I'm going to run a Golden Age animation programmme, tips?

[Erik_Twice]

Long story short, my organization is going to a geeky/anime convention and I was asked to run some classic golden era shorts to illustrate a bit of animation history and how it evolved. Nothing too high brow, nothing too deep, it's mainly a excuse to run some shorts and have some fun.

The main problem is, of course, that I would need to find Spanish subtitles or, at worst, English ones. That's easy for Warner Bros or Disney Stuff but I doubt I can do anything for the no-DVD release stuff like MGM or UPA.

So far I have considered those shorts:

SWING YOU SINNERS (Fleischer, Dave Fleischer 1930)
THE OLD MILL (Disney, Wilfred Jackson 1937)
NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE (MGM, Tex Avery 1946)
THE GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY (Warner Bros, Bob Clampett 1947)
GERALD MCBOING BOING (UPA, Robert Cannon 1950)
WHAT'S OPERA, DOC? (Warner Bros, Chuck Jones 1957)

SWING is probably the best Fleischer short when it comes to raw fun. It's a great start, it's very based around the music, the animation is clearly rubberhose and being basically a music video the language is not an issue. Unfortunatedly I don't have this one on my computer so I will need to look for a decent version.

THE OLD MILL is a very good short. I could use THREE LITTLE PIGS to illustrate the often sacharine shorts of Disney but it's not too fun so I'm wary.

After those two shorts I have a huge gap. When it comes to zany, screwball cartoons the truth is that I the earlist shorts I would show are not availble with Spanish subtitles at all. Ideally I would get Red Hot Riding Hood there since it would directly clash with Disney and it's incredibly fun. Northwest Hounded Police has little dialogue so it's acting as a replacement but I really miss the parody factor and sexual themes. I have all the MGM Tex Avery cartoons on mediocre quality so if anyone has a better suggestion, feel free to do so.

PIGGYBANK is not only one of my favourite cartoons but this is one of Clampett's best and probably has one of the best 40s style animation.

MCBOING BOING is one of the three UPA cartoons I have on video and all three suffer from the same problem: They are dialogue heavy and I don't have subtitles. I can't leave them out, tough, so I will try my best to get something for them.

The 50s were Chuck Jones' best period and it's also very easy to use his shorts to explain the UPA influence. His expressions were also very important historically. I'm undecided in what short of his to play. I could get one of the Bugs/Daffy shorts, What's Opera Doc, Duck Amuck or the Scarlet Pumpernickel. He has too many good shorts to show them all!.

I can also add two other shorts so any suggestions are welcome.

[Flake]

Are the old Fleischer Superman shorts an option? That'd be a really easy way to generate initial interest in your program. Lure people in with the Superman name, and then they stay for the art style of the time.

[AppleQueso]

Are the old Fleischer Superman shorts an option? That'd be a really easy way to generate initial interest in your program. Lure people in with the Superman name, and then they stay for the art style of the time.

I was just about to post this.

[Flake]

Are the old Fleischer Superman shorts an option? That'd be a really easy way to generate initial interest in your program. Lure people in with the Superman name, and then they stay for the art style of the time.

I was just about to post this.

So much of my taste in entertainment came from watching and re-watching those shorts on VHS when I was a kid: My love of robots, my preference for hand drawn animation over all other, and my respect for short stories as a medium.

The Fleischer Superman shorts were so far ahead of their time. It feels like animation actually took several steps backwards in the years that followed.

[jfrost]

Worst case scenario, you can do the subtitles yourself. It's a bit of work, but you might be able to do a short in a day or less.

[The Last Horseman]

You really should do Red Hot Riding Hood if you can. Actually, any of the cartoons with 'Red' (the redheaded girl in all the cartoons with the wolf, unnoficial name) should work really good there. Golden age cartoons are a favorite of mine, I might look into some for you. Also, I suggest trying to get a Felix the cat if you can, a very good example of the early stuff.

[Erik_Twice]

Hey, sorry for taking so long to answer, I was checking out my videos and seeing what I could gather. I found that subtitles exist and finding a good quality version for most of the list including McBoing Boing is not too hard.

Are the old Fleischer Superman shorts an option? That'd be a really easy way to generate initial interest in your program. Lure people in with the Superman name, and then they stay for the art style of the time.

