Indefinitely, that is. The goal: To once again make this a place for plentiful and ever-updated posts on the good, the bad, and the in-between in public domain cartoon shorts.
Hang in there. (I will!)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Breaking News: P.U.P. Opens Another Door
We've just found out that P.U.P. Toons Episodes 1 and 2 have been added to the DVD collection of the Utica Public Library, Utica, NY. Thanks to Director Darby O'Brien for the update!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Here It Is ... The Official P.U.P. Toons Episode 2, Telescoped!
Episode 2: “An Animated Sunday Drive"
“A Coach for Cinderella” (Jamison Handy Organization, 1936)
"AWOL" (American Motion Picture Company, 1919)
"Bimbo's Auto" (Eric Porter Studios, 1954)
"All's Fair at the Fair” (Fleischer, 1938)
“A Coach for Cinderella” (Jamison Handy Organization, 1936)
"AWOL" (American Motion Picture Company, 1919)
"Bimbo's Auto" (Eric Porter Studios, 1954)
"All's Fair at the Fair” (Fleischer, 1938)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
"Judge Rummy in 'A Joy Ride'": Daring to Be Obscure
Created by Thomas A. "Tad" Dorgan circa the early 19-teens, for the comic strip pages of the New York Journal (under the sizable umbrella of William Randolph Hearst), cartoon dog/cigar-and-fine-spirits-lover Judge Rummy quickly became the best known of Dorgan's "funny animal" creations. So it very naturally followed, in the wake of Hearst's launching of the International Film Service animation studio in 1915, that the good Judge would eventually join the IFS stable of silent cartoon stars.
And so it came to be, for a fairly respectable run of 34 cartoon shorts released from 1918 through 1921.
"...'A Joy Ride'," directed by Grim Natwick and released in 1920, is said to have been the fourth-from-last Judge Rummy cartoon, and may very well have presented His Honor at his most, shall we say, expansive.
Thumbnail: A friend of Rummy brings him a flask of Prohibition-safe "cough syrup" with the pledge that "three drops will make a dog stop barking." What it does to the Judge and his "coughing" buddy is to send them off on a trance-like holiday in a land where all is beauty and contentment...until a third party well known to Rummy also happens upon the "syrup." And there will be no "hair of the dog" for anybody.
Back here in 2007, Judge Rummy lives again as a charter member of the P.U.P. Toons characters' gang through the courtesy of Tom Stathes and his considerable collection of silent shorts. But we'll stick to sparkling water instead! Cheers.
And so it came to be, for a fairly respectable run of 34 cartoon shorts released from 1918 through 1921.
"...'A Joy Ride'," directed by Grim Natwick and released in 1920, is said to have been the fourth-from-last Judge Rummy cartoon, and may very well have presented His Honor at his most, shall we say, expansive.
Thumbnail: A friend of Rummy brings him a flask of Prohibition-safe "cough syrup" with the pledge that "three drops will make a dog stop barking." What it does to the Judge and his "coughing" buddy is to send them off on a trance-like holiday in a land where all is beauty and contentment...until a third party well known to Rummy also happens upon the "syrup." And there will be no "hair of the dog" for anybody.
Back here in 2007, Judge Rummy lives again as a charter member of the P.U.P. Toons characters' gang through the courtesy of Tom Stathes and his considerable collection of silent shorts. But we'll stick to sparkling water instead! Cheers.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Our First Four Collected Shorts in Brief(s)
Episode 1: “The Magic is in the Details”
Bugs Bunny: “Case of the Missing Hare” (Warner Bros., 1942)
Judge Rummy in “A Joy Ride” (International Film Service, 1920)
TerryToon Cartoon: “Billy Mouse’s Akwakade” (Terrytoons, 1940)
Betty Boop: “Betty Boop and Grampy” (Fleischer, 1935)
Bugs Bunny: “Case of the Missing Hare” (Warner Bros., 1942)
Judge Rummy in “A Joy Ride” (International Film Service, 1920)
TerryToon Cartoon: “Billy Mouse’s Akwakade” (Terrytoons, 1940)
Betty Boop: “Betty Boop and Grampy” (Fleischer, 1935)
The P.U.P. Toons Team
Today, we present quick sketches of the crew who truly made it possible to get the P.U.P. on its feet.
Tom Stathes, our curator and technical associate, fashioned online the "look" and basic format of all the elements to appear in each episode. As important if not more so, Tom's incredible collection of silent animated films makes it possible for us to include such early cartoon stars as Judge Rummy, Farmer Al Falfa, Bobby Bumps, and Charlie Chaplin (yes, really!) in one short per episode.
Elliot Denenberg and his colleagues at I Converted Video & Audio, Highland Park, NJ, have themselves proven invaluable to the cause, as they fine-tuned the timing of every segment beyond the shadow or wiggly line of a doubt, while adding a gleaming visual polish all their own.
And J.M. Zlomek, a longtime and extremely patient friend of this writer, has worked above and beyond the call to provide us with valuable VHS source materials, as well as to spread the word about P.U.P. Toons in a multitude of ways.
So that's the whole group, and every one has my everlasting gratitude for their efforts.
Tom Stathes, our curator and technical associate, fashioned online the "look" and basic format of all the elements to appear in each episode. As important if not more so, Tom's incredible collection of silent animated films makes it possible for us to include such early cartoon stars as Judge Rummy, Farmer Al Falfa, Bobby Bumps, and Charlie Chaplin (yes, really!) in one short per episode.
Elliot Denenberg and his colleagues at I Converted Video & Audio, Highland Park, NJ, have themselves proven invaluable to the cause, as they fine-tuned the timing of every segment beyond the shadow or wiggly line of a doubt, while adding a gleaming visual polish all their own.
And J.M. Zlomek, a longtime and extremely patient friend of this writer, has worked above and beyond the call to provide us with valuable VHS source materials, as well as to spread the word about P.U.P. Toons in a multitude of ways.
So that's the whole group, and every one has my everlasting gratitude for their efforts.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Introduction and Welcome!
You've arrived at the cyber-home of P.U.P. Toons—Preserved. Unearthed. Protected. Toons!© I’m Burt Stein, creator and script writer of P.U.P. Toons, a series of half-hour programs on DVD devoted exclusively to public domain cartoon shorts.
As you might have noticed, over the past 10 years or so, virtually all of the classic animated characters you’ll read about here have disappeared from broadcast and cable television channels throughout the United States. (This is one key reason why late afternoon TV is currently filled with judges and other talking heads ad nauseum.)
Where P.U.P. Toons comes in is the point at which some way must be found to get these characters back into the public eye, and rekindle the love of such vintage cartoons that used to be highly visible at the grass roots level (especially because nothing will ever beat the experience of watching these shorts while surrounded by a theatre-type audience).
As you might have noticed, over the past 10 years or so, virtually all of the classic animated characters you’ll read about here have disappeared from broadcast and cable television channels throughout the United States. (This is one key reason why late afternoon TV is currently filled with judges and other talking heads ad nauseum.)
Where P.U.P. Toons comes in is the point at which some way must be found to get these characters back into the public eye, and rekindle the love of such vintage cartoons that used to be highly visible at the grass roots level (especially because nothing will ever beat the experience of watching these shorts while surrounded by a theatre-type audience).
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