Okay, I've gotta make a confession.

[Marty26]

I've always had a bias towards WB cartoons. In fact, there was a time where I vowed to never watch anything by Disney or MGM or any other classic animation studios, because I was such a WB fanboy. Thus, I probably don't have the kind of knowledge of non-WB classic animation that I should. If there are any recommended DVD's, cartoons, etc. so that I can become better versed in non-WB cartoons, please reply here or PM me.

(this is basically after reading Ray's reply to my question about Popeye and Betty Boop ever crossing over)

[Brandon Panther]

Unfortunately, many of the Disney Treasure DVDs for the classic cartoons are long sold out (there's still a few oswalds left I think). They contained a lot of good information on the classics, provided by Ollie Johnson, Frank Thomas, etc.

Sadly, Leonard Maltin does spew out an occasion flaw in his intros (ex. citing Pat Sullivan as the creator of Felix the Cat), but either way very factual.

The first Woody Woodpecker DVD volume has a documentary made in the 80s hosted by Walter Lantz; mainly him telling about his own personal history and experience with cartoons. Creation of Woody himself be damned.

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

You can still get some of the Disney Treasures DVD's off Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=disney+treasures&x=0&y=0), but some of them can get pretty expensive, and Amazon points out that the product has been discontinued.

[Fibber Fox]

I've always had a bias towards WB cartoons. In fact, there was a time where I vowed to never watch anything by Disney or MGM or any other classic animation studios, because I was such a WB fanboy.

There's a difference between a bias and an irrational "vow". It, frankly, sounds somewhat unhealthy.

As for becoming better acquainted with other cartoons, at one time the answer was as simple as a television set. Today there are on-line video sites. It shouldn't be difficult to locate some theatricals; there's Avery material on YouTube, eg.

Of course, you could go out and buy the Woody, Popeye, Tom and Jerry or other sets but you'd probably rather sample the cartoons first.

F. Fox
http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com

[Cdawg]

If there are any recommended DVD's, cartoons, etc. so that I can become better versed in non-WB cartoons, please reply here or PM me.

Hey Marty26! You could go to one of the better media rental stores & just rent some stuff to check it out! I would recommend the "Tex Avery's DROOPY the complete theatrical collection". I also loved the Popeye and Woody Woodpecker collections. I bought the Disney Treasures as they came out, then had to go looking on ebay to get the black & white Mickey Mouse collections for my brother. I keep an eye on the good used media stores in my area too.

[Chooch]

Of course, you could go out and buy the Woody, Popeye, Tom and Jerry or other sets....

Jeeze Louise! Don't forget Yakky and Clobber and Fibber Fox, for cryin' out loud!!

http://www.amazon.com/Yogi-Bear-Show-Complete/dp/B000AOEMUA

[Cartman]

Marty,

I've downloaded a few non-WB cartoons on Youtube.

Here is the URL:http://www.youtube.com/my_videos

[Bradskey]

It's not a DVD, and its not the same as watching the cartoons, but you can learn a lot simply by reading Leonard Maltin's classic animation bible, "Of Mice and Magic". Even better in tandem with or having seen the cartoons on disc, many widely released only in the past few years.

[Fibber Fox]

Jeeze Louise! Don't forget Yakky and Clobber and Fibber Fox, for cryin' out loud!!

Marty was talking about "classic animation studios" and judging by his comments, I presume he was talking about theatricals from the 30s into the 60s.

Archive.org has a few Van Beuren Tom and Jerrys and, better still, some wonderful Felix silents.

"Clobber?" You mean Clinton Clobber? ;)

F. Fox
http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com

[mulroz]

Unfortunately, many of the Disney Treasure DVDs for the classic cartoons are long sold out (there's still a few oswalds left I think). They contained a lot of good information on the classics, provided by Ollie Johnson, Frank Thomas, etc..

You could make your dvd-player region free. The essential ones are for sale for little on amazon germany.

Ray has made some good dvd's himself, I can recommand his "Out of the Inkwell" dvd which has a lot of information on Max and Dave Fleischer

[Marty26]

Marty,

I've downloaded a few non-WB cartoons on Youtube.

Here is the URL:http://www.youtube.com/my_videos

The link goes into a "Sign into your Youtube account" page. I don't have a Youtube account, nor do I plan on getting one.

[Brandon Panther]

It's not a DVD, and its not the same as watching the cartoons, but you can learn a lot simply by reading Leonard Maltin's classic animation bible, "Of Mice and Magic". Even better in tandem with or having seen the cartoons on disc, many widely released only in the past few years.
But that book is long out of print and difficult to find.

Mike Barrier's book "Hollywood Cartoons" has a lot of junk on Disney.

[Gasmask Ted]

Of Mice and Magic is not out of print and is readily available new from Amazon.

[Bradskey]

But that book is long out of print and difficult to find.


I beg to differ, I found it quite easily:

http://www.amazon.com/Mice-Magic-American-Animated-Cartoons/dp/0452259932

and any bookstore should be able to order.

[Marty26]

Actually, I have OMAM. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, though.

[FleischerFan]

Marty:

Unfortunately, a lot of the material you seek is not easily available on authorized DVDs at this time.

BETTY BOOP: There are many unauthorized sets, but these can be hit or miss. Her best cartoons are the ones from early in her career, usually co-starring Bimbo and Ko-Ko.

