Customer Reviews

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age

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4 star:		(7)
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Covering much of the same ground as Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic, Hollywood Cartoons is packed with interesting insights and comments from both the author and those that participated in the creation of an American art form. Michael Barrier's exhaustively researched book covers the Golden Age of Hollywood animation and the movers and shakers that had an impact on the art form.

At nearly 650 pages Barrier's book takes a fair balanced look at Disney, Warner Bros., Fleischer and other contributors to this dying art form. It's actually a perfect companion piece to the newely released boxed set of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes classics. Barrier avoids the Disney worship that marred other books of this type and, like Maltin's marvelous but less indepth book, he manages to point out the key contributions of the most important animation directors/producers of the era.

While it does overlook or give only a cursory overview of some important figures in the industry, Barrier's scholarly aproach manages to recognize the merits and flaws of each studio, their system and directors. Although not as well illustrated as Maltin's book, the pictures do provide a glimpse of many of the essential classics that impacted the art of animation. Since much of the documentation for the creation of some of the early Warner classics are long gone, Barrier has to rely on many of the same sources and pictures as other authors. The book could have been improved if he had gone more to private collectors for rare animation cels, production photos, model drawings and notes. I also would have liked many of these illustrations to be reproduced in color. Seeing them in dark black and white illustrations does little justice to the artistry of these pioneers.

Maltin's book was clearly the work of an informed fan; his approach focused on the creation of many of the important classics but didn't lose track of the fun in the finished product. Barrier's scholarly approach is a bit drier and doesn't quite communicate the excited of Maltin's less authoriative book on the same subject. It's still an important look at the pioneers of animation's Golden Age and, as such, should be read by those who love the shorts from the various eras examined here.

This book is a marvelous achievement but I'm not sure its title is appropriate. Barrier is concerned with charting the development of excellence, and as such his perspective appears to be "hats off to Disney, kudos to Warner Brothers and Tex Avery, and polite nods to everybody else". The ranking is unexceptionable, and the coverage of Disney and Warners' is rich and incisive. But surely a survey of "Hollywood Cartoons" would ideally have more than a few pages each on Terrytoons, Walter Lantz, Popeye and Betty Boop. Especially the latter three, while obviously not pinnacles of the art, have more than their share of moments worth examination, which a book honing so closely to linear development must leave aside. Obviously a book giving more equal coverage to the well-loved also-rans would be an intimidating doorstop, but one almost wishes Barrier had written one book on Disney and another on the other cartoons. However, Barrier is a sterling scholar and analyst; I repeatedly found myself first shaken by his criticisms of cartoons I have long held sacrosanct, only to usually agree with him in the end.

As an animator with more than a mild interest in the subject, I found the book to go beyond the history. It's the first book about animation to really delve into the ART of the medium. We see how the inventors of the medium are overtaken by the artists who are overtaken by the financiers. It's a magnificent book with absolute precision in its source material backed up by more than the usual number of interviews. It's not another promotional book for ANY studio. The coverage of Disney is greater because the focus is on the period when Disney built the medium. Anyone interested in the medium should read this.

This was a very good book, with a few caveats.

The first chapter, on silent cartoons, is hard going. Not until Walt Disney shows up does that chapter start flowing.

BUT from that point on, until the chapter on UPA, I had a hard time putting "Hollywood Cartoons" down. Barrier doesn't take the usual perspective on cartoons. He doesn't care how they appeal to the casual viewer but how they look to the pro. I didn't agree with all his judgments, but I respect his judgments.

I have read several histories of cartoons, and Barrier still managed to surprise me or say something new. He had the best discussion of the origins of Bugs Bunny I've ever read. His description of the working of MGM's cartoon studio was fascinating, and his views on Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones showed real insight.

Barrier states his opinions strongly. He doesn't like Fleischer or UPA cartoons, and he doesn't think Friz Freleng is worth a lot of discussion. (I would disagree about Friz, but agree on the other stuff.)

In all, this was a fine book on this subject, and I am glad I read it.