I have considered them but I really don't know how to frame them well against the more zany shorts that come in the same year. The jump from your Disney fantasy to the crazy Tex stuff is easy to understand but Superman was not as inmediatedly influential.

I'm also trying to balance fun and history and it seems to me that if I follow a chronological order I end up with the serious or less accesible shorts in the beginning and the funny ones later.

You really should do Red Hot Riding Hood if you can. Actually, any of the cartoons with 'Red' (the redheaded girl in all the cartoons with the wolf, unnoficial name) should work really good there.

I found some crapy subtitles and I'm retouching them to get the short running as I type! Unfortunatedly it seems like the subtitles I have are really, really bad, they start with around 2 seconds of lag but soon desyncs. I would be happy enough with any other subtitles, I would just translate them by ear*

It's a shame that the french dvds don't have Spanish subtitles, this short doesn't look too bad there, IIRC.

*Tough I have no idea what the grandma says when they are all complaining to the narrator. I only understand "smells, smells!".

Also, I suggest trying to get a Felix the cat if you can, a very good example of the early stuff.

After toying with some shorts I decided to start in 1930. The Silent Era is not too appealing for the audience I think I will have.


I'm considering THE CAT CONCERTO (MGM, Hanna Barbera 1946). Tom & Jerry broke Disney's Oscar streak, making them the definitive turning point between the cuter Disney stuff and the wild Warner Brothers style. Having no dialogue (unlike the previous T&J shorts that won an oscar) is a bonus and finding a print shouldn't be too hard.

I also wonder what Clampett short to show. PIGGYBANK is amazing but if I want people to focus on the animation more than anything perhaps BOOK REVUE would be better, it's even zanier there.


If someone knows where I can get some English or whatever subtitles for any of the cartoons I listed, please, do tell.

EDIT: Fuck yeah, I found English MCBOING BOING Subtitles

[fastbilly1]

Looks like you are off to a great start on your animation list, you have everything I would have broughtup, sans propaganda films. I can give some tips to when you are running the panel. They may sound elementary, but you would not believe how many people screw them up.

- Load up everything on the machine you are going to use and hook it up to an external monitor to give it a tech dry run. If you have to clone the display, anticipate this by numbering your clips instead of giving them the full name. The reason for this is so people will not know what is coming next. Also carry a backup on a jumpdrive/harddrive with a portable media player (VLC portable or Media PLayer Classic [both for windows]). It is a terrible feeling to show up to a panel and your videos dont load on your pc for whatever reason.

- Make sure you have a spare VGA/DVI cable and Minijack to RCA (and possibly RCA to 1/4 TS adapters). Never count on the tech being there. When I talk at conventions (even Dragoncon), I bring spare cables. They cost very little and make a world of difference. My netbook has the VGA port on one side and the Audio ports on the other, so when the convention provides a VGA cable with an audio cable attached, that 6 inch little cable is not enough.

- If you are unsure on your public speaking, practice several times before the event. The worst thing you can do is sit up there, head down, reading off wikipedia to people. I have found the best thing for me is to not sit. If I can walk around, I give a much better panel. I have gone to the point that giving a Retrogaming panel, that I took the wireless mic and walked around fielding my own questions (in an auditorium of over 2,500 people). This year, I started putting my notes on my Kindle, which if I am wearing cargo pants/shorts, I can slide into the big pocket - Ok so it is less about being green and more about making me feel futuristic. If you practice it, you will find when giving the panel, that you may remember more of it than you thought and you can easily breeze through the panel without more than a glance at your notes.

- If you field questions, make sure to repeat the question if the asker is quiet and not miced. That way everyone knows what they said.

- If you flub and get a date wrong, apologize, correct yourself, and move on. Dont dwell on it to much, everyone screws up. Aslong as you recognize your mistake, people will take you more seriously.

- Related to that, if you screw up pronouncing something, its usually best to just run with it at first, possibly making fun of yourself in the process, then apologize and pronounce it correctly (if you can). Despite what most people will say, if you can get people laughing, they are more likely to stay in your panel.

Congrats on the panel, I wish I could attend but Spain is a helluva a drive for me...

[alienjesus]

I'm goign to agree with your own point on Cat Concerto. It stands up as a great example opf the turning point from disney to MGM and other studios, and is just an all round excellent cartoon (my favourite Tom & Jerry for sure). It serves its purpose in demonstrating what you want and in being highly entertaining for the audience.