Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon [Paperback]

Norman Klein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1859841503 | ISBN-13: 978-1859841501 | Publication Date: February 1, 1996

This is a social history and aesthetics of the "controlled anarchy" of the cartoon, from the first talking Mickeys to the demise of Warners and MGM theatrical productions in 1960. Norman M. Klein follows the scrambling graphics and upside-down ballet of Fleischer's Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman of the Wolfie cartoons by Tex Avery, of the Bugs and Daffy, Tweetie and Roadrunner cartoons from Warners, of full animation at Disney, of the "whiteness of Snow White", and of how Mickey Mouse became a logo. Reviewing the graphics, scripts and marketing of each era, he discovers the links between cartoons and live action movies, newspapers, popular illustration, and the entertainment architecture coming out of Disneyland. Klein shows that the cartoon was a perverse juggling act, invaded constantly by economic and political pressures, by marketing for sound, by licensing characters to stave off bankruptcies, by Prohibition, the Great Depression, the World War II and the first wave of television. Norman Klein is the editor of "Lost Boundaries: A History of Media-Induced Experience", and authors of "Stories in an English I Don't Speak: The History of Forgetting in Los Angeles".

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

An aggressively didactic history of the animated cartoon from the days before Mickey Mouse to the rise (or fall, depending on your feelings about the Flintstones) of Hanna-Barbera's 137 TV programs. Unlike Eric Smoodin's Animating Culture (p. 516), Klein's history insists on maintaining a sharp focus: It's interested almost exclusively in how and why the shape of the seven-minute cartoon short changed from Felix the Cat to Disney and Warners to the UPA cartoons (Gerald McBoing-Boing, Mr. Magoo) of the 50's. What modes of space and entertainment have different cartoons drawn their inspiration from? The earliest cartoons, argues Klein (California Institute of the Arts), were staged in the depthless space of vaudeville gags, their jokes typically depending on spatial transformations between foreground characters and background objects (Felix using his tail as a crank to start a prop car). What Disney brought to the cartoon short was a fascination with the same deep space that marked live-action movies, with a corresponding emphasis on realistic melodrama, full animation, and the artful illusions of the multiplane camera. Even as Disney was turning increasingly to features and merchandising tie-ins (which alone kept the studio solvent in the 30's and 40's), Tex Avery and Chuck Jones at Warners were leading a more formulaic return to the anarchic chases of the earliest animation. Meanwhile, UPA pioneered the stripped-down style of ``consumer cubism,'' inspired not by painting but by advertisements, architecture, and consumer spaces like shopping malls and amusement parks. Klein's often schoolmarmish tone gets in the way of his ambitious secondary goal--to provide a history of the American audience's perception. As a brief history of the evolution of Hollywood cartoons, though, this could hardly be improved. (B&w illustrations) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Norman Klein in his remarkable Seven Minutes: ""The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon has accomplished what is by no means a mior miracle... the work is erudite, witty, comprehensive and just plain fun."" Chuck Jones Animation Director ""A Volume that should be on every toon fan's bookshelf... genuine food for thought with a mass of fascinating detail"" Sight and Sound ""This is an important contribution to the history of American popular culture and a god mine of suggestive insights into the inner workings of the cartoon business."" American Historical Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Verso (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859841503
• ISBN-13: 978-1859841501
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lot Happens in 7 Minutes, April 27, 2004

By 

Michael Samerdyke (Big Stone Gap, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon (Paperback)

This is a very interesting look at the short animated cartoon. It goes from the silent era to the end of the studio system.

I liked the book because it did not have an anti-Disney axe to grind. Indeed, I came away with a better understanding of why Mickey Mouse cartoons became "blander" as time passed, as opposed to the wildness of Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry.

Also very good was the look at the differences between the cartoons of Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng. Freleng is usually ignored by studies of this kind (as he mostly is in Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons) so it was a treat to see him receive attention here.

No, this isn't a quick read, but if you take cartoons as seriously as regular Hollywood movies, with auteurs and themes, this is an essential book to read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a bad Master's thesis..., June 29, 2009

By 

William Sommerwerck "grizzled geezer" (Renton, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon (Paperback)

Though this book contains a lot of interesting and useful information (which is why it gets two stars instead of just one), it is basically a Master's thesis written mostly in incomprehensible academic jargon. Naturally, Chuck Jones gave it an enthusiastic recommendation.

It's yet another example of how publishers don't care to edit books.

8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars dry as toast!, October 24, 2002

By 

tamajinn "tamajinn" (West Deptford, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library hoping to gain insight into the various creators of American cartoons. While this book is well-researched and contains a comprehensive history of cartoons from the twenties through the fifties, it is far from a lighthearted read. The scholarly tone is dry and dull, and what should be an intriguing topic becomes a chore to get through. I'm not sure what audience this book was intended for, but it must be a small one.

I'd avoid this book unless college textbooks keep you on the edge of your seat!