Van Beuren Studios
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Van Beuren Studios was an American animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons from 1928 to 1936.
Amedee J. Van Beuren, 1933
Producer Amedee J. van Beuren first became involved in the animation industry in 1920, when he formed a partnership with Paul Terry and formed the "Aesop's Fables Studio" for the production of the Aesop's Film Fables cartoon series. Van Beuren released Terry's first sound cartoon Dinner Time (1928) through Pathé Exchange which later became part of RKO. Terry ran the animation studio while Van Beuren focused on other parts of the business. In 1929, Terry quit to start his own Terrytoons studio and John Foster took over the animation department. It was at this time that the Fables Studio became the Van Beuren Studio.
Van Beuren released its films through RKO Radio Pictures. The early sound Van Beuren cartoons are almost identical to the late silent cartoons: highly visual, with little dialogue and occasional sound effects. Bandleaders Gene Rodemich and Winston Sharples supervised the music. The company's main cartoon characters were "Tom and Jerry", a tall-and-short pair, usually vagrants who attempted various occupations. They share no relation to MGM's more successful Tom and Jerry, a cat and mouse, and the older series has been renamed "Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry" and "Dick and Larry" in various future incarnations. Van Beuren was keenly aware that successful cartoons often featured animated "stars," and urged his staff to come up with new ideas for characters. Cubby, a mischievous little bear, resulted.
Van Beuren remained unsatisfied, and agreed to license the popular comic-strip character The Little King and radio's hottest comedy act, Amos 'n' Andy to adapt into animated form. Strangely, neither series was successful. Van Beuren then hired Walt Disney Director Burt Gillett andAnimator Tom Palmer to create a new series of color cartoons. These handsome "Rainbow Parade" cartoons featured established characters: Felix the Cat, Parrotville Parrots, Molly Moo Cow, and the Toonerville Trolley gang.
These Van Beuren efforts were well received, and Van Beuren had finally succeeded in sponsoring a popular cartoon series. However, RKO ended its distribution of Van Beuren cartoons in 1937 when it began distributing those of industry-leader Walt Disney.
The Van Beuren Corporation acquired and produced live-action features and shorts (including Frank Buck's monster hit Bring 'Em Back Alive). In 1932, Van Beuren purchased 12 Charlie Chaplinsilent films (his 1916-'18 "Lone Star" comedies for Mutual Film Corporation) for $10,000 apiece, added music by Winston Sharples and sound effects, reissuing them through RKO.
The Van Beuren library was sold to various television, reissue, and home-movie distributors in the 1940s and 1950s, including Commonwealth Pictures and Official Films.
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The Van Buren cartoons are similar to those being made by other studios in that period. There are Mickey Mouses ( close enough to bring about legal action from Disney ), funny animals and even Betty Boop girls ( about the same voice, but different in appearence ). Van Buren's later cartoons included a new Felix The Cat series. Although these cartoons didn't quite succeed in recapturing the spirit of the FelixThe Cat of old, they compared favorably with other cartoons being made at the time and the series could have kept going for some time had the studio kept in operation. Van Buren suffered from ill health and that seems to have caused him to stop making cartoons as much as anything; he was not to outlive his studio for long.
Van Beuren released its films through RKO Radio Pictures. The early sound Van Beuren cartoons are almost identical to the late silent cartoons: highly visual, with little dialogue and occasional sound effects. Bandleaders Gene Rodemich and Winston Sharples supervised the music. The company's main cartoon characters were "Tom and Jerry", a tall-and-short pair, usually vagrants who attempted various occupations. They share no relation to MGM's more successful Tom and Jerry, a cat and mouse, and the older series has been renamed "Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry" and "Dick and Larry" in various future incarnations. Van Beuren was keenly aware that successful cartoons often featured animated "stars," and urged his staff to come up with new ideas for characters. Cubby, a mischievous little bear, resulted.
Van Beuren remained unsatisfied, and agreed to license the popular comic-strip character The Little King and radio's hottest comedy act, Amos 'n' Andy to adapt into animated form. Strangely, neither series was successful. Van Beuren then hired Walt Disney Director Burt Gillett and
These Van Beuren efforts were well received, and Van Beuren had finally succeeded in sponsoring a popular cartoon series. However, RKO ended its distribution of Van Beuren cartoons in 1937 when it began distributing those of industry-leader Walt Disney.
The Van Beuren Corporation acquired and produced live-action features and shorts (including Frank Buck's monster hit Bring 'Em Back Alive). In 1932, Van Beuren purchased 12 Charlie Chaplin
The Van Beuren library was sold to various television, reissue, and home-movie distributors in the 1940s and 1950s, including Commonwealth Pictures and Official Films.
Productions
Animation:- Aesop's Fables (initially produced by Ferdynand Kiepski)
- Amos 'n' Andy
- The Little King
- Rainbow Parade (color series)
- Burt Gillett's Toddle Tales
- Toby the Pup (initially produced by Charles Mintz studio)
- Tom and Jerry
- Toonerville Trolley
- Parrotville
- James the Cat
- Bring 'Em Back Alive (1932)
- Adventure Girl (1934)
- Wild Cargo (1934)
- Fang and Claw (1935)
External links
- Full list of Van Beuren cartoons from the Big Cartoon Database
- Cartoon Research, Van Beuren Studios page
- Biography of Amedee J. Van Beuren
- Swiss Trick on Archive.org
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