Animation History Round-Up #2

A lot of readers seemed to enjoy the first Animation History Round-Up posted here a few weeks ago, so here’s another guide to rare cartoon history recently posted online.

Commercial director Bob Kurtz talks about his legendary career, courtesy of the audio podcast Toon In!. See some of Kurtz’s commericals at his studio website Kurtz & Friends or on his YouTube page.

David Nethery shares a rare 1963 magazine article by Twice Upon a Time director John Korty offering tips on how to get started in animation. My favorite tip from Korty: “Don’t be afraid to shoot 20, 40 or 80 frames without movement.”

Jenny Lerew discovers a superrare storybook with beautiful concept drawings from the “Dance of the Hours” sequence in Fantasia.

An excellent compilation of clips highlighting the work of overlooked animator Pat Matthews from 1940s Walter Lantz cartoons.

Thad Komorowski nominates this piece of Jim Tyer animation as the “best eating scene ever in an animated cartoon.” It’s a great bit of animation but I want to hear your nominees.

Mark Evanier writes about a rare piece of Gene Deitch animation on YouTube: the opening titles to the TV series Mischief Makers (1960), produced by Deitch’s own company, Gene Deitch Associates.

Michael Sporn offers a frame grab set of Richard Williams’s animated titles for the 1966 live-action feature A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

Certainly quite a bit different from this amusing theatrical spot for Johnson’s cleaners that Richard Williams directed in the 1960s.

(Williams ad via Poptique)