Van Beuren Studios: Difference between revisions

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If asked what Van Beuren Studios was famous for, most people today would probably look at you with a blank stare, not knowing that the little known production company also helped lead the pack when it came to classic cartoons of their time.

Van Beuren Studios was started by an upstart named Amadee J. Van Beuren. Paul Terry was also involved in the studio’s history, but later left to start his own production company, called [[Terry Toons]]. Van Beuren’s most recognized characters were called “Tom and Jerry,” but bear no relation to the [[Tom and Jerry ~~(Animation)~~|cat and mouse characters]] released by MGM Studios eight years later. Their success was modest, yielding 26 cartoons in all. Aesop’s Fables, the studio’s other front runner gave rise to the now not so recognizable Cubby Bear, one of the series’ stars.

Van Beuren Studios was started by an upstart named Amadee J. Van Beuren. Paul Terry was also involved in the studio’s history, but later left to start his own production company, called [[Terry Toons]]. Van Beuren’s most recognized characters were called “Tom and Jerry,” but bear no relation to the [[Tom and Jerry|cat and mouse characters]] released by MGM Studios eight years later. Their success was modest, yielding 26 cartoons in all. Aesop’s Fables, the studio’s other front runner gave rise to the now not so recognizable Cubby Bear, one of the series’ stars.

Walt Disney Studios had already made a splash with music and sound effects in their early toons, and Van Beuren promised to follow suit and do the same later on. The producers hired [[Noteworthy Disney Staff|Disney veterans]] Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer to create a new series in hopes of jump-starting the B-list studio’s reputation. The somewhat well-received series was called “Rainbow Parade”, a series of lavish [[Silly Symphonies]] clones, also starring licensed characters like "Toonerville Folks" and "[[Felix the Cat]]".

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--description cited from [http://www.toonjet.com/blog/index.php/van_beuren_studios_lost_cartoon_treasure?blog=2 Toonjet.Com].

Like many non-Disney/[[Warner Bros]]. cartoon studios, critics and historians generally tend to give Van Beuren the footnote treatment, writing off the cartoons as cheaply produced drivel—but this isn't quite true. For all the sloppy animation and one-note characters, there are some inspired gags here and there, as well as some very good musical scores provided with each cartoon. Despite this, many of the shorts were scattered and lost for a long time, due to their [[Public Domain Animation|public domain status]] and lack of care. The fact that the studio's role in the [[History of Animation]] was very minor and tangential compared to the other studios didn't help. Fortunately, thanks to recent DVD collections, especially from Thunderbean, the bulk of this studio's sound output is available on DVD for viewing. Research copies of the entire Van Beuren sound output are available for animation historians on [[Cartoon Brew ~~(Blog)~~|Jerry Beck's]] [http://www.cartoonresearch.com/ Cartoon Research] website.

Like many non-Disney/[[Warner Bros]]. cartoon studios, critics and historians generally tend to give Van Beuren the footnote treatment, writing off the cartoons as cheaply produced drivel—but this isn't quite true. For all the sloppy animation and one-note characters, there are some inspired gags here and there, as well as some very good musical scores provided with each cartoon. Despite this, many of the shorts were scattered and lost for a long time, due to their [[Public Domain Animation|public domain status]] and lack of care. The fact that the studio's role in the [[History of Animation]] was very minor and tangential compared to the other studios didn't help. Fortunately, thanks to recent DVD collections, especially from Thunderbean, the bulk of this studio's sound output is available on DVD for viewing. Research copies of the entire Van Beuren sound output are available for animation historians on [[Cartoon Brew|Jerry Beck's]] [http://www.cartoonresearch.com/ Cartoon Research] website.

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=== Works of the studio: ===

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* Amos N' Andy

* The Little King

* Tom and Jerry: No, this isn't the [[Tom and Jerry ~~(Animation)~~|cat and mouse duo]] we're talking about here. <ref> Though makers of [[Vanilla Edition]] collections of public domain cartoons like to capitalize on people assuming otherwise.</ref>

* Tom and Jerry: No, this isn't the [[Tom and Jerry|cat and mouse duo]] we're talking about here. <ref> Though makers of [[Vanilla Edition]] collections of public domain cartoons like to capitalize on people assuming otherwise.</ref>

* Toby the Pup: Van Beuren took over production of this short-lived series after the Charles Mintz studio abandoned it.

* Burt Gillett's Toddle Tales

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* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Milton Mouse, who was an obvious ripoff of Mickey Mouse. Incidentally, by the time of "Hot Tamale", Milton looked identical to another Mickey Mouse clone: Foxy, of Warner Bros. cartoons. As with Foxy, Walt quickly got wind of Van Beuren's ripoff and forced them to never use Milton again. This didn't stop them from creating another, less blatant ersatz of Mickey, called Cubby Bear.

* [[Distressed Damsel]]: Cubby Bear's love interest Honey, who seems to exist only to be rescued by Cubby.

* [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Cows]]: The "Molly Moo Cow" shorts.

* [[Everything's Better with Cows]]: The "Molly Moo Cow" shorts.

* [[Cute Kitten]]: "Merry Kittens".

* [[Everything's Worse ~~With~~ Bears]]: Averted with the character Cubby Bear.

* [[Everything's Worse with Bears]]: Averted with the character Cubby Bear.

* [[Expy]]: Their Tom and Jerry were just human versions of previous Van Beuren characters Waffles the Cat and Don Dog.

* [[In Name Only]]: Only the earliest Aesop's Fables cartoons were loose adaptations of the [[Aesop's Fables|actual Fables]]; later entries usually revolved around cats, mice, and the disgruntled Farmer Al Falfa.