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| Formerly | Famous Studios (1942–1956) |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Fleischer Studios |
| Founded | May 24, 1941; 84 years ago (1941-05-24) |
| Founders | Sam Buchwald Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber |
| Defunct | December 31, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-12-31) |
| Fate | Shut down |
| Successors | Studio: Paramount Animation Library: Paramount Skydance Corporation (August 1942-September 1950 and March 1962–December 1967 cartoons only) NBCUniversal (throughDreamWorks Animation andClassic Media) (October 1950–February 1962 cartoons underHarvey Films only) Warner Bros. Discovery (throughTurner Entertainment Co. andDC Entertainment) (Popeye the Sailor andSuperman only) |
| Headquarters | Miami,Florida (1941–1943) New York City,New York (1943–1967) |
Key people | Sam Buchwald Seymour Kneitel Isadore Sparber Dan Gordon Howard Post Ralph Bakshi Max Fleischer Dave Fleischer |
| Products | Animated cartoons |
| Owner | Paramount Pictures (Gulf+Western) |
Number of employees | Approx. 50 |
Famous Studios (renamedParamount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the firstanimation division of the film studioParamount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as asuccessor company toFleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control of the studio amid the departure of its founders,Max andDave Fleischer, in 1942.[1] The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers—Popeye the Sailor,Superman, andScreen Songs—as well asLittle Audrey,Little Lulu,Casper the Friendly Ghost,Honey Halfwitch,Herman and Katnip,Baby Huey, and theNoveltoons andModern Madcaps series.
TheFamous name was previously used byFamous Players Film Company, one of several companies which in 1912 becameFamous Players–Lasky Corporation, the company which founded Paramount Pictures.[1] Paramount's music publishing branch, which held the rights to all of the original music in the Fleischer/Famous cartoons, was namedFamous Music, and a movie theater chain in Canada owned by Paramount was called Famous Players.
The library of Famous Studios cartoons is currently divided between three separate film studios (via various subsidiaries):
Fleischer Studios was a successful animation studio responsible for producing cartoon shorts starring characters such asBetty Boop andPopeye the Sailor. The studio moved its operations from New York City toMiami, Florida in 1938, followingunion problems and the start of production on its first feature film,Gulliver's Travels (1939).[2] WhileGulliver was a success, the expense of the move and increased overhead costs created financial problems for the studio, which then depended on advances and loans from its distributor,Paramount Pictures, in order to continue production on its short subjects and to begin work on a second feature,Mr. Bug Goes to Town (also known asHoppity Goes to Town).[3]
Compounding the problem was the animosity between studio's co-founders, brothersMax Fleischer andDave Fleischer, who were becoming increasingly estranged, and by this time were no longer speaking to each other due to personal and professional disputes.[4] On May 25, 1941, Paramount assumed full ownership of Fleischer Studios, and required the Fleischer brothers to submit signed letters of resignation, to be used at Paramount's discretion.[3] Following the unsuccessful release ofMr. Bug in December 1941,[3] Max Fleischer sent Paramount a telegram expressing his inability to cooperate with Dave.[4] Paramount responded by producing the letters of resignation, severing the Fleischer brothers from control of their studio.[3]
Paramount renamed the studioFamous Studios. Paramount owned the company but Famous remained a separate entity.[3] Three top Fleischer employees were promoted to run the animation studio: business manager Sam Buchwald, storyboard artistIsadore Sparber, and Max Fleischer's son-in-law, head animatorSeymour Kneitel.[1] Buchwald assumed Max Fleischer's place asexecutive producer, while Sparber and Kneitel shared Dave Fleischer's former responsibilities as supervising producers and credited directors.[3] A third director,Dan Gordon, remained only briefly before being fired shortly after the move to New York.[4][5] Although the Fleischers left the studio at the end of 1941, Famous Studios was not officially incorporated until May 25, 1942, after Paramount's contract with Fleischer Studios had formally run its course.[3] The first Famous Studios cartoon was the Popeye shortYou're a Sap, Mr. Jap, released on August 7, 1942.[citation needed]
Shortly after the takeover, Paramount began plans to move a significantly downsized Famous Studios back to New York, a move completed early in 1943.[1] Virtually all of the Famous staff, including voice artist/storymanJack Mercer, storyman Carl Meyer, voice artistMae Questel, and animators such asMyron Waldman,David Tendlar, Thomas Johnson, Nicholas Tafuri, andAl Eugster, were holdovers from the Fleischer era. These artists remained with Famous/Paramount for much of the studio's existence. As at Fleischer, the head animators carried out the tasks that were assigned toanimation directors at other studios, while the credited directors—Kneitel, Sparber, Gordon, and Disney/Terrytoons veteranBill Tytla—acted more as supervisors.[6]Sammy Timberg served as musical director until he was succeeded in 1944 byWinston Sharples, who formerly worked with theVan Beuren Studios.[citation needed]
