The 50 Greatest Cartoons: Difference between revisions

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An official list of The 50 Greatest Cartoons^[1], compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew, along with many others in the animation field. The criterion was that each short be under 30 minutes long and cel animated (with Gertie the Dinosaur as the exception, predating cels). Tellingly, 43 of the shorts are from The Golden Age of Animation ^[2] and 17 of them are from from the Warner Bros studio (a full 1/5 of the list having been directed by Chuck Jones).

Also tellingly, all of them are North American and a supermajority are from Hollywood studios.

Compare to The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes list.

The Main List:

"What's Opera, Doc?" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1957
"Duck Amuck" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1953
"The Band Concert" -- Wilfred Jackson, Disney, 1935
"Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1953
"One Froggy Evening" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1955
"Gertie the Dinosaur" -- Winsor McCay, 1914
"Red Hot Riding Hood" -- Tex Avery, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1943
"Porky in Wackyland" -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1938
"Gerald McBoing-Boing" -- Robert Cannon, UPA (Columbia Pictures), 1951
"King Size Canary" -- Tex Avery, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1947
"Three Little Pigs" -- Burt Gillett, Disney, 1933
"Rabbit of Seville" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1950
"Steamboat Willie" -- Ub Iwerks, Disney, 1928
"The Old Mill" -- Wilfred Jackson and Graham Heid, Disney, 1937
"Bad Luck Blackie" -- Tex Avery, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1949
"The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1946
"Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor" -- Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1936
"The Skeleton Dance" -- Ub Iwerks, Disney, 1929
"Snow White" (The Betty Boop version) -- Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1933
"Minnie the Moocher" -- Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1932
"Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1943
"Der Fuehrers Face" -- Jack Kinney, Disney, 1943
"Little Rural Riding Hood" -- Tex Avery, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1949
"The Tell-Tale Heart" -- Ted Parmelee, UPA (Columbia Pictures), 1953
"The Big Snit" -- Richard Condie, National Film Board of Canada, 1985 (watch it on the NFB website)
"Brave Little Tailor" -- Burt Gillett, Disney, 1938
"Clock Cleaners" -- Ben Sharpsteen, Disney, 1937
"Northwest Hounded Police" -- Tex Avery, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1946
"Adventures In Music: Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" -- Charles Nicholls and Ward Kimball, Disney, 1953
"Rabbit Seasoning" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1952
"The Scarlet Pumpernickel" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1950
"The Cat Came Back" -- Cordell Barker, Richard Condie (National Film Board of Canada), 1988
"The Mad Scientist" aka "Superman" -- Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1941
"You Ought to Be In Pictures" -- Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1940
"Ali Baba Bunny" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1957
"Feed the Kitty" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1952
"Bimbo's Initiation" -- Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1931
"Bambi Meets Godzilla" -- Marv Newland, 1969
"Little Red Riding Rabbit" -- Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1944
"Peace on Earth" -- Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1939
"Rooty Toot Toot" -- John Hubley, UPA (Columbia Pictures), 1953
"The Cat Concerto" -- William Hanna and Joe Barbera, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1946
"Woody Woodpecker: The Barber of Seville" -- James "Shamus" Culhane, Walter Lantz, 1944
"The Man Who Planted Trees" (L'homme qui plantait des arbres) -- Frédéric Back, 1987
"Book Revue" -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1946
"Quasi at the Quackadero" -- Sally Cruikshank, 1975
"A Corny Concerto" -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1943
"The Unicorn in the Garden" -- William T. Hurtz, UPA (Columbia Pictures), 1953
"The Dover Boys at Pimento University or the Rivals of Roquefort Hall" -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1942
"Felix in Hollywood" -- Otto Messmer, 1923

The Runners-Up

Besides the main list, the book also included a list of 57 runner up cartoons that almost made it to the list, but ultimately didn't get enough votes. Not surprisingly, 45 of these shorts are also from The Golden Age of Animation. For convienience, they are posted below:

