I had a delightful time at Walt’s Barn on Sunday. It’s in Griffith Park, open one Sunday (the third Sunday) of each month - and I recommend you visit this piece of authentic Disney history. It gave me some new insight into Walt’s railroading addiction.
Meanwhile, if you are wondering what has happened to Ward’s personal train collection, here’s the scoop:
Noel Barrett Antiques and Auctions Ltd. has been awarded the contract to sell the collection of toys, trains and accessories from the estate of Ward Kimball, who died July 8, 2002 at age 88.
Kimball spent four decades amassing a premier collection of European and American trains and toys.

Two or three auctions will be held to disperse the collection estimated to bring more than $4 million. The approximately 2000 piece collection whose contents and quality are widely known could bring intense competition from bidders all over the world via the internet and drive prices even higher.

The first auction is slated for the weekend of Nov. 21, 2004 at the
Philadelphia Airport Ramada Inn. The second sale is scheduled for the
weekend of May 28, 2005.

Thanks to Steve Waller for locating these links

I love the music in Fleischer cartoons. From Betty Boop, through the Color Classics, the Popeye cartoons and the original theme for Superman - It’s all great stuff. Lou Fleischer and his assistants Llyod Von Heyden, Arthur Turkisher, and Winston Sharples set the tempo. Composer/song writer Sammy Timberg also wrote numerous melodies found in the Fleischer cartoons and was one of the few to recieve screen credit. While Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, even Philip Scheib, have gotten kudos for the animation they scored, Timberg & crew have yet to be properly recognized.

Timberg’s daughter Pat has been doing her part for the past decade. She’s staged concerts of Sammy Timberg music and started a website, Timberg Alley. Now Pat has produced a CD of new recordings of classic Sammy Timberg cartoon music: Boop-Oop-A-Dooin’ - The Songs of Sammy Timberg from Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman and Other Musical Classics. I’ve got it, and it’s wonderful!

Here are the details from the liner notes: After 14 years in vaudeville and composing for Broadway musicals in the late 20’s, Sammy produced a steady supply of spirited songs written for the classic Fleischer cartoons of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Although Sammy conducted a live, swinging band to accompany these timeless cartoons, much of the jazzy scores were lost behind the screen action, dialogue and sound effects. Boop-Oop-A-Doop compiles and recreates that music, with the help of some of today’s most talented musicians and singers, so it can be heard on its own, for the first time and for its own sake!

Songs performed by Shannon Cullem (the great-grand-daughter of Sammy
Timberg), Richard Halpern and Mora’s Modern Rhythmists.

Featuring 2 archival recordings, one of which has Sammy Timberg
singing and playing piano!

18 Tracks total:
1. Don’t Take My Boop-Oop-A-Doop Away
2. It’s A Hap-Hap-Happy Day
3. Got A Language Of My Own
4. Sweet Betty
5. I Wanna Be A Life Guard
6. Be Human
7. Brotherly Love
8. Keep A Little Song Handy
9. Hamburger Mine
10. I Want A Clean Shaven Man
11. Anytime At All
12. You Gotta Have Pep
13. Dizzy Debs
14. An Elephant Nevers Forgets
15. Little Lambkin
16. The Boopin’ Stride
Archival Tracks:
17. The Superman March
18. I’m Glad We’re Through (sung by Sammy Timberg!)

The CD can be purchased at FOOTLIGHT RECORDS in New York (113 East 12th St.), or through the store via mail order.

There was a nice (albeit depressing) piece in yesterday’s LA TIMES looking at how Los Angeles animation artists are struggling to stay financially afloat nowadays and how some of them who can’t secure any cartoon-related work are finding employment elsewhere (like working at Trader Joe’s or opening their own retail stores). The article isn’t available on the TIMES website, but it’s been posted on this ANIMATION NATION thread. Next, BREW reader Brock Gallagher sends over a link to a terrific website that showcases Dr. Seuss’ early political cartoons, many of which were not published in the recent book DR. SEUSS GOES TO WAR. Last but not least, here’s a plug for artist Steven Wintle’s Flat Earth! blog, which offers insightful commentary on both animation and comics. In the past, Steve has been quite complimentary towards both Animation Blast and Cartoon Research, and now he seems to like the Brew as well, so needless to say, he has impeccable taste in cartoons.

Following the stunning 43% “no confidence” vote against his leadership at the annual Disney shareholder’s meeting earlier this month, Warner Books has delayed the June release of a book written by Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The book, CAMP, an account of life lessons that a young Eisner learned while attending a swanky summer camp for rich kids, was to have covered topics like teamwork, showing initiative and listening well. Insert your own ironic comment here.

Shane Glines has posted an interesting historical artifact on his CartoonRetro.com message board - a comic strip from the publication FRIDAY drawn by striking artists during the infamous Disney Studios strike of 1941. I wonder if that’s master animator Bill Tytla in the photo at right?

If they gave Clios for pretentiousness, then United Airlines’ new animated ad campaign would be a shoo-in. I just saw their second of four one-minute TV spots, and this one makes almost as little sense as the first ad that’s been playing all over TV these past few weeks.

The new spot, which has lots of light bulbs in it, is by British animator Joanna Quinn who has also recently created more straightforward and enjoyable animated spots for Charmin toilet paper (with the bears) and Whiskas cat food. All four of the United Airlines ads are set to George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and are produced through Acme Filmworks. Like Quinn, the directors of the other spots - Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (image at right), Michael Dudok De Wit and Aleksandr Petrov - have all been either nominated or won an Oscar for animated short. I’m all in favor of distinctive quality animation in TV commercials and the two United ads I’ve seen so far are pleasing to look at, but the storytelling is unnecessarily confusing, and I still haven’t figured out what message, if any, United is trying to communicate through these spots.

Where will I be on Sunday?
I’ve been asked to join a number of authors who have written books on the subject of Disney (I guess a few entries in THE 50 GREATEST CARTOONS qualifies me) on “Disney Author Day” at Walt Disney’s Barn in Griffith Park on Sunday, March 21.
Scheduled to appear and sign are:
Michael Broggie, author of “Walt Disney’s Railroad Story”.
Peggy VanPelt, co-author (with the late John Hench) of “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show”
Buzz Price, author of “Walt’s Revolution by the Numbers”
Kendra Trahan, author of the newly published “Disneyland Detective”.
Jeff Kurtti, author of “The Art of Mulan” and “The Art and Making of A Bug’s Life”
Bill Cotter, author of “The Wonderful World of Disney Television”
And me.
It’s at Walt’s Barn on Sunday, March 21, from 11:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For more details follow this link.

I can’t help it. I’m a sucker for QUISP.
One of Jay Ward’s last great characters, and one of the most memorable in his stable of commercial stars (CAP’N CRUNCH is perhaps his most enduring).
I never really liked the cereal (I was a QUAKE man myself), but somehow the character just won’t die (and neither will the cereal). And that’s ok because I think Quisp is a great character.
Following a recent Spumco commercial, and a Funko bobblehead figure, now comes an action figure (or doll), which I just spotted at a comic shop here in Dallas (The store was called Zeus, and it’s quite good).
Majestic Studios are the producers of this fine product (and check out their DAVEY & GOLIATH line while you’re at it).