burton Goodman Jack Mercer Robert Little The Ringading Kid January 1, 1963 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden George Germanetti Larry Silverman Irving Spector Robert Owen Submitted and screened at the 36th Academy Awards for an Oscar consideration, but wasn't nominated. Drum Up
1575-454: The Fleischer brothers to submit signed letters of resignation, to be used at Paramount's discretion. Following the unsuccessful release of Mr. Bug in December 1941, Max Fleischer sent Paramount a telegram expressing his inability to cooperate with Dave. Paramount responded by producing the letters of resignation, severing the Fleischer brothers from control of their studio. Paramount renamed
1638-465: The Fleischer period included Popeye the Sailor and Superman , both licensed from popular comics characters. The expensive Superman cartoons, having lost their novelty value with exhibitors, ended production in 1943, a year after Famous' inception. They were replaced by a series starring the Saturday Evening Post comic-strip character Little Lulu . Also in 1943, Famous began producing
1701-512: The Friendly Ghost , Honey Halfwitch , Herman and Katnip , Baby Huey , and the Noveltoons and Modern Madcaps series. The Famous name was previously used by Famous Players Film Company , one of several companies which in 1912 became Famous Players–Lasky Corporation , the company which founded Paramount Pictures. Paramount's music publishing branch, which held the rights to all of
1764-433: The Friendly Ghost . Casper was created by writer Seymour Reit and Famous animator Joe Oriolo in the late 1930s as a children's-book manuscript, and was sold to Famous during World War II . It became the studio's most successful wholly owned property. In 1947, Paramount decided to stop paying Little Lulu creator Marge Buell licensing royalties, and created another "mischievous girl" character, Little Audrey , as
1827-1534: The Gremlin Final cartoon released in Seymour Kneitel 's lifetime. Robot Rival September 1, 1964 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Jack Mendelsohn Anton Loeb Zippy Zephyr And So Tibet October 1, 1964 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras Jack Mendelsohn Robert Little Reading, Writhing, and Rithmetic November 1, 1964 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Jack Mendelsohn Robert Little Buck and Wingy Near Sighted and Far Out November 1, 1964 Seymour Kneitel I. Klein Joe Cal Cagno Robert Little Squeegee Final cartoon directed by Seymour Kneitel due to his death in this year. Cagey Business February 1, 1965 Howard Post I. Klein I. Klein Robert Owen Poor Little Witch Girl April 1, 1965 Howard Post Al Eugster Howard Post David Ubinas Honey Halfwitch The Itch May 1, 1965 Howard Post Martin Taras Tony Peters Robert Little Submitted and screened at
1890-516: The Limit September 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Morey Reden Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Little Galaxia October 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector Wm.B.Pattengil Morey Reden Irving Dressler Robert Owen Bouncing Benny November 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Graham Place Otto Feuer Robert Little Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Instead of painting
1953-1934: The Nicotine June 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector Sam Stimson Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Charlie Butts The Inquisit Visit July 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector Gerry Dvorak Irving Spector Robert Little The Plot Sickens December 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector John Gentiella Larry Silverman Irving Spector Robert Owen Crumley Cogwheel January 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Irving Spector Jack Ehret Larry Silverman Irving Spector Robert Little Popcorn and Politics February 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras John Gentiella Larry Silverman Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Little Specs Giddy Gadgets March 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Nick Tafuri Jack Ehret Larry Silverman Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Little Professor Schmaltz Hi-Fi Jinx March 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Martin Taras Jack Ehret Wm.B.Pattengil Burton Goodman Jack Mercer Robert Owen Ralph and Percy Funderful Suburbia March 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Nick Tafuri Wm.B.Pattengill Larry Silverman Burton Goodman Jack Mercer Anton Loeb Penny Pals October 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Jim Logan Sam Stimson Eddie Lawrence Robert Owen Ralph and Percy The Robot Ringer November 1, 1962 Seymour Kneitel Morey Reden Wm.B.Pattengill Larry Silverman Irving Spector Anton Loeb One of
