Capsules

While conducting research for Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age, I gathered far more material about individual films than I could possibly include in the book. This section of my Web site, Capsules, is how I've decided to put that information to good use. It will consist of short essays on animated films of many kinds. Sometimes I'll write about their production histories, sometimes I'll offer critical appreciations of neglected films, and sometimes I'll write about one overlooked aspect of a film that has gotten a lot of attention otherwise.

My inaugural offerings are pieces on two very different films: Who Killed Cock Robin?, one of Walt Disney's most enjoyable Silly Symphonies from the mid-thirties, and Motion Painting No. 1, the greatest of the abstract animated films made by Oskar Fischinger.

Among the cartoons I hope to encapsulate soon are Bob Clampett's Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Chuck Jones's Fast and Furry-ous, Walt Disney's Music Land, Robert Cannon's Gerald McBoing Boing, and Milt Gross' Jitterbug Follies. Are there short cartoons that you'd like to see written about in this section? Let me know.