Cartoon Alley
Encyclopedia
Cartoon Alley is an American
television program that aired on Turner Classic Movies
every Saturday Morning at 11:30 AM ET
.
Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz
, the series featured three classic animated shorts from the 1930-1950's per episode. Most shorts were from The Golden Age of American animation
. Each of the three shorts focused on a common theme. Most shorts came from Warner Bros.
, MGM
, and Paramount
(the latter studio provided the Popeye cartoons only, these were in Turner's hands by this point), but during the show's first season Cartoon Alley featured shorts from the Gaumont Film Company
. Many recognizable characters have been featured in at least one episode such as Bugs Bunny
, Popeye
, Porky Pig
, Tom and Jerry
, and others not so famous such as Goopy Geer and The Captain and the Kids. The shorts often appeared uncut and uncensored (a few cartoons utilized cuts for content), and the more controversial cartoons (such as Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
and Half-Pint Pygmy) were often introduced with a brief warning by Mankiewicz about the ethnic stereotypes being portrayed. The network's logo was only featured for a brief time, usually during the last short featured.
From November 2004 to September 2005 the series was featured just once a month but after popular demand the series became a weekly feature. This series never aired in February because of TCM's 31 Days of Oscars programming. The series was canceled in autumn of 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television program that aired on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
every Saturday Morning at 11:30 AM ET
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
.
Hosted by Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz is an American radio and television personality, known for his work as a TV journalist, news anchor, and film critic...
, the series featured three classic animated shorts from the 1930-1950's per episode. Most shorts were from The Golden Age of American animation
The Golden Age of American animation
The Golden Age of U.S. animation is a period in the United States animation history that began with the advent of sound cartoons in 1928 and continued into the early 1960s when theatrical animated shorts slowly began losing to the new medium of television animation.Many memorable characters emerged...
. Each of the three shorts focused on a common theme. Most shorts came from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, and Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(the latter studio provided the Popeye cartoons only, these were in Turner's hands by this point), but during the show's first season Cartoon Alley featured shorts from the Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
. Many recognizable characters have been featured in at least one episode such as Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
, Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
, and others not so famous such as Goopy Geer and The Captain and the Kids. The shorts often appeared uncut and uncensored (a few cartoons utilized cuts for content), and the more controversial cartoons (such as Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is a Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, starring Bugs Bunny and Hiawatha, first released on June 7, 1941. The short makes several direct references to The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
and Half-Pint Pygmy) were often introduced with a brief warning by Mankiewicz about the ethnic stereotypes being portrayed. The network's logo was only featured for a brief time, usually during the last short featured.
From November 2004 to September 2005 the series was featured just once a month but after popular demand the series became a weekly feature. This series never aired in February because of TCM's 31 Days of Oscars programming. The series was canceled in autumn of 2007.
Season 1: 2004-2005
| # | Episode Title | Shorts Featured | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clark Gable Clark Gable William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh... |
|
11/5/2004 |
| 2 | Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... |
|
12/4/2004 |
| 3 | Oscar Nominated Shorts |
|
1/1/2005 |
| 4 | Tom & Jerry |
|
3/5/2005 |
| 5 | Tex Avery The Tex Avery Show The Tex Avery Show was an animated showcase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. cartoon shorts prominently by animator Tex Avery . The showcase premiered on the Cartoon Network in 1996 , and was taken off the air in 2002... |
