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QUANTUM ANIMATION
One of the things I miss about living in Los Angeles is that there are so many wonderful conventions every week devoted to comic books, movie memoribilia, toys, horror films, etc. including several devoted to very specific interests. In 1993, I got to attend the Quantum Leap Convention for devotees of that series who were concerned that the series might be cancelled. I got the opportunity to ask Executive Producer/Creator Don Bellisario about his reported plans to do an entire episode in animation if the series is renewed. Bellisario assured me he had already written the script because of the long lead time it takes to produce animation. The script would feature caricatures of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell done in what he termed “adult animation”. Sam Beckett (Bakula) would leap into an animated adventurer searching for his dad. There will be action packed scenes like a boat careening down a river in Peru, a plane crash and more. When I asked Bellisario why he wanted to use animation for an episode other than just the novelty value, he told me, “Anything is possible in animation. If you want to blow up the world, you use animation.” Basically, he felt he could do some special effects that the normal live action budget couldn’t support.
SCARY STUFF
According to the Guinness Book of Movie Facts, Louis B. Mayer, despite the advice he got from MGM studio executives, refused to put aspiring animator Walt Disney under contract to the studio in 1928 after seeing a preview of the first Mickey Mouse short because Mayer thought that pregnant women would be frightened of a ten foot high rodent on the screen.
WHAT A JOKER
According to the New York Public Library records, actor Jack Nicholson’s first film related job was an office boy in MGM’s cartoon department.
STERN HUMOR
Listeners to the Howard Stern radio program know that Producer Gary Dell Abate’s nickname is “Baba Booey”. How did he get that unusual nickname? Well, Dell Abate is a collector of animation art and has several framed cels hanging in his living room. One day, he was trying to tell Stern about Hanna-Barbera’s horse sheriff Quick Draw McCraw and his Mexican burro sidekick, Baba Looey. But in his excitement, he mispronounced the name of the character as “Baba Booey” and the unforgiving Stern dubbed his unfortunate producer with the animated nickname.
LOST CARTOONS
Many animated projects never make it beyond development. At one time, the famous Preston Blair (responsible for the design of Red Hot Riding Hood and animator on the Sorcerer Apprentice sequence in FANTASIA) was involved with a proposal for an animated HONEYMOONERS series and developed some beautiful model sheets of the characters. Jack Kinney (best known for his work on Disney’s GOOFY cartoons) also tried to get celebrity related animated series off the ground. At one point, he met with actress Mae West to put together an animated series to be entitled PRETTY MAE. Next, he developed a pilot with Bill Dana which would feature Dana’s popular ethnic character Jose Jimenez. Finally, he worked with W.C.Fields’ son on an animated series proposal which would spotlight the famous comedian.
DON’T HAVE A COW
When asked how he felt about John Kricfalusi being removed from REN AND STIMPY, SIMPSONS’ creator Matt Groening aptly remarked, “It’s like taking Dr. Frankenstein away from his monster.”
PROFESSIONAL FREES
The late voice actor Paul Frees (Boris Badenov, ghost host of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, etc.) was reknowned for his professionalism. One time during a recording session for a series of Jay Ward cartoons, he was intently reading his copy. His pride and joy was a green Borsalino hat. While he was doing his vocal chores, under a tight deadline, on the other side of the recording studio glass, he saw Bill “Bullwinkle” Scott hold up a green Borsalino hat. Scott methodically began to cut the hat up with a pair of scissors as the tortured Frees continued his reading without breaking his concentration or pace. When the session was over, Frees rushed out of the booth where Scott gave him his hat back. Scott had bought an identical one for the gag of cutting it up.
THE KING AND THE MOUSE
At the time of Elvis Presley’s death, according to his biographer Albert Goldman, Elvis was the second most commonly reproduced face in the world. The first most reproduced face was that of Mickey Mouse.
TWO THUMBS UP
Thanks to the internet, almost everyone knows most of the “in jokes” that pop up in Disney animated features. In fact, most people know that animated caricatures of co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker pop up in ALADDIN when the street thief stands between them briefly during the song “One Jump” where the characters are watching a muscleman striking poses. However, how many folks realize that originally, the characters were supposed to be caricatures of film critics Siskel and Ebert but legal felt there might be some difficulty getting permission so Clements and Musker were substituted.
THE CHAPLIN CONNECTION
Walt Disney was a great fan of Charlie Chaplin, even entering a local theater’s amateur night contest dressed as The Little Tramp. Eventually, Chaplin himself became a great fan of Mickey Mouse. In fact, when Chaplin released his film CITY LIGHTS in 1931, he insisted that it be shown with a Mickey Mouse short. Walt once described Mickey Mouse as “a mouse that would have something of the wistfulness of Chaplin-a little fellow trying to do the best he could”.
A FROG IN HIS VOICE
According to a FAMILY CIRCLE article from 1935, producer Max Fleischer discovered the original voice of Popeye, William Costello, when the short stocky man of “about 28” was “imitating the voice of a frog”.
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