Animation Fun Facts for April 30, 2012

Kirsten Dunst, voice actress in Monsters and Aliens is 30, animation filmmaker Bill Plympton is 66. Walpurgisnacht- In the Hartz Mountains of Germany the eve the Feast Day of St. Walpurga the demon chaser is a Halloween kind of party, when the Devil can romp for a night. It's part of the inspiration for Mussogorsky's "Night on Bald Mountain". 1900- John Luther Jones, called CASEY JONES died in a spectacular train crash near Vaughn Mississippi. Jones' freight train was running 75 minutes late so he stoked up his engine to 100 mph. Suddenly a switching error put a passenger train in his path. Jones stayed at the controls trying to stop the train while his crew jumped to safety. There was a head on collision but because of Jone’s bravery his was the only death. A brakeman later wrote the famous folksong. 1952 - Mr Potato Head is 1st toy advertised on television. In 2000 Rhode Island declared itself the Mr Potato Head State. the Hasbro Toy Company is headquartered in Pawtucket, a city just outside of Providence. 1992- BERN, the Geneva particle lab where the World Wide Web was developed by Tim Berner, declared that WWW. aka the Web would be open and free to all with no restrictions or royalties to be paid to them. 1993- The Walt Disney Company announced its’ purchase of top independent film producer Miramax. Ten years later a feud with Michael Eisner caused Miramax founders the Weinsteins to leave and form another company. By the time Miramax was sold in 2010, it was a shadow of it’s former self..

Animation fun facts for 4/25/2012 weds.

Simpson's Voice Actor Hank Azaria(Apu, Carl) is 52, Writer Director Ron Clements ( The Little Mermaid, Frog Princess) is 57. 1972- Witty, urbane actor George Sanders ( All About Eve, Sher Khan in Jungle Book) had turned age 65. He complained he had been famous and rich and was not looking forward to old age and having a nurse wipe his bottom. So he committed suicide and left a witty, urbane note. "Dear World: I am leaving because I am bored. Adieu, I leave you with your worries in this sweet cesspool."

Animation Fun Facts for April 24, 2012 Tues.

1933-Ub Iwerk's "Fiddlesticks" the first Flip the Frog cartoon, done in a simple two-color process. Iwerks was the first designer and animator of Mickey Mouse, who had left Walt Disney to open his own studio.

Animation Fun Fact for April 23, 2012

William Shakespeare born, animator Michael Sporn born.

Animation Fun Facts, April 21st, 2012.

1918- The Red Baron shot down, and no, Snoopy did not do it. 1938- Disney animator Bill Tytla married artists model Adrienne LeClerc.

Animation Fun Facts for Tuesday April 17 2012

1937 "Porky's Duck Hunt" The birth of Daffy Duck. One legendary story is that newly hired voice actor Mel Blanc in part designed Daffys distinctive lisp to be an impression of the Looney Tunes boss Leon Schlensinger. When they screened this cartoon all the artists stood in dread of how Leon would take the joke. Leon never made the connection that the Ducks voice was an imitation of him:" Gee Fellers, dat Duck iz pretty Ffffunny!"

April 13, 2012 fri

Glen Keane is 58.


1949- Lead character designer and story artist Joe Grant resigned from Disney Studios, not to return until 1989.

Animation Fun Facts for Thursday April 12, 2012

1911- Cartoonist Winsor McCay opened his vaudeville act with his "Little Nemo" animated short.

1992- Euro Disney opened near Paris.

April 11, 2012 Weds.

Animator Norman McClaren born 1914

1955- WABD in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles began running pre-1948 Warner Bros cartoon shorts in a half hour format, introducing the baby boomer generation to the world of Bugs, Daffy and Porky.

April 10, 2012 tues.

1992- Bill Kroyer’s Ferngully the Last Rainforest premiered.

Animation Fun Facts for Saturday April. 7, 2012

Kung Fu Panda Voice actor Jacky Chan is 58.

1927- An audience at the Bell Laboratory watched a three inch television screen broadcast an sound image of US Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.

1939-"The Ugly Duckling" the last Disney Silly Symphony short cartoon.

April 6, 2012 friday

Birthdays: Raphael of Urbino, Toy Story voice John Ratzenberger

1906-THE FIRST ANIMATED FILM- Cartoonist James Stuart Blackton created sensation when Edison filmed him doing sequential drawings and they seemed to come alive. The film was The Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. Blackton made a fortune, lost it and was hit by a bus in 1941. But his animated antics paved the way for Mickey, Bugs, Bart, Gollum and Laura Croft.

1931- The Little Orphan Annie radio show premiered. Remember kids to drink your Ovaltine and get out your de-coder rings.

1951- Happy Birthday AstroBoy! According to the 1951 comic book by Osamu Tezuka, today Professor Elephant completed the little boy with the suction cup feet and pointed hairdo. Originally called Tetsuwan Atomo, he was named Astro Boy when Mushi Prod released the animated version in the US in 1961.

Animation Fun Facts for Thursday April. 5, 2012

Birthdays: animator Hicks Lokey,


1945- The first Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon.

April 4, 2012 Weds.

Birthdays: Edweard Muybridge, Irv Spence- Tom & Jerry animator, Craig T. Nelson, the voice of Mr. Incredible in the Incredibles, is 68.

1952-CARTOON COMMIES- Nationally syndicated columnist Walter Winchell accused the owners of a New York commercial animation studio, Tempo Productions, of Communist sympathies. One of the owners was Disney Layoutman Dave Hilberman, who was a union organizer and was the only artist personally denounced by Walt Disney to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. The F.B.I. began investigating Tempo and their Madison Avenue clients quickly pulled their business. Tempo closed, laying off 50 artists. Mr. Clean, Markie Maypo and the Hamm’s Beer Bear were once again safe from Red subversion.