Feb 24, 2023
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For the Stir Crazy: Karl’s Cartoon Insanity
by Karl F. Cohen
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Scene from Bill Plympton's “Your Face” (1987), which took an Oscar. photo: courtesy B. PlymptonFor your viewing pleasure, Bay Area animation expert and activist Karl Cohen curates a mini-festival of free online films, the links to which are underlined. This show is titled:
The Alternative Cartoon: Old and New
I start with Bill Plympton's “Your Face”, 1987, see it here. Drawn on paper with colored pencils and Oscar nominated, the music is by Maureen McElheron, her voice slowed in the studio to achieve that odd tone.
Bill has been called, “The king of American independent animation” as he has been nominated for two Oscars, received numerous festival awards, and is remarkably prolific and versatile. Before becoming an animator he had a successful career doing cartoons, caricatures and illustrations for print.
From there I go to Ben Ridgeway, a tenured professor at SF State. His “Cosmic Flower Unfolding” (2013), CGI, was a Vimeo staff pick and winner of several awards.
George Griffin's “You’re Outa Here” (2009), with music by Lorraine Feather. She is the daughter of the late jazz critic Leonard Feather and her godmother was Billie Holiday.
Lorraine said, “I sent him all of my music, everything I had done up to that point.” He said, “If I’m going to make an animated film, the song that really does it for me is ‘You’re Outa Here’. He loved the energy of it and could see it as an animated short.” George lives in NYC and has worked in animation since the 1970s.
'Bimbo’s Initiation' from Fleischer Studios (1931). photo: courtesy Fleischer StudiosAlthough “Bimbo’s Initiation” (1931) is only #37 in Jerry Beck’s book, "The World’s Greatest Cartoons", I find it one of the best. Betty Boop has dog ears, as does her pal Bimbo, a dog that walks on two legs and dresses as a human. This is an exceptional and surreal work of art. Find out why I live this piece here.
Betty Boop stars again in "Bimbo and KoKo in Snow White" (1933), music by Cab Calloway and even more highly rated, #19, in "The World’s Greatest Cartoons".
Popeye helms this mini-masterwork, "Dream Walking" (1934). In it, Olive has photos of both Popeye and Bluto by her bed and they have photos of her in their bedrooms, suggesting there was a reason for them to fight over her.
“If not the best, certainly one of the top three Popeyes of all time,” according to IMDB statement. Note that Popeye lives in a rundown building (it was the depression era).
Mickey Mouse, "Thru the Mirror”, (1936) in Technicolor, directed by David Hand, is full of action and lavish artwork, with a complex script. Seeing all the details added to some backgrounds or a character walking behind a colored glass bottle in the foreground are minor touches, but impressive when you realize an artist had to draw and paint them. I still marvel at all the work that went into the complex scene of playing cards in motion.
"Merry Mannequins”, by Ub Iwserks (1937), is a spectacular work of art deco art. It was a "Color Rhapsody" carton distributed by Columbia. The story is about two department store mannequins who fall in love, become engaged and plan to marry. Iwerks was the animator/director who created the first Mickey Mouse cartoons for Walt Disney, who produced.
'Cosmic Flower', by Ben Ridgeway. photo: courtesy B.Ridgeway"Next”, 1989, by Barry Purves, made at Aardman Animation, U.K, is about Shakespeare auditioning to get into heaven. He acts out moments from each of his plays.
"Roll ‘Em Lola” (1974) is a magnificent film by Fred Burns, made at USC with music by George Winston. This remarkable work of art was beautifully restored by Casey Herbert. .
"James Stewart Meets Stanley Kubrick” is a brilliantly done, four-minute work made using compositing technology.
Karl F. Cohen—who decided to add his middle initial to distinguish himself from the Russian Karl Cohen, who tried to assassinate the Czar in the mid-19th century—is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached . Posted on Apr 07, 2020 - 10:37 AM
by Karl F. Cohen
Please support our stories by liking articles—thanks!
Scene from Bill Plympton's “Your Face” (1987), which took an Oscar. photo: courtesy B. PlymptonThe Alternative Cartoon: Old and New
I start with Bill Plympton's “Your Face”, 1987, see it here. Drawn on paper with colored pencils and Oscar nominated, the music is by Maureen McElheron, her voice slowed in the studio to achieve that odd tone.
Bill has been called, “The king of American independent animation” as he has been nominated for two Oscars, received numerous festival awards, and is remarkably prolific and versatile. Before becoming an animator he had a successful career doing cartoons, caricatures and illustrations for print.
From there I go to Ben Ridgeway, a tenured professor at SF State. His “Cosmic Flower Unfolding” (2013), CGI, was a Vimeo staff pick and winner of several awards.
George Griffin's “You’re Outa Here” (2009), with music by Lorraine Feather. She is the daughter of the late jazz critic Leonard Feather and her godmother was Billie Holiday.
Lorraine said, “I sent him all of my music, everything I had done up to that point.” He said, “If I’m going to make an animated film, the song that really does it for me is ‘You’re Outa Here’. He loved the energy of it and could see it as an animated short.” George lives in NYC and has worked in animation since the 1970s.
'Bimbo’s Initiation' from Fleischer Studios (1931). photo: courtesy Fleischer StudiosBetty Boop stars again in "Bimbo and KoKo in Snow White" (1933), music by Cab Calloway and even more highly rated, #19, in "The World’s Greatest Cartoons".
Popeye helms this mini-masterwork, "Dream Walking" (1934). In it, Olive has photos of both Popeye and Bluto by her bed and they have photos of her in their bedrooms, suggesting there was a reason for them to fight over her.
“If not the best, certainly one of the top three Popeyes of all time,” according to IMDB statement. Note that Popeye lives in a rundown building (it was the depression era).
Mickey Mouse, "Thru the Mirror”, (1936) in Technicolor, directed by David Hand, is full of action and lavish artwork, with a complex script. Seeing all the details added to some backgrounds or a character walking behind a colored glass bottle in the foreground are minor touches, but impressive when you realize an artist had to draw and paint them. I still marvel at all the work that went into the complex scene of playing cards in motion.
"Merry Mannequins”, by Ub Iwserks (1937), is a spectacular work of art deco art. It was a "Color Rhapsody" carton distributed by Columbia. The story is about two department store mannequins who fall in love, become engaged and plan to marry. Iwerks was the animator/director who created the first Mickey Mouse cartoons for Walt Disney, who produced.
'Cosmic Flower', by Ben Ridgeway. photo: courtesy B.Ridgeway"Roll ‘Em Lola” (1974) is a magnificent film by Fred Burns, made at USC with music by George Winston. This remarkable work of art was beautifully restored by Casey Herbert. .
"James Stewart Meets Stanley Kubrick” is a brilliantly done, four-minute work made using compositing technology.
Karl F. Cohen—who decided to add his middle initial to distinguish himself from the Russian Karl Cohen, who tried to assassinate the Czar in the mid-19th century—is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached . Posted on Apr 07, 2020 - 10:37 AM
