Overview

Before the animation industry became dominated by the major studios and their familiar stable of characters, there were other companies who entertained theater audiences with wild excursions into cartoon fantasies. Experimentation was the rule as the boundries of cinematic animation were being pushed to the limit and many of these early productions have the raw look of a work in progress. These classic animated shorts from the early days of sound were created by nearly forgotten production pioneers like Van Beuren Studios and Max and Dave Fleischer. Hilarious, inventive, sometimes risque and often surreal, these films are the fabulous forerunners of every cartoon we've ever watched in the theater or on TV. Laugh again at the cartoons your grandparents enjoyed in the 1930s.