Other Screen Adaptations of Comic Characters

[Ray Pointer]

We all agree that the most successful screen adaptation of a comic strip character to the animation medium is POPEYE. Other comic stip characters had been produced in animated form since the beginnings of film. The first of course was Winsor McCay's LITTLE NEMO MOVING COMICS (1911).

In 1916, the Hearst International Studio was formed to produce animated versions of its popular comic strips including HAPPY HOOLIGAN, THE KATZENJAMMER KIDS, MAGGIE AND JIGGS, and KRAZY KAT. These adaptations were produced quickly and crudely, with faint attention to maintaining the original drawing quality of the originals. Consequently, the studio closed after one year. Interestingly two of these strips were rivived, KRAZY KAT being the one with the longest screen life lasting nearly 24 years, with Columbia through Charles Mintz, and later Screen Gems continuing the series until 1940. At the same time, they produced
the rare BARNEY GOOGLE cartoons that are not known to have survived to a large degree. And as many know, THE KATENJAMMER KIDS were revived as THE CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS, produced by MGM starting in 1937.

MUTT AND JEFF began in 1916 as well, but was more faithful to the original in both look and character. Where FELIX THE CAT has been cited as the first animated cartoon character with personality, the screen adaptation of MUTT AND JEFF preceeded FELIX by three years, displaying the basic comedic personalities protrayed in the strips that were also the base for later comedy duos of vaudville and movies--particularly Abbott and Costello. MUTT AND JEFF also had a long successful run lasting 30 years.

POPEYE had a long run of 24 years as a theatrical series. And while the characters evolved with the advancement of animation techniques, it is the original Max Fleischer black and white cartoons from 1933 to 1934 that established the series, which originally relied heavily on the Segar
comic strip designs. As the animators started adapting POPEYE for improved animation, the spirit of the comic strip seemed retained. Much of this seems related to the Fleischer style of animation that was rooted in New York cartooning. With this understanding, it would be interesting to consider other famous Hearst characters that might have done well if produced by Fleischer Studios. A few were tried in one shots in BETTY BOOP cartoons such as THE LITTLE KING, HENRY, and LITTLE JIMMY, but no series resulted. I'd be curious to have seen what Fleischer could have done with MAGGIE AND JIGGS as an example. What are your visions for interpretations of Hearst comics as they could have been done by Fleischer?

[Jack G.]

Visions?

I don't have any!

But I would be interested in seeing Fleischer take a stab at Polly and Her Pals.

Cliff Sterret's imagery seems to be a good fit for Fleischer more surreal elements.

[Alf]

I always thought that BLONDIE might have been the basis for a nice series of theatrical animated shorts by Fleischer or any other studio of the 30´s and 40´s (yet she starred in a long-running series of live action features in the 40´s -starring Penny Singleton, later the voice of Jane Jetson- and in a short-live T.V. series in the 60´s -with some of its cast members having done voices for animation, such as Jim Backus (Mr. Dithers) and Pamelyn Ferdyn (Cookie)-, not being animated until the 80´s, when Marvel used her for a half-hour special). Dagwood´s crazy antics could have been transferred effectively to the animated medium if properly done (probably Blondie, being a less 'cartoony' character, would have been more difficult to handle by the animators). Obviously, since cartoons tend to focus more on animal characters rather than on humans, chances are that these hypothetical BLONDIE cartoons would center mainly on the character of Daisy (Blondie´s and Dagwood´s dog) and her pups.

[Ray Pointer]

I always thought that BLONDIE might have been the basis for a nice series of theatrical animated shorts by Fleischer or any other studio of the 30´s and 40´s (yet she starred in a long-running series of live action features in the 40´s -starring Penny Singleton, later the voice of Jane Jetson- and in a short-live T.V. series in the 60´s -with some of its cast members having done voices for animation, such as Jim Backus (Mr. Dithers) and Pamelyn Ferdyn (Cookie)-, not being animated until the 80´s, when Marvel used her for a half-hour special). Dagwood´s crazy antics could have been transferred effectively to the animated medium if properly handled. Obviously, since cartoons tend to focus manily on animal characters rather than on humans, chances are that these hypothethical BLONDIE cartoons would center mainly on the character of Dasiy (Blondie´s and Dagwood´s dog) and her pups.

This is the major distinction between Fleischer and Disney as an example. Fleischer focused on animated cartoon humans instead of humanised animals. Because of this, an animated BLONDIE series by Flesicher Studios would have been a natural especially since the studio's style was close to that of Chic Young's.

[cpdavison]

I think SMOKEY STOVER would have been an interesting animated cartoon series. (Was this a Hearst strip?)

Fleischer studios would've made the most of the bizarre contaptions that were used in the strips, IMO.

It's probably the crack-pot sort of thing Screen Gems / Columbia would've somehow gotten involved with, though.

Craig D.

[cbrubaker]

Well, Filmation eventually did animate "Smokey Stover" for television. The less said the better.

What if Dick Tracy was turned into a series by Famous Studios? They were capable of doing a "realistic" animation with Superman. I imagine that the Tracy villains would've came across as extra creepy if Famous tackled them.

I realize that UPA and Filmation did animate Tracy years later, but they wern't as exciting as the strip.

I would've loved to see Wizard of Id animated. I imagine that DePatie-Freleng would've been the best for it.

[larriva9/11]

I realize that UPA and Filmation did animate Tracy years later, but they wern't as exciting as the strip.

UPA's was a bizarre, more-enjoyable-than-it-ought-to-be desecration where Tracy played second fiddle to characters such as the politically-incorrect Joe Jitsu and Go Go Gomez.

By comparison, Filmation played it straight--more along the lines of its superhero and Star Trek adaptations...

[Bugsy-Kun]

The animation medium is know a lot for their adaptations of a comic character in screen. I think all of the big names was adapted in 100 years except someones like Gaston Lagaffe who never turned in a animated cartoon since his creation.

My odd part is i watched their screen adapatations without realised they was created in comics.