Uncle John's Crazy Town: February 2011

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Electric Eels!

I had forgotten about this turn for the wonderfully surreal in the gorgeous (but admittedly trite) 'Betty Boop's Lifegaurd' (Willard Bowsky, Dave Tendlar 1934). Are they light bulbs or glowing eyes looking at you!? More of my thoughts on the Bowsky/Tendlar collaboration of 1934 in a future post...

"During the span of years from 1914, I have made efforts to retain the "cartoony" effect. That is, I did not welcome the trend of the industry to go "arty". It was, and still is, my opinion that a cartoon should represent, in simple form, the cartoonist's mental expression. In other words the "animated oil painting" has taken the place of the flashiness and delightfulness of the simple cartoon.

In my opinion, the industry must pull back. Pull away from the tendencies toward realism. It must stay in it's own backyard of "The Cartoonist's Cartoon." The cartoon must be a portrayal of the expression of the true cartoonist, in simple, unhampered cartoon style. The true cartoon is a great art in it's own right. It does not need the assistance or support of "Artiness." In fact, it is actually hampered by it." - Max Fleischer