VHS : Free Form Fairy Tales
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In association with Amazon.com
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starring: Billy Bletcherdirected by: Ub Iwerks, Shamus Culhane, Al Eugster
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302754278
Format: Animated, Black & White, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6302754275
Label: Kino International
Manufacturer: Kino International
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kino International
Release Date: May 12, 1993
Running Time: 77 minutes
Sales Rank: 73536
Studio: Kino International
Theatrical Release Date: August 30, 1935
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Despite its talented staff, the Van Beuren Studio, which existed from 1928 to 1936, never rose above the level of a 'B' cartoon house. Their talking version of Felix the Cat, who appears in 'Bold King Cole' (1936) and 'The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg' (1936), has none of zest of the silent character animated by Otto Messmer. Their original characters, Molly Moo-Cow and Cubby Bear, are awkward-looking nonentities. The 'Rainbow Parade' series was clearly designed to compete with Walt Disney's 'Silly Symphonies,' but the films lack the polished animation, innovative designs, and focused storytelling of the Disney shorts. Some of the Van Beuren cartoons are genuinely odd: 'Opening Night' (1933) celebrates the opening of the lavish Roxy Theater in New York; 'In a Cartoon Studio' (a.k.a. 'Making 'Em Move,' 1931) spoofs the animation process with scenes of robust chaos. Modern viewers are more likely to find the rubber-lipped cannibals in 'Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe' (1936) and the jazz-singing black skeletons in 'Wot a Night' (1931) outrageous, if not downright offensive. This is an interesting collection for those interested in animation history, but time--and audiences--has forgotten these cartoons with good reason. --Charles Solomon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Cartoons That Time Forgot DVD
Considering the age of these cartoons, the reproduction quality of the video and audio was excellent.
Rating:  - Twisted Animation From the Van Beuren Studio
Van Beuren was a B-grade animation studio in the Max Fleischer vein. Regardless of the tight budgets, Van Beuren produced some bizarre and truly memorable cartoons during the early 1930s - particularly those featuring the musical antics of Tom and Jerry. "Cartoons That Time Forgot" includes some of the duo's best shorts: "Piano Tooners," "Wot a Night" and "The Tuba Tooter." Another minor classic is "The Sunshine Makers" (1935) in which cheerful dwarfs conquer grim-faced gremlins with bottles of sunshine. ... Read More
Rating:  - Van Beuren cartoons are downright nutty
Van Beuren is a sadly forgotten studio and is one of the funniest and goofiest of the 30s!
WOT A NIGHT Is Tom and Jerry's first screen appearance (not the cat and mouse Tom and Jerry, the two humans). It's funny, spooky and crazy but it's not just there to making a great cartoon. It starts out great but right after Tom and Jerry are locked in the haunted house things start to go a little downhill, this is a pretty good cartoon none-the-less. Oh yeah, and The black skeletons are NOT offensive. ... Read More
Rating: - Another essential collection of rare 1930's cartoons.
The Van Beuren studio made some very interesting cartoons during 1929-1936.
This collection includes several black-and-white Aesop's Fables cartoons, which, although unsuccessful at the time, they are real gems. The B/W cartoons are a combination of bizarre, surreal gags with basic animation. Some good cartoons in this category includes "In a Cartoon Studio", a spoof on the making of a cartoon, and "Candy Town", where two cats eats all the candy contained inside the moon, only to be chased by a bottle ... Read More
Rating: - Slice of Time
I've always been fascinated with hard-to-find items and this one was pleasing for that reason. Van Beuren Studios have been all but forgotten so it was with wonder that I discovered the familiar 'Little King' and 'Toonerville Trolley' as well as shock at witnessing the ENTIRE 'Molly Moo-Cow' series (can you believe it?). The print quality is excellent and most of these are in color. Be advised though, these are not great stories (most of them are numbingly plotless) and the price is rather steep. If you ... Read More
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