New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

Fanny Zilch Fanny Zilch is an animated cartoon character, part of the ''Terrytoons'' series. She made her debut in 1933. Her cartoons were musical spoofs of melodrama serials like '' The Perils of Pauline'', in which blonde sweetheart Fanny -- "the Banker's Da ...

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''Th ...

Heckle and Jeckle Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon Character (arts), characters created by Paul Terry (cartoonist), Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pa ...

Gandy Goose Gandy Goose is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1938 short ''Gandy the Goose''. He is frequently paired with Sourpuss, a cat, beginning in the 1939 short ''Hook Link and Sinker''. Sourpuss' first appearance was in the 1939 ...

Dinky Duck Dinky Duck is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1939 animated short ''The Orphan Duck''. Unlike fellow Terrytoons characters Mighty Mouse, silly Gandy Goose and the magpie duo Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky never became popular, ...

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Clint Clobber This is a list of characters in the ''Tom and Jerry'' animated short series, given in the order of the era they first appeared in. Main Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse Tom (originally called "Jasper") is an adult bluish grey and white domestic sh ...

,

Tom Terrific ''Tom Terrific'' is a 1957–1959 animated series on American television, presented as part of the ''Captain Kangaroo'' children's television show. Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio (which by that time was a subsidiary of CBS, ...

,

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

,

Hector Heathcote Hector Heathcote is a Terrytoons animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer and Ralph Bakshi, he first appeared on July 18, 1959, in ''The Minute and a Half Man.'' He was voiced by John Myhers. Terrytoons created the character for televisio ...

,

Hashimoto-san Hashimoto-san is a fictional Japanese mouse created by the Japanese-born animator Bob Kuwahara and Eli Bauer for the Terrytoons animation company. Hashimoto is a judo instructor living in Japan with his wife Hanako, son Saburo, and daughter Yur ...

, Sidney the Elephant, Possible Possum, James Hound,

Astronut ''The Astronut Show'' is an animated TV series, produced by the Terrytoons animation studio. It first aired on August 23, 1965. Each episode included an episode of ''Astronut'', ''Hashimoto-san'', and ''Luno The White Stallion''. Astronut first ...

, Sad Cat,

The Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 20 episodes.

, and Sally Sargent.

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

got his start as an animator, and eventually as a director, at Terrytoons. Terrytoons shorts were originally released to theaters by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

.

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

later purchased the Terrytoons library and its theatrical library is now owned by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

.

History

Pre Terrytoons Era

Terry first worked for

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

in 1916, where he created the

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Edison Pictures Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thom ...

, called "Farmer Al Falfa's Wayward Pup" (1917), and some later cartoons were made for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. Around 1921, Terry founded the Fables animation studio, named for its ''

Aesop's Film Fables ''Aesop's Fables'' (later renamed ''Aesop's Sound Fables'') is a series of animated short subjects, created by American cartoonist Paul Terry. Produced from 1921 to 1933, the series includes '' Closer than a Brother'' (1925), ''The Window Wash ...

'' series, in conjunction with the studio of

Amedee J. Van Beuren Amedee J. Van Beuren (born Amedee Vignot; July 10, 1879 – November 12, 1938) was the producer of Frank Buck's first three films, as well as many cartoons and short films. Early years Van Beuren was born in New York, the son of Alfred Vignot ...

. Fables churned out a Fable cartoon every week for eight years in the 1920s. In 1928, Van Beuren, anxious to compete with the new phenomenon of

talking picture A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

s, released Terry's '' Dinner Time'' (released October 1928). Van Beuren then urged Terry to start producing actual sound films, instead of post-synchronizing the cartoons. Terry refused, and Van Beuren fired him in 1929. Almost immediately, Terry and much of his staff started up the Terrytoons studio near his former studio. One staff member during that time was

Art Babbitt Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and al ...

, who went on to become a well-known Disney animator.

