Cartoons Then and Now: Jerry Beck talks Woody, Popeye and More!

Jerry Beck is certainly no stranger to the animation community, earning his wellknown reputation as an animation historian and cartoon producer. His twelve books on the subject include The Animated ovie !uide, "ooney Tunes# The $ltimate %isual !uide and The &' !reatest (artoons. He is a )ormer studio e*ec with +ickelodeon and ,isney, and is currently a consulting producer to -arner Bros, $niversal and ,isney )or their classic animation ,%, compilations. Beck has programmed retrospectives )or the Annecy and .ttawa Animation /estivals, The useum o) odern Art and the Academy o) otion 0icture Arts 1 2ciences. He has taught animation history at +ew 3ork $niversity, +ew 3ork 2chool o) %isual Arts, the American /ilm 4nstitute and $niversity o) (ali)ornia, "os Angeles. He is the host5producer o) the annual -orst (artoons 6ver screening at the (omic-(on 4nternational# 2an ,iego. Jerry started his career in )ilm distribution, working at ! 5$A, .rion (lassics, (annon /ilms and 6*panded 6ntertainment 7Tournee o) Animation8, be)ore starting his own company, 2treamline 0ictures in 9:;:, the )irst $2 distributor to import anime )eatures such as <atsuhiro .tomo=s Akira and Hayao iya>aki=s "aputa# (astle 4n The 2ky. Beck was instrumental in launching Animation aga>ine, and has written )or The Hollywood ?eporter and %ariety. Beck was also the -est (oast Bureau (hie) )or <idscreenmaga>ine in @''', and has also created, written and produced animated )ilms )or various clients. His latest animation project, Hornswiggle, will air on +ickelodeon in @''A. ?ecently, Jerry spoke with Animated +ews 1 %iews= Josh Armstrong to discuss his work on The -oody -oodpecker and /riends (lassic (artoon (ollection and 0opeye the 2ailor# 9:BB-9:B;, %olume 9, as well as some o) his upcoming projects. 4n addition, he e*plained how classic animation is brought to ,%,, while also sharing his thoughts on the current state o) the animation industry.

Animated %iews# How did you become a )an o) animationC Jerry Beck# "ike with anybody else, it all goes back to your teenage or childhood years. 4 always liked drawingD 4 loved comic books. 4 wanted to be a comic book artist. As 4 got older, 4 continued to draw throughout high school. 0eople started asking, E-hat do you want to do with the rest o) your li)eC= 4 had no idea. 4 just knew 4 liked cartoons. 4 started watching Bugs Bunny again in the a)ternoon, when 4 came )rom high school, as he made me laugh. 3ou=ve got to remember this was back in the 9:A's. Back in the =A's, we didn=t have The 2impsons. -e didn=t have the internet. 2o i) you came home )rom school and Bugs Bunny was on, it was really good and really )unny. 4 )elt, as everyone did, that cartoons were )or kids. But 4 was watching them as a high school student and thinking, EThese are )unnier to me nowF 4=m really noticing the artworkF 4t=s so cool and well-doneF= That was really the beginning. That was really the spark, when 4 was like 9&, 9G or 9A years old. 4 would just really appreciate those older cartoons. 4n those days, new cartoons were crap. 4 talk to people who grew up in the =A's, =;'s and =:'s, and they just love the T% cartoons they grew up with. But when 4 was growing up, T% cartoons H 4 even knew it then H were not as good as the ones that were made be)ore. Anyway, that was the beginning o) my love )or animation. 4 wanted to know more about old cartoons. There were no books about them. There was no internet. 4t=s hard to believe, 4 guess, to a lot o) people today. There was nothing written about "ooney Tunes, a* /leischer cartoons, or things like that. Those books didn=t start arriving until around 9:A&, with Joe Adamson=s Te* Avery# <ing .) (artoons and "eslie (abarga=s The /leischer 2tory. 4 don=t think there was anything on -arner Bros. cartoons. Be)ore he was very )amous, 4 got to meet "eonard altin. He had just done the book The ,isney /ilms. He was teaching a class about animation history, in +ew 3ork. -hen 4 got out o) high school, 4 enrolled in that class. 4 just had to meet

this guy and talk to him. -e ended up becoming best )riends, and we are very good )riends today. 4 worked with him on the book .) ice and agic, which came out in 9:;'. That was really one o) the )irst books to look at all the animation studios )rom the !olden Age o) Hollywood. By working on that book, my own personal interest in classic cartoons just magni)ied 9,'''I. 4 really haven=t stopped researching cartoons since that time. 3ou would think that doing a book like that, that=d be the end. E(lose the book, it=s done. There it is.= But there has been so much more in)ormation that keeps coming out. Thanks to the internet, there=s even more in)ormation coming out now H more research and observation than ever be)ore, on these great cartoons )rom the !olden Age.