Continuing series from the Fleischer period includedPopeye the Sailor andSuperman, both licensed from popularcomics characters. The expensiveSuperman cartoons, having lost their novelty value with exhibitors, ended production in 1943, a year after Famous' inception. They were replaced by a series starring theSaturday Evening Post comic-strip characterLittle Lulu. Also in 1943, Famous began producing the formerly black-and-whitePopeye cartoons inTechnicolor, and began a new series of one-shot cartoons under the umbrella titleNoveltoons (similar in respects to theColor Classics series from Fleischer Studios, and also theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies series fromWarner Bros.).[7]
TheNoveltoons series introduced several popular characters such asHerman and Katnip,Baby Huey, andCasper the Friendly Ghost.Casper was created by writerSeymour Reit and Famous animatorJoe Oriolo in the late 1930s as a children's-book manuscript, and was sold to Famous duringWorld War II. It became the studio's most successful wholly owned property.[6]
In 1947, Paramount decided to stop payingLittle Lulu creatorMarge Buell licensing royalties, and created another "mischievous girl" character,Little Audrey, as a replacement.[7] That same year Famous resurrected an old Fleischer series,Screen Songs, introducing a new series of musical cartoons featuring a "bouncing ball" sing-along.[6] In 1951, the Screen Songs became "Kartune Musical Shorts," which ended in 1953 after Max Fleischer claimed ownership of the "bouncing ball" trademark. Only two more musical cartoons were released (as one-shot Noveltoons): 1954'sCandy Cabaret and 1963'sHobo's Holiday.[citation needed]
Sam Buchwald died of a heart attack in 1951.[8] Seymour Kneitel and Isadore Sparber became the production heads of the studio shortly afterward, and Dave Tendlar was promoted to director in 1953.[8]
The mid- and late-1950s brought a number of significant changes for Famous Studios. In 1955, Paramount sold most of its 1942–1950 shorts and cartoons (except for thePopeye andSuperman shorts) toU.M. & M. TV Corporation fortelevision distribution. ThePopeye cartoons were acquired byAssociated Artists Productions, and theSuperman cartoons had already reverted to Superman's ownersNational Comics after the studio's film rights to the character had expired. On October 1, 1956, Famous Studios was downsized and reorganized. Paramount assumed full control of the studio, integrating it as a division namedParamount Cartoon Studios.[8] Around the same time, Isadore Sparber was fired, leaving Seymour Kneitel in sole charge of the studio. In addition, because of studio budget cuts, the animation quality of the shorts began to drop sharply, eventually being reduced tolimited animation by the end of the decade. Paramount also ceased usingTechnicolor by this time in favor of less expensive color processes. The last Famous Studios short to use Technicolor wasKatnip's Big Day, the finale of theHerman and Katnip cartoon series. Despite the studiosubmitting some of their shorts forAcademy Award consideration, none received a nomination.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
Paramount sold its 1950–59 cartoon film library and the rights to its established characters toHarvey Comics in 1959.[8] Paramount's attempts at creating replacement characters, among themJeepers and Creepers andThe Cat, proved unsuccessful. Nonetheless, television animation production outsourced fromKing Features andHarvey Films brought the company additional income. Ironically, these arrangements had Paramount working on new television cartoons starring Casper, whom they had originally created, and Popeye and Little Lulu, characters they had previously licensed for theatrical cartoons.[8] In the case of King Features'Popeye andKing Features Trilogy TV cartoons, Paramount was one of several animation studios, among themJack Kinney Productions andRembrandt Films, to which King Features subcontracted production.[8] The first of only two all-newLittle Lulu cartoons after the character's 13-year hiatus off-screen,Alvin's Solo Flight, was released as part of theNoveltoons series in 1961, while twelve of theKing Features Trilogy cartoons, starring characters such asKrazy Kat, Little Lulu,Beetle Bailey, andSnuffy Smith, were released theatrically by Paramount in 1962 under the titleComic Kings.[8] In 1963, Paramount sold its pre-March 1962 cartoons to Harvey for one U.S. dollar, as part of a larger agreement to produce 26 new Casper cartoons for Harvey'sThe New Casper Cartoon Show for $78,000.[17]
Seymour Kneitel died of aheart attack in 1964, and Paramount brought in comic-book veteranHoward Post to run the cartoon studio.[18] Under Post's supervision, Paramount began new cartoon series and characters such asSwifty and Shorty andHoney Halfwitch (the latter having originated from theModern Madcaps series in the 1965 shortPoor Little Witch Girl), and allowed comic strip artistJack Mendelsohn to direct two well-received cartoons based upon children's imaginations and drawing styles:The Story of George Washington andA Leak in the Dike (both 1965).[18] Around the same time, Paramount would also distribute theNudnik cartoons fromRembrandt Films.
