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 […]

Latest in Category: Animation Cel-ebration

First in Flight: The 80th Anniversary of The Fleischer Studio’s “Superman” Cartoons

Superman has been in the conversation a lot lately. This spring brought us the highly anticipated Zack Snyder’s Justice League, (which came about thanks to a fan campaign) and this February, the CW network debuted the series, Superman & Lois. Not surprisingly, as we live in a world of the comic book shared universe TV […]

Michael Lyons|October 12, 2021

Creepy, Kooky and Cartoony: Addams Animated Adventures on TV

“They might be scary, weird, creepy, and macabre, but The Addams Family is our secret envy. If only our family dinners could be so much fun!” So said author H. Kevin Miserocchi in his 2010 book, The Addams Family: An Evilution. There is so much truth in what Mr. Miserocchi writes. How else can one […]

Michael Lyons|October 8, 2021

Cereal Killers, Part III: Fifty Years Ago, on Saturday Morning

As a kid, Saturday mornings were our time. The rest of the week seemed to belong to adults – teachers and parents -who filled our lives with homework and chores. But, Saturday mornings? Oh, they were beautiful! The house was quiet. Clad in our pajamas for much longer than we should be, we would sit […]

Michael Lyons|September 29, 2021

Cereal Killers, Part II: Forty Years Ago, on Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings were a hallowed place for kids. For four to five hours, we had a respite from the weekly “grind” that the school week seemed to be. And, while our parents would dare to sleep in and we would avoid having to mow the lawn, we could pour ourselves a bowl of sugar that […]

Michael Lyons|September 22, 2021

Cereal Killers, Part I: Thirty Years Ago, on Saturday Morning

Ah, back-to-school time. That time of year when, for many kids, the dreamy summer gives way to the dreaded return of days filled with spiral notebooks and nights filled with hair-pulling homework. For several generations, there was relief for this experience that upended so many kids’ lives. That was because the new school year also […]

Michael Lyons|September 17, 2021

Kidding Around: The 80th Anniversary of 1941’s Orphans’ Benefit

At one time, re-makes at Disney were rare. Today, we are used to seeing and expecting a new live-action version of the studio’s classic animated films. In the studio’s early days, Walt and his artists were more focused on original output. This makes the 1941 Mickey Mouse short subject, Orphans’ Benefit, even more of a […]

Michael Lyons|August 24, 2021

Mickey Mouse

Spider-Ham

KENEDA

Daffy Duck

Animation Cel-ebration

Latest in Category: Animation Cel-ebration

A Real “Who’s Who!” : The 55th Anniversary of TV’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”