Animation Cel-ebration

An Eye for A Classic: The 60th Anniversary of “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol”

December 22nd, 2022

He may be near-sighted, but it was Mr. Magoo who could see the way and blaze a trail for all future animated television Christmas specials. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol debuted on December 18, 1962, on NBC, making it the very first animated Christmas special to be produced for television. It aired two years before Rudolph […]

A Very Merry Mickey: The 70th Anniversary of “Pluto’s Christmas Tree”

Michael Lyons|

December 19th, 2022

The fall and winter of 1952 saw many at the Disney Studio in a holiday mood. In October that year, Disney released the Donald Duck short that would become a Halloween classic, Trick or Treat. And, just a month later, the Disney artists would get into the Christmas spirit with a short that has become […]

A Fine French Feline Film: The 60th Anniversary of “Gay Pur-ee”

Michael Lyons|

December 12th, 2022

Gay Purr-ee is an example of two distinct animation styles coming together perfectly. The feature film was produced by United Productions of America (UPA) studios, revolutionizing animation with their distinctive graphic style. Also, Gay Purr-ee was written by animation legend Chuck Jones and his wife Dorothy Webster Jones. The recognizable “UPA look” is on full […]

Spot On! The 60th Anniversary of Disney’s “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”

When Walt Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians opened on January 25, 1961, it was a “first” in so many ways. For the first time, a Disney animated feature would have a contemporary setting; it would also be the first “non-musical” animated feature to come from the Studio and the first time Disney was using […]

Michael Lyons|January 22, 2021

Chill-Out: Winter with Your Favorite Cartoon Stars

It’s winter, once again. We’re “stuck inside” with nothing to do but watch TV. You’d think after this lifestyle being such a part of last year, we would be used to it, but it’s still easy to develop “cabin fever” and have an urgent need to get out and do something exciting…like walk to the […]

Michael Lyons|January 15, 2021

In The Beginning…

The start of a New Year. A time to look ahead to where we are going and a time to look back to where we’ve been. As we begin this first month of this new (and hopefully much better!) year, it’s a fitting time for animation fans to reflect back on “beginnings,” specifically those of […]

Michael Lyons|January 8, 2021

After Midnight: “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown”

If you think about, New Year’s Day is the perfect holiday for Charlie Brown. With the holidays behind us for another year and nothing ahead of us but the grey days of January and our blank tax returns, it’s easy to feel as defeated as everyone’s favorite “lovable loser” does all year long. It’s a […]

Michael Lyons|January 1, 2021

From Drama to Llama: The 20th Anniversary of “The Emperor’s New Groove”

From a movie production filled with drama came a film filled with laughs. Disney’s 40th animated feature, The Emperor’s New Groove, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, started life as a completely different movie that became mired in problems, but emerged as one of the funniest films ever to come out of the Studio. […]

Michael Lyons|December 25, 2020

A Spirited Adaptation: Richard Williams’ “A Christmas Carol” – An Appreciation

“How did they do that?” is a question that, as an audience, we don’t ask much anymore. This is especially true in animation, particularly in our digital age, where computer animation has made the impossible possible on screen, all the time. But “How did they do that?’ applies to every frame of director Richard Williams […]

Michael Lyons|December 18, 2020

Mickey Mouse

Spider-Ham

KENEDA

Daffy Duck

Animation Cel-ebration

Latest in Category: Animation Cel-ebration

Animation of “Note”: The 75th Anniversary of Disney’s “Make Mine Music”