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Did you know songwriter E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (lyricist of The Wizard of Oz, Gay Purr-ee and much else) wrote material for the Max Fleischer studio?

Neither did I.

Harburg historian Nick Markovich of The Yip Harburg Foundation has recently discovered evidence that Harburg lyrics were written for at least three Fleischer cartoons from the 1929-30 period — when Harburg was writing for Paramount-Astoria Studios on Long Island. Markovich wrote us, looking for early Fleischer films for research. He says:

“Harburg was employed by Paramount’s Astoria, Long Island studio for a few years starting in 1929 – hence the Fleischer connection. For Paramount he wrote lyrics with such composers as Vernon Duke (with whom he later wrote April in Paris for a Broadway revue) and Jay Gorney (with whom he wrote Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? for another Broadway revue). It’s possible that other lyrics or verses he wrote ended up uncredited in other Fleischer cartoons. The only way to tell definitively would be to watch every single one of them, listen carefully and compare to the dozens of obscure lyric sheets in Harburg’s collection. In the last two years alone I have discovered that several Gorney-Harburg songs were performed in two features, one featurette, and one cartoon from that era, all uncredited. So who knows what’s out there – either in animated shorts or live action features and featurettes?

In The Shade Of the Old Apple Tree – A blurb in the January 19, 1930 Film Daily states: “E.Y. Harburg…composes those captivating lines which make you want to join in with the crowd on Paramount’s Fleischer cartoon singing reels. His ‘Old Apple Tree’ number is a darb.”

Harburg also apparently provided material to the Screen Song short, The Prisoner’s Song. Also, there is a typewritten lyric sheet by Harburg entitled “Bedtime Story” – a satire of Grimm-type fairy stories that frighten children. A handwritten note at the top of this sheet says “Verse for Fleischer picture.”

The “Bedtime Story” piece, reprinted below, is obviously a first draft for the Bedtime Story broadcast at the end of Radio Riot (1930), one of Fleischer’s earliest Talkartoons. Compare the draft below with the finished film (below it). It wouldn’t surprise me if Harburg wrote all the dialogue in the film — it’s quite clever.

BED TIME STORY

Announcer: Good evening, children. This is station GORe. Tonight you shall have the extreme pleasure of listening to Uncle Grim, the author of Grim=E 2s Fairy Tales, who has a very interesting Bed Time story for you. Children, meet uncle Grim.

Uncle Grim:

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of a child named Goldy-Locks Schnitzelbeer;
Who always wore
Medals galore
For conduct, and virtues that folks all adore.

As she strolled thru the woods in her little red cape,
The clink of her medals attracted an APE!

The Apiest Ape
With unbearable hands,
With horrible ears,
And terrible glands!
His breath was fire.
His eyes were green
His claws were wire
And his GROWL WAS M-E-A-N !X!X!

And Goldylocks Schnitzelbeer said with a laugh,
“Oh Grandpa,
Vas loffly fillings your back teeth haff!”

Then the Ape he tore her from limb to limb…
‘Cause there was no monkeying ‘round with him.

He cracked her ribs
With a thunderous thud,
And crunched her skull
In a pool of blood,
And there he wallowed
In spleen and gall
Until he swallowed
Her, medals and all.

Till all that remained of Goldylocks
Was a wish bone wrapped in one of her socks.

Now dear children, go to bed. Sleep tight.
Be kind. Be sweet. Happy dreams. Good night!

Announcer: You have just listened to a bed time story by Uncle Grim, President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

He comes to you every Doomsday evening thru the courtesy of the Sheepshead Bay Fur Co., manufacturers of Mice Skin Rugs, Bear Skin Coats and Cat Guts for Tennis Rackets.

(Thanks, for numerous reasons, to Mark Kausler)

12 Comments »   posted in Classic

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TONIGHT: Toronto Animation Industry Night

April 23, 2009 11:37 am

Tonight is the second annual Toronto Animation Industry Night presented by Toronto Animation Live. I’m not familiar with the organization hosting the event; their stated purpose is to serve as a networking organization “dedicated to the growth and development of the Toronto animation industry.” This evening’s event, which combines networking, music and screenings, begins at 7pm at the Century Room (580 King St. W). Tickets are $5 at the door if you rsvp by email to info at torontoanimationlive.com. Otherwise, it’s $10 at the door for walk-ins. Their ad promises complimentary food and beverages. If you have attended the previous one, or if you attend tonight, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

1 Comment »   posted in Events

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How to Make a Baby

April 22, 2009 2:25 pm

Cassidy Curtis, an animator at PDI/DreamWorks, and his wife, Raquel Coelho, created this charming pixilated short that also serves as a document of a pregnancy. The extensive notes on how they made it are worth reading:

Animating over such a long period of time, using an increasingly pregnant woman as one of your puppets, means basically throwing out everything you might normally do in an animated film. For example, early on, we had this idea that we should wear the same clothes every time, for continuity’s sake. But as Raquel’s pregnancy developed, we soon discovered that the extra effort required to change in and out of our uniforms was going to interfere with the goal of shooting as many frames as possible, and might even prevent us from finishing the project at all. We dialed down the perfectionism, and in the process ended up having a lot more fun with it.

(via A Cup of Jo)

24 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Stop Motion

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Ten Episodes of Karnival by Jun seo Hahm

April 22, 2009 12:29 pm

We first wrote about Jun seo Hahm’s series of super-short shorts Karnival back in 2007 when it was starting up. Since then, Jun has completed the series with ten episodes, all created in his distinctive hand-drawn vectorized style. Some of the later ones, like Flashlight Dog and Toaster, really make me smile with their perfect combination of the whimsical, cute and disturbing. The ten shorts can be seen at Karnival.tv.

2 Comments »   posted in Shorts

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We Got Time

April 22, 2009 12:10 pm

I love this. Using both praxinoscopes and a technique of matching up the frame rate of the spinning record to that of the camera, animator David Wilson used no computers to create this music video. Watch him explain it all, below:

(Thanks, Tom Knott via Motionographer)

9 Comments »   posted in Music Videos

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Closed Zone by Yoni Goodman

April 22, 2009 11:19 am

Yoni Goodman, the director of animation for Waltz with Bashir, created this public service announcement for the human rights organization Gisha—Legal Center for Freedom of Movement. It’s a good example of how to use animation to communicate an important political issue with clarity and precision. There’s also a short making-of video in which Goodman talks about the piece, as well as a website for the film at ClosedZone.com.

(Thanks, Mats Grorud)

7 Comments »   posted in Flash, Shorts

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Mighty Morphin’ Power Peddler

April 22, 2009 11:00 am

In case you haven’t been following news developments in the “real world”: Gawker is reporting that the “suspected Israeli operative” whose phone was being tapped by the NSA in conversations with representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) — was none other than our ol’ friend Haim Saban (the animation schlockmeister who became a zillionaire after dubbing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). That’s him, pictured above, on the far left (in more ways than one). The Gawker piece has a nice profile of Saban’s illustrious career.

13 Comments »   posted in Business

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