Title
4

Theatrical vs. Televised Animation

Are there any theatrical animation studios who you thought did better work when they transitioned to television in the 1950s and ’60s, whether for weekend cartoons or television commercials? If so, which ones and why? For example, how does THE BUGS BUNNY SHOW of 1960 compare to the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons of 1960? How do Terrytoons’ television commercials for Piels Beer in 1957 compare to the studio’s theatrical cartoons of 1957? How does the DISNEYLAND tv show compare to Disney’s theatrical shorts of the 1950s? How do Paramount’s tv cartoons for King Features Syndicate between 1960 and 1961 compare to its theatrical work of the period?

  • Are you raising this question because you want to know which studio had better animation on television compared to others, or better concepts and stories? Because a misconception to be aware about is that most television animation is outsourced to 3rd party companies who work by contract. And so while I think it has been obvious that back in the 1980s and 1990s, Disney had the strongest and most successful tv presence along-side their theatrical productions, most if not all of their tv work was outsourced to Japan and Taiwan. They contracted a fantastic Japanese studio named Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS), to create the first season of "Ducktales," "Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers," and the entire short lived series "The Gummie Bears." They also animated the first season of "Inspector Gadget" for DiC. But after those initial seasons, the animation quality dips off quite a bit, because Wang Film Productions began taking over as the sole studio, until periodically, you'll see much more expressive and skillful work by Disney's Austrailian Branch pop in here and there, especially with the show, "Timone & Pumba." So basically, you need to be more clear about what you're really trying to get at with this question, and what you expect people to be researching and talking about when they write this article. – Jonathan Leiter 8 years ago
    1
  • Thanks. I'm talking about theatrical studios that produced for television while still making theatrical cartoons. For example, how does THE BUGS BUNNY SHOW of 1960 compare to the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons of 1960? How do Terrytoons' television commercials for Piels Beer in 1957 compare to the studio's theatrical cartoons of 1957? How does the DISNEYLAND tv show compare to Disney's theatrical shorts of the 1950s? How do Paramount's tv cartoons for King Features Syndicate between 1960 and 1961 compare to its theatrical work of the period? – drchrisp 8 years ago
    1
  • Okay, then you MUST state that you are talking about a TV presence from that era. Because when I read this, I thought you were referring to things like Dreamworks making films like "Kung Fu Panda," "How to Train Your Dragon," and "Madagascar," and then creating TV shows based on those properties. Or Disney making "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Lion King," and making TV shows based on those, as well as any other original series that followed along-side. Being that you want to talk far more specifically about a time in early television when these studios were still doing all of their animation "in-house"--which allows for a much more reasonable and accurate comparison--you should make the time period very clear in your topic description. – Jonathan Leiter 8 years ago
    0

Want to write about Animation or other art forms?

Create writer account