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| Betty Boop | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 15 2014, 11:27 AM (563 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 15 2014, 11:27 AM Post #1 |
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![]() Here's another cartoon collection that we've gotten years and years of enjoyment out of; originally, this was a big boxed VHS set issued stateside by Republic, but to get it on DVD (with bonus Fleischer cartoons) we had to go to France. It's out of print now but you can find it online for about $140 American, I believe. The set includes five DVDs of 120 cartoons including all existing Betty Boops (a couple are lost, I think). Oh, and a bonus CD of Betty singing songs from her cartoons, too, plus a 12-page Betty Boop Story booklet. The discs - beautifully illustrated - are introduced by Richard Fleischer, and have colorful French subtitles you can turn off (the soundtrack is in original English). The set is broken down into: The Birth of Betty (8 cartoons) Pre-Code (7) Jazzy Guest Stars (7) Surrealism (8) Prime Betty (8) Musical Madness (8) Fairy Tales & Fantasy (7) Curtain Call (8) Betty & Grampy (8) Betty's Boys (8) New Friends (8) Betty's Travels (8) Betty & Pudgy (17) Pudgy and his Pals (6) Bonus cartoons: Swing, You Sinners! (1930) with Bimbo Down Among the Sugar Cane (1932) with Lillian Roth Dancing on the Moon (1935) Color Classic Somewhere in Dreamland (1936) Color Classic With this, and Leslie Cabarga's wonderful book The Fleischer Story in hand, we've had everything we need to enjoy Betty's antics over and over again through the years. One of my favorite collections. For those of you new to the Balcony, there are also four excellent Essential Betty Boop collections (on DVD or Blu-ray) available from Olive Films, containing a total of 49 cartoons. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Dec 20 2014, 11:09 AM Post #2 |
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Mouth Breather
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We still get this box out once a month or so. I never get tired of the Boops. In related news, the Thunderbean guy was on TCM last week to introduce a new collection of Van Buren cartoons, including one, "The Wizard of Oz," made in three-strip color a few years before "La Cucaracha." For a reason he explained but I didn't really follow, it was possible to make three-strip color cartoons before they got the bugs out of live action color. The collection has several old favorites, including the best print of The Sunshine Makers" I've seen, but the surprise hit of the evening was a singing kittens movie called "Rough on Rats." Cute and action-packed, with the kitties playing all sorts of mean tricks on a wicked, ugly rodent. Quite a contrast to Tom & Jerry. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| mort bakaprevski | Dec 20 2014, 11:11 AM Post #3 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Yeah, I didn't get that either. |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2014, 11:31 AM Post #4 |
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That's odd, because The Wizard of Oz - which is on their Technicolor Dreams Blu-ray - isn't a Van Buren release. Haven't seen Rough on Rats but I'll look for it. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2014, 11:36 AM Post #5 |
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I have it! Rough on Rats is on the Thunderbean DVD "Uncensored Animation from the Van Beuren Studio" and I'll add it to a Friday night lineup. Thanks! |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| CliffClaven | Dec 20 2014, 12:30 PM Post #6 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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As I understand it, live action Technicolor required that each frame be recorded through one of two color filters onto separate negative frames. For live action, this involved special lens, beam-splitters and other mechanics. But for animation you could shoot the drawings once through one filter, and again through a different filter. With the camera anchored in place and the animation identical on every pass, there was no need to get both filtered frames at the same instant. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2014, 07:46 PM Post #7 |
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For those of you who may not have seen it, Rough on Rats features the charming image of a rodent strapping a kitten onto a meat slicer. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Frank Hale | Dec 20 2014, 08:14 PM Post #8 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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If I'm thinking of the same "Wizard of Oz" cartoon, it was made by Ted Eshbaugh around 1933 and never released because of some rights issues, either with the Baum estate or perhaps Technicolor. It was also included in the last couple of 1939 Wizard releases in a somewhat rough copy, from what is supposedly the best surviving print. |
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| CliffClaven | Dec 20 2014, 09:12 PM Post #9 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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They talk about that on the commentary. Short version: They got the Oz rights from Baum's son and Technicolor wanted a showcase for their new process. Then, before it was released, Technicolor signed an exclusivity agreement with Disney so the Eshbaugh short was shelved in America (but reportedly shown in Canada and England). The Technicolor-Disney pact finally expired, but so had the Oz rights. Thus it was in legal limbo until some copyrights ran out. The Thunderbean print is outstanding. |
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