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Warner Bros. Animation Art: The Characters, the Creators, the Limited Editions
Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Warner Bros. Studios, this album features authentic animation art of everyone's favorite characters. More than 300 color illustrations trace the evolution of the uniquely American art form through the development and growth of the Warner Bros.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 1997
3 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Beck
73 books25 followersJerry Beck (born February 9, 1955 in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. The author or editor of several books on classic American animation and classic character, including The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994), The Animated Movie Guide (2005), Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! (2007), The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Cartoon Classic (2011), The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art Mementos from your Favorite Cartoon Classics (2007), The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom (2013), Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide (2005), and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons (with Will Friedwald, 1989). He is also an authority on the making of modern films, with his books detailing the art of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, DreamWorks' Madagascar, and Bee Movie. Beck is also an entertainment industry consultant for TV and home entertainment productions and releases related to classic cartoons and operates the blog "Cartoon Research." He appears frequently as a documentary subject and audio commentator on releases of A&E's Cartoons Go To War as well as DVD collections of Looney Tunes, Popeye the Sailor, and Woody Woodpecker cartoons, on which he serves a consultant and curator.
Early in his career, Beck collaborated with film historian Leonard Maltin on his book Of Mice and Magic (1980), organized animation festivals in Los Angeles, and was instrumental in founding the international publication Animation Magazine. In the 1990s, Beck taught course on the art of animation at UCLA, NYU, and The School of Visual Arts. In 1993, he became a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board and he currently serves as president of the ASIFA-Hollywood board. He co-produced or was a consultant on many home entertainment compilations of Looney Tunes, MGM Cartoons, Disney Home Video, Betty Boop, and others. In 1989, he co-founded Streamline Pictures and first brought such anime as Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky to the United States. He himself compiled collections of cartoons of Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, and the Fleischer Studios. As Vice President of Nickelodeon Movies, he helped develop The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Mighty Mouse.
In 2006, Beck created and produced an animated pilot for Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon. That cartoon, "Hornswiggle", aired on Nicktoons Network in 2008 as part of the Random! Cartoons series. Currently, he is teaching animation history at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded another blog, Cartoon Brew, which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an Indiewire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research.
Early in his career, Beck collaborated with film historian Leonard Maltin on his book Of Mice and Magic (1980), organized animation festivals in Los Angeles, and was instrumental in founding the international publication Animation Magazine. In the 1990s, Beck taught course on the art of animation at UCLA, NYU, and The School of Visual Arts. In 1993, he became a founding member of the Cartoon Network advisory board and he currently serves as president of the ASIFA-Hollywood board. He co-produced or was a consultant on many home entertainment compilations of Looney Tunes, MGM Cartoons, Disney Home Video, Betty Boop, and others. In 1989, he co-founded Streamline Pictures and first brought such anime as Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky to the United States. He himself compiled collections of cartoons of Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, and the Fleischer Studios. As Vice President of Nickelodeon Movies, he helped develop The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Mighty Mouse.
In 2006, Beck created and produced an animated pilot for Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon. That cartoon, "Hornswiggle", aired on Nicktoons Network in 2008 as part of the Random! Cartoons series. Currently, he is teaching animation history at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
In 2004, Beck and fellow animation historian and writer Amid Amidi co-founded another blog, Cartoon Brew, which focused primarily on current animation productions and news. Beck sold his co-ownership in Cartoon Brew in February 2013 and started an Indiewire blog, Animation Scoop, for reports on current animation while continuing to write about classic animation at Cartoon Research.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2018
Warner Bros released this book trying to do what Disney did with The Illusion Of Life: an elegant, classy, quality book narrating the behind-the-scene of the WB animation, their art and history. The book is great, but you will be a little disappointed if you read it after The Illusion Of Life.
The difference is obvious though, not only about the writing style but even the information: the Disney book was written by two of the "nine old men", artists that lived and worked under Walt Disney during the Golden Age of animation, and know everything about the history of the studio, the arts, the technical aspects, and knew Walt, the genius, the boss, personally. The WB book instead is written by an animation historian, which would not be an issue itself if he wrote in a more enthusiastic way. When you read Leonard Maltin's Of Mice And Magic you can feel his absolute love and fascination for animation, for the characters and the technical aspects; but Jerry Beck is not like that: the information are there but it's all a bit dry, like a Wikipedia article.