Jerry Beck 7le)t8 speaks with .samu E/ather o) Anime= Te>uka, in 9:A: 7(lick to view high-res version8 +ot only that, there are so many good things that have been happening in the last @' years, where there=s been sort o) a renaissance in ,isney animation and T% animation H a real renaissance in goodlooking cartoons, )unny cartoons, cartoons that are not just aimed at children but aimed at all audiences, animeJ4 mean, there=s so much to e*plore. 4t=s a rich )ield. 4=m just immersed in it. A%# How were you introduced to -oody -oodpecker and 0opeye the 2ailorC JB# "ike everybody else, on television. 3ou know, 0opeye was the biggest character o) the 9:B's H people )orget that. They remember ,isney, 2now -hite and Three "ittle 0igs, but 0opeye was bigger than all o) that. 0opeye was the biggest character. He superseded ickey ouse, who was the biggest character )rom 9:@;-9:BB. But 0opeye came on and really became a sensation. That=s why they made twenty years o) theatrical cartoons. Then, in 9:&G, they put them on television. -hen they did that, there was a second renaissance o) 0opeye. 0opeye was the biggest cartoon character in the late =&'s into the =G's. 0eople )orget that. That=s when 4 was growing up as a small child. 4 saw 0opeye on T%, as a kid, and 4 loved those cartoons. 6veryone who grew up in that period knows how great they are. 2o many things about them are great. 4n the intervening years, 0opeye slowly disappeared. The people who controlled the characters had completely )orgotten what made the character great. 4t was the original comic strip and original /leischer cartoons. 3ou may have grown up with 0opeye 1 2on or some redone version that Hanna-Barbera may have done in later years. But that=s not 0opeye. That=s not the 0opeye we grew up with )rom the earlier days. 2o 4 just wanted to see these things come back out. 4t=s hard to believe they were on ice )or twenty years. -oody -oodpecker also had a show in the 9:&'s and =G's. All these cartoons that were made )or theaters were heavily displayed on television in the =&'s and =G's. 4) you didn=t grow up with them in the =B's, =K's and =&'s, you saw them as a kid in the =&'s, =G's and =A's. They were just ubiLuitous. They were all over the place. -hen (artoon +etwork started in 9::@, they had nothing but their library, which was Turner=s library, so they ran all the Hanna-Barbera, "ooney Tunes and 0opeye cartoons. Those cartoons were introduced to a nice group o) people who grew up in the early to mid =:'s. 4t=s hard to believe that=s a long time ago now, but it=s over ten years ago. All those kids who were ;, : and 9' are now 9;, 9: and @', in the work)orce, and 4 think they would like to see and have on video these cartoons they saw when they were kids. 4t=s not just us old-timers who are into these old cartoons. 4t=s even people in their twenties.

4t=s the end o) an era, because throughout my li)etime, these classic cartoons, such as-oody -oodpecker, 0opeye and "ooney Tunes, have always been on television. 4n only the last & -A years have they stopped running these old classic cartoons on T%. 2ome o) them are still on Boomerang, or here and there. But a lot o) them have really gone o)) the )ace o) the earth. 2o it=s kind o) like the real mission now is to keep these classic cartoons alive. .therwise, they=re going to be e*tinct. 4t=s just a matter o) people who are at the right studios to make these things available. A%# -hy do you )eel some o) the later cartoons )or characters like -oody and 0opeye le)t something to be desiredC JB# -ell, things have certainly turned around in the last 9& years. But there was a period somewhere in the =G's, =A's and =;'s where animation in general was really at a downturn. That had to do with a lot o) )actors. 4t had to do with all the outlets )or animation. The outlets )or animation in the =G's, =A's and early =;'s were simply television. -e had no cable, internet, ,%, or %H2. The only outlet that anybody could make animation )or was basically 2aturday morning television. There were some e*ceptions to the rule. There were some animated )eatures here and there. There were some T% specials. There were occasionally shorts. But mainly, it was )or T%. T% dictated, in previous decades, the cartoonists=-created cartoons. The artists and animators at -arner Bros. came up with Bugs Bunny and Tom 1 Jerry, and ,isney with ickey ouse. The early T% cartoons were also creator-driven, as we say today, when we had things like Beany 1 (ecil,Alvin 1 the (hipmunks, ?ocky 1 Bullwinkle and things like that. Those were kind o) clever things that were done back in the early T% era. But by the late =G's, the animators wanted to keep working. They were all getting older. +o young people were coming into the )ield. 4t was the same people who were making cartoons in their K's, &'s and G's. By the point, they were getting older, and they just wanted to keep their jobs. They wanted to be able to keep their homes. They just said, E"ook, you=re the network. 4=m bringing in stu)) to pitch to you. 3ou=re not happy. -hat do you wantC= As soon as they said, E-hat do you want,= networks started telling them what they wanted. -hat the networks wanted was lame ideas. 4t=s not that they wanted lame ideas. They just didn=t have any ideas. They weren=t creators. They said, E-hy don=t you do an animated show based on Happy ,ays or 4 ,ream o) JeannieC How about a 2uper ?obotic Three 2toogesC= 4t was just stupid things that didn=t make any senseF 6verything was very derived. .nce they would hit on an original idea H such as 2cooby-,oo, possibly the last o) the original ideas )or T% cartoons H they would endlessly copy it, doing ten other derived versions o) the same kind o) show. E"et=s combine 2cooby-,oo with theArchie=sF -e=ll do the Hardy Boys or !oober 1 the !host (hasersF= They were coming up with all these things that were just lame. The animation Luality was horrible. 4t all had to be done between arch H or April H and 2eptember, when it had to air. 2o you had si* months to do 9B hal)-hours. 3our Luality is going to go way, way down. That=s what happened. Things turned around with +icktoons and (artoon +etwork. .nce they started original cartoons, they brought back the creator-driven sensibility. 6ven the worst cartoons today look great. They move really well. 2o we=re at a very good level o) T% animation today. 4t=s not what it used to be. A%# "et=s talk about your time working with the recent -oody -oodpecker and /riends (lassic (artoon (ollection. (ould you e*plain your involvement with that projectC JB# Through the grapevine, someone told me last year that they had heard $niversal was thinking o) doing something with -oody -oodpecker )or @''A. -hen 4 heard that, 4 didn=t know i) there was any truth to it, but 4 decided to, just out o) the blue, contact the president o) $niversal Home %ideo. 4 just wrote the guy an e-mail, told him who 4 was and what 4 had done with -arner Bros, and that i) they were going to do something with -oody -oodpecker, 4 would be happy to take a look at what they were doing and give them some advice )rom the collector=s point o) view. They took me up on it and ended up hiring me as a consultant. $niversal had a certain point o) view on how they were going to do the set. 4 came in and basically said, EThis is what 4 would do.= To their credit, they decided to try it out and go with what 4 had suggested. 4=m very happy about that. 4=m a happy boy, because 4 was able to in)orm them o) a )ew things they didn=t know they owned H things that ended up as bonus )eatures on the set. 4 wanted to

