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.