Peak era

Through much of its history, the studio was considered one of the lowest-quality houses in the field, to the point where Paul Terry noted, "Let Walt Disney be the

Tiffany's Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

of the business. I want to be the

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

!" Terry's studio had the lowest budgets and was among the slowest to adapt to new technologies such as

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

(in about 1930) and

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

(in 1938). While its graphic style remained remarkably static for decades, it actually followed the sound cartoon trend of the late 1920s and early 1930s very quickly. Background music was entrusted to one man, Philip Scheib, and Terry's refusal to pay royalties for popular songs forced Scheib to compose his own scores. Paul Terry took pride in producing a new cartoon every other week, regardless of the quality of the films. Following the success of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'' (1937) Paul Terry considered making an animated feature film adaptation of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' starring Farmer Al Falfa. However, after seeing the commercial failures of Disney's ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' and ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'' (both 1940) and

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

's ''

Mr. Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animation, animated Technicolor feature film produced by Fleischer Studios, previewed by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941, and released in ...

'' (1941), he decided to abandon the project. Until 1957, screen credits were very sparse, listing only the writer (until 1950, solely John Foster; then Tom Morrison thereafter), director (Terry's three main directors were

Connie Rasinski J. Conrad "Connie" Rasinski (January 28, 1907 in Torrington, Connecticut – October 13, 1965 in Larchmont, New York) was an animation director who did the 1952 animated short "Hansel and Gretel" among others. Rasinski's "House of Hashimoto" was ...

, Eddie Donnelly, and Mannie Davis), and musician (musical director Philip A. Scheib). Terrytoons' first distributor was

Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational pr ...

, specialists in short-subject comedies and novelties. Audio-Cinema in the early 1930s backed the production of Terrytoons, and distributed the Educational library internationally, except in the United Kingdom and Ireland where the library was distributed by Educational and

Gaumont-British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

in partnership with the

Ideal Film Company The Ideal Film Company (often known as Ideal Films or simply Ideal) was a British film production and distribution company that operated between 1911 and 1934. The company, based in Soho, London, was started by the two Jewish brothers Harry Mos ...

. The

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

company (from 1935,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

) then released Educational shorts to theaters in the 1930s, giving the Terry cartoons wide exposure. After 20th Century-Fox withdrew its support from Educational Pictures, the company both backed and distributed Terrytoons. Farmer Al Falfa was Terry's most familiar character in the 1930s; Kiko the Kangaroo was spun off the Farmer Al Falfa series. Most of the other cartoons featured generic animal characters. One of the stock designs was a scruffy dog with a black patch around one eye; Terry ultimately built a series around this character, now known as Puddy the Pup. Paul Terry may have realized that Educational was in financial trouble because he found another lucrative outlet for his product. In 1938, he arranged to release his older cartoons through home-movie distributor

Castle Films Castle Films was a film company founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle (1897–1960) in 1924. Originally, Castle Films produced industrial and advertising films. Then in 1937, the company pioneered the production and d ...

. Educational went out of business within the year, but 20th Century Fox continued to release Terrytoons to theaters for the next two decades. With a new emphasis on "star" characters, Terrytoons featured the adventures of Super Mouse (later renamed

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''Th ...

), the talking magpies

Heckle and Jeckle Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon Character (arts), characters created by Paul Terry (cartoonist), Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pa ...

, silly

Gandy Goose Gandy Goose is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1938 short ''Gandy the Goose''. He is frequently paired with Sourpuss, a cat, beginning in the 1939 short ''Hook Link and Sinker''. Sourpuss' first appearance was in the 1939 ...

,

Dinky Duck Dinky Duck is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1939 animated short ''The Orphan Duck''. Unlike fellow Terrytoons characters Mighty Mouse, silly Gandy Goose and the magpie duo Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky never became popular, ...

, mischievous mouse Little Roquefort, and The Terry Bears. Despite the artistic drawbacks imposed by Terry's inflexible business policies, Terrytoons was nominated four times for the

Academy Award for Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

: ''All Out for V'' in 1942, ''My Boy, Johnny'' in 1944, '' Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Life'' in 1945, and ''Sidney's Family Tree'' in 1958.

Changing hands

The studio was sold outright by the retiring Paul Terry to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

in 1955, but 20th Century Fox (TCF) continued distribution. The deal closed the following year in 1956, and it became a division of the

CBS Films CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019. CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...

subsidiary. Later, in 1957 CBS put it under the management of UPA alumnus

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

, who had to work with even lower budgets. Deitch's most notable works at the studio were the ''

Tom Terrific ''Tom Terrific'' is a 1957–1959 animated series on American television, presented as part of the ''Captain Kangaroo'' children's television show. Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio (which by that time was a subsidiary of CBS, ...