Modern Madcaps - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-545: The Paramount-owned Famous Studios library. Many of the cartoons are in the public domain and widely available (albeit usually in poor quality) in several low-budget DVDs and Blu-Rays sold in supermarkets and department stores. In 2012, Thunderbean Animation restored and released a collection of public-domain Noveltoons on DVD entitled Noveltoons Original Classics . In 2008, Warner Home Video released Popeye
2079-441: The Sailor (1942–1957, list of shorts ) Superman (1942–1943) Noveltoons (1943–1967) Little Lulu (1943–1948) Screen Songs (1947–1951) Little Audrey (1948–1958) Baby Huey (1950–1959) Casper the Friendly Ghost (1950–1959) Buzzy and Katnip (1950–1954) Kartunes (1951–1953) Herman and Katnip (1950–1959) Modern Madcaps (1958–1967) TV series Felix
2142-568: The Sailor . The studio moved its operations from New York City to Miami , Florida in 1938, following union problems and the start of production on its first feature film, Gulliver's Travels (1939). While Gulliver was a success, the expense of the move and increased overhead costs created financial problems for the Fleischer Studios. The studio depended upon advances and loans from its distributor, Paramount Pictures , in order to continue production on its short subjects and to begin work on
2205-530: The Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3 , the third volume of a series of Popeye DVDs. It contained all the black & white Famous Studios Popeye cartoons alongside the last of the Fleischer shorts. In 2018, Warner Archive released Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 1 which continued where the previous set left off and contained the first 14 Technicolor Famous Studio cartoons from 1943 to 1945. Warner Archive continued
2268-603: The United States. Sidney Poitier became the first African American actor to win Best Actor , and was practically the only winner in an acting category present at the ceremony, as all the other winners were abroad. Upon receiving the wrong envelope, Sammy Davis Jr. remarked, "wait until the NAACP hears about this!" An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was the first Oscar-winning film to have aired on network television prior to
2331-451: The animated television series The Marvel Super Heroes . In 1967, Culhane directed another short based on children's art, My Daddy, the Astronaut , which became Paramount's first film to be shown at an animation festival . However, when Paramount's board of directors rejected a proposal to produce episodes for a second Grantray-Lawrence series, Spider-Man , Culhane quit the studio, and
2394-511: The animation studio, a task completed in December. The last cartoon from Paramount Cartoon Studios, Mouse Trek , the finale of the Fractured Fables series, premiered on December 31, 1967. Despite the reputation of the studio in recent years, the Famous shorts have since gained a cult following on both public-domain home media and in animation circles. The 1961 short Abner the Baseball
2457-429: The cartoons and thus also controls the original camera negatives. However, the contract also stipulates that Harvey (and by extension, DreamWorks and NBCUniversal) are allowed to access the original film elements from Paramount whenever they feel the need to update their prints. Paramount continues to own the rights to the cartoons made from March 1962 to December 1967. As of 2021, there has been no official release of
2520-432: The case of King Features' Popeye and King Features Trilogy TV cartoons, Paramount was one of several animation studios, among them Jack Kinney Productions and Rembrandt Films , to which King Features subcontracted production. The first of only two all-new Little Lulu cartoons after the character's 13-year hiatus off-screen, Alvin's Solo Flight , was released as part of the Noveltoons series in 1961, while twelve of
2583-511: The ceremony. Nominations announced on February 24, 1964. Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface . These films had multiple nominations: The following films received multiple awards. Sidney Poitier's Best Actor win for Lilies of the Field marked the first time a Black man won a competitive Oscar. This came five years after his first nomination for Best Actor in 1958's The Defiant Ones . Poitier had been aware of
Modern Madcaps - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-531: The collection with Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2 and Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 3 officially collecting all the Popeye cartoons from the 1940s. The remaining Famous Studios Popeye cartoons from the 1950s have yet to be released. During the 1990s, Harvey Entertainment produced The Harveytoons Show , which collected most of the Harvey-owned Famous cartoons, first aired in syndication with
