I'm occupied with work this afternoon, believe it or not, but I have no interest in the Super Bowl except that it means that pitchers and catchers report in the next week, so we can get down to business with an actual sport.
So I quote this statement to my classes: "Sometimes you make progress in the wrong direction." Huh? I point out tha…
I'm occupied with work this afternoon, believe it or not, but I have no interest in the Super Bowl except that it means that pitchers and catchers report in the next week, so we can get down to business with an actual sport.
So I quote this statement to my classes: "Sometimes you make progress in the wrong direction." Huh? I point out that it is now possible to telephone people from airplanes. That's a technological advance, but is it really progress?
I also tell them the quote comes from a great philosopher named Robert McKimson, and they look even more puzzled. Then I explain that he was a legendary Warner Bros. animator who, as a director, created the Tasmanian Devil as well as the kangaroo, and a very loud chicken named Foghorn Leghorn. Interestingly, what he referred to when he made that statement was how he loved the kind of animation with big sweeping gestures and action at a time that his colleague Chuck Jones's approach became more dominant--Bugs getting a laugh by just raising an eyebrow.
Both those guys were good. A good friend of mine was once directing an episode of "Home Improvement" over at Mauschwitz, and he and his 1st AD spent one lunch hour in the studio cafeteria arguing over whether Bugs Bunny was better than Mickey Mouse (he took Bugs). By the time he finished lunch and went back to his office, there was a personally signed memo from Michael Eisner, telling him how much they liked working with him and looked forward to doing so in the future, but he should keep his "non-work-related" artistic opinions to himself. (And now you know why we called it "Mauschwitz") After that, he brought lunch from home and ate in his office. No need to tempt the Staatspolizei.
no contest. there was NEVER a contest. Mickey is a shill and always was (although I always thought he looked a little like Tyrone Power). bland, bland, bland. Bugs is the coolest guy in the room, whatever the room happens to be. and, of course, Bugs is Jewish. I maintain that ALL characters voiced by Mel Blanc are Jewish BY INTENTION.
Tom, you've told that story before, and I thought it was outrageous. I was so unnerved by it that I told two of my showbiz friends (one of them being a longtime Disney orchestrator who HATES everything about Disney). what amazed me is that they had absolutely no problem getting that the Disney people were pissed off, although neither one of them attempted to deny that Bugs is WAY better.
of course, they're both also Jewish. and Warner Bros. was a VERY Jewish studio. for these purposes, I am capitalizing "Jewish," which I pointedly never do.
The story is that the producer at Warner Bros. cartoons wangled a lunch invitation with the Warners for McKimson, Friz Freleng, and Chuck Jones. When they sat down, Harry Warner said, "All I know about cartoons is that we have Mickey Mouse." The three thought it might be a joke and finally Friz said, "We'll do our best to make sure he remains the most popular animated character." Jack Warner pointed at them and said, "If you want to keep your jobs, you will." Several years later, Jack closed down the unit and Friz supposedly said to Chuck, "They found out!"
I never cared all that much for Disney’s cartoons. The quality of the animation was first-rate but the humor didn’t get to me except for Jack Kinney’s Goofy cartoons. Bugs Bunny was much funnier and Warner Brothers cartoons were much more appealing to adult tastes, I think. The best cartoon directors were Tex Avery and Bob Clampett…lots of action, gags, so much life compared to the animated garbage that passes for cartoons today.
the ONLY selling point in Disney cartoons is the animation. that's it. I tend to think Walk wanted it that way. minimize controversy.
and the older Disney features had some fabulous songs. what's a better song than "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (yeah, I know, the movie sucks, but the tune is great). and what movie has a stronger opening than 'When You Wish Upon a Star?"
okay, maybe "The Wild Bunch" with those freeze-framed Kodaliths (I THINK that's the correct term) as the guys ride into town, obviously up to no good, intercut with the kids watching the red ants devour the scorpion (foreshadowing the famous ending, perhaps?)
