Golden age of American animation
The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television.[1] Animated media from after the golden age, especially on television, were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited techniques between the 1960s and 1980s.[2]
The golden age's theatrical run peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, while the period is often divided into an era known as the silver age for the remaining work produced in the 1950s and 1960s. These works include the later theatrical animations produced by Walt Disney and Walter Lantz, the later theatrical cartoons of established studios Warner Bros. Cartoons and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hanna-Barbera's earliest animated television series, and DePatie–Freleng's earliest theatrical work.[3][4] Furthermore, the history of animation became very important as an artistic industry in the United States.[1][5]
Many popular and famous animated cartoon characters emerged from this period, including Disney's Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto; Fleischer Studios' Popeye, Koko, Bimbo, Betty Boop and Superman; Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Yosemite Sam, Tweety and Sylvester; MGM's Tom and Jerry and Droopy; Van Beuren Studios' Felix the Cat; Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker; Terrytoons' Mighty Mouse; UPA's Mr. Magoo; Screen Gems' the Fox and the Crow; and DePatie-Freleng's Pink Panther, among others.
Feature-length animation began during this period, most notably with Disney's "Walt-era" films,[6][7] spanning from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and 1940's Pinocchio to 1967's The Jungle Book and 1970's The Aristocats (last animated films produced before his death in 1966).[8][3] During this period, several live-action films that included animation were made, such as Saludos Amigos (1942), Anchors Aweigh (1945), Song of the South (1946), Dangerous When Wet (1953), Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). These last two being the last theatrical films to receive Academy Awards for their animated special effects.[9][10] In addition, stop motion animation and special effects were also developed, with films such as King Kong (1933), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy (1954), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963).[11]
Animation also began on television during this period with Crusader Rabbit, the first animated series broadcast in 1948.[12] The rise of television animation is often considered to be a factor that hastened the golden age's end.[2] However, various authors include Hanna-Barbera's earliest animated series through 1962 as part of the golden age, with shows like Ruff and Reddy (1957), Huckleberry Hound (1958), Quick Draw McGraw (1959), The Flintstones (1960), Yogi Bear (1961), Top Cat (1961), Wally Gator (1962) and The Jetsons (1962).[13][14][15] Several of these animated series were the first to win Emmy Awards for their contribution to American television.[16] Other Hanna-Barbera productions related to the golden age were the theatrical animations with Columbia Pictures, such as Loopy De Loop (1959) and the feature films released between 1964 and 1966.[17]
Golden Age of Disney
Film era
1937–1942
1943–1949
1950–1970
Trends[edit]
Sound in animation[edit]
While much of the focus in an animated cartoon is on the visuals, the vocal talents and symphonic scores that accompanied the images were also very important to the animated cartoons' success. As motion pictures drew audiences away from their radio sets, it also drew talented actors and vocal impressionists into film and animation. Mel Blanc gave voice to most of Warner Bros. more popular characters, including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig (starting in 1937), and Daffy Duck. Other voices and personalities from vaudeville and radio contributed to the popularity of animated films in the Golden Era. Some of these (generally uncredited) actors included Cliff Edwards (also known as Ukulele Ike), Arthur Q. Bryan, Stan Freberg, Bea Benaderet, Bill Thompson, Grace Stafford, Jim Backus, June Foray, and Daws Butler.
Cartoons of this era also included scores played by studio orchestras. Carl Stalling at Schlesinger/Warner Bros., Scott Bradley at MGM and Sammy Timberg/Winston Sharples at Paramount composed numerous cartoon soundtracks, creating original material as well as incorporating familiar classical and popular melodies. Many of the early cartoons, particularly those of Disney's Silly Symphonies series, were built around classical pieces. These cartoons sometimes featured star characters, but many had simple nature themes.
Stop motion and special effects[edit]
For a great part of the history of Hollywood animation, the production of animated films was an exclusive industry that did not branch off very often into other areas. The various animation studios worked almost exclusively on producing animated cartoons and animated titles for movies. Only occasionally was animation used for other aspects of the movie industry. The low-budget Superman serials of the 1940s used animated sequences of Superman flying and performing super-powered feats which were used in the place of live-action special effects, but this was not a common practice.
The exclusivity of animation also resulted in the birth of a sister industry that was used almost exclusively for motion picture special effects: stop motion animation. In spite of their similarities, the two genres of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation rarely came together during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Stop-motion animation made a name for itself with the 1933 box-office hit King Kong, where animator Willis O'Brien defined many of the major stop motion techniques used for the next 50 years. The success of King Kong led to a number of other early special effects films, including Mighty Joe Young, which was also animated by O'Brien and helped to start the careers of several animators, including Ray Harryhausen, who came into his own in the 1950s. George Pal was the only stop-motion animator to produce a series of stop-motion animated cartoons for theatrical release, the Puppetoon series for Paramount, some of which were animated by Ray Harryhausen. Pal went on to produce several live-action special effects-laden feature films.
Stop motion animation reached the height of its popularity during the 1950s. The exploding popularity of science fiction films led to an exponential development in the field of special effects, and George Pal became the producer of several popular special effects-laden films. Meanwhile, Ray Harryhausen's work on such films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad drew in large crowds and encouraged the development of "realistic" special effects in films. These effects used many of the same techniques as cel animation, but still the two media did not often come together. Stop motion developed to the point where Douglas Trumbull's effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey seemed lifelike to an unearthly degree.
Hollywood special effects continued to develop in a manner that largely avoided cel animation, though several memorable animated sequences were included in live-action feature films of the era. The most famous of these was a scene during the movie Anchors Aweigh, in which actor Gene Kelly danced with an animated Jerry Mouse (of Tom and Jerry fame). But except for occasional sequences of this sort, the only real integration of cel animation into live-action films came in the development of animated credit and title sequences. Saul Bass' opening sequences for Alfred Hitchcock's films (including Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho) are highly praised, and inspired several imitators.