2709-904: The film on cels, animators Place and Feuer created paper cutouts of the characters to create shadow effects. Terry the Terror December 1, 1960 Seymour Kneitel Tom Johnson Tom Golden Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Owen Professor Schmaltz The Phantom Moustacher January 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Myron Waldman I. Klein Robert Little Sir Percival Prunepit The Kid from Mars February 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Nick Tafuri William Henning Carl Meyer Jack Mercer Robert Little Kosmo The Mighty Termite April 1, 1961 Seymour Kneitel Nick Tafuri Dante Barbetta Irving Dressler Robert Owen Professor Schmaltz In
2772-594: The formerly black-and-white Popeye cartoons in Technicolor , and began a new series of one-shot cartoons under the umbrella title Noveltoons (similar in respects to the Color Classics series from Fleischer Studios, and also the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series from Warner Bros. ). The Noveltoons series introduced several popular characters such as Herman and Katnip , Baby Huey , and Casper
2835-453: The move to New York. Although the Fleischers left the studio at the end of 1941, Famous Studios was not officially incorporated until May 25, 1942, after Paramount's contract with Fleischer Studios had formally run its course. The first Famous Studios cartoon was the Popeye short You're a Sap, Mr. Jap , released on August 7, 1942. Shortly after the takeover, Paramount began plans to move
2898-545: The original music in the Fleischer/Famous cartoons, was named Famous Music , and a movie theater chain in Canada owned by Paramount was called Famous Players. The library of Famous Studios cartoons is currently divided between three separate film studios (via various subsidiaries): Fleischer Studios was a successful animation studio responsible for producing cartoon shorts starring characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye
2961-414: The original negatives) are distributed by Warner Bros., which has owned DC since 1969. In July 1958, Paramount sold off the Famous Studios cartoons made between November 1950 and December 1959, as well as the rights to all original characters created by Famous Studios (Casper, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, etc.) to Harvey Comics for $ 1.7 million, who in turn created Harvey Films to handle
3024-456: The rights and rebranded the cartoons as Harveytoons . The deal also gave ABC television distribution rights to the cartoons for the next 30 years (the rights reverted back to Harvey in 1989) while Paramount retained theatrical rights. In 1963, Paramount sold its cartoons made between January 1960 and February 1962, again to Harvey Comics, for $ 1. In 2001, Harvey Comics was purchased by the holding company Classic Media . In 2012, Classic Media
3087-428: The rights to the theatrical Popeye cartoons via Turner Entertainment Co. As per their original contract, the rights to the Superman cartoons reverted to National Comics after Paramount's deal expired in 1947. While the cartoons themselves are now in the public domain after their original copyrights were not renewed, the ancillary rights are still owned by DC Comics , and the cartoons (in authorized editions from
3150-497: The series being consulted by animation historian Jerry Beck . In 2006, Classic Media released 52 of the show's 78 episodes on a four-disc DVD set titled Harvey Toons – The Complete Collection . In 2011, Vivendi Entertainment and Classic Media released all Herman and Katnip cartoons on a single-disc DVD set titled Herman and Katnip: The Complete Collection . Also in 2011, Shout! Factory under license from Classic Media released 61 of 78 Casper cartoons from The Harveytoons Show , on
3213-462: The significance of Hattie McDaniel having won an Oscar in the 1940 ceremony at the time that he accepted his Best Actor Oscar, and he was the only winner present at the ceremony. It would take almost forty years for another African-American male to win Best Actor, when Denzel Washington won in 2001 for Training Day . Sammy Davis Jr. was accidentally given the wrong winner's envelope when he
SECTION 50
#17330848746673276-588: The studio Famous Studios . Paramount owned the company but Famous remained a separate entity. Three top Fleischer employees were promoted to run the animation studio: business manager Sam Buchwald, storyboard artist Isadore Sparber , and Max Fleischer's son-in-law, head animator Seymour Kneitel . Buchwald assumed Max Fleischer's place as executive producer , while Sparber and Kneitel shared Dave Fleischer's former responsibilities as supervising producers and credited directors. A third animation director, Dan Gordon , remained only briefly before being fired shortly after
3339-450: The studio still carried much of the staff from the Fleischer regime, animation fans and historians note that its films soon diverged from the Fleischer style. Many historians, including Leonard Maltin , derided the company style for being highly formulaic and largely oriented toward a children's audience, with none of the artistic ambition or sophistication that the management under the Fleischer brothers strove for. Sam Buchwald died of