Post left the studio due to internal conflicts with the Paramount staff. His replacement wasShamus Culhane, a veteran of theFleischer Studios.[18] Culhane completed a few films that Post started and then ignored the rule book and made films that were very different from the previous regime.[19] In 1966, the studio subcontractedThe Mighty Thor cartoons fromGrantray-Lawrence Animation, producers of the animated television seriesThe Marvel Super Heroes.[20] In 1967, Culhane directed another short based on children's art,My Daddy, the Astronaut,[16] which became Paramount's first film to be shown at ananimation festival.[20] However, when Paramount's board of directors rejected a proposal to produce episodes for a second Grantray-Lawrence series,Spider-Man, Culhane quit the studio, and was succeeded by formerTerrytoons animatorRalph Bakshi in mid-1967.[20]
In 1967, Paramount radically revamped its short-subject release schedule to reflect all-new attractions. Black-and-white subjects were discontinued, as were all cartoon reissues (such as the "Popeye Champions"). The studio retired theNoveltoons andModern Madcaps series, replacing them withGo Go Toons,Merry Makers, andFractured Fables.[21] Ralph Bakshi quickly put several shorts into production, experimenting with new characters and ideas, but by late 1967 Paramount's new owners,Gulf+Western, had decided to shut down the animation studio, a task completed in December. The last cartoon from Paramount Cartoon Studios,Mouse Trek, the finale of theFractured Fables series, premiered on December 31, 1967.[22]
Famous Studios' library has been regarded as ones with varying quality, comparable to those produced byTerrytoons andScreen Gems. While the studio benefited from inheriting key figures who worked underFleischer Studios, animation historians noted a diverge in style by the 1950's that's considered inferior to its predecessor.[1]Leonard Maltin would derided the company's style for being highly formulaic and largely oriented toward a young audience while having none of the artistic ambition or sophistication that management under the Fleischer brothers strove for,[1][6] while Steve Stanchfield would note there use of unusually violent gags, particularly ones underDave Tendlar's supervision.[23]
The studio never gained the artistic acclaim ofWalt Disney Productions,Warner Bros. Cartoons,MGM Cartoons,Walter Lantz Productions orUPA later in its life. Despite this, the Famous shorts have since gained acult following on both public-domain home media and in animation circles.[24] The 1961 shortAbner the Baseball is displayed at theBaseball Hall of Fame.[25]
Throughout the 1950s, most of the major Hollywood studios sold off their film libraries to various television companies. In the case of Paramount, throughout the decade, they sold off the Famous Studios library to various different TV syndication companies resulting in multiple studios owning different cartoons.
In January 1956, Paramount sold the Pre-October 1950 Fleischer and Famous Studios cartoons (excludingPopeye andSuperman) toU.M. & M. TV Corporation for $3 million.[26] In 1957, U.M & M was bought out byNational Telefilm Associates (NTA). In the 1980s, NTA changed its name toRepublic Pictures after the original studio of that name, whose library NTA had also acquired. After a brief period of ownership bySpelling Entertainment in 1994, Republic Pictures was purchased by Paramount's parent companyViacom (nowParamount Skydance Corporation) in 1996, placing the shorts back in Paramount's control (Republic Pictures was renamed Melange Pictures LLC. in 2006).
Due to poor attention to then-required copyright renewals over the decades, many of these cartoons are now in thepublic domain.
In June 1956, Paramount sold the entirety of the Fleischer/Famous StudiosPopeye cartoons from 1933 to 1957 toAssociated Artists Productions (which had also recently purchased much of theWarner Bros. back catalog) for $1.25 million.[26] The assets of A.A.P. were in turn purchased byUnited Artists in 1958. In 1981, United Artists merged withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer to form MGM/UA. In 1986,Ted Turner'sTurner Broadcasting System attempted to acquire MGM/UA, but due to debt concerns, Turner was forced to sell the company back to its previous ownerKirk Kerkorian. However, Turner kept most of the pre-May 1986 MGM library as well as a few portions of the United Artists library, including the former A.A.P. library, and formed his own holding companyTurner Entertainment Co. to manage the rights. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged withWarnerMedia (nowWarner Bros. Discovery). Since then,Warner Bros. controls the rights to the theatricalPopeye cartoons via Turner Entertainment Co.
