Animated Films on TCM

[skimpole]

I wonder whether TCM would like to have more animated films on it, or have a day devoted to it. One reason while there are so few is, fairly obviously, the fact that for the first 45 years of the animated feature film (1937-1982), most American films were made by Disney, and they're not interested in showing them here. It would be interesting to have other movies from this period on. Is there any good reason why "Watership Down" isn't on? There was a Russian version of "The Snow Queen" that was made in the fifties and soon appeared in the United States with Art Linkletter doing a talk over. Does anyone know anything about this movie?

[markfp2]

> {quote:title=skimpole wrote:}{quote} There was a Russian version of "The Snow Queen" that was made in the fifties and soon appeared in the United States with Art Linkletter doing a talk over. Does anyone know anything about this movie?

 

I recall it, but I never did see it because when it came out I was at that age where I wouldn't have been caught dead going into a "kids" film. Never saw it around since. Sounds promising though, besides Art Linkletter they used the voices of Tommy Kirk, Sandra Dee, June Foray and Paul Frees among others. I always found Russian animation interesting so it would certainly be worth a look.

 

It was released in this country by Universal so maybe they don't have the rights to it any longer. If they do, perhaps TCM will be able to pick it up under their new deal with them.

[Capuchin]

Some time ago, they did a splendid job with Hayao Miyazaki's works.

 

I, too, wish they'd show more animation, but so many people dismiss it as childish, I understand TCM's reluctance.

[musicalnovelty]

Capuchin:

You beat me to it, as I was also going to say a few words about the Miyazaki animated movies that TCM ran a couple years ago.

I admit that I'm the first to perhaps unfairly dismiss anything new (post-1959), so was not at all interested when I saw these strange unknown foreign animated movies scheduled. But I must have had TCM already on, and caught the start of "Spirited Away" (I think that was the first one they showed) and after just a few minutes getting used to something so unique I had to stay with it, and enjoyed it tremendously. Very cool stuff! I saw all the other Miyazaki films they ran, and tried to see both versions, subtitled and dubbed, as each version turned out to be quite different from the other.

So, a belated Thank You TCM for running those, and if you can repeat them, I wouldn't mind at all!

[Tikisoo]

>skimpole wrote:

>Is there any good reason why "Watership Down" isn't on? There was a Russian version of "The Snow Queen" that was made in the fifties and soon appeared in the United States with Art Linkletter doing a talk over. Does anyone know anything about this movie?

 

Ohmigod The Snow Queen was one of my favorite movies as a child. I do not recall Art Linkletter voiceover (he was so uncool to me as a kid) but remember somehow "knowing" the film was foreign. My local station showed TSQ and Gay Purr-ee all the time, which I also loved.

 

Never seen Watership Down, but something about it made me reticent-like I knew I was going to see bunnies suffering or being killed. Bambi is hard enough to watch for me.

 

When I was a kid people ridiculed my love of animation (others called 'em cartoons) I was born an artist and knew the value of animation as an art form as a 10 y/o. Luckily, in the 80's/90's a new appreciation for animation was brought into the mainstream, much thanks to Leonard Maltin for legitimizing.

I often discuss this with friends of mine who are my age and professional animators.

 

Message was edited by: TikiSoo because of fuzzy quoting

[Ray Faiola]

I saw THE SNOW QUEEN at Radio City Music Hall. And I have the Decca soundtrack album with music by Frank Skinner.

[Kid Dabb]

I'd like to include stop-motion animation from The Quay Brothers. PBS aired one of their films about 20 years ago. Once it began, I couldn't take my eyes off it. The version I saw was in color and the music was great. Here are parts 1 & 2 of Streets of Crocodiles(1986), based on material by Bruno Schulz, a Polish Surrealist writer shot in the street by a Gestapo officer in 1942 which are very similar to what I remember being aired but not as long or detailed. These offer but a taste from the inner workings of the complicated world revealed in the longer version aired by PBS.

 

Part 1:

[streets of Crocodiles|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohfgqdW4-2k]

 

Part 2:

[streets of Crocodiles|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTr2icsjMx4&NR=1]

[hlywdkjk]

*Watership Down* made the "Encore Channels" in the not-too-distant past and I checked it out as I was fond of the book when I was young. I was not impressed.

 

But here's a vote to night of Ralph Bakshi - preferably a Friday night - with films like *American Pop* and *Wizards* early in the evening and *Heavy Traffic* and *Fritz The Cat* shown during "TCM Underground". I've never seen a Bakshi film but know they were quite notorious during the early 70s.

 

Would *Fritz The Cat* still be considered "X-Rated" in 2010 or, like *Midnight Cowboy*, would contemporary sensibilities re-assess it to an "R" rating?

 

Also, wouldn't mind seeing a pristine print of the Fleischer Brothers *Gulliver's Travels*.

 

Kyle In Hollywood

[lzcutter]

*Some time ago, they did a splendid job with Hayao Miyazaki's works.*

 

That was back in 2006 or 2007. A number of posters saw it as a sign of the coming apocalypse that TCM was abandoning classic films and going straight to becoming AMC II.

 

The films are beautiful and the tribute to Miyazaki was very well done. You can find the various threads from back then in the message board archives.

