Love Thy Neighbor.............

Even if it kills you!

In this 1944 Columbia Pictures Fox and Crow cartoon, entitled "Mr. Moocher,"  the Fox becomes neighborly to the Crow and lives to regret it.

Produced by the Screen Gems cartoon studio.

Directed by Bob Wickersham

Story by Sid Marcus

Animation by Chic Otterstrom and Ben Lloyd

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Voice characterizations (uncredited) by Frank Graham

Enjoy!

I Wonder If The Crow Were Related To Minnie

From 1944, here are the Fox and Crow starring in "Mr. Moocher."  In this Columbia Pictures Screen Gems cartoon, the Crow borrows many of the Fox's belongings----without permission.  This cartoon was directed by Bob Wickersham, with story by Sid Marcus, animation by Chic Otterstrom and Ben Lloyd, and music by Eddie Kilfeather.

Time For A Cartoon

Here is an Official Films print of a Scrappy cartoon "Scrappy's Big Moment" in which our hero, with help from Oopie,  enters the ring to fight against a caricature of then-reigning world heavyweight champion Max Baer, Sr. 





This cartoon, originally released to theaters by Columbia Pictures on July 28, 1935, was produced by Charles Mintz, with story by Ben Harrison, animation by Allen Rose and Manny Gould, and music by Joe DeNat.  The cartoon was more or less supervised by Ben Harrison and Manny Gould.

They're Taking Them In THIS Young?!

Here is a Screen Gems "Phantasy" cartoon from 1941, "The Cute Recruit." In this one, a young man has trouble deciding whether to join the Army or the Navy. With story by Art Davis, animation by Sid Marcus, music by Eddie Kilfeather, and uncredited voice characterizations by Mel Blanc, this cartoon was released by Columbia Pictures.

Hey, Scrappy, Just Say It, Don't Spray It, Huh?

From 1931 here is "The Little Pest," the second cartoon to star Scrappy. Story by Dick Huemer with animation by Sid Marcus and Art Davis. In this cartoon, Scrappy tries to avoid his kid brother Oopie (or Vonsey) as he and his dog Yippy go fishing with disastrous results.






The Max Fleischer influence is felt in this cartoon, since the three men who basically created the character had recently worked for Max in New York City. This cartoon, with music by former New York pianist Joe De Nat, was produced in Los Angeles by Charles Mintz and released by Columbia Pictures. There is some inconsistency with drawings on this cartoon as the three key artists each took a third of the film.

Who Did That?!

Here's a 1935 cartoon featuring Scrappy in "The Puppet Murder Case."





This copy is minus opening and end titles.

Produced by Charles Mintz

Story by Art Davis

Animation by Sid Marcus

Music by Joe De Nat

Released by Columbia Pictures

Source: "The Animated Film Encyclopedia" by Graham Webb (McFarland and Company, 2000 and 2006)



Scrappy sure loves to beat the crap out of poor little Oopie in this one. The little monster may have brought this on himself, here.

Want Another Cartoon, Kids?

Time for another cartoon from the Screen Gems studio, distributed by Columbia Pictures. From the "Color Rhapsody" series, we present for your approval, "Up 'n' Atom," made in 1946, but not released until 1947, after Columbia had shuttered its' animation studio. In this one, in his vain pursuit of a cat, a dog gains advice from a wise canine. Advice, which would turn out to be misleading.



Produced by Raymond Katz and Henry Binder

Directed by Sid Marcus

Animation by Roy Jenkins and Ben Lloyd

Layouts by Clark Watson

Backgrounds by Al Boggs

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Additional Personnel (source: "The Animated Film Encyclopedia" by Graham Webb)

Editor: Richard S. Jensen
Voice Characterizations: Harry E. Lang and Stan Freberg
Cinematography: Frank Fisher
Technicolor
Western Electric Recording

As mentioned earlier, Columbia closed its' cartoon studio at the end of 1946, but backlogged enough films for release from 1947 until 1949. In 1948, Columbia began releasing cartoons produced by United Productions of America, starting with a few Fox and Crow shorts, before releasing cartoons starring such characters as Gerald McBoing Boing and Mister Magoo.

Time For STILL Another Cartoon, Boys and Girls

From 1942, here is another Screen Gems cartoon from Columbia Pictures. This entry, from the studio's Technicolor "Color Rhapsody" series, is entitled "Song of Victory." This is the cartoon in which Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Hideki Tojo are shown as a vulture, gorilla, and hyena, respectively.



Produced by Dave Fleischer

Supervised by Frank Tashlin

Directed by Bob Wickersham

Story by Leo Salkin

Animation by Bernard Garbutt, Phil Duncan, and William Schull

Layouts by Zack Schwartz

Sets by Clark Watson

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

The story for this cartoon was actually initiated by Frank Tashlin (who left the studio before this film was released) and John Hubley.

Just Because He Doesn't Like Crackers

From 1943, here's another Screen Gems cartoon, released by Columbia Pictures. This time an entry from the studio's black-and-white "Phantasy" series entitled "Polly Wants A Doctor," in which our protagonist becomes a guinea pig for Joe the Goat's recipe ideas.



Produced by Dave Fleischer

Directed by Howard Swift

Story by Dun Roman

Animation by Jim Armstrong and Grant Simmons

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Another Visit From The Fox and Crow

Here's a Screen Gems (Columbia) cartoon from 1944, entitled "Be Patient, Patient." In this one, the Fox, under doctor's orders, is on a strict milk-and-toast diet. The thieving, derby-topped Crow, tries to take advantage.


Directed by Bob Wickersham

Story by Dun Roman

Animation by Chic Otterstrom and Phil Duncan

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Additional Personnel (source: The Animated Film Encyclopedia by Graham Webb):

Sets: Clark Watson
Ink and Paint: Elizabeth F. McDowell
Voice Characterizations: Frank Graham
Photography: Frank Fisher
Production Manager: Paul Worth
Released by Columbia Pictures
Technicolor

Time For Another Cartoon, Boys and Girls

From 1943, here's a Screen Gems (Columbia Pictures) "Fox & Crow" cartoon entitled "Way Down Yonder In The Corn," a cartoon in which that derby-wearing Crow disguises himself as a scarecrow so that he can get at farmer Fox's garden.



Produced by Dave Fleischer

Directed by Bob Wickersham

Story by Sam Cobean

Animation by Phil Duncan and Basil Davidovich

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Additional Personnel:

Layouts by Clark Watson

Voice Characterizations by Frank Graham

Edited by Edward Moore

Production Manager: Albert Spar

Time For Another Cartoon, Boys and Girls

From 1946, here is a Screen Gems "Phantasy" cartoon, "The Schooner the Better," released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Howard Swift.





This was the last theatrical black-and-white cartoon from a major American cartoon studio.

Cartoon Time Again, Kids!

Here's an old chestnut released on November 25, 1943 by Columbia Pictures, as the Fox and Crow star in "Way Down Yonder In The Corn" in which the Crow disguises himself as a scarecrow to guard the Fox's victory garden.



Produced by Screen Gems, Inc.

Produced by Dave Fleischer

Directed by Bob Wickersham

Story by Sam Cobean

Animation by Phil Duncan and Basil Davidovich

Music by Eddie Kilfeather

Additional personnel:

Voice Characterizations: Frank Graham
Layout: Clark Watson
Film editor: Edward Moore
Production manager: Albert Spar
Technicolor
Sound System: RCA