Allegreto (1981)
Balloon Land -- Ub Iwerks, Celebrity Pictures, 1935
Baseball Bugs (1946)
The Big Snooze -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1946
Blitz Wolf -- Tex Avery, MGM, 1942
The Box (1967)
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1942
Bugs Bunny And The Three Bears -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1944
Crac (1981)
Woody Woodpecker, AKA "The Cracked Nut" --Walter Lantz, Universal, 1941)
The Crunch Bird (1971)
Education for Death -- Clyde Geronimi, Walt Disney Pictures, 1943
Ersatz (1961)
Fast And Furry-ous -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1949
Ferdinand The Bull -- Dick Rickard, Walt Disney Pictures 1938
Flebus (1957)
Flowers and Trees -- Burt Gillett, Walt Disney Pictures, 1932
Frank Film (1973)
The Furies (1976)
Gorilla My Dreams --Robert McKimson, Warner Bros 1948
Hair-Raising Hare -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1946
I Love to Singa -- "Fred" Avery, Warner Bros., 1936
Kitty Kornered -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1946
Koko's Earth Control -- Max Fleischer, 1928
Little Nemo -- Winsor McCay, 1911
Lonesome Ghosts -- Burt Gillett, Walt Disney Pictures, 1937
Lupo the Butcher (1987)
The Mechanical Monsters -- Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1941
Mickey's Service Station -- Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1935
Mickey's Trailer --Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1938
Moonbird (1959)
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood -- Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Pictures, 1938
Mouse Cleaning -- Bill Hanna And Joe Barbera, MGM, 1948
Moving Day -- Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1936
Music Land -- Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Pictures, 1935
The Old Grey Hare --Bob Clampett, Walt Disney Pictures, 1944
The Old Man of the Mountain -- Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1933
Plane Crazy -- Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, 1928
The Pointer -- Gerry "Clyde" Geronimi, Walt Disney Pictures, 1939
Poor Cinderella -- Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1934
Rabbit Hood --Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1949
Rhapsody in Rivets --Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1941
Rhapsody Rabbit -- Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1946
Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves -- Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1937
Scaredy Cat -- Chuck Jones, Warner Bros, 1948
Screwball Squirrel -- Tex Avery, MGM, 1944
Señor Droopy -- Tex Avery, MGM, (1949)
The Street (1976)
The Sunshine Makers -- Ted Eshbaugh, Van Beuren Studios, 1935
Swing Shift Cinderella -- Tex Avery, MGM, 1945
A Tale of Two Kitties -- Bob Clampett, Warner Bros, 1942
Thru The Mirror -- David Hand, Walt Disney Pictures, 1936
Tweety Pie -- Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1947
When Magoo Flew -- Pete Burness, UPA, 1955
Who Killed Cock Robin? -- David Hand, Walt Disney Pictures, 1935
A Wild Hare -- Tex Avery, Warner Bros., 1940
Your Face (1987)

↑ i.e., cartoon short films -- neither full-length features nor television episodes are included
↑ with two shorts from The Silent Age of Animation, two shorts from The Dark Age of Animation, and three shorts from The Renaissance Age of Animation

[1] i.e., cartoon short films -- neither full-length features nor television episodes are included

[2] with two shorts from The Silent Age of Animation, two shorts from The Dark Age of Animation, and three shorts from The Renaissance Age of Animation

