Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation

by Amid Amidi

Between the classic films of Walt Disney in the 1940s and the televised cartoon revolution of the 1960s was a critical period in the history of animation. Amid Amidi, of the influential Animation Blast magazine and CartoonBrew blog, charts the evolution of the modern style in animation, which largely discarded the "lifelike" aesthetic for a more graphic and often abstract approach. Abundantly found in commercials, industrial and educational films, fair and expo infotainment, and more, this quickly popular cartoon modernism shared much with the painting and graphic design movements of the era. Showcasing hundreds of rare and forgotten sketches, model boards, cels, and film stills, Cartoon Modern is a thoroughly researched, eye-popping, and delightful account of a vital decade of animation design.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Art Design

200 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2006

Reviews

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Picture source: parkablogs.com)

This book makes for a very good source of inspiration and research. The author, Amid Amidi, has created a book of depth and scope, just like he did for The Art of Robots.

The chapters are arranged alphabetically. Each showcases an animation studio, with the background and the art. The 50s cartoons were extremely stylized. In fact, looking at this book, it reminds me of The Art of The Incredibles, which contains very stylized concept art.

The wonderfully varied collection of cartoons come from commercials, TV programs, films and the printed media, covering a wide selection of genres. You'll get to explore and read from lesser known studios to animation giants like Disney.

This book should probably create nostalgia in people who grew up watching and reading cartoons. It's a wonderful book for animators and cartoonists.

This review was first published on parkablogs.com. There are more pictures and videos on my blog.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xmas gift 2007 - read (with partial skimming) thru in an evening.

I have no real background/education in fine arts or graphic design, but even I can appreciate the body of work represented here. The text does a great job of supporting the artwork by telling the stories of the artists, studios and projects whose sensibilities helped form this trend in animation. Some names I recognized: Maurice Noble, Bill Melendez and Eyvind Earle among others; while still others I would like to become more familiar with. It may have been a bit of an indulgence to had had this purchased for me - but it was an absorbing topic and has whet my appetite for more.

NOTE: I was pleasantly surprised to find some of the short subjects referenced along the way in the Prelinger Archives - and found it helpful to watch the movie after reading the associated article.

[Nick Rodarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource of inspiration. This is a bible of mid century cartooning and something I love going back to in times of character sketching. The mid century cartoon style is ICONIC. Art books are there for the pictures but the excerpts are fun to skim through here and there when you stop on a visually exciting page. Getting bits of pieces of cartoon history along side iconic pieces, a great coffee table book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of work that went into this was exhaustive.

This has always been cartooning style I’ve been most drawn to and I’m so glad that someone wrote an overview of all the studios that worked in it during the 50s and beyond.

I wish this book was cheaper and easier to find. I was so fortunate my library system has a copy. Hopefully I can renew my hold a few times to keep it a little longer.

[Aron · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish the short book because I did a search on the films mentioned, found many if not most, and ended up watching the.

Beautiful art, entertaining content— many of the designers and directors talked about were artistic geniuses who created works worth watching 70 years later.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time the Goodreads app has force quit on a review of this book, so short and sweet this time: Amazing book about animation studios in the 50s. Animation made in an artistic sense formally and stylistically. Extremely happy that almost all of the cartoons mentioned are on YouTube. I’ll be looking for a copy of the book for myself.

[Gijs Grob · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Cartoon Modern' is Amidi's ode to the graphic cartoon style of the 1950s. This art book not only is rich in beautifully reprinted artwork, Amidi also provides an introduction to this style, which emerged in the 1940s, and short biographies of the American animation studios working in this style, even if it was only temporarily. Of course, one craves for more information, but this is first and foremost an art book, and Amidi already is pioneering in this field. A must-have for anyone interested in 1950s graphic design and for everyone interested in animation history.

[Jesse]

A concise history with a fantastic range of samples, cells, and sketches. A very worthwhile read, compiling all the major studios and personalities involved in this transformative era of animation. Recommended for anyone with an interest in animation history.

[Erins Hilos De Cuentos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful edition for any UPA or animation lovers out there.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite references books.

[J.souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this one as a Christmas gift the last year.

I always loved 50's animation, specially the one made by Hanna Barbera (Scooby Doo, Jetsons, Yogi Bear, etc). At the same time that they where simple, almost minimalist, they had their own personal aesthetic, different from everything at that time and now still.

As an illustrator, I bought this one mostly for reference. And althought it has a lot of good text, dealing with each great studio from A to Z, it's still worths more for the beautiful images of many rare movies that we will never get the chance to see it.

So I would strongly recommend this one for: people looking for some revival of classic animation; illustrators or artists in general looking for some inspiration from the greatests; or anyone wanting to learn more about the history of 50's animation and the impact of it's design.

[Dave-O · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous book about an innovative time when animated cartoons were made in the so-called 'UPA Style' in the 1950s and 1960s. The leaps and strides in design in these films shook things up by casting aside often prohibitive naturalism that was the dominant cartoon style up to then. Though not always successful in terms of storytelling, the slickly styled cartoons are the forerunners of pop and superflat. These cartoons are so influential to so many artists today, its near-overwhelming to finally have it all in one book. Hooray!

[Jesse Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love this book! This book is a must have for any designer, or visual story teller. The author gives an interesting A to Z for what modern studios of the time were doing. This book not only helps you look back at how the craft has changed but also how design has become the driving force behind every medium. I have read this book over a dozen times and each time I notice something fresh and inspiring.

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love this style of art -- it's very playful, creative, and "design-y." This book served as a nice introduction and provided some interesting facts I didn't know, although I wish it gave more insight into the art itself. There wasn't much context to accompany the photos of the work that was created.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for anyone interested in the history of animation and graphic story telling. It's a fun read, but also very informative and thought-provoking history/encyclopedia on the development of cartoon animation styles in the 1950s and 1960s. Great collection of images, too.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately the author is a definite liability here: unsmiling, snobby and bookish (everything you don't want to see on this subject). But the art is simply wonderful: whimsical, winsome and charming to the utmost degree. :)

[Craven Lovelace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended. The book is both a fount of hard-to-come-by information and eye candy of the first order.

[Lindsay]

I got this for Christmas last year and haven't felt like I've had the proper time to devote to sitting down with this beautiful thing. Hopefully this Christmas I will peruse it's pages.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find constant inspiration in this book!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for fans of cartoons and modern art.

[Tim Decker]

excellent !