'' cartoon segments for the ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

'' television show. He also introduced a number of new characters, such as Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon, John Doormat, and

Clint Clobber This is a list of characters in the ''Tom and Jerry'' animated short series, given in the order of the era they first appeared in. Main Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse Tom (originally called "Jasper") is an adult bluish grey and white domestic sh ...

. Before Deitch was fired in 1959,

Bill Weiss William J. Weiss (June 2, 1925, Chicago – August 16, 2011, San Mateo, California), was an American baseball historian and statistician. He served as the official statistician for the Pacific Coast League, and edited a weekly newsletter for the ...

took complete control of the studio. Under his supervision, ''Heckle and Jeckle'' and ''Mighty Mouse'' went back into production. Besides the three core directors of the Terry era who were still involved as animators and directors, two

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...

stalwarts joined the crew,

Dave Tendlar David Benjamin Tendlar (August 8, 1909 – September 9, 1993) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Tendlar was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 8, 1909. He joined Fleische ...

and

Martin Taras Martin Bernard Taras (9 August 1914 – 2 November 1994), also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American cartoonist who mostly worked at Famous Studios, the New York-based animation division of Paramount Pictures. Career Taras started his anima ...

. Other new theatrical cartoon series included ''Hector Heathcote'', ''Luno'' and ''Hashimoto San''. The studio also began producing the ''

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

'' series for television in 1959. Another television production for the ''Captain Kangaroo'' show was ''The Adventures of Lariat Sam'', which was written in part by

Gene Wood Eugene Edward Wood (October 20, 1925 – May 21, 2004) was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson ...

, who would later become the announcer for several TV gameshows including ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

''. Phil Scheib continued as the studio's musical director through the mid-1960s when he was replaced by Jim Timmens and Elliott Lawrence. The best-known talent at Terrytoons in the 1960s was animator/director/producer

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

, who started with Terrytoons in the 1950s as an opaquer, and eventually helmed the ''

Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 20 episodes.

'' series. Bakshi left Terrytoons in 1967 for

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

's own cartoon studio, which closed its cartoon unit later that year. He would later go on to produce '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' for television in 1987, which was also produced by

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, voice actor and former animator. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which was ...

of ''

Ren & Stimpy ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...

'' fame.

Post-history

After the departure of Bakshi, the studio petered out, and finally closed in 1973. As a result of the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

banning TV networks from owning cable television and

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

of television programs, CBS created

Viacom International Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...

to handle all network programs beyond TV production and network broadcasting. On July 4, 1971, Viacom International spun off from CBS; neither Viacom International nor CBS had any interest in Terrytoons. The Terrytoons film library was still regularly re-released to theaters by Fox. The studio's last short was an unsold TV pilot called ''Sally Sargent'', about a 16-year-old girl who is a secret agent. Soon after ''Sally Sargent'' was completed, Viacom International ended their relationship with Fox and re-releases ceased. Terrytoons’ existence soon came to an end. Art Bartsch, who kept the studio running after Bakshi left, would soon die along with Connie Rasinski, and

Bob Kuwahara Rokuro "Bob" Kuwahara (August 12, 1901 – 1964) was a Japanese-born American animator best known for his work with Walt Disney and Terrytoons between the 1930s and 1960s. Kuwahara was born in Tokyo on August 12, 1901, and his family moved to the U ...

, reducing the studio to a ghost studio with executive producer Bill Weiss and story supervisor Tom Morrison; Viacom kept the studio open until 1972. By October 1972, Viacom International announced that Terrytoons will leave New Rochelle and relocate to Viacom International's office in New York City. By December 29, Viacom sold the now abandoned New Rochelle studio, and the company's fate was forever sealed. Bill Weiss continued Terrytoons production from his New York City office with the 1970s Terrytoons cartoons (especially ''Mighty Mouse'' and ''Deputy Dawg'') being syndicated to many local TV markets, and they were a staple of after-school and Saturday-morning cartoon shows for over three decades, from the 1950s through the 1980s, until the television rights to the library were acquired by

