Format Films
Encyclopedia
Format Films was a television
animation
studio which was founded by Herbert Klynn
in 1959 with Jules Engel
as vice president, Herb McIntosh and Joseph Mugnaini
. It was most active during the 1960s, producing episodes of The Alvin Show
, Popeye
, and The Lone Ranger
. The studio also created eleven shorts in Warner Bros.
' theatrical Road Runner
series under the direction of Rudy Larriva
.
Format Productions created title sequence
s for several TV series, including I Spy, Honey West
, the animated characters on the television variety show, Hee Haw
, animated various TV commercials, and created film title design
s for The Glory Guys
and Clambake
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
studio which was founded by Herbert Klynn
Herbert Klynn
Herbert Klynn was an American animator who worked with UPA Studios.In 1959 he founded the television animation studio Format Films, best-known for producing The Alvin Show, The Lone Ranger, and other films and series in animation mostly during the 1960s.Format Productions also provided several...
in 1959 with Jules Engel
Jules Engel
Jules Engel was a Jewish-Hungarian American filmmaker, painter, sculptor, graphic artist, set designer, animator, film director, and teacher...
as vice president, Herb McIntosh and Joseph Mugnaini
Joseph Mugnaini
Joseph Anthony Mugnaini was an artist and illustrator. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Ray Bradbury, beginning in 1952....
. It was most active during the 1960s, producing episodes of The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
, 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...
, and The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger (animated TV series)
The Lone Ranger is the central character of an American animated television series that ran 26 episodes on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969...
. The studio also created eleven shorts in 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,...
' theatrical Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
series under the direction of Rudy Larriva
Rudy Larriva
Rudolph "Rudy" Larriva was an American animator and director from the 1940s to the 1980s.Born in El Paso, Texas, Larriva worked at a number of animation studios, including Format Films, Filmation, Walt Disney Productions, but is best known for his work at Warner Bros...
.
Format Productions created title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s for several TV series, including I Spy, Honey West
Honey West (TV series)
Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965-1966 television season. The series stars Anne Francis as female private detective Honey West and John Ericson as her partner Sam Bolt....
, the animated characters on the television variety show, Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
, animated various TV commercials, and created film title design
Film title design
Film Title Design is and always has been an essential part of any motion picture. Film Title Design was originally a motionless piece of artwork called Title Art....
s for The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
and Clambake
Clambake
Clambake is a 1967 musical film starring Elvis Presley, and co-starring Shelley Fabares and Bill Bixby—the last of his four films for United Artists. The movie reached No. 15 on the national weekly box office charts.-Plot:...
.
The fate of the Format Films cartoon series
TV series:- The Alvin ShowThe Alvin ShowThe Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
(Bagdasarian Film Corporation) - The Lone Ranger (animated TV series)The Lone Ranger (animated TV series)The Lone Ranger is the central character of an American animated television series that ran 26 episodes on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969...
(Classic MediaClassic MediaClassic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
) - PopeyePopeyePopeye 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...
(King Features SyndicateKing Features SyndicateKing Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
, early 1960-1966)
Theatrical shorts
- Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
and Merrie MelodiesMerrie MelodiesMerrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
(Warner Bros. AnimationWarner Bros. AnimationWarner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
/1965-1967)
Film and television titles
- Outlaws (1960) (TV)
- I Spy (1965) (TV)
- The Glory GuysThe Glory GuysThe Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
(1965) - Honey WestHoney West (TV series)Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965-1966 television season. The series stars Anne Francis as female private detective Honey West and John Ericson as her partner Sam Bolt....
(1965) - ClambakeClambakeClambake is a 1967 musical film starring Elvis Presley, and co-starring Shelley Fabares and Bill Bixby—the last of his four films for United Artists. The movie reached No. 15 on the national weekly box office charts.-Plot:...
(1967) - The Mothers-in-LawThe Mothers-in-LawThe Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969; it was produced by Desi Arnaz after the dissolutions...
(1967) - Hee HawHee HawHee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
(1969) - Curiosity ShopCuriosity ShopCuriosity Shop was an American children's educational television program produced by ABC-TV in 1971, capitalizing on the success of Sesame Street....
(1971–1973)