see the .swald ?abbit, 2wing 2ymphony and Te* Avery cartoonsJ4 wanted to make sure that certain things were there. 4 wanted it to be a killer set, containing the best -oody -oodpecker cartoons, in basically chronological order, )rom the =K's up. 4t=s like, i) they were only going to put out one set o) -oody -oodpecker, and i) it came out and bombed, at least this set with all o) these great cartoons would have been out there. 3es, there are more great cartoons that can come out, i) they do a %olume @. -e don=t know i) they will yet. But 4 always looked at this as the one shot )or releasing $niversal=s cartoons. 2o 4 took advantage o) that. 4 wanted it to be the best it could possibly be, so that would )ans would be happy, and even i) you weren=t a )an, you might become a )an by looking at this set. 4 wanted it to get good reviews and hope)ully sell well, so that $niversal would release more -oody -oodpecker volumes. 4 )eel very proud o) thatD 4 )eel like we accomplished a goal there. A%# 3ou also worked on 0opeye the 2ailor# 9:BB-9:B;, %olume 9. How did you become involved with that ,%, setC JB# -hen 4 was in +ew 3ork (ity, where 4 grew up, one o) my very )irst jobs was working )or $nited Artists, in the late =A's. 4 was so happy to be working in the movie business, because 4 was B,''' miles )rom the real movie business. But it was wonder)ul to have a main o))ice in +ew 3ork, at $nited Artists. $nited Artists had the rights at the time to the old 0opeye and "ooney Tunes cartoons. That was, o) course, great )or me. 4 worked in an department that dealt with those cartoons. 2o 4 was really in hog heaven, at the time. /rom that time )orward, home video )inally came in, around =A;, =A: or =;'. 4 was involved then with helping to advise. Because o) my knowledge o) the cartoons, 4 would help $nited Artists in putting out cartoons on video. There was a problem with the 0opeye cartoons at the time. 4t was a legal problem between <ing /eatures 2yndicate and $nited Artists. 4t was a legal dispute over whether they had the rights to put them out on video. $nited Artists had the rights )or television. They had the rights )or all sorts o) things )or the old 0opeye cartoons. But there was a big dispute about whether they could put the cartoons on home video. The 0opeye cartoons were never, ever, ever o))icially put out on home video. There have been bootleg ,%,s and public domain 0opeye cartoons, where the copyright had lapsed, throughout the years. There have been tapes. Those have been out in really )unky )orm )or a while. But there has never been an o))icial release )rom the original materials H negatives and things like that H o) these 0opeyecartoons. They haven=t been restored. 4n )act, they were ruined by Ted Turner, who acLuired the library )rom $nited Artists. He bought $nited Artists, acLuired the library and colori>ed the 0opeye cartoons sometime around 9:;', 4 think H maybe it was a little later than that, such as around =;K. -hat happened then in history is that Turner ultimately started (artoon +etwork and put 0opeye cartoons on there. But it was later merged with -arner Bros. -arner Bros. acLuired his library, which included the early "ooney Tunes cartoons. They already had, o) course, their later "ooney Tunescartoons )rom the =&'s and =G's. But now -arner Bros. has all o) its "ooney Tunes cartoons back a)ter a bunch o) years. Then, they also got the 0opeye cartoons, but they couldn=t put them out on video. 2o it took years )or -arner Bros. to make a deal. y involvement stems )rom the )act that 4 have always stayed in touch with the people who put out these cartoons. y reputation grew throughout the years as someone they could talk to about what cartoons should go on these discs and things like that. 4 had been working with the Turner people and then the -arner Bros. people on the "ooney Tunesseries and some other ,%,s. Then, when -arner Bros. was getting very, very close with <ing /eatures to )inali>e that deal to make 0opeye available, 4 was already there. 4 was already involved, working on the "ooney Tunes !olden (ollection. 4=ve been working on those ,%, sets as a consultant. 4 don=t work )or the company )ull-time. But 4 do work as a paid consultant on the animation material. 2o that=s kind o) how 4 got involved. They asked me early on, E4) we were to do 0opeye, how would you see doing itC= ?eally easily, 4 just said, E.h, in this case, you=ve got to go chronological. 0ut the )irst G' on.= 4 looked at how many cartoons there wereD 4 knew how many cartoons you could )it on )our discs. 2o we decided on G' )or the )irst set. The second set, which will be out ne*t year, will be the rest o) the black-and-white cartoons )rom =B; to around =K@. Then, the third set will be mainly the color cartoons o) the =K's. Then, the )ourth set will be the color cartoons o) the =&'s. There will be surprises, really great e*tras and all kinds o) ni)ty things on each subseLuent volume. 2o basically 4 was the general, overall watchdog and consultant on this 0opeye ,%, set, making sure some )actual things were done correctly. 4 only had so much control, but 4 did what 4 could to get it to the

level that it is. The people at -arner Bros. are great, but i) there weren=t somebody around like me who knows the collection, you might end up with colori>ed cartoons or an unrestored print. 4 was sort o) there to make sure everything was done the way we collectors would want it. A%# 4t sounds as i) the sets might have been pretty di))erent i) you hadn=t been involved with them. (ould you describe some o) the changes you helped makeC JB# 4n the case o) -oody, they were going to do something along the lines o) the 0ink 0anther bo* set that came out. ?emember that set that had all the 0ink 0anther cartoonsC They were going to do something where they were just going to include all the -oody -oodpecker cartoons. .bviously, )or a collector, that=s an interesting thing. 4 wouldn=t mind having that. 2o 4 went and spoke to the man and had a nice meeting with him. 4 asked, E-ell, what about Andy 0andaC -hat about (hilly -illyC -hat about these other charactersC= They had done their marketing research, and the research said that nobody knew who those characters were. There)ore, they weren=t going to put out anything without just -oody -oodpecker. E0eople know who -oody -oodpecker is, so -oody -oodpecker is all we=re going to do.= Basically, my job, which 4 succeeded at, was to convince them not to put all the -oody -oodpecker cartoons out in one shot. A)ter all, let=s say you did that, and it was success)ul, you would have nothing else to put out in %olume @. 2o at least i) you put a third o) them, which is what we did, and it=s success)ul, then you have a chance )or a set M@ and a set MB. At the same time, the collectors are getting these other cartoons, such as (hilly -illy and Andy 0anda, which is the eLuivalent in the studios= language to bonus material. 