[markfp2]

> {quote:title=lzcutter wrote:}{quote} > That was back in 2006 or 2007. A number of posters saw it as a sign of the coming apocalypse that TCM was abandoning classic films and going straight to becoming AMC II.

 

I remember that. Can you just imagine the posts if TCM ran FRITZ THE CAT?

[Tikisoo]

> {quote:title=hlywdkjk wrote:}{quote}

> But here's a vote to night of Ralph Bakshi - preferably a Friday night - with films like *American Pop* and *Wizards* early in the evening and *Heavy Traffic* and *Fritz The Cat* shown during "TCM Underground". I've never seen a Bakshi film but know they were quite notorious during the early 70s.

 

I am right with you on that Kyle. TCM recently showed Carnal Knowledge and I was thrilled to finally have the chance to see it. Racy? Not really, just sexuality is the subject. I'm pretty prudish, especially when it comes to art and *I* wasn't offended.

 

Never seen any Bakshi films either and absolutely feel his films are historically significant in the overall view of American film. How "dirty" can a cartoon be?

 

I had the pleasure of meeting (& walking dogs) with bad boy animator John Kricfalusi creator of Ren & Stimpy. I had no idea he started out working for Bakshi, but once he said that, it all made sense.

[Capuchin]

> {quote:title=TikiSoo wrote:}{quote}

> How "dirty" can a cartoon be?

 

I've just spent the last half-hour trying to figure out how to describe in polite, family-forum terms a cartoon I remember from the late 60s.

 

It's impossible -- 'dirty' rises to new levels when you're not restricted to what is humanly possible.

[brackenhe]

TCM did show some animated stuff a few months ago when they did a salute to Chuck Jones. Most of it was short cartoons but they did show The Phantom Tollbooth, a later feature by Jones that had nothing to do with the earlier WB cartoons.

 

The Bashki cartoons? I remember seeing Fritz the Cat back in the early 1970's and it was pretty raunchy. Maybe even a little too raunchy for TCM Underground in the middle of the night. The Disney features? will never happen. They keep those rights so tied up so that they can reissue their films every few years in a "Special" edition that those obsessed with Mickey & Co can add to their already ridiculous collections. I don't have anything against the Disney films in general, just the way they do business. I've truly enjoyed seeing some of the live action films from the 1960's and 1970's (as bad as some of them are) and the documentary they showed earlier this year was great. But the merchandising arm of Disney is a definite turn off.

[HollywoodGolightly]

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I don't think that Fritz the Cat is too... out there for the TCM Underground. If they won't show it, however, it might have more to do with getting the rights.

 

As for the Disney re-issues on video, I just see them as the natural extension of the theatrical re-issues they did when it still made sense. After all the movies are aimed primarily at children, so it makes sense (I think) to give new generations a chance to discover these classics when they're the right age. I don't think anyone has to "upgrade" a movie they already have, unless they're really interested in the extras, or a newly mastered video transfer, or maybe going from DVD to blu-ray.

[hamradio]

Most of the best feature length cartoons are made by Disney with Don Bluth following close behind. They hold the rights to their movies. As far as the rest, I guess because there are several cartoon channels on, they handle mostly the odds and ends.

 

There are many forgotton cartoon shorts made during the 1920's to the 1940's and TCM should show them more often. There is Betty Boop, Little Lulu by Marge, Gabby, Flip the Frog and films made by Famous Studios during the 1940's to 1950's.

 

I have a unique cartoon short which is mostly an educational film "Finding His Voice" 1929. It shows in a nice way how sound on films are created.

 

The works of Ub Iwerks and Max Fleischer goes mostly unappreciated today.

 

I remembered that PBS showed a lot of Betty Boop shorts during the early 1980's.

[markfp2]

> {quote:title=HollywoodGolightly wrote:}{quote}

> It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I don't think that Fritz the Cat is too... out there for the TCM Underground.

 

I don't think the problem would be with the normal audience for TCM Underground, it would be the folks who would be offended just by having an X-rated film on TCM, let alone a sexually explicit X-rated cartoon such as FRITZ THE CAT. (and a lot of them frequent these very boards). I doubt that TCM or it's parent company would want the bad publicity that would come from it. I can see the headlines now "TCM Goes Porn".

[LonesomePolecat]

I, too, loved the Miyazaki festival, and wish for more animation. It's a pity they don't do Cartoon Alley anymore. ANd I would probably have to boycott my beloved TCM if they showed Fritz the Cat.

[ChipHeartsMovies]

TCM already shows an X-rated film, *Midnight Cowboy* --- and there are certainly those who object.

 

*Fritz* is a lot more problematic, though.

[hamradio]

Lol, is "Fritz the Cat" *really* porn? If anyone gets turned on by watching it then that tells me that person needs a date *bad!*

[markfp2]

> {quote:title=ChipHeartsMovies wrote:}{quote}

> TCM already shows an X-rated film, *Midnight Cowboy* --- and there are certainly those who object.

>

> *Fritz* is a lot more problematic, though.

 

I know what you're saying, but since MIDNIGHT COWBOY was reclassified and its rating changed to an R long before TCM ran it, they didn't actually run an X-rated film.

[markfp2]

I'm not saying it's porn or not because I haven't seen it. My point was that many, many people consider all X-rated films as porn and they would be the first ones to complain on these boards or write letters to the editor complaining that "TCM Has Gone Porn".