3402-502: The studio's existence. As at Fleischer, the head animators carried out the tasks that were assigned to animation directors at other studios, while the credited directors—Kneitel, Sparber, Gordon, and Disney/Terrytoons veteran Bill Tytla —acted more as supervisors. Sammy Timberg served as musical director until he was succeeded in 1944 by Winston Sharples , who formerly worked with the Van Beuren Studios . Continuing series from
3465-409: The studio. In addition, because of studio budget cuts, the animation quality of the shorts began to drop sharply; by 1959 everything that the studio was turning out began to look noticeably cheap, with limited animation . Paramount also ceased using Technicolor by this time in favor of less expensive color processes. The last Famous Studios short to use Technicolor was Katnip's Big Day , the finale of
3528-586: Was Turtle Scoop featuring Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare (both uncredited and redrawn) in 1961. Paramount's attempts at creating replacement characters, among them Jeepers and Creepers and The Cat , proved unsuccessful. Nonetheless, television animation production outsourced from King Features and Harvey Films brought the company additional income. Ironically, these arrangements had Paramount working on new television cartoons starring Casper, whom they had originally created, and Popeye and Little Lulu, characters they had previously licensed for theatrical cartoons. In
3591-407: Was bought out by National Telefilm Associates (NTA). In the 1980s, NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures after the original studio of that name, whose library NTA had also acquired. After a brief period of ownership by Spelling Entertainment in 1994, Republic Pictures was purchased by Paramount's parent company Viacom in 1996, placing the shorts back in Paramount's control (Republic Pictures
3654-491: Was forced to sell the company back to its previous owner Kirk Kerkorian . However, Turner kept most of the pre-May 1986 MGM library as well as a few portions of the United Artists library, including the former A.A.P. library, and formed his own holding company Turner Entertainment Co. to manage the rights. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery ). Since then, Warner Bros. controls
3717-496: Was purchased by DreamWorks Animation , which retains ownership of the cartoons. In 2016, DreamWorks Animation was purchased by Comcast 's NBCUniversal , with Universal Pictures assuming the distribution of the cartoons on behalf of DreamWorks. However, while NBCUniversal and DreamWorks Animation own the bulk of the rights to the Harveytoons catalog, as per their original 1958 contract, Paramount still retains theatrical rights to
3780-810: Was renamed Melange Pictures LLC. in 2006). Due to poor attention to then-required copyright renewals over the decades, many of these cartoons are now in the public domain . In June 1956, Paramount sold the entirety of the Fleischer/Famous Studios Popeye cartoons from 1933 to 1957 to Associated Artists Productions (which had also recently purchased much of the Warner Bros. back catalog) for $ 1.25 million. The assets of A.A.P. were in turn purchased by United Artists in 1958. In 1981, United Artists merged with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to form MGM/UA. In 1986, Ted Turner 's Turner Broadcasting System attempted to acquire MGM/UA, but due to debt concerns, Turner
3843-613: Was succeeded by former Terrytoons animator Ralph Bakshi in mid-1967. In 1967 Paramount radically revamped its short-subject release schedule to reflect all-new attractions. Black-and-white subjects were discontinued, as were all cartoon reissues (such as the "Popeye Champions"). The studio retired the Noveltoons and Modern Madcaps series, replacing them with Go Go Toons , Merry Makers , and Fractured Fables . Ralph Bakshi quickly put several shorts into production, experimenting with new characters and ideas, but by late 1968 Paramount's new owners, Gulf+Western , had decided to shut down
SECTION 60
#17330848746673906-538: Was supposed to announce the award for Best Music Score for an Adaptation or Treatment, instead announcing the winner for Best Music Score - Substantially Original: John Addison for Tom Jones . After a confused round of applause followed by silence, Davis acknowledged his mistake (joking, "Wait 'til the NAACP hears about this!"), and, having been given the right envelope, read the actual winner: Andre Previn for Irma la Douce . Davis Jr. then presented Best Music Score - Substantially Original, sarcastically asking "Guess who
3969-545: Was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios , after Paramount seized control of the aforementioned studio amid the departure of its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer , in 1942. The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers— Popeye the Sailor , Superman , and Screen Songs —as well as Little Audrey , Little Lulu , Casper
#666333