Today, we transition from the 50's into the early half of the 1960's in theatrical cartoons. You've been warned!
Mar 19, 2025 • Subscribe
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The 1930's continued to progress, as animated characters became more and more knowledgeable about their own world.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 15)
Multiple cartoon-conscious visits with Warner Brothers, another with Droopy at MGM, and one-shots from the waning days of Columbia/Screen Gems.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 2)
Cartoons exploring the mysteries of their own medium; characters with a knowledge of their ink and pen origins - all this and more!
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Steven Spielberg sets the animation world on its rabbit’s ear.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 12)
All our action this week is centered upon four characters, all installments containing self-winks to the illustrated media.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 19)
Submitted for your approval: evidence of characters who know they are on screen, and are prepared to use this to their zany advantage.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 18)
A lot of familiar faces today, as Warner, Paramount, and Terrytoons all provide contributions continuing to exploit their toon existence for all they’re worth.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 22)
More self-referential fare, with Bugs and Daffy - and some surprises from a few relative-unknowns in Terrytoons.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 30)
In the wake of the “Disneyland” anthology show, there was a flow of copycats who attempted to expand animation made for television .
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 14)
This week’s installment includes brief references out of chronology to several Warner Brothers cartoons I missed. Then, we move on in 1945 and 1946
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 16)
A wild bunch of episodes today from 1947 and ‘48, including a quartet of Tex Avery adventures into the surreal (two of which are among his most controversial),…
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 5)
All action today takes place in 1938, and all from two studios: Warner Bros and Paramount.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 10)
1943 continued to abound in self-conscious cartoons, ever aware of their theatrical venue, and eager to draw the audience into the storylines through direct reference. Characters also continue…
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 9)
1942 and ‘43 (with one stray included here from ‘44) continued to bring us self-referential cartoons, plating at breaking the fourth wall, and immersing characters into the movie-going…
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 1)
Not only cartoons about animators and the animation process, but cartoons about characters who knew they were in cartoons.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 27)
The late ‘60’s were not entirely devoid of characters knowledgeable of their existence on screen or of interaction with offscreen narrators and animators.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 34)
With Roger Rabbit’s success, a drastic change took place in the production of animation for both the big and small screen.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 8)
1942 is our subject year. Many films from this period keep their self-referential elements on the brief side, so some of the discussions below are a little briefer…
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 7)
Some behind the scenes at Disney, a new franchise for Goofy, and the debut of Walter Lantz’s most durable personality.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 3)
Part three in our series highlighting the medium and savvy characters with knowledge of their pen-and-paper world.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 21)
Character recognition of the cartoon medium tends to come in short spurts during the years of 1953 and 1954.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 17)
A surprising number of Terrytoons appear in this week’s survey as we resume our overview of characters interacting with audiences, narrators, and/or animators.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 20)
A significant leaning toward Looney stories from Warner Brothers today, with only two titles in our discussion coming from the ranks of other studios. We’ll be doing some…
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 11)
Another batch of animated eccentricities, all featuring characters that are well aware they are in a cartoon.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 25)
All action in this post comes from the stars of Warner, Paramount, and MGM, with the final appearance by Terrytoons’ Dinky Duck.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 28)
Animation made for television brought about some mixed trends in our survey of cartoons self-conscious of their medium.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 13)
A feast of prime Grade A titles from MGM, Paramount, and Warner Brothers is on the table today.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 32)
A survey today of animation from the 1960's into the mid 1980‘s, predating the cartoon Renaissance, which will be discussed next week.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 6)
More interactive screen madness from Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, and efforts to keep up from Terrytoons and Screen Gems.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 24)
Magic pencils and paintbrushes abound, as characters continue to provide savvy interaction with the audience.
Cartoons About Cartoons (Part 23)
Cartoon consciousness comes in groups today, as we present a quartet of Tom and Jerrys and a duo of Bugs Bunny adventures, together with solo spots for the…
Catoons About Cartoons (Part 31)
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