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

in 1989. However, any new cartoons of the studio's stars came from other studios. In the late 1970s,

Filmation Studios Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and p ...

licensed the rights to make a new Mighty Mouse series from Viacom International. Meanwhile, Bakhsi would return to Fox in 1977 with his feature-length films, '' Wizards'', followed by '' Fire and Ice'' in 1983, a latter collaboration with veteran comic book artist Frank Frazetta. In 1987, Ralph Bakshi produced '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'', which lasted for two seasons. Bakshi and

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, voice actor and former animator. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which was ...

inspired the staff to try to get as much Jim Tyer-style drawing in the show as possible. Tyer, a stand-out Terry animator of the original cartoons with a unique style, became a strong influence on the artists of the Bakshi series. Kricfalusi would later go on to create ''

Ren & Stimpy ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...

'' for Nickelodeon, one of the first of the three animated shows to air on the network to be dubbed as "Nicktoons" (alongside both ''

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

'' and '' Rugrats'') which would go to spawn other famous properties from said network such as '' SpongeBob SquarePants'', '' The Fairly OddParents'', '' Dora the Explorer'', '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' Invader Zim'', '' PAW Patrol'', '' Hey Arnold!'', '' Jimmy Neutron'', and '' My Life as a Teenage Robot''. During that same time, Fox would rebound their success in the animation field—from their line of adult animated television shows such as '' The Simpsons'', ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'', ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'', ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'', '' Bob's Burgers'', '' Archer'', and '' King of the Hill'', to their line of theatrical animated franchises such as '' Ice Age'', '' Rio'', '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Night at the Museum'', ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...

'', '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'', '' Anastasia'', '' Ferngully'', and ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

''―and by 1994 Fox would sell its Terrytoons theatrical distribution to Paramount. However, through the years that have followed since the last Terrytoons TV series material in 1988, the rights have been scattered as a result of prior rights issues and the corporate changes involving Viacom and CBS. Since CBS Corporation re-merged with Viacom to form ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global), reuniting CBS with Paramount, on December 4, 2019, Paramount Pictures now owns the theatrical distribution on behalf of Paramount Animation and CBS Entertainment Group, while CBS Media Ventures owns the television distribution on behalf of CBS Eye Animation Productions to the Terrytoons film library. However, some Terrytoons shorts are believed to be in the public domain and have been issued on low-budget VHS tapes and DVDs. On January 5, 2010, the first official release of any Terrytoons material by CBS DVD was issued in the form of the complete series of ''Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures''. In 1999, Nickelodeon attempted to revive the Terrytoons characters as part of a TV series called ''Curbside''. ''Curbside'' would have been a parody of late-night talk shows with Heckle and Jeckle serving as hosts of the show, along with their assistant Dinky Duck, and would have featured new cartoons featuring Terrytoon characters like Deputy Dawg, Sidney the Elephant, and Mighty Mouse. However, it was never picked up, making it the only Terrytoons show that was never officially released. In 2002, the Terrytoons characters returned to television in original commercials for Brazilian blue cheese (for what is now America's Dairy Farmers) and fine wine.

Terrytoons comic books

Among the many licensed Terrytoons products are comic books, mainly published throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The company's characters — including Mighty Mouse, the magpies Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Gandy Goose, and Little Roquefort — were initially licensed to Timely, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, in 1942.

St. John Publications St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During the 1947-1958 existence of its comic-book division, St. John established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John, the firm was located in Manhattan a ...

took over the license from 1947 to 1956, Pines Comics published Terrytoons comics from 1956 to 1959, Dell Comics made an attempt from 1959 to 1962 (and again later from 1966 to 1967), and finally Western Publishing published Mighty Mouse comics from 1962 all the way up to 1980. The lead title, ''Terry-Toons Comics'', was published by Timely from Oct. 1942–Aug. 1947. With issue #60 (Sept. 1947), publication of the title was taken over by St. John Publications, which published another 27 issues until issue #86 (May 1951). The series continued in 1951 (with duplicate issues #85-86) as ''Paul Terry's Comics'', publishing another 41 issues until May 1955, when it was canceled with issue #125. Timely launched the Mighty Mouse series in 1946. The first St. John Terrytoons comic was ''Mighty Mouse'' #5 (Aug. 1947), its numbering also taken over from the Timely run. That series eventually ran 71 issues with St. John, moving to Pines for 16 issues from Apr. 1956 to Aug. 1959, to Dell for 12 issues from Oct./Dec. 1959–July/Sept. 1962, and Western for 17 issues from Oct. 1962 to Jan. 1980 (with a hiatus from Sept. 1965 to Mar. 1979), finally ending with issue #172. St. John's Terrytoons comics include the field's first