As I said the information are there, about the history of the studio, the characters and the main animators, and they will totally satisfy and educate the casual reader; but for the animation lover who read Of Mice and Magic and hoped to find here a WB treasure it will be a bit of a let down, with no real deep behind-the-scene anecdotes and creative insights that one didn't already know.
Where the book shines though, and it is the greater part, is with the tons of original pictures. Really, the pictures are everywhere, they explode in every page; wonderful, colorful, and almost as big as the whole page. Marvelous stuff.
That's why I think the book wanted to be more than what it turn out to be: it shows all its potential, it is beautiful, but it lacks heart and sophistication.
So, if you are a casual reader, and a WB toon enthusiast, you will love this book and learn a lot. If you expect a WB version of Illusion Of Life, a charming voyage among the talent, the creative arts and the laughs of Looney Tunes, you can be disappointed. But no doubt it's really beautiful book to flip through.
The difference is obvious though, not only about the writing style but even the information: the Disney book was written by two of the "nine old men", artists that lived and worked under Walt Disney during the Golden Age of animation, and know everything about the history of the studio, the arts, the technical aspects, and knew Walt, the genius, the boss, personally. The WB book instead is written by an animation historian, which would not be an issue itself if he wrote in a more enthusiastic way. When you read Leonard Maltin's Of Mice And Magic you can feel his absolute love and fascination for animation, for the characters and the technical aspects; but Jerry Beck is not like that: the information are there but it's all a bit dry, like a Wikipedia article.
As I said the information are there, about the history of the studio, the characters and the main animators, and they will totally satisfy and educate the casual reader; but for the animation lover who read Of Mice and Magic and hoped to find here a WB treasure it will be a bit of a let down, with no real deep behind-the-scene anecdotes and creative insights that one didn't already know.
Where the book shines though, and it is the greater part, is with the tons of original pictures. Really, the pictures are everywhere, they explode in every page; wonderful, colorful, and almost as big as the whole page. Marvelous stuff.
That's why I think the book wanted to be more than what it turn out to be: it shows all its potential, it is beautiful, but it lacks heart and sophistication.
So, if you are a casual reader, and a WB toon enthusiast, you will love this book and learn a lot. If you expect a WB version of Illusion Of Life, a charming voyage among the talent, the creative arts and the laughs of Looney Tunes, you can be disappointed. But no doubt it's really beautiful book to flip through.
February 21, 2019
I found this book at my local Half Price Books, and being a huge fan of animation, I couldn't resist it. I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed because this is a wonderful history of Warner Brothers' animation, from their beginnings with Bosko to the mid 1990s. The characters we all know and love are each looked at in turn, giving us information on their origins and how they evolved. The book also contains short bios of the legendary animators who gave us these characters, such as Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and many others. While I found the bios fascinating, they are also my one point of contention with this book; as these animators are so revered, their bios are somewhat romanticized. Some of the stickier spots are essentially ignored, particularly the circumstances that led Jones to leave Warner Bros. The book gives the reason for his departure as his "changing interests", which is probably partially true, but it is nonetheless a lie by omission because it ignores the truth. Jones was fired from Warner Bros. because he and his wife made the UPA film "Gay Purr-ee" in violation of his contract. For a book wanting to present an honest telling of the history of WB animation, this seems a rather glaring fact to omit, and it is why I can't give the book five stars.
That being said, I still very much enjoyed this book. Like most people, I grew up watching Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings, and the characters hold a special place in my heart. I have long been fascinated by animation in general, and you can't talk about this field without talking about Looney Tunes. This book has a place on the shelf of any fan of classic WB animation as well as students of animation.
That being said, I still very much enjoyed this book. Like most people, I grew up watching Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings, and the characters hold a special place in my heart. I have long been fascinated by animation in general, and you can't talk about this field without talking about Looney Tunes. This book has a place on the shelf of any fan of classic WB animation as well as students of animation.
December 8, 2024
If you're a fan of the classic Looney Tune cartoons then this book is a must have for your library. The book starts off by walking you through the entire history of the Warner Bros. Studio. It then goes on to talk about many of the Art Directors who worked at WB over the years. It finishes off with an extensive list of all of the collectible animation cell art pieces that have been created for all of the Warner Bros. cartoons and gives you the background for each piece.
For any diehard Looney Tune fan, this book is a walk down memory lane. This is also a perfect coffee table book; it's huge and very well made.
For any diehard Looney Tune fan, this book is a walk down memory lane. This is also a perfect coffee table book; it's huge and very well made.
February 19, 2013
Fun and informative - good for any Loony Tune-a-holic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews