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The Athlete (1932 Film)
''The Athlete'' is a 1932 short animated film by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is the first of a film series featuring Pooch the Pup, the first star character created by Walter Lantz. Plot Pooch is a participant in a number of track and field events. His first event is a sprinting competition. Because of poor signaling from the signal man, Pooch runs but the other competitors remain in their starting position. Pooch reaches the finish line but fails to come across as the tape slings him back to the starting line. The signal man restarts the race, and this time all the runners make their move. Pooch again reaches the finish line but again gets sling back by the tape. His second flight also causes him to push back the other runners. Pooch resumes his run and wins the race, thanks to the absence of the tape at the end of the track. Next, Pooch enters the pole vault event. After failing to go over the bar twice, an official lowers it but P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz was born in New Rochelle, New York, to Italian immigrant parents Francesco Paolo Lantz (formerly Lanza) and Maria Jarvis (changed to Jarvis to avoid prejudice) from Calitri. According to Joe Adamson's biography ''The Walter Lantz Story'', Lantz's father was given his new surname by an immigration official who anglicized it. Walter Lantz was always interested in art, completing a mail-order drawing class at age 12. He was inspired when he saw Winsor McCay's animated short "Gertie the Dinosaur". While working as an auto mechanic, Lantz got his first break. Wealthy customer Fred Kafka liked his drawings on the garage's bulletin board and financed Lantz's studies at the Art Students League of New York. Kafka also helped him land a job as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Lantz Productions
Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative of Universal movie mogul Carl Laemmle, who was tired of the continuous company politics he was dealing with concerning contracting cartoons outside animation studios. Walter Lantz, who was Laemmle's part-time chauffeur and a veteran of the John R. Bray Studios with considerable experience in all elements of animation production, was selected to run the department. In 1935, the studio was severed from Universal and became Walter Lantz Studio under Lantz's direct control, and in 1939, renamed to Walter Lantz Productions. Lantz managed to gain the copyright for his characters. The cartoons continued to be distributed by Universal through 1947, changing to United Artists distribution in 1947–49, and by Universal again from 1950 to 1972. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