POPEYE: Fortunately, all of the Fleischer Popeye's are now available. Pick up Volume 2 as a good place to start. If you like those, grab Volume 1 and then Volume 3.

TOM & JERRY: Here, you are in luck as the vast majority of the Tom & Jerry's are available on DVD. While I prefer the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, there is also a set of the Chuck Jones directed ones, which may appeal to you. They play as if M-G-M has "loaned out" their marque stars to Warner Brothers.

TEX AVERY: While there is the Droopy set, most of the rest of Avery's work is not yet available in a single collection (random cartoons have been scattered as "Bonus Features" through Warner Brothers Home Video releases). All of his Lantz cartoons are available on the Woody Woodpecker sets.

HARMAN-ISING HAPPY HARMONIES: Like Avery, most of these remain unreleased with a handful scattered around as "Bonus Features."

DISNEY CARTOONS: Some of the Treasures series remain available. The OOP ones can be had on eBay or other auction sites if you are willing to pay the price. For my money, Having all of the Mickey's, Silly Symphonies, and the complete Goofy are the essentials (although I'm sure there are quite a few Donald fans here as well).

Disney has also released several volumes of classic cartoons. They retail at about $15 each, but are pretty skimpy when it comes to the selection (6 to 8 cartoons per disc). The Treasures, when they can be found at a reasonable price, represent a better value.)

Beyond that, there is a "grey market" for DVDs of unrelased cartoons (and feature films for that matter). If you are diligent in searching the Internet, you can find nearly everything listed above on DVD. I have DVD copies of the HAPPY HARMONIES and TEX AVERY's M-G-M cartoons that were made from laser disc editions released years ago.

You may also be able to obtain some of this material on old VHS tapes via eBay or other sources. There was a box set of nearly all the Betty Boop titles as well as multiple volumes of Tex Avery, M-G-M, and of course, Disney.

[Cartman]

The link goes into a "Sign into your Youtube account" page. I don't have a Youtube account, nor do I plan on getting one.
Oops! Here you go. By clicking on my username, you can find more videos by me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zq121xX5kI

[Bradskey]

Actually, I have OMAM. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, though.

I enjoyed it immensely, I don't think I could have waited to read it once I had it, lol.

These may not top your list, or you may never be interested in any of them at all, but a few more I'd add as far as availability on DVD:

WB Harman-Ising: The two old Uncensored Bosko collections feature some of the earliest cartoons made for WB. Volume 1 is not cheap, Volume 2 frequently appears to be out of print. But you can maybe still Netflix them -- they feature a lot of rough but uncut Bosko cartoons. These are the first Looney Tunes. If you have LTGC sets then you've seen most of the early Merry Melodies cast represented there with the exception of Goopy Geer, and also a couple of the better Bosko's that were missing from the Bosko Video collections. There is also a color MGM Bosko cartoon, pre character redesign, "Bosko's Parlor Pranks", included in the Forbidden Hollywood Vol 3 set. Other than the use of a rather good 2-strip color process its a completely typical Bosko outing.

Van Beuren: The first major release is the old Cartoons That Time Forgot volume for the Van Beuren studio, featuring good looking prints from the Blackhawk film collection, with a variety of Rainbow Parades, Aesop Fables, Tom & Jerry, etc. Not cheap, but can probably be rented. We have Steve Stanch/Thunderbean to thank for the wealth of other Van Beuren material now available, with his releases of Cubby Bear, The Little King, Toddle Tales/Rainbow Parades, Aesop's Fables available in 2 volumes as well as the Uncensored Animation volume, and the forthcoming Tom and Jerry collection.

Fleischer: Aside from PD collections of Betty Boop and official and PD collections of Superman, Jerry Beck put together VCI's "Somewhere in Dreamland" set featuring the Color Classics series of one off cartoons, and many are true classics that shouldn't be so overlooked. For the silent work of the 20s Ray Pointer has available a 2-DVD "Out Of The Inkwell" set featuring the famous Koko the Clown. He also has (non-Fleischer) sets of other silents including Krazy Kat, Mutt and Jeff, and Walt Disney's surviving early Laugh-O-Grams.

Pat Sullivan/Felix the Cat: There is an old Bosko Video collection available for cheap on DVD simply titled "Presenting Felix the Cat", featuring many of the major Otto Messmer classics from 1919-1924. This disc is a nice one to have handy while reading the first chapter of OMAM.

Ub Iwerks: There are 2 "Cartoons That Time Forgot" volumes for this studio, featuring Blackhawk film collection prints of varying quality. A lot of Flip the Frog and Willy Whopper in here among several one-offs. Overall I personally find these the poorest cartoons of those I've listed so far, with the exception of some of the earlier Flip cartoons. The animation is fine, I just don't like them for the most part.

Studios like Terrytoons and Mintz/Columbia continue to be grossly under-represented. Their output is not comic gold however, but I can't think of any major releases of any size for either one at the moment, although they do trickle out in PD sets no doubt, and Columbia shorts sometimes are included as extras.

Less obscure of course is the Complete Harvey Toons collection, problematic though it is, featuring a lot of the 50s/60s Paramount cartoons. And almost all of the DFE theatricals, particularly Pink Panther, Inspector, etc, are available in volumes or as one large collection.

[Marty26]

Yeah, I like Ub Iwerks (definitely one of the more innovative GAC era directors).

Thanks for the suggestions everybody!