4) 4 hadn=t been involved, there might have been a E(omplete -oody -oodpecker= set out. /or anybody that=s crying about the )act that they=re not getting the 9:G@ -oody -oodpecker cartoons, don=t worry, they=ll be coming soon. 4 think we got a better deal here. 4n the case o) 0opeye, 4=m not sure e*actly how di))erent that would have been. They might have done something where they mi*ed it up. /or instance, they might have done themes. They might have done something where ,isc 9 was E0opeye=s Travels= and ,isc @ was E0opeye=s Tasks.= They would have done some kind o) thematic thing, perhaps. They also might have used the colori>ed cartoons or maybe more than a )ew o) them by accident. They would have maybe used some o) the original prints o)) the shel) that were )aded in color. That=s how 4 think my standing in the doorway kept things on track )or what the collectors wanted. 4 was very insistent about the 0aramount ones being restored, even though the set was being released by -arner Bros. and <ing /eatures. They had nothing to do with 0aramount 0ictures. The studio had to go get 0aramount 0ictures= permission to put the 0aramount mountain back on the cartoons, which is the way the )ilms were originally made. They were made )or 0aramount. As it turned out, -arner Bros. was able to make a deal with 0aramount 0ictures. (oincidentally, 0aramount had recently acLuired the rights to a )ew John -ayne movies that were )irst owned by -arner Bros. Apparently, 0aramount wanted to release those John -ayne )ilms as they were originally released, with the -arner Bros. shield. There)ore, the two companies reached an agreement. 0aramount was granted permission to use the -arner Bros. shield on the John -ayne )ilms, while -arner Bros. could use the 0aramount 0ictures mountain on the 0opeye shorts. 4t was a )luky coincidence that actually worked out to the companies= advantage, in that no money had to be e*changed. -ith that said, to see these 0opeye cartoons the way they were originally released is just a real treat. A%# -hy do you )eel -arner Bros. and $niversal wanted to release the Popeye and Woody sets so close together in AugustC JB# 4 know that -arner Bros. has a regular release schedule throughout the year. They mainly release their big cartoon sets at (hristmastime. They still have a bunch o) really great ,%,s that will be coming out around +ovember. 4 think, in the case o) 0opeye, the deal was made about a year ago. .nce they=ve decided to release a ,%, set, it takes about a year )or it to come out. 4 also think that it=s good they released it separately )rom the (hristmas pack, because it gave it its own attention. ore attention to be paid to 0opeye than i) it were lost in the shu))le with another "ooney Tunesset and a new 2cooby-,oo movie. 4t would have just been lost with a group o) new releases. 4t wouldn=t have stood out like 4 think it did when it was released.

+ow, coincidentally, $niversal decided to release -oody -oodpecker right at the same time. 4 don=t think the release date )or the set had anything to do with the 2an ,iego (omic-(on being that same week. 4t was a coincidence. Actually, i) 4 had to have picked a release date other than one at the end o) the year, it would have been during the (omic-(on. 4 know that, obviously, -arner Bros. took advantage o) the (omic-(on. They had a panel set up, which 4 was on to promote the 0opeye ,%,. That was a good promotion. The -oody -oodpecker ,%, set didn=t get that sort o) promotion at all. (omic-(on had absolutely nothing to do with $niversal deciding to release the set at that time. 4 think, in the case o) -oody, they just wanted to do it as a summer set. They had in mind all along )rom a year ago that they wanted it to come out this past summer. 4t could have had something to do with people vacationing at $niversal theme parks. 4t could have been any number o) reasons as to why they )igured the summer was an advantageous time to release a great collection o) classic animation. 4 actually think it=s kind o) great that the sets both came out within a week o) each other, because, in theory, we got some articles that would promote both sets, as opposed to a guy saying, E-ell, 4 don=t know i) 4 should write about this-oody -oodpecker setJ= But the )act that -oody and 0opeye came out at the same time, it gives two reasons to promote an article about classic cartoons. 4 don=t think the studios themselves would go out and pitch to a reporter. But 4 think it=s help)ulD 4 think both can help each other. 4 know a lot o) the people buying -oody are buying 0opeye, and vice versa. 4 think it can only help. A%# -hat was your main goal )or the -oody -oodpecker and 0opeye ,%, collectionsC JB# y goal )or any o) the ,%, sets that we work on is, )irst, to make the cartoons accessible. These cartoons are inaccessible. They=re not on the (artoon +etwork right now. They=re not on video anywhere. They=re not allowed to be on 3ouTube or the internet. They haven=t been o))icially put out. They=re just locked away in the vaults. 2o my )irst goal is to have the cartoons accessible. +umber two is to have them accessible in the original )orm that they were released. Throughout the years, these cartoons have been chopped to bits )or editing due to content pertaining to violence, racism, se*ist attitudes, smoking, or this or that. There are so many reasons these cartoons have been cut or are not shown anymore, because they re)lect America back in the 9:B's, =K's and =&'s. They don=t re)lect the way America is today. They=re not e*actly child)riendly. They=re not e*actly per)ect kids= )odder, as people rule on stu)) to be. eanwhile, the studios are doing their own new cartoons today, such as The 0owerpu)) !irls or 2pongebob 2Luarepants. 2o they don=t really need these old cartoons. The cartoons are locked away. The problem is that the studios )orget that these cartoons are classic )ilms. They=re not just old kids= shows. They=re classic movies. That=s something 4 like to remind people about, on these sets. 2o my goal was to make the cartoons accessible in their original )orm with their original studio logos and uncut in any other way, restored so they look brand-new. 2ome o) the cartoons look brand-new, like they were made yesterday. There=s no e*cuse )or cartoons looking old. (artoons don=t date the way live-action )ilms do. 4) you restore them right, they=ll look like they were made yesterday. 4 want the collections to look as though they were done with some class. 4 like, )or e*ample, the 0opeye bo*. This is the one place where 4 have no control, un)ortunately. 4 have no control over the artwork or the menus on the "ooney Tunes,Tom 1 Jerry, -oody -oodpecker and 0opeye ,%, sets. ?eally, that has to do with marketing. They have a whole other department that deals with marketing. 4=m involved more with the content o) the discs. 4 always try my best to help in)luence the ,%, packaging. The closest 4=ve come was with the0opeye set. 4 can=t really take any credit )or it, but 4 did have a meeting once where they asked me what kind o) packaging 4 thought we should go )or. y whole thing was to make sure it didn=t look like the public domain videos that are out there. 4t had to stand apart )rom the other animation collections. 4t had to have some class. 4t had to be adult. E,on=t make it look like a kiddie show. ake it look like this is a classic character and these are classic cartoons.= There are ten other ways the 0opeye packaging could have gone. But what was released is pretty good looking. 4 really like it. 4t respects the content inside.