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{trope}}
+{{Useful Notes}}
 [[File:movie_2_2700.jpg|frame]]
-An official list of '''''The 50 Greatest Cartoons'''''<ref>''i.e.'', cartoon '''short films''' -- neither full-length features nor television episodes are included</ref>, compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck of [[Cartoon Brew (Blog)|Cartoon Brew]], along with many others in the animation field. The criterion was that each short be under 30 minutes long and cel animated (with ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' as the exception, predating cels). Tellingly, 43 of the shorts are from [[The Golden Age of Animation]] <ref>with two shorts from [[The Silent Age of Animation]], two shorts from [[The Dark Age of Animation]], and three shorts from [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]</ref> and 17 of them are from from the [[Warner Bros]] studio (a full 1/5 of the list having been directed by [[Chuck Jones]]).
+An official list of '''''The 50 Greatest Cartoons'''''<ref>''i.e.'', cartoon '''short films''' -- neither full-length features nor television episodes are included</ref>, compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck of [[Cartoon Brew]], along with many others in the animation field. The criterion was that each short be under 30 minutes long and cel animated (with ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' as the exception, predating cels). Tellingly, 43 of the shorts are from [[The Golden Age of Animation]] <ref>with two shorts from [[The Silent Age of Animation]], two shorts from [[The Dark Age of Animation]], and three shorts from [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]</ref> and 17 of them are from from the [[Warner Bros]] studio (a full 1/5 of the list having been directed by [[Chuck Jones]]).
+Also tellingly, [[Small Reference Pools|all of them are North American and a supermajority are from Hollywood studios]].
 Compare to ''[[The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes]]'' list.
@@ Line 8: / Line 10: @@
 == The Main List: ==
-# "[[What's Opera, Doc? (Film)|What's Opera Doc]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1957
+# "[[What's Opera, Doc?]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1957
 # "[[Duck Amuck]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1953
 # "[[The Band Concert]]" -- Wilfred Jackson, [[Disney]], 1935
-# "[[Duck Dodgers in The Twenty Fourth And A Half Century (Film)|Duck Dodgers in The Twenty Fourth And A Half Century]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1953
+# "[[Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1953
 # "[[One Froggy Evening]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1955
 # "[[Gertie the Dinosaur]]" -- [[Winsor McCay]], 1914
 # "[[Red Hot Riding Hood]]" -- [[Tex Avery]], [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1943
 # "[[Porky in Wackyland]]" -- [[Bob Clampett]], [[Warner Bros]], 1938
-# "[[Gerald McBoing-Boing (Animation)|Gerald McBoing-Boing]]" -- Robert Cannon, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1951
+# "[[Gerald McBoing-Boing]]" -- Robert Cannon, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1951
 # "[[King Size Canary]]" -- [[Tex Avery]], [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1947
-# "[[Three Little Pigs (Disney)|Three Little Pigs]]" -- Burt Gillett, [[Disney]], 1933
+# "[[Three Little Pigs (Disney film)|Three Little Pigs]]" -- Burt Gillett, [[Disney]], 1933
 # "[[Rabbit of Seville]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1950
-# "[[Steamboat Willie (Animation)|Steamboat Willie]]" -- Ub Iwerks, [[Disney]], 1928
+# "[[Steamboat Willie]]" -- Ub Iwerks, [[Disney]], 1928
 # "[[The Old Mill]]" -- Wilfred Jackson and Graham Heid, [[Disney]], 1937
 # "[[Bad Luck Blackie]]" -- [[Tex Avery]], [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1949
 # "[[The Great Piggy Bank Robbery]]" -- [[Bob Clampett]], [[Warner Bros]], 1946
-# "[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1936
+# "[[Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1936
-# "[[The Skeleton Dance (Animation)|The Skeleton Dance]]" -- Ub Iwerks, [[Disney]], 1929
+# "[[The Skeleton Dance]]" -- Ub Iwerks, [[Disney]], 1929
-# "[[Snow White (Animation)|Snow White]]" (The [[Betty Boop]] version) -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1933
+# "[[Snow White (short)|Snow White]]" (The [[Betty Boop]] version) -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1933
 # "[[Minnie the Moocher]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1932
 # "[[Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs]]" -- [[Bob Clampett]], [[Warner Bros]], 1943
-# "[[Der Fuehrers Face (Disney)|Der Fuehrers Face]]" -- Jack Kinney, [[Disney]], 1943
+# "[[Der Fuehrer's Face|Der Fuehrers Face]]" -- Jack Kinney, [[Disney]], 1943
 # "[[Little Rural Riding Hood]]" -- [[Tex Avery]], [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1949
-# "The Tell-Tale Heart" -- Ted Parmelee, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1953
+# "[[The Tell-Tale Heart (1953 American film)|The Tell-Tale Heart]]" -- Ted Parmelee, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1953
-# [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwZ1fsqmU08 "The Big Snit"] -- Richard Condie, [[National Film Board of Canada]], 1985
+# "[[The Big Snit]]" -- Richard Condie, [[National Film Board of Canada]], 1985 ([https://www.nfb.ca/film/big_snit/ watch it on the NFB website])
 # "[[Brave Little Tailor]]" -- Burt Gillett, [[Disney]], 1938
 # "[[Clock Cleaners]]" -- Ben Sharpsteen, [[Disney]], 1937
@@ Line 39: / Line 41: @@
