Dover Publications has kept Frank Tashlin’s THE BEAR THAT WASN’T in print for many years, which is yet another reason to love this wonderful publishing company. Its current edition lists for $2–one the all-time great bargains in the history of great bargains. If you haven’t read the book, you have no excuse for not owning your own copy.

But as far as I know, Dover’s editions have never used Tashlin’s original cover from back in 1946. And that’s a shame. So here it is. Happy new year!

An Iranian archeologist may have unearthed the first man made example of animation. The animation was found on a 5000 year old goblet discovered in an archeological dig in Burnt City, in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of southeastern Iran. Read the story here and download the 20 second “film” made from the object.

Back on October 7th I wrote about the new book DAWS BUTLER: CHARACTERS ACTOR, the official biography of the voice of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound, by Joe Bevilacqua and Ben Ohmart coming from Bear Mountain Media.The book is now out and in my hands, and I want to recommend it to all. It’s truly the complete story of Daws Bulter, from his childhood, nightclub acts, radio and entry into cartoons - to his work with Bob Clampett (Beany & Cecil), Stan Freberg, Tex Avery, Jay Ward and of course Hanna & Barbera. The book is loaded with choice photos from Butler’s incredible career - including many jaw dropping pictures, like the one above of Daws with Freberg, Clampett, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis! Heck, the book is worth it just for the pictures! It’s an incredibly enjoyable read, about an incredibly enormous - and beloved - talent. I never had the opportunity to meet Daws Butler, but was always in awe of his range and his acting abilities. Ohmart and Bevilacqua have now written a book which allows us to learn about the full scope of his amazing career, and what a great guy he really was off mike.Order it directly from BearManor Media

Back on Aug. 7th I raved about a new “anime” film from Korea, SKY BLUE. The visuals are incredible and the story, though familiar, is very well directed and animated. I recommended seeing it in a theatre, and here in L.A. the film opens this Friday (December 31st) at the Nuart Theatre.You can preview the first 8 minutes exclusively on iFilm.com. Earlier today, the fine folks at Landmark Theatres and Maxmedia offered our readers free tickets. Ron Amorim, Brad Bradbury, Ken Gadoua, Mark Maxey and David Vallone won our little contest. SKY BLUE is a spectacular film and I really recommend it you check it out.Nuart Theater
11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of the 405 Freeway
West Los Angeles, CA
(310) 281-8223

Ken Sitz, Creative Director of CONELRAD.com (All Things Atomic) informs us of the completion of his latest project:

Just wanted to let you know we’ve just published the first production history of DUCK AND COVER to coincide with the Library of Congress National Film Registry’s announcement of the 2004 list of inductees. With both Bert and Popeye inducted - it’s been a decent year!

Ken’s group lobbied for Duck and Cover’s in-duck-tion into the Film Registry. Check out Ken’s incredibly informative website today!

The Library of Congress has announced its 2004 additions to the National Film Registry, and there are two cartoons on it: Fleischer’s 1936 POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR and the 1951 instructional film DUCK AND COVER, in which an animated turtle advised kids on what to do in case of nuclear holocaust. (The press release has Popeye meeting “Sinbad,” but I’m reasonably sure that the correct spelling is Sindbad, as shown on the poster to the left.)

These cartoons join a respectable list of other animated works already in the registry, including PINOCCHIO, GERALD MCBOING BOING, ONE FROGGY EVENING, WHAT’S OPERA DOC?, PORKY IN WACKYLAND, GERTIE THE DINOSAUR, FANTASIA, and both the Disney and Fleischer versions of SNOW WHITE.

If I were choosing films for the registry all by myself, there are a number (and not a small one) of other cartoons I’d honor. And although the idea behind the registry is to preserve important films, most of the those cartoons are still viable commercial products, and therefore not at risk. (Maybe there should be a National Animation Registry, run by savvy cartoon scholars and fans–I’m more worried about obscure stuff like Ted Eshbaugh films crumbling away and disappearing forever.) Still, it’s nice to see the Library of Congress paying attention to animation, and I’m particularly glad to see a Fleischer Popeye film join the list.

Fun side note: You can download DUCK AND COVER in a variety of formats at the Internet Archive. Whether you’ll want to preserve it, I can’t say–but it’s certainly worth watching once.

Serious side note: ASIFA-Hollywood and UCLA have an animation preservation project that is devoted to saving cartoons that actually are in danger. It’s a very worthy venture–in fact, I think I’ll send them a few bucks before the end of 2004.

Former Guest-Brewer Mark Mayerson sent in large scans of his 45rpm copy of the same A.A.P. Popeye record discussed below. He’s had his copy since the late 50s! Check out his sleeve and label here.