3-D 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

comic book, ''Three Dimension Comics'' #1 (Sept. 1953 oversize format, Oct. 1953 standard-size reprint), featuring Mighty Mouse. According to Joe Kubert, co-creator with the brothers Norman Maurer and Leonard Maurer, it sold an exceptional 1.2 million copies at 25 cents apiece at a time when comics cost a dime. Dell Comics published eight issues of a ''New Terrytoons'' title from June/Aug. 1960 to March/May 1962.

Terrytoons comic book titles

* ''Adventures of Mighty Mouse'' (18 issues, November 1951 – May 1955) — St. John * ''Dinky Duck'' (19 issues, November 1951 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Gandy Goose'' (4 issues, March 1953 – November 1953) – St. John * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (32 issues, October 1951 – June 1959) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (4 issues, November 1962 – August 1963) — Western Publishing * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (3 issues, May 1966 – 1967) — Dell * ''Little Roquefort Comics'' (10 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Mighty Mouse / Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse Comics'' (172 issues, Fall 1946 – January 1980) — launched by Timely; continued by St. John, Pines, Dell, and Western * ''Mighty Mouse Album'' (3 issues, October – December 1952) — St. John * ''New Terrytoons'' (8 issues, June/August 1960 – March/May 1962) — Dell * ''Terry Bears Comics / Terrytoons, the Terry Bears'' (4 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Terry-Toons Comics'' / ''Paul Terry's Comics'' (125 issues, Oct. 1942 – May 1955) — launched by Timely Comics, continued by St. John * ''TerryToons Comics'' (9 issues, June 1952 – November 1953) — St. John; separate from ''Terry-Toons Comics'' / ''Paul Terry's Comics''

Terrytoons staff: 1929–1973

(Note: Staff members besides the producer, director, writer, and musical director were left uncredited into 1957.)

Producers

* Paul Terry (1929–1956) * William M. Weiss (Executive Producer; 1955–1973) * Frank Schudde (Production Manager; 1942, 1946–1963)

Directors

* Cosmo Anzilotti (1965–1969) *

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

(1963, 1965–1967) * Art Bartsch (1958-1968) * Mannie Davis (1936–1961) *

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

(Supervising Director, 1956–1958) * Eddie Donnelly (1936–1962) * John Foster (1937-1938) * George Gordon (1936–1937) * Al Kouzel (1957–1969) *

Bob Kuwahara Rokuro "Bob" Kuwahara (August 12, 1901 – 1964) was a Japanese-born American animator best known for his work with Walt Disney and Terrytoons between the 1930s and 1960s. Kuwahara was born in Tokyo on August 12, 1901, and his family moved to the U ...

(1959, 1962–1964) * Frank Moser (1929–1937) *

Connie Rasinski J. Conrad "Connie" Rasinski (January 28, 1907 in Torrington, Connecticut – October 13, 1965 in Larchmont, New York) was an animation director who did the 1952 animated short "Hansel and Gretel" among others. Rasinski's "House of Hashimoto" was ...

(1937–1965) *

Martin Taras Martin Bernard Taras (9 August 1914 – 2 November 1994), also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American cartoonist who mostly worked at Famous Studios, the New York-based animation division of Paramount Pictures. Career Taras started his anima ...

(1959) * Robert Taylor (1966–1972) *

Dave Tendlar David Benjamin Tendlar (August 8, 1909 – September 9, 1993) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Tendlar was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 8, 1909. He joined Fleische ...

(1959–1971) * Paul Terry (1929–1938) * Bill Tytla (1944, 1962) * Jack Zander (1937) *

Volney White Volney White (20 May 1907 – 23 December 1966) was an American animator and director active in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He worked at Romer Grey Pictures, Ltd which was launched in the spring of 1930, in Altadena, California, just north of ...