|
4/2/2005 |
| 6 | The Early Days of Warner Brothers Cartoons |
|
5/7/2005 |
| 7 | The Captain and the Kids |
|
6/4/2005 |
| 8 | Popeye Popeye Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929... |
|
7/2/2005 |
| 9 | Animaland Series (1) |
|
9/3/2005 |
| 10 | Animaland Series (2) |
|
9/10/2005 |
| 11 | Animaland Series (3) |
|
9/17/2005 |
| 12 | Barney Bear Barney Bear Barney Bear was a series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. The titular character was an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing but peace and quiet.... |
|
9/24/2005 |
| 13 | Sniffles the Mouse |
|
10/1/2005 |
| 14 | Droopy |
|
10/8/2005 |
| 15 | Tweety Bird |
|
10/15/2005 |
| 16 | Cinemascope Cartoons |
|
10/22/2005 |
| 17 | Peter Lorre Caricatures |
|
10/29/2005 |
Season 2: 2005-2006
| 18 | Happy Harmonies Happy Harmonies Happy Harmonies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising between 1934 and 1938.... |
|
11/5/2005 |
| 19 | Elmer Fudd Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring... |
|
11/12/2005 |
| 20 | Benny Burro |
|
11/19/2005 |
| 21 | WB Cartoon Character Debuts |
|
11/26/2005 |
| 22 | Popeye II |
|
12/3/2005 |
| 23 | Two Curious Puppies |
|
12/10/2005 |
| 24 | Christmas II |
|
12/17/2005 |
| 25 | Nursery Rhymes and Bedtime Stories |
|
12/31/2005 |
| 26 | Homer the Flea |
|
9/2/2006 |
| 27 | Black and White Warner Brothers |
|
9/9/2006 |
| 28 | Tex Avery Screwball Classics |
|
9/16/2006 |
| 29 | Hubie & Bertie |
|
9/23/2006 |
| 30 | Popeye III |
|
9/23/2006 |
| 31 | Warner Brothers |
|
10/7/2006 |
| 32 | CinemaScope Tom & Jerry |
|
10/14/2006 |
| 33 | CinemaScope Droopy |
|
10/21/2006 |
| 34 | Conrad Cat |
|
10/28/2006 |
Season 3: 2006-2007
| 35 | George & Junior |
|
11/4/2006 |
| 36 | Early Bugs Bunny |
|
11/11/2006 |
| 37 | Spike Spike Spike may refer to:-Device to puncture or fasten:* Nail , especially one over ten inches long* Rail spike, or Screw spike used to construct railroad tracks* Tree spiking, making a tree dangerous to cut with a chainsaw... |
|
11/18/2006 |
| 38 | Bugs and Cecil |
|
11/25/2006 |
| 39 | Happy Harmonies II |
|
12/2/2006 |
| 40 | Porky Pig Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig... |
|
12/9/2006 |
| 41 | Bing Crosby Spoofs |
|
12/16/2006 |
| 42 | Christmas III |
|
12/23/2006 |
| 43 | Goopy Geer |
|
12/30/2006 |
| 44 | The Bear Family The Bear family The Bear family are a family unit of characters on Sesame Street, based on The Three Bears of Goldilocks fame, plus a younger sibling.-Family Description:Curly Bear, Mama Bear, and Papa Bear have never appeared on the show without Baby Bear... |
|
1/6/2007 |
| 45 | Beans |
|
1/13/2007 |
| 46 | Adolph Hitler WB Caricatures |
|
1/20/2007 |
| 47 | Screwy Squirrel |
|
1/27/2007 |
Featured directors
These people directed original shorts featured in the series.- Robert AllenRobert AllenRobert Allen may refer to:*Robert Allen , American Congressman from Tennessee*Robert Allen , American Congressman from Virginia*Robert Allen , American Civil War general...
- Tex AveryTex AveryFrederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
- Joseph BarberaJoseph BarberaJoseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
- Robert Clampett
- Arthur Davis
- Earl DuvallEarl DuvallEarl Duvall was an artist best known for his work on Walt Disney comic strips in the early 1930s and for a handful of animated cartoon short subjects he directed at Leon Schlesinger Productions for Warner Bros.-Career:...
- Bert Felstead
- Dave FleischerDave FleischerDavid "Dave" Fleischer was an American animator film director and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his two older brothers Max Fleischer and Lou Fleischer...
- Friz FrelengFriz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
- William HannaWilliam HannaWilliam Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
- Hugh Harman
- Rudolph Ising
- Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
- Seymour KneitelSeymour KneitelSeymour Kneitel was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios.-Early years:...
- Dick Lundy
- Robert McKimsonRobert McKimsonRobert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
- Isadore SparberIsadore SparberIsadore Sparber was an American storyboard artist, writer, director and producer of animated films. He is best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. His work appeared with different versions of his name including Izzy Sparber, I...