$n)ortunately, 4 cannot say that every animated ,%, collection respects its content. 2ometimes, a set is marketed more toward moms and kids. 4 do not know i) it is correct to aim some o) the sets at those targets, though. -ith a lot o) these older cartoons, moms and kids do not even know who the characters are anymore. There)ore, when it comes to marketing ,%, collections )or classic animated titles, 4 respect)ully advise the studios, E!o )or the collectors, a group )ar larger than just some guy in a basement.= 3es, there is a huge audience )or classic cartoons. But the shows have to be marketed the right way. 4) they are marketed simply toward children, part o) the potential audience is cut o)). 4 really have to convince a lot o) people to check out certain animated ,%, collections. $n)ortunately, 4 know some people who are simply turned o)) by the set=s bo* artwork. 4 have spoken with people who said, EBoy, the bo* art doesn=t look encouraging to me.= y response is, E-ell, don=t judge the set by its bo* artF 4t=s what is inside the bo* that is )antasticF= A%# 4s there anything else you wish studios in general had done di))erently about some o) the classic animation sets that have been releasedC JB# -ell, let=s see. 4 can=t complain too much about content. 4 mean, there are glitches and problems, minor things here and there. There are some little mistakes that happen when they=re putting these things together that 4 wish weren=t there. 4 wish 4 could go back and remaster the whole darn thing. -ith Tom 1 Jerry, they put in some edited cartoons by mistake, and then they had to go back and do replacement discs )or people who complained. They wouldn=t have to do that in the )irst place, i) they had somebody like me who was doing Luality control up)ront. /irst thing, 4=m not hired to do that. They don=t allow me to come in to advise on that regard. 4 see a lot o) this stu)) when it=s too late, maybe two weeks be)ore it=s going to come out. But 4 love the bonus materials. 4 love the )act that the cartoons are out there. 3ou know, when )ans on the internet complain about this or that, 4 call it Enitpicking.= That=s okay, 4=m glad they=re catching these boo-boos, these little things that are wrong. But they=re looking at the glass as hal)-empty instead o) hal)-)ull. 4 live in a world where these ,%,s once didn=t e*ist. There is still a lot o) stu)) that still isn=t out there. -e=re living in a world now where2ong o) the 2outh isn=t out yet. 4 want 2ong o) the 2outh to come out. Hope)ully, it will be a great trans)er, and there will be nothing to complain about. But you know what, there will be people on the internet who will )ind some boo-boo, or somebody who=s going to go, E3ou know, the Japanese laserdisc ten years ago was a lot better.= 3ou know what, they can complain all they want. 4 am just delighted to sit here and be able to put these cartoons that 4 love on any time 4 want, in great-looking copies, with the studios= complete cooperation. 4 can=t really complain about some o) the little things that aren=t really worth complaining about. 4=m looking at it as that we=re living in a wonder)ul time where the studios are actually releasing this stu)). y biggest problem with studios are the ones who don=t release stu)). %iacom and 0aramount own Terrytoons# ighty ouse, Heckle 1 Jeckle, ighty Heroes, ,ippity ,og H 4 could go on and on. They own the rights to Betty Boop and "il= Audrey. 4 mean, they have all these things that haven=t come out yet. 4t=s almost an endless list. The classic r. agoocartoons )rom the theaters, not the T% ones. -here are all the good $0A cartoons that were made in the 9:&'sC There are so many wonder)ul things in the libraries o) these Hollywood studios that they=re just sitting on, because they )eel there is no audience )or this material. They )eel there would be no sales. 4t=s not worth N@&,''' per cartoon to restore each cartoon and release a set o) G' or :' cartoons. That=s cost prohibitive. They=re not going to make their money back. That=s their point o) view. 2o there are a lot o) issues. 4 try to look )or opportunities. /or instance, 4 believe that there are going to be new r. agoo cartoons )or +ickelodeon H 4=ve heard that, but 4 don=t know i) it=s true or not. -hen 4 hear something like that, 4 like to go over to the people at (olumbia 0ictures and say, E3ou know, this series is coming out. 4t=s going to be on +ickelodeon. 3ou really should be thinking about doing a bo* set )or the classic r. agoo cartoons.= 4 try to get them interested in doing it, when we know an old classic cartoon character is going to be in a new movie or series. 4 try to )ind a way to tie-in their library to that new movie. E.h yeah, there=s going to be a ighty ouse movieF -e should put out the old ighty ouse cartoonsF= .nce the studios even begin to agree to that, 4 then e*plain, E.kay, well, here=s what you should do. 3ou should put out the ighty ouse set, ighty ouse 1 /riends, and let=s put Heckle 1 Jeckle on there.= Because i) you don=t say it, the studios are never going to do it. They=re never going to put out that other stu)), because they don=t perceive the value o) those other characters.

4 only care about having the stu)) accessible and out there. 4 have no )inancial gain )rom it. The company has all to gain, in licensing, selling the ,%,s, etc. They have all to gain in promoting those classic, iconic characters that they own the rights to. 4=m just a )an. 4=m just sitting at home, wanting to be able to turn my T% on and watch some o) these old cartoons again. That=s my goal H just to help make these cartoons accessible. A%# -hy do you think studios still use ,%+? 7,igital %ideo +oise ?eduction8 on classic cartoons, even though )ans and in)luential people such as yoursel) want otherwiseC JB# -ell, they use it because they don=t understand. 4 would have said, EThey don=t care,= but that=s not true. They don=t want to put out a product that=s )aulty. "ike anybody else, 4=m a la>y person, believe it or not. 4t=s like you want to do the easiest thing that you can do. 2omeone came up with a system to clean up live-action )ilms. This process is an electronic one that takes out dust and dirt )rom )rames. 2o you run a )ilm through it, and you can claim it=s E,igitally (leanF ,igitally ?emasteredF= The problem with ,%+? is that it doesn=t work with animation. 3ou know, when you=re in these big companies, and you=re doing *-number o) movies per year, and you=ve got a couple o) animation releases, it seems that it doesn=t pay not to do it. E?un them all through the cleanup system, because we know it=s really greatF 4t will remove that speck in that one )rameF= $n)ortunately, it removes lines )rom animation, because it thinks that a line on a character that is only there )or one )rame is dirt, so it removes the line. 2o some o) the studios just kind o) don=t get it. They just don=t understand. 4t=s actually e*tra trouble at this point not to do ,%+?, because the studios are set up to use it. To not do it, it=s special H it=s like EBurger <ing# Have it your way.= 4) you don=t Ehave it your way,= i) you go to c,onald=s and say, E!ive me the hamburger,= it comes a certain way with all the stu)) on it. To suddenly EBurger <ing= it, walk in and say, E4=ll take it without the ,%+?,= that=s e*tra trouble. That=s e*tra work, to remove it )rom the system. 4t=s like constructing a paper airplane. 3ou can take all the time in the world to )old that paper, but when you throw it out there, you have no control over where it=s going to land. 4t could land two or ten )eet in )ront o) you, or into the water, or whatever. That=s kind o) like how 4 )eel about doing these video releases. -e )old that paper as care)ully as we can, but then we have to let it go. By the time it lands into the consumer=s hands, it might not be what 4 had hoped, but at least 4 had guided in the right direction. 4 at least )olded the paper in a way that the )ans would appreciate. 4) it didn=t land where the )ans wanted, we keep trying. -ith multiple releases H 4 don=t know i) anybody has really noticed H every single time out, we learn )rom the mistakes o) the previous set. -e try to )i* it, be)ore it happens. There are stories behind every single boo-boo and non-boo-boo. 6verything that is good and everything that is bad on every one o) these ,%,s that 4=ve been involved with, there=s a story behind. (ompanies like (lassic edia H 4 don=t see anybody who knows what the product is having anything to do with the )inal material. They=re just creating a commercial product. They=re creating something they can sell in the knick-knack store, the souvenir store, where you can get all kinds o) )un Betty Boop pens, pop culture booksJ E.h, there=s a ,ick Tracy cartoon setF How coolF= But they don=t put that e*tra care into it that somebody who is actually interested in that product would want. 4 think we tried to do that. A lot o) )ans are )inding all kinds o) little things to nitpick right now on our 0opeye set. But the 0opeye set is probably the closest to what we were aiming that we=ve ever come. 4 think there are some sets, like .n the /ront "ines, the ,isney Treasures set about -orld -ar 44 cartoons, that are probably almost per)ect o) the classic cartoon sets. 4 had nothing to do with that one. That was done by a )ew people 4 know. That was really, really hand-cared. /rom day one to the )inal delivery, it shows. But the thing is, 4 try to guide them. 4 try to in)orm them. 4 try to educate them about how we can make this better. 4=ll get assurances. 4=ll hear, E-owF Thanks )or telling us thatF -e=ll make sure that doesn=t happenF= Then, guess what, it comes out and still happened, because it didn=t get to the @:th guy who=s supposed to know this, in the remastering place. There=s really nobody around who=s actually looking at all these things with the right eye. 4t=s the kingdom o) the blind. 4=m sometimes the one-eyed man in the room who is able to say, E.kay, problem hereJ -e should have this on the set, or we should have that on the set.= A%# -hat are your thoughts on the state o) animation todayC JB# 4 actually think it=s in good shape, all things considered. But 4 think it=s because when 4 grew up, it was in its worst shape ever, which was during the =A's and =;'s. 6ver since the late =;'s, with all the )ilms you can think o), whether it=sThe "ittle ermaid, The 2impsons, ighty ouse or ?en 1 2timpy,

we=ve slowly crawled back. 6ven the worst shows on (artoon +etwork really look great. The worst shows today are miles ahead o) the kind o) junk that used to piddle out in =&'s, =G's, =A's and =;'s. 4 think we=re actually in good shape here, and 4 think we=re even going to get better. 4 think in 0i*ar, we have a true creative leader in animation right now that 4 don=t know i) we=ve had )or a long time. ,isney was sort o) it in the =:'s. But 4 think 0i*ar is the real deal H 4 mean a real creative leader in the classic mold o) -alt ,isney, a* /leischer, (huck Jones, Te* AveryJ 0i*ar is truly innovating and leading, and people are )ollowing them. 4 think they are making really great )ilms. -e have a lot o) stu)) going on in cable television, whether it=s adult animation on /o* or (omedy (entral. 4 think we=re making end-roads there. 4 think anime has been accepted. Again, 4=ve lived through a li)etime where anime was ignored. ,espite all the cable animation, direct-to-video animation and internet animation, the one big hurdle is still the perception that animation is a children=s medium, by the large majority o) people in the $nited 2tates H not around the world, but the $nited 2tates. -e still have that hurdle to go across. 4 think we=re making end-roads there. But the )act that people perceive animation as a children=s medium is why people use ,%+?. 4t=s why bad animation is produced. Because people who are saying Eyes= to these things don=t care. They=re just trying to make a buck. They=re just trying to create a product. E.h, it=s a kid show. -ho caresC= 4t=s why you don=t see classic cartoons like ighty ouse, Baby Huey or Heckle 1 Jeckle on video. 3ou don=t see these classic cartoons on ,%, or anywhere, because the attitude by the people who have the rights to them is, EThese are old kids= )odder. -e have no place to put these shows. They=re dead as a doornail. They=re like old sitcoms )rom the =&'s H you know, like 4 arried Joan or y "ittle argie. They=re black-and-white, nobody knows who the people are in them, and they=re out-o)-date. They have no value to distribute anymore.= That=s how some studios consider old theatrical cartoons. And the same goes )or old T% shows. ore and more, 4=m hearing )rom people grew up in the =A's and =;'s, who are asking me about various shows that they grew up with H little shows that were only on )or a year. E-hat happened to that showC 4 loved it when 4 was a kidF= There=s no perceived market, because even though it=s a kids show, it=s perceived as an old show and one that has no value. 3ou know, like -arner Bros. H and this is nothing against -arner Bros. H the old, classic -arner Bros. cartoons, the ! cartoons, etc. are divvied. They divvy up the library )or people to work on at ! , $nited Artists and -arner Home %ideo. Because their cartoons are considered children=s products, the cartoons go to the )amily group. 0opeye and "ooney Tunes have been specially taken care o) thanks to !eorge /eltenstein, who is the president or vice president o) what they call the Ecatalog=, which includes the old movies such as !one with the -ind and (asablanca. /eltenstein is a cartoon )an. He cares. Actually, that=s one o) the reasons why, on the -arner releases o) old movies, you=ll always )ind one cartoon as a bonus )eature. He=s a guy who loves cartoons. He happens to be in that position. 0eople have asked me )or years, E-hy is it that on the same day a "ooney Tunes !olden (ollectionset comes out, something called the "ooney Tunes 2potlight (ollection, which doesn=t have any o) the bonus material and only two discs, also comes outC -hat=s the point o) thatC= -ell, that=s thanks to the )amily group, which actually controls these things. They say, E.kay, we=ll let you put out a special set aimed at adult collectors, the !olden (ollection. -e=ll put out what we would do with it, the 2potlight (ollection, aimed at moms and kids shopping at -al- art.= The thing is, we have proven with sales numbers that the !olden (ollection is what people want and that there is an adult audience )or these animations. 4t=s something that companies haven=t learned. They don=t want to spend any e*tra marketing dollars going a)ter that crowd. They only know that cartoons sell to moms and kids at stores. 2o that=s why they )ocus everything in that direction. 3ou know, it=s the Emom test.= They=ll actually go out and survey people in malls. EHave you ever heard o) The !et-Along !angC= EHave you ever heard o) Herman 1 (atnipC= A lot o) people have )orgotten about Herman 1 (atnip. 2o when those people answer E+o,= then the studios go, E-ell, we=re not putting this out.= 4) there=s high awareness o) the cartoon, they will put it out. A%# -hat can you tell us about your upcoming projectsC JB# .bviously, on a daily basis, 4 try to blog at (artoonBrew.com. 4t=s what 4 wish 4 could do )ull-time. -e=re trying to create a revolution somehow at (artoonBrew.com and (artoonBrew/ilms.com. However, li)e, work and earning money get in the way. 2o until we can make (artoon Brew into something that can pay the bills, 4 have to do other stu)). 4 get to work on a lot o) other )un projects. 4=m going to give you as big o) a list as 4 can.

4=m doing a series o) introductions to a line o) books 4=m very proud o), )or ,ark Horse (omics. These are reprints o) Harvey (omics books )rom mainly the 9:&'s and =G's. The )irst one, )ocusing on (asper the /riendly !host, came out in August. The ne*t one, with ?ichie ?ich, will arrive in .ctober, while the )ollowing edition will deal with Hot 2tu)). -e=ll be doing more o) the comics ne*t year. 4=m doing these with "eslie (abarga, who=s another animation historian. He=s actually the editor, physically putting these together. The reason 4=m involved with this is because 4 actually loved these comics )rom the =&'s. 4 won=t go too )ar with you on it, but one o) the reasons 4=m doing it is that these are animation-related. (asper and these Harvey (omics were originally, in the =&'s, drawn by the animators at 0aramount 2tudios in +ew 3ork. They look like cartoons on the page. These haven=t been reprinted since the =G's at least. They were just lying around. (ompanies reprint (asper stories )rom the =G's or =A's or whatever, but here, they reprinted the ones )rom the ones )rom the =&'s, which were really cool. They look like animation on the page. 4 just love them. 4=ve been collecting them )or years. 2o we )inagled, talking everybody into reprinting these things. 4 want the world to see them. 4 have three other books coming out. They are mainly picture books. But 4=m happy with the way they look. They=re really )un books. The thing about me is 4 tell people 4 write books that are )un. 4 occasionally do heavy, scholarly things, like The Animated ovie !uide. But 4 like to do books that are going to be )un to look at, because 4 love animation. 4=ve got a book on Hanna-Barbera coming out, called Hanna-Barbera Treasury. 4t=s a very cool book. 4t=s illustrated mainly with either production art or cool, )unky merchandising art )rom the =&'s and =G's. 4t doesn=t cover Hanna-Barbera past 9:G:. 4t=s just mainly the television work o) Hanna-Barbera )rom around =&A-=G:. 4t doesn=t really cover anything in-depth. 4t=s like a scrapbook o) )un Hanna-Barbera stu)). 4 also did a book called +icktoons. 