King of Jazz (1930) animated segment

Haven't posted here in a while, so I figured I might as well briefly talk about the first animated segment done in two-strip Technicolor, which happens to have been animated by Walter Lantz's studio!

This segment here from the 1930 film King of Jazz, was done by three animators.

Bill Nolan handles the majority of the footage here, and it certainly shows. One example is the lion testing how sharp his teeth is by using a hair.

Some extra animation is provided by Manuel Moreno, who animates Paul starting to play the fiddle (which happens after a Bob Clampett-esque animator switch), and Ray Abrams, who animates the bit of the musket ball bouncing off the lion's teeth, and the bit with the elephant spraying water at the monkey.

1960s Rice Krispies ad by Les Kline

Here’s a nifty little ad to kick off this blog!

This ad looks to have been made in the late 1960s. Animator Mike Kazaleh stated on Cartoon Research that this ad is from 1967, but I have also heard 1969 was the year this was made, which would make sense, as Buzz returned to the Woody cartoons that year with Tumble Weed Greed and would be Woody’s foe for the remainder of his theatrical shorts. Buzz’s last short would be the second to last Woody short, The Genie with the Light Touch.

Anyway, today’s ad is animated by Lester "Les" Kline. Kline had begun work at Lantz in 1929 but was not credited until 1930. He would work in numerous units, including having his own between 1938-1939. He left after the shutdown, and didn’t return until 1956, where he would animate until his retirement in 1971. As expected, Kline’s animation is a far cry from his work from the Dick Lundy shorts in the 1940s (Seriously, compare the animation in this ad to the scene of Woody attempting to grow the beanstalk in Woody the Giant Killer, it’s like night and day!)

Special thanks to the aforementioned Mike Kazaleh for the ID.