As per their original contract, the rights to theSuperman cartoons reverted toNational Comics after Paramount's deal expired in 1947. While the cartoons themselves are now in thepublic domain after their original copyrights were not renewed, the ancillary rights are still owned byDC Comics, and the cartoons (in authorized editions from the original negatives) are distributed by Warner Bros., which has owned DC since 1969.
In July 1958, Paramount sold off the Famous Studios cartoons made between October 1950 and December 1959, as well as the rights to all original characters created by Famous Studios (Casper, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, Buzzy the Crow, Tommy Tortoise, Moe Hare, Little Audrey, etc.) toHarvey Comics for $1.7 million,[27] who in turn createdHarvey Films to handle the rights and rebranded the cartoons asHarveytoons. The deal also gaveABC television distribution rights to the cartoons for the next 30 years (the rights reverted back to Harvey in 1989) while Paramount retained theatrical rights.[27] In 1963, Paramount sold its cartoons made between January 1960 and February 1962, again to Harvey Comics, for $1.[17]
In 2001, Harvey Comics was purchased by the holding companyClassic Media. In 2012, Classic Media was purchased byDreamWorks Animation, which retains ownership of the cartoons. In 2016, DreamWorks Animation was purchased byComcast'sNBCUniversal, withUniversal Pictures assuming the distribution of the cartoons on behalf of DreamWorks.
However, while NBCUniversal and DreamWorks Animation own the bulk of the rights to theHarveytoons catalog, as per their original 1958 contract, Paramount still retains theatrical rights to the cartoons and thus also controls the original camera negatives. However, the contract also stipulates that Harvey (and by extension, DreamWorks and NBCUniversal) are allowed to access the original film elements from Paramount whenever they feel the need to update their prints.[27][28]
Paramount continues to own the rights to the cartoons made from March 1962 to December 1967.
As of 2021, there has been no official release of the Paramount-owned Famous Studios library. Many of the cartoons are in the public domain and widely available (albeit usually in poor quality) in several low-budget DVDs and Blu-Rays sold in supermarkets and department stores. In 2012, Thunderbean Animation restored and released a collection of public-domainNoveltoons on DVD entitledNoveltoons Original Classics.
In 2008,Warner Home Video releasedPopeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3, the third volume of a series ofPopeye DVDs. It contained all the black & white Famous StudiosPopeye cartoons alongside the last of the Fleischer shorts. In 2018,Warner Archive releasedPopeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 1 which continued where the previous set left off and contained the first 14 Technicolor Famous Studio cartoons from 1943 to 1945. Warner Archive continued the collection withPopeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2 andPopeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 3 officially collecting all the Popeye cartoons from the 1940s. The remaining Famous StudiosPopeye cartoons from the 1950s have yet to be released.
Additionally, in 2006 to coincide with the release ofSuperman Returns, Warner Home Video restored and released all the Fleischer and Famous StudiosSuperman shorts as bonus material onTheChristopher Reeve Superman Collection andSuperman Ultimate Collector's Edition box-sets. Later in 2009, Warner Home Video released a standalone DVD set entitledMax Fleischer's Superman: 1941–1942 which contained all the Fleischer and Famous StudiosSuperman shorts. In 2023, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released a Blu-Ray version entitledMax Fleischer's Superman: 1941–1943.
During the 1990s, Harvey Entertainment producedThe Harveytoons Show, which collected most of the Harvey-owned Famous cartoons, first aired in syndication with the series being consulted by animation historianJerry Beck.[29][30] In 2006, Classic Media released 52 of the show's 78 episodes on a four-disc DVD set titledHarvey Toons – The Complete Collection. In 2011,Vivendi Entertainment and Classic Media released all Herman and Katnip cartoons on a single-disc DVD set titledHerman and Katnip: The Complete Collection. Also in 2011,Shout! Factory under license from Classic Media released 61 of 78 Casper cartoons fromThe Harveytoons Show, on a three-disc DVD set titledCasper the Friendly Ghost: The Complete Collection. On November 2, 2021,Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (through Studio Distribution Services joint venture label) released a three-disc DVD boxset titledThe Best of the Harveytoons Show.
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