I'm occupied with work this afternoon, believe it or not, but I have no interest in the Super Bowl except that it means that pitchers and catchers report in the next week, so we can get down to business with an actual sport.
So I quote this statement to my classes: "Sometimes you make progress in the wrong direction." Huh? I point out that it is now possible to telephone people from airplanes. That's a technological advance, but is it really progress?
I also tell them the quote comes from a great philosopher named Robert McKimson, and they look even more puzzled. Then I explain that he was a legendary Warner Bros. animator who, as a director, created the Tasmanian Devil as well as the kangaroo, and a very loud chicken named Foghorn Leghorn. Interestingly, what he referred to when he made that statement was how he loved the kind of animation with big sweeping gestures and action at a time that his colleague Chuck Jones's approach became more dominant--Bugs getting a laugh by just raising an eyebrow.
Both those guys were good. A good friend of mine was once directing an episode of "Home Improvement" over at Mauschwitz, and he and his 1st AD spent one lunch hour in the studio cafeteria arguing over whether Bugs Bunny was better than Mickey Mouse (he took Bugs). By the time he finished lunch and went back to his office, there was a personally signed memo from Michael Eisner, telling him how much they liked working with him and looked forward to doing so in the future, but he should keep his "non-work-related" artistic opinions to himself. (And now you know why we called it "Mauschwitz") After that, he brought lunch from home and ate in his office. No need to tempt the Staatspolizei.
Bugs was MUCH better......:-)
no contest. there was NEVER a contest. Mickey is a shill and always was (although I always thought he looked a little like Tyrone Power). bland, bland, bland. Bugs is the coolest guy in the room, whatever the room happens to be. and, of course, Bugs is Jewish. I maintain that ALL characters voiced by Mel Blanc are Jewish BY INTENTION.
Tom, you've told that story before, and I thought it was outrageous. I was so unnerved by it that I told two of my showbiz friends (one of them being a longtime Disney orchestrator who HATES everything about Disney). what amazed me is that they had absolutely no problem getting that the Disney people were pissed off, although neither one of them attempted to deny that Bugs is WAY better.
of course, they're both also Jewish. and Warner Bros. was a VERY Jewish studio. for these purposes, I am capitalizing "Jewish," which I pointedly never do.
The story is that the producer at Warner Bros. cartoons wangled a lunch invitation with the Warners for McKimson, Friz Freleng, and Chuck Jones. When they sat down, Harry Warner said, "All I know about cartoons is that we have Mickey Mouse." The three thought it might be a joke and finally Friz said, "We'll do our best to make sure he remains the most popular animated character." Jack Warner pointed at them and said, "If you want to keep your jobs, you will." Several years later, Jack closed down the unit and Friz supposedly said to Chuck, "They found out!"
I'm confused...was it Jack or Harry?
when I want to amuse myself, I think about all these sedentary jewish guys actually trying to play Polo. the dumbest fucking thing that ever happened.
One of the things I liked about Chas Bukowski is that he hated Mickey Mouse. That’s explained by his wife Linda in the doc “Born Into This”
I never cared all that much for Disney’s cartoons. The quality of the animation was first-rate but the humor didn’t get to me except for Jack Kinney’s Goofy cartoons. Bugs Bunny was much funnier and Warner Brothers cartoons were much more appealing to adult tastes, I think. The best cartoon directors were Tex Avery and Bob Clampett…lots of action, gags, so much life compared to the animated garbage that passes for cartoons today.
the ONLY selling point in Disney cartoons is the animation. that's it. I tend to think Walk wanted it that way. minimize controversy.
and the older Disney features had some fabulous songs. what's a better song than "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (yeah, I know, the movie sucks, but the tune is great). and what movie has a stronger opening than 'When You Wish Upon a Star?"
okay, maybe "The Wild Bunch" with those freeze-framed Kodaliths (I THINK that's the correct term) as the guys ride into town, obviously up to no good, intercut with the kids watching the red ants devour the scorpion (foreshadowing the famous ending, perhaps?)
Play Ball!