Aesop's Fables (film series)
Aesop's Fables | |
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Miscellaneous | |
Starring | Farmer Al Falfa Milton Mouse and Rita |
Aesop's Fables (later renamed Aesop's Sound Fables) is a series of animated short subjects, created by
History
Terry was inspired to make the series by young actor-turned-writer Howard Estabrook, who suggested making a series of cartoons based on Aesop's Fables. Although Terry later claimed he had never heard of Aesop, he said that Estabrook's idea was worthwhile. Terry immediately began to set up a new studio called Fables Studios, Inc. and received backing from the Keith-Albee Theatre circuit.[2]
The series launched on June 19, 1921, with The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs. On that same day, Van Beuren announced that the pictures would be distributed exclusively by Pathe.[3] Only the earliest films are loose adaptations of the actual fables and later entries usually revolve around cats, mice, and the disgruntled Farmer Al Falfa. Terry had developed Farmer Al in the previous decade, and this series would be his most prolific appearance.
Each short concludes with a moral that usually has nothing to do with the actual cartoon itself. Terry staffer Mannie Davis once remarked that the morals were even "funnier than the whole picture itself"[citation needed] and Terry said "the fact that they're ambiguous is the thing that made 'em funny".[citation needed] Morals include "Go around with a chip on your shoulder and someone will knock your block off" or "Marriage is a good institution, but who wants to live in an institution?"
The series proved to be enormously popular with the public during the 1920s.
Released in October 1928,
In 1929 Terry quit, starting his own
Legacy
Aesop's Fables provided inspiration to Walt Disney to found the Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri, where he and Ub Iwerks co-created the Laugh-O-Grams and the Alice Comedies. Even into 1930, Disney wanted his cartoons to be funny as the series.[8][9]
Film gallery
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The Cat and The Canary (1921)
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The Fable of a Raisin and a Cake of Yeast (1922)
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Mysteries of the Sea (1923)
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A Message from the Sea (1924)
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Wine, Women and Song (1925)
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The Window Washers (1925)
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Keep of the Grass (1927)
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A One Man Dog (1927)
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Dinner Time (1928)
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Snapping the Whip (1929)
See also
Notes
- Song Car-Tunes made in DeForest Phonofilm but only the music, not dialogue, is synched to the bouncing ballgimmick.
References
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ Maltin 1987, p. 129.
- ^ Crafton 1993, p. 191.
- ^ a b "Animation from Van Beuren Studios". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ "Aesop's Fables Theatrical Cartoon Series". Big Cartoon DataBase. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Aesop's Fables Studio [us]". IMDb. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Van Beuren Studios [us]". IMDb. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Walt Disney's Laugh-O-grams, 1921-1923". Silent Film Festival. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ Maltin 1987, p. 36.
Bibliography
- Crafton, Donald (1993). Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898–1928. University of Chicago Press.
- Gifford, Denis (1990). American Animated Films: The Silent Era, 1897–1929. McFarland and Company.
- Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.
- Solomon, Charles (1994). The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings. Outlet Books Company.