4t=s basically a super-illustrated, giant co))ee table book that celebrates H well, 4 don=t think it=s an anniversary. 4 was going to say the )irst 9& years o) +icktoons, but 4 don=t even think it is 9& years. 4t=s more like an awkward 9G years. 4 think +icktoons started in =:9. -e=re in @''A. 2o it=s some oddball number such as 9G. The book covers everything )rom ?en 1 2timpy and ,oug all the way up to shows that are coming on in the )all, like ighty Band Barnyard. 4t has little interviews with creators and a lot o) production art. 4t=s a very cool, strange book. The third book is one o) those Art o) books# The Art o) Bee ovie. That=s the Jerry 2ein)eld5,ream-orks )eature that will be coming out in +ovember. This is one o) those books that celebrates the pre-production art that goes into making one o) these )ilms. 4t=s the same publisher and )ormat as the 0i*ar books, like The Art o) The 4ncredibles and The Art o) /inding +emo. 4t=s just as good as all those books, so 4 highly recommend it. There=s also my television pilot, Hornswiggle, which 4 have neglected )or the last si* months. 4 did this pilot last year with +ickelodeon and /rederator. 4t=s going to air, but 4 don=t know e*actly when. 4 personally think it will air either in the )all or early spring o) ne*t year, as part o) a new show on +ickelodeon called ?andom (artoons. 4n )act,?andom (artoons is actually in my +icktoons book. 4t gets a )ew pages. ?andom (artoons is a show )or +ick, but it isn=t on the air yet. 4t=s completely )inished, though. 4t=s 9B episodes o) B: pilots really, but it=s being marketed as B: di))erent Erandom cartoons.= The thing about Hornswiggle is that the rights revert back to me, i) they don=t pick it up in the series. 2o when my rights revert back to me, in .ctober, 4=m planning to pitch Hornswiggle around and sell it as a series to somebody else. 4=m also working on some other ,%,s, but 4 can=t actually talk about all o) that. But 4 will say that 4=m working on 0opeye# %olume @, "ooney Tunes !olden (ollection %olume &, .ne Hundred And .ne ,almatians 0latinum 6dition and many other e*citing ,%, plans. 4=m working with a lot o) studios. 4=m trying to get their material out, but 4=m not allowed to talk about that. 2till, people should just know that 4=m on the case, and things are happening. 4t=s not like nothing is happening. There is a lot o) good stu)) coming out this )all and ne*t year that=ll have everyone e*cited. A%# 3ou also recently launched a new podcast, CartoonDump, didn=t youC JB# 3esF 4 have done, )or the last several years at the 2an ,iego (omic-(on, a program called the -orst (artoons 6ver. 4n it, 4 take a hand)ul o) T% cartoons, mainly )rom the late =&'s and into the =G's, that have been mostly )orgotten and are not on ,%, or 3ouTube. They are really rare ones that most people can=t believe were ever made. 4 show a bunch o) these really bad cartoons. They=re bad H but they=re hilariously bad.

0eople can=t believe it. They think, E3ou had an animator make thatF= y answer is, E+o, no, noF This is a real cartoon that was actually onF= 4 don=t even have to say anything about them. 0eople just start laughing at them, because they=re just so pain)ully bad. 4=ve been doing that )or )ive years at the (omic-(on. 4 had actually done that H well, people tell me 4=ve been doing it )or @' years. 4 know 4=d been doing it a )ew years be)ore that, at other venues. 2o 4 just recently teamed up with a partner, /rank (onni)), who was one o) the regulars on ystery 2cience Theater. -e created a podcast, which debuted in early August. 4t=s called (artoon ,ump. 6ach podcast )eatures one o) these hilariously bad cartoons. 4t=s book-ended by a live-action kid show parody H a really, really down-and-out kids show, the kind that would show these bad cartoons. 4t=s pretty dark humored. 4t=s also pretty strange humored, )eaturing a live-action cast. 4n Hollywood, where 4 live, we=re actually also per)orming this kids show as a regular monthly live event. -e=re doing it the )ourth Tuesday o) every month. 6ach live show we do is completely di))erent. 4=m e*cited, because 4 love using these bad cartoons in some new, creative, )un way. 3es, we=re hoping someone will notice us and help )und and produce more podcasts H or even take it to television. But right now, we=re doing it )or )un, in Hollywood, as a live show and a limited-run podcast. 4) anybody=s interested, they can go check out (artoon,ump.com. Actually, 4 should say (artoonBrew/ilms.com H that=s where we=re originating the podcast. There is also a (artoon,ump.com, though, where people can )ind more in)ormation. A%# 4 noticed on -ikipedia H and o) course, we know they=re always rightJ JB# 3esF They=re always right H unless 4 didn=t write itF A%# OlaughsP 4 read that at one time you were working on )ilm adaptations )or ighty ouse andThe 2tinky (heese an. 4s that trueC JB# 3es, that was about ten years ago, in 9::A. /or three years, 4 was involved with +ickelodeon as vice-president o) +ickelodeon ovies. -e were developing 2tinky (heese an, ighty ouse and a whole bunch o) other stu)). /or the 2tinky (heese an adaptation, 4 met with the book=s creators. They were totally on board with creating the )ilm. "ane 2mith was going to be the director. 4t was going to be very cool. This was be)ore 2hrek. 2tinky (heese an would have been the )irst one o) these animated )eatures to make )un o) )airy tales. 4t would have been great, with it=s own uniLue style. 4t might have used (!, but it wouldn=t have looked like 2hrek at all. 4t would have been a uniLue look that we had in mind. There are reasons why those projects at +ickelodeon ovies didn=t happen. That=s a whole long other story. aybe that=s another interview )or another time. 3ou know, )i)teen years ago, 4 was involved with distributing anime )ilms, such as Akira, )or movie theaters. 4t seems every couple o) years, 4 have a new adventure in animation. Hope)ully, the cumulative e))ect o) all that stu)) will pay o)) someday. 3ou know, 4 spend hal) o) my time creating my ne*t job. There is no E.h, they are looking )or somebody to do this.= +o, 4 never )ind that. 4 basically have to come up with a book idea, a ,%, idea, a compilation-o)-comics idea. Then 4 go out and try to convince people to do it. 4 do that a lot.