(1940-1941)

Writers

*

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

*

Larz Bourne Larz may refer to: * Lärz, a municipality in Germany * Larz, a given name; people with the name include: ** Larz Anderson (1866–1937), American diplomat ** Larz Bourne (1916–1993), American cartoon writer {{Disambiguation, given name ...

* Tod Dockstader * John Foster * Dick Kinney * Isadore Klein *

Bob Kuwahara Rokuro "Bob" Kuwahara (August 12, 1901 – 1964) was a Japanese-born American animator best known for his work with Walt Disney and Terrytoons between the 1930s and 1960s. Kuwahara was born in Tokyo on August 12, 1901, and his family moved to the U ...

* Donald McKee * Tom Morrison * Al Stahl * Kin Platt * Paul Terry *Jack Mercer *Bernie Kahn

Animators

* Cosmo Anzilotti *

Art Babbitt Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and al ...

* George Bakes *

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

*

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

* Vinnie Bell * Peggy Breese * George Cannata * Don Caulfield * Al Chiarito * Theron Collier * Doug Crane * Mannie Davis * Ed Donnelly * Dave Fern * John Foster * John Gentilella * Dan Gordon (animator), Dan Gordon * George Gordon * Juan Guidi * Armand Guidi * T. Hee * Elizabeth Huntemann * Isadore Klein * Bill Kreese * Frank Little * Jim Logan * Frank Moser * John Paratore * Ralph Pearson * Connie Quirk *

Connie Rasinski J. Conrad "Connie" Rasinski (January 28, 1907 in Torrington, Connecticut – October 13, 1965 in Larchmont, New York) was an animation director who did the 1952 animated short "Hansel and Gretel" among others. Rasinski's "House of Hashimoto" was ...

* Margaret Roberts * Jerry Shields * Larry Silverman * Milton Stein *

Martin Taras Martin Bernard Taras (9 August 1914 – 2 November 1994), also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American cartoonist who mostly worked at Famous Studios, the New York-based animation division of Paramount Pictures. Career Taras started his anima ...

* Frank Tashlin * Paul Terry * Reuben Timmins * Jim Tyer * Bill Tytla * Carlo Vinci * Jim Whipp * Gordon Whittier *

Volney White Volney White (20 May 1907 – 23 December 1966) was an American animator and director active in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He worked at Romer Grey Pictures, Ltd which was launched in the spring of 1930, in Altadena, California, just north of ...

* George Zaffo * Jack Zander * Cy Young (animator), Cy Young *Paul Sommer *Robinson McKee *Vivie Risto *Dan Noonan

Design and background artists

* Art Bartsch * Eli Bauer * Robert Blanchard * Anderson Craig * Bill Hilliker * W.M. Stevens * Robert Taylor * John Vita * George Zaffo * John Zago * Lin Larsen * Bill Tytla *Charles Thorson

Sound directors

* George McAvoy * Tom Morrison

Voice actors

* Elvi Allen * Dayton Allen * Bern Bennett * Herschel Bernardi * Bradley Bolke * Roy Halee * Margie Hines * Betty Jaynes (actress), Betty Jaynes * Arthur Kay (musician), Arthur Kay * Norma MacMillan * Bob McFadden * Jo Miller * Tom Morrison * Doug Moye * John Myhers * Sid Raymond * Philip A Scheib * Ken Schoen * Ned Sparks * Allen Swift * Paul Terry * Lionel Wilson (voice actor), Lionel Wilson * Patricia Terry

Musical directors

* Philip A. Scheib (1930–1973) * Jim Timmens (1964–1973)

Productions

: ''See List of Terrytoons animated shorts for complete filmography''

Cartoon series

* ''Aesop's Fables (film series), Aesop's Fables'' (1929-1933) (Inherited from The Van Beuren Corporation) * ''

Astronut ''The Astronut Show'' is an animated TV series, produced by the Terrytoons animation studio. It first aired on August 23, 1965. Each episode included an episode of ''Astronut'', ''Hashimoto-san'', and ''Luno The White Stallion''. Astronut first ...

