Research Catalog

Title

Wild minds : the artists and rivalries that inspired the golden age of animation / Reid Mitenbuler.

Author

Mitenbuler, Reid

Publication

• New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020.
• ©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xviii, 411 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 24 cm

Summary

• "In 1911, the famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted an animated version of his popular newspaper strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland. Loosely inspired by Sigmund Freud's research on dreams, the film was one of the very first of its kind. McCay is largely forgotten today, but his work helped unleash the creative energy of animators like Otto Messmer, Max Fleischer, Walt Disney, and Chuck Jones. Their origin stories, rivalries, and sheer genius, as Reid Mitenbuler skillfully relates, were as colorful and subversive as their creations--from Felix the Cat to Bugs Bunny to feature films such as Fantasia--which became an integral part of American culture over the next five decades. Before television, animated cartoons were often "little hand grenades of social and political satire" aimed squarely at adults. Early Betty Boop cartoons included nudity. Popeye stories slyly criticized the injustices of unchecked capitalism. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner were used to explore hidden depths of the American psyche. "During its first half-century," Mitenbuler writes, "animation was an important part of the culture wars about free speech, censorship, the appropriate boundaries of humor, and the influence of art and media on society." During WWII it also played a significant role in propaganda. The golden age of animation ended with the advent of television when cartoons were sanitized to appeal to a growing demographic of children and help advertisers sell sugary breakfast cereals. Alongside these stories, Mitenbuler incorporates the surprising contributions of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), voice artist Mel Blanc, composer Leopold Stokowski, and many others whose talents influenced the world of animation. Illustrated throughout in both black-and-white and color, with rare drawings and photographs, Wild Minds is an ode to our lively past and to the creative energy that would inspire The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman today"--
• "The vivid and untold story of the golden age of classic animation and the often larger-than-life artists who created some of the most iconic cartoon characters of the twentieth century."--Dust jacket flap.

Subject

• Animated films > United States > History
• Animated films > Social aspects > United States
• PERFORMING ARTS / Animation (see also Film / Genres / Animated)
• PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism
• ART / History / Contemporary (1945-)
• Animated films
• Animated films > Social aspects
• United States

Genre/Form

• Animated films.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Prologue: "Make us another" -- "Slumberland" -- "Fantasmagorie" -- "The artist's dream" -- "The camera fiend" -- "Cherubs that actually fly" -- "This place is full of sharks" -- "How to fire a Lewis machine gun" -- "Being famous is hard work" -- "I love beans" -- "Bad luck!" -- "Giddyap!" -- "That's money over the barrelhead" -- "It became the rage" -- "I have become a ghost" -- "The formula" -- "Looks like you're having fun" -- "Are you a sailor?" -- "You can't top pigs with pigs" -- "Max Fleischer killed Dan Glass" -- "I'll make money" -- "That goddam holy grail" -- "We can do better than that with our second string" -- "Highbrowski by Stokowski" -- "Law of the jungle" -- "Okay, go ahead" -- "That horse's ass!" -- "A tough little stinker" -- "Greetings, America!" -- "How is it spelled?" -- "They can kill you, but they're not allowed to eat you" -- "And it's going to be clean!" -- "Silly rabbit..." -- "Flesher" -- "Well, kid, this is the end I guess".

Call Number

JFE 21-3902

ISBN

• 9780802129383
• 0802129382

LCCN

• 2020043732
• 40030321286

OCLC

1202731486

Author

Mitenbuler, Reid, author.

Title

Wild minds : the artists and rivalries that inspired the golden age of animation / Reid Mitenbuler.

Publisher

New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020.

Copyright Date

©2020

Edition

First edition.

First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Mitenbuler, Reid. Wild minds. First edition. New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020 9780802147059 (OCoLC)1226710758

Other Standard Identifier

40030321286

Research Call Number

JFE 21-3902