As some of the previous reviews have stated, Barrier obviously feels that Disney was the most important thing to ever happen to animation. While that may be true, I would have liked to have seen a bit more coverage of the other studios. That being said, this is a great work which seems to present an objective view of all the big names in animation's golden age. Despite his focus on Disney, the author in no way glosses over his mistakes and personality faults. The one serious problem I have though, is the lack of pictures. There are many references to character design, layout, etc. which certainly call for an illustration. The absence of visual aids in a book about animation sticks out like a sore thumb. The one other complaint I have is the lack of a glossary. While someone knowledgeable in animation may have understood the more technical terms, there were several things talked about throughout the book which I didn't really have a good grasp on. I may have just missed the definitions in the text, but a glossary would certainly have been helpful. The inclusion of these two missing peices would have made this a five star book. As it is, I'll never be able to watch cartoons again without thinking a bit about the technical aspect.

Books on the history of animation, especially the early ones, tend to fall into the trap of Disney-worshipping, which Barrier thankfully avoids. However, in his zeal to prove he is not Disney's lap dog, he unfairly bashes some of the studio's features (including one I consider on a par with the best of them, "Lady and the Tramp.") He gives the same slash-and-burn treatment to the Warner Bros. studio--Clampett, in his view, was apparently nothing more than a second-rate hack, when Clampett in fact hit a period of sheer brilliance in the early to mid forties. "Book Revue", "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery", "The Old Grey Hare" and "Baby Bottleneck" were all Clampett creations, and occupy many of the top slots in Jerry Beck's book "The Fifty Greatest Cartoons Ever." Barrier dismisses them all, as well as Clampett's abilities as a draftsman. I would say he is partial to Jones in his longtime feud with Clampett, but Jones falls victim as well. Still, it is worth reading if you like behind-the-scenes stories of the animation industry.

Barrier's book meticulously traces the rise and fall of the medium sarting in its infancy and taking us up to the present... there are many gaps along the way; he obviously had access to practically everything in the Disney archives and has a fondness for the Warner Brothers' shorts, but the lesser-known studios whose remains have all but disapperared over the years aren't dealt with with the same indepth. The book is more like a series of individul essays and is not the definitive history, which still has yet to be written, but this is an ambitious attempt by a very knowledgeable writer. If you are REALLY into cartoons, then this is a must-read.-John Hayes

I read somewhere recently that Michael Barrier worked on this book for almost thirty years, and I believe it. It is an awesomely complete, well documented, reader-friendly history, and Barrier clearly understands what makes animation works for audiences. He even references the writings of acting master theorist Constantin Stanlisvski! If you're interested in animation history, or even American history, this is a must-read.

Barrier gets about as close to the subject matter as possible. I enjoyed his FunnyWorld publication in the 1970's and he still does a fascinating job of getting to the details of the great animators in an easy to read style.

Michael Barrier's "Hollywood Cartoons" is impeccably researched and intellectually sophisticated; a milestone in its way, it also poses a few problems, one being the inescapable conclusion that the golden age of Hollywood scarcely existed at all. Mr. Barrier casts a baleful eye on some of animation's finest: Chuck Jones' "What's Opera, Doc?" is 'an empty triumph'; "Fantasia", hopelessly puerile and retrograde; "The Tell-Tale Heart", recently chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress, 'a total flop'. Even "Pinocchio" inspires more vitriol than praise (too much airbrush, poor planning and characterizations - Disney 'took the guts out of it', etc...) Can't these guys do anything right? Terrytoons are characterized by 'pervasive squalor', and he assures us UPA, once the shining avatar of cutting-edge animation, could be as dull, insipid and uninspired as any other studio. That's good to know. It should come as no surprise that Mr. Barrier feels a special affinity for Disney's Grumpy (Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs) though this he attributes to Bill Tytla's masterful character animation. Hubley's "Rooty Toot Toot" also receives the Barrier seal of approval. But, in general, there are few pearls to be found among the prevailing dross. There's no question Barrier takes his subject seriously...perhaps, too seriously. Lighten up...they're just cartoons!