 # "[[Rabbit Seasoning]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1952
 # "[[The Scarlet Pumpernickel]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1950
-# "[[The Cat Came Back (Film)|The Cat Came Back]]" -- Cordell Barker, Richard Condie ([[National Film Board of Canada]]), 1988
+# "[[The Cat Came Back (film)|The Cat Came Back]]" -- Cordell Barker, Richard Condie ([[National Film Board of Canada]]), 1988
-# "[[The Mad Scientist (Animation)|The Mad Scientist]]" aka "[[Superman Theatrical Cartoons|Superman]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1941
+# "[[The Mad Scientist]]" aka "[[Superman Theatrical Cartoons|Superman]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1941
 # "[[You Ought to Be In Pictures]]" -- [[Friz Freleng]], [[Warner Bros]], 1940
 # "[[Ali Baba Bunny]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1957
 # "[[Feed the Kitty]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1952
-# "[[Bimbos Initiation|Bimbo's Initiation]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1931
+# "[[Bimbo's Initiation]]" -- Dave Fleischer, [[Max and Dave Fleischer|Fleischer Studios]], 1931
 # "[[Bambi Meets Godzilla]]" -- Marv Newland, 1969
 # "[[Little Red Riding Rabbit]]" -- [[Friz Freleng]], [[Warner Bros]], 1944
-# "[[Peace On Earth]]" -- Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1939
+# "[[Peace on Earth]]" -- Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1939
 # "[[Rooty Toot Toot]]" -- John Hubley, [[Columbia Cartoons|UPA]] ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1953
 # "[[The Cat Concerto]]" -- William Hanna and Joe Barbera, [[Metro Goldwyn Mayer]], 1946
-# "[[The Barber of Seville (Animation)|Woody Woodpecker: The Barber of Seville]]" -- [[Shamus Culhane|James "Shamus" Culhane]], [[Walter Lantz]], 1944
+# "[[The Barber of Seville (animation)|Woody Woodpecker: The Barber of Seville]]" -- [[Shamus Culhane|James "Shamus" Culhane]], [[Walter Lantz]], 1944
-# "The Man Who Planted Trees" (''L'homme qui plantait des arbres'') -- Frédéric Back, 1987
+# "[[The Man Who Planted Trees (film)|The Man Who Planted Trees]]" (''L'homme qui plantait des arbres'') -- Frédéric Back, 1987
 # "[[Book Revue]]" -- [[Bob Clampett]], [[Warner Bros]], 1946
-# "[[Quasi At the Quackadero (Animation)|Quasi At the Quackadero]]" -- Sally Cruikshank, 1975
+# "[[Quasi at the Quackadero]]" -- Sally Cruikshank, 1975
 # "[[A Corny Concerto]]" -- [[Bob Clampett]], [[Warner Bros]], 1943
-# "[[The Unicorn in The Garden]]" -- William T. Hurtz, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1953
+# "[[The Unicorn in the Garden]]" -- William T. Hurtz, UPA ([[Columbia Pictures]]), 1953
 # "[[The Dover Boys|The Dover Boys at Pimento University or the Rivals of Roquefort Hall]]" -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1942
-# "[[Felix in Hollywood (Animation)|Felix in Hollywood]]" -- [[Otto Messmer]], 1923
+# "[[Felix in Hollywood]]" -- [[Otto Messmer]], 1923
 == The Runners-Up ==
@@ Line 71: / Line 73: @@
 * Bugs Bunny And The Three Bears -- [[Chuck Jones]], Warner Bros., 1944
 * Crac (1981)
-* [[The Cracked Nut (Animation)|Woody Woodpecker, AKA "The Cracked Nut"]] --[[Walter Lantz]], [[Universal]], 1941)
+* [[The Cracked Nut|Woody Woodpecker, AKA "The Cracked Nut"]] --[[Walter Lantz]], [[Universal]], 1941)
 * The Crunch Bird (1971)
 * [[Education for Death]] -- Clyde Geronimi, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1943
@@ Line 85: / Line 87: @@
 * [[I Love to Singa]] -- [[Tex Avery|"Fred" Avery]], Warner Bros., 1936
 * Kitty Kornered -- [[Bob Clampett]], Warner Bros., 1946
-* [[Kokos Earth Control (Animation)|Kokos Earth Control]] -- [[Fleischer Studios|Max Fleischer]], 1928
+* [[Koko's Earth Control]] -- [[Fleischer Studios|Max Fleischer]], 1928
 * Little Nemo -- [[Winsor McCay]], 1911
 * [[Lonesome Ghosts]] -- Burt Gillett, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1937
@@ Line 91: / Line 93: @@
 * The Mechanical Monsters -- Dave Fleischer, [[Paramount Pictures]], 1941
 * Mickey's Service Station -- Ben Sharpsteen, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1935
 * Mickey's Trailer --Ben Sharpsteen, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1938
 * Moonbird (1959)
 * Mother Goose Goes Hollywood -- Wilfred Jackson, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1938
@@ Line 99: / Line 101: @@
 * The Old Grey Hare --[[Bob Clampett]], [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1944
 * The Old Man of the Mountain -- Dave Fleischer, [[Paramount Pictures]], 1933
-* [[Plane Crazy (Animation)|Plane Crazy]] -- [[Ub Iwerks]] and [[Walt Disney]], [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1928
+* [[Plane Crazy]] -- [[Ub Iwerks]] and [[Walt Disney]], [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1928
 * The Pointer -- Gerry "Clyde" Geronimi, [[Walt Disney Pictures]], 1939
 * Poor Cinderella -- Dave Fleischer, [[Paramount Pictures]], 1934
@@ Line 105: / Line 107: @@
 * Rhapsody in Rivets --[[Friz Freleng]], [[Warner Bros]], 1941
 * [[Rhapsody Rabbit]] -- [[Friz Freleng]], [[Warner Bros]], 1946
-* [[Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Babas Forty Thieves]] -- Dave Fleischer, [[Paramount Pictures]], 1937
+* [[Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves]] -- Dave Fleischer, [[Paramount Pictures]], 1937
 * Scaredy Cat -- [[Chuck Jones]], [[Warner Bros]], 1948
 * [[Screwball Squirrel]] -- [[Tex Avery]], [[MGM]], 1944
@@ Line 120: / Line 122: @@
 * Your Face (1987)
+{{50 Greatest Cartoons}}
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Useful Notes]]
+[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
-[[Category:index]]
+[[Category:List of Lists]]
-[[Category:The 50 Greatest Cartoons]]
+[[Category:Western Animation]]
+{{DEFAULTSORT:50 Greatest Cartoons , The}}