'' (1964–1971) * ''

Clint Clobber This is a list of characters in the ''Tom and Jerry'' animated short series, given in the order of the era they first appeared in. Main Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse Tom (originally called "Jasper") is an adult bluish grey and white domestic sh ...

'' (1957–1959) * ''

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

'' (1960–1964) * ''Dimwit'' (1953–1957) * ''Dingbat'' (1950) * ''

Dinky Duck Dinky Duck is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1939 animated short ''The Orphan Duck''. Unlike fellow Terrytoons characters Mighty Mouse, silly Gandy Goose and the magpie duo Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky never became popular, ...

'' (1939–1957) * ''Duckwood'' (1964) * ''

Fanny Zilch Fanny Zilch is an animated cartoon character, part of the ''Terrytoons'' series. She made her debut in 1933. Her cartoons were musical spoofs of melodrama serials like '' The Perils of Pauline'', in which blonde sweetheart Fanny -- "the Banker's Da ...

'' (1933-1938) * ''

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Gandy Goose Gandy Goose is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1938 short ''Gandy the Goose''. He is frequently paired with Sourpuss, a cat, beginning in the 1939 short ''Hook Link and Sinker''. Sourpuss' first appearance was in the 1939 ...

'' (1938–1955) * ''Gaston Le Crayon'' (1957–1959) * ''Good Deed Daily'' (1955–1956) * ''Half Pint'' (1951) * ''Hashimoto-san, Hashimoto'' (1959–1963) * ''

Heckle and Jeckle Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon Character (arts), characters created by Paul Terry (cartoonist), Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pa ...

'' (1946–1966) * ''

Hector Heathcote Hector Heathcote is a Terrytoons animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer and Ralph Bakshi, he first appeared on July 18, 1959, in ''The Minute and a Half Man.'' He was voiced by John Myhers. Terrytoons created the character for televisio ...

'' (1959–1971) * ''James Hound'' (1966–1967) * ''John Doormat'' (1957–1959) * ''Kiko the Kangaroo'' (1936–1937) * ''Little Roquefort'' (1950–1955) * ''Luno The White Stallion'' (1963–1964) * ''Martian Moochers'' (1966) * ''

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''Th ...

'' (1942–1961) * ''Nancy and Sluggo'' (1942) * ''Possible Possum'' (1965–1971) * ''Puddy the Pup'' (1935–1942) * ''Sad Cat'' (1965–1968) * ''Sidney the Elephant'' (1958–1963) * ''The Terry Bears'' (1951–1956)

TV series

* ''Barker Bill's Cartoon Show'' (1953–1956) * ''Mighty Mouse Playhouse'' (1955–1967) * ''CBS Cartoon Theatre'' (1956) * ''The Heckle and Jeckle Show'' (1956) * ''

Tom Terrific ''Tom Terrific'' is a 1957–1959 animated series on American television, presented as part of the ''Captain Kangaroo'' children's television show. Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio (which by that time was a subsidiary of CBS, ...

'' (1957) * ''Deputy Dawg, The Deputy Dawg Show'' (1959–1964) * ''The Adventures of Lariat Sam'' (1962) * ''The Hector Heathcote Show'' (1963) * ''The Astronut Show'' (1965) * ''

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''Th ...

, &

The Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 20 episodes.

'' (1966–1967) * ''Sally Sargent'' (1968) (pilot) * ''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle'' (1979-1980) * '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' (1987–1988) * ''Curbside'' (1999) (pilot)

Appearances in other media

Many of the characters (such as Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, and others) were slated to make cameos in the 1988 film ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', but only the Timid Pig, Looey Lion, and a character resembling Gandy Goose appeared. They can all be seen during the film's finale. They were also planned to appear in the deleted scene of Marvin Acme's funeral.

References

External links

* *
Post Paul Terry era filmography
{{Children's programming on CBS Terrytoons, 1929 establishments in New York (state) 1956 mergers and acquisitions 1972 disestablishments in New York (state) 1972 mergers and acquisitions American animation studios American companies disestablished in 1972 American companies established in 1929 Companies based in New Rochelle, New York Mass media companies disestablished in 1972 Defunct companies based in New York (state) Mass media companies established in 1929 Fox animation 20th Century Studios franchises Paramount Global subsidiaries Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures franchises