Serious Business: The Art And Commerce Of Animation In America From Betty Boop To Toy Story [Paperback]

Stefan Kanfer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2000

As Roger Rosenblatt put it, ”What makes Serious Business a special treat is that it is like the best of the cartoons itself—funny, touching, and infused with thoughtful joy.” This generously illustrated history of animation looks at the creation and celluloid careers of such American icons as Felix the Cat, Jiminy Cricket, Mickey and Minnie, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Goofy, Yogi Bear, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, and the Pink Panther. Art and commerce collide again and again as Stefan Kanfer wittily probes the origins of such diverse cartoon families as the Flintstones, the Jetsons, and the Simpsons and looks at the phenomenal success of feature-length animated films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Lion King. Serious Business is itself a classic of animation, bringing to life an art and an industry whose creations have now worked their way into every corner of American life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The business behind creating and producing comics, cartoons, or, specifically, animation is nothing short of fascinating. More than a "behind the scenes" book or a "tell all" expose, Serious Business is a great find for this reason: it places an emphasis on the creative people in the industry. To quote the dust cover: "The history of animation is the story of its geniuses. Serious Business disperses the clouds created by decades of received wisdom, bogus myth-making, and corporate propaganda to reveal a cast of characters whose entertainment value exceeds that of their creations." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

How American cartoons reflect American culture and vice versa is the subject of an entertaining and informative study by former Time staffer Kanfer. Although the sections on recent cartoon history (covering slick studio fare like Toy Story as well as MTV stars Beavis and Butt-head) are less colorful than the history of the early years, Kanfer's tone is steady throughout. From the beginning, animated shorts utilized painful stereotypes: the first real animated motion picture, Humorous Phases of a Funny Face, ends as "[t]he words Coon and Cohen become caricatures of an African American and a Jew." This tradition continued as animators struggled to find a more appropriate application for their art, with many of them switching from human subjects to animals or objects in order to spotlight special effects. Kanfer gives brief, helpful background on Walt Disney and weighs how the early efforts of Mickey Mouse's creator differed from the popular cartoons of the day, including Disney's predilection for rural farm settings while most others set their work in cities. Disney was no stranger to the use of damaging racial and ethnic caricatures, however. In "The Three Little Pigs" the wolf wore rabbinical dress and spoke with a heavy Yiddish accent. The births of many popular characters provide amusing anecdotes: Daffy Duck, for example, was given his characteristic sputtering voice as a dig at a Warner Brothers executive who conducted impromptu inspections of the animators' workplace and suffered from a terrible speech impediment, and Chuck Jones credited some of Mark Twain's writing with providing the inspiration for Wile E. Coyote. Even though Kanfer's story slows a little at the end, it is thoroughly engaging throughout.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306809184
• ISBN-13: 978-0306809187
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #681,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but not a great one., September 5, 1997

By 

T. Dahm "burgeltz" (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SERIOUS BUSINESS: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story (Hardcover)

A good read, but not the great book it could have been. It could easily have been twice as long. Early chapters are strongest. Strong on Disney. Would like to have seen more on Looney Tunes

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to American animation history!, July 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: SERIOUS BUSINESS: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story (Hardcover)

Well written, concise survey of American animation history. The only slights are that he doesn't have much to say on non-Disney animated efforts of the past decade, especially television animation, and that too many pages praise the horrendous UPA 'toons. Otherwise, this is a great intro to a neglected sector of American culture. If you want to learn about cartoons without buying a separate book on each major company, this should be your choice

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book on the birth and rise and fall of the great animators., April 16, 2010

By 

Daniel Burke "The Figure Coach" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serious Business: The Art And Commerce Of Animation In America From Betty Boop To Toy Story (Paperback)

From the very beginning of animation, to the great rivalries, to the rise and fall of many great animation houses--this book tells it in a clear and engaging way.
Superb book to learn the history of animation and what made it tick.
A great read. Well worth the time to read.