Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age

by Michael Barrier

Book Overview

In Hollywood Cartoons, Michael Barrier takes us on a glorious guided tour of American animation in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, to meet the legendary artists and entrepreneurs who created Bugs Bunny, Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, Wile E. Coyote, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry, and many other cartoon favorites.
Beginning with black-and-white silent cartoons, Barrier offers an insightful account, taking us inside early New York studios and such Hollywood...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195167295
• ISBN13: 9780195167290
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 648 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Behind the Hi-Jinx

This was a very good book, with a few caveats.The first chapter, on silent cartoons, is hard going. Not until Walt Disney shows up does that chapter start flowing.BUT from that point on, until the chapter on UPA, I had a hard time putting "Hollywood Cartoons" down. Barrier doesn't take the usual perspective on cartoons. He doesn't care how they appeal to the casual viewer but how they look to the pro. I didn't agree with all his judgments, but I respect his judgments.I have read several histories of cartoons, and Barrier still managed to surprise me or say something new. He had the best discussion of the origins of Bugs Bunny I've ever read. His description of the working of MGM's cartoon studio was fascinating, and his views on Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones showed real insight.Barrier states his opinions strongly. He doesn't like Fleischer or UPA cartoons, and he doesn't think Friz Freleng is worth a lot of discussion. (I would disagree about Friz, but agree on the other stuff.) In all, this was a fine book on this subject, and I am glad I read it.

Barrier's Tome, Decades-Long in the Making--Finally

Beautiful, complete, if Disney-centric (but then again, that's the reality, isn't it?) epic of the much-maligned and still underappreciated Hollywood animated cartoon. Barrier leaves no stone unturned in this definitive scholarly thesis on his subject, as well he shouldn't: this thing has been in the works--on and off--for almost two decades. (Only one minor quibble: not enough stuff on the Jones-Clampett feud and other non-Disney political issues.) Animation scholars rejoice!

One of the BEST...

Along with Shamus Culhane's "Talking Animals and Other People," the best book on the history of the HOLLYWOOD CARTOON (OK, ok--Fleischer was in New York--and Miami--but you get the idea). The book returns to Disney again and again as the standard (not the axis) of how these films were made and marketed. One of the best things about this book is something a lot of books seem to talk about, but few show as clearly: Disney's genius was the idea that CHARACTER and PERSONALITY go a lot further than slapstick, no matter how good. It's almost taken for granted nowadays--but the very idea was revolutionary at the time. Someone else may have eventually figured this out (and silence those who call this book "Disney-centric"), but Disney's was THE place to be in the early days of cartoon animation. I wish Mike Barrier would provide a companion book with illustrations cross referenced with this current book. And who's to say it's not in the works... (btw, stay away from Stephen Kanter's "Serious Business," another book on animation. Riddled with historic and contemporary innaccuracies, it's quite silly altogether...)

The most authoritative book on the subject

As an animator with more than a mild interest in the subject, I found the book to go beyond the history. It's the first book about animation to really delve into the ART of the medium. We see how the inventors of the medium are overtaken by the artists who are overtaken by the financiers. It's a magnificent book with absolute precision in its source material backed up by more than the usual number of interviews. It's not another promotional book for ANY studio. The coverage of Disney is greater because the focus is on the period when Disney built the medium. Anyone interested in the medium should read this.

This history of American animation is a major achievement!

I read somewhere recently that Michael Barrier worked on this book for almost thirty years, and I believe it. It is an awesomely complete, well documented, reader-friendly history, and Barrier clearly understands what makes animation works for audiences. He even references the writings of acting master theorist Constantin Stanlisvski! If you're interested in animation history, or even American history, this is a must-read.