''The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals'' is a 1994 book by

animation historian While the history of animation began much earlier, this article is concerned with the development of the medium after the emergence of celluloid film in 1888, as produced for theatrical screenings, television and (non-interactive) home entertai ...

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...

Criteria

It consists of articles about 50 highly regarded animated short films made in North America and other notable cartoons, which are ranked according to a poll of 1,000 people working in the animation industry. Each cartoon is under 30 minutes long and

cel animated Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Pro ...

(with the exception of ''

Gertie the Dinosaur ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaude ...

''). Seventeen of the selected films were produced for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

's ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' and ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' series, ten of which were directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

(including the #1 cartoon on the list, ''

What's Opera, Doc? ''What's Opera, Doc?'' is a 1957 American Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on July 6, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The story features Elmer cha ...

''). Forty-five of the selected cartoons were created and released before 1960; the exceptions are ''

The Big Snit ''The Big Snit'' is a 1985 animated short film written and directed by Richard Condie and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Plot A married couple plays a game of Scrabble that has stalemated as the husband is unable to come up with ...

'' (1985; ), ''

The Cat Came Back "The Cat Came Back" is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller in Christmas 1893. It has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But the Cat Came Back", "And the Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a po ...

'' (1988; ), ''

Bambi Meets Godzilla ''Bambi Meets Godzilla'' is a 1969 black-and-white animated short student film created entirely by Marv Newland. Less than two minutes long, the film is a classic of animation; it was listed #38 in the book ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons'' (1994). ...

'' (1969; ), ''

The Man Who Planted Trees ''The Man Who Planted Trees'' (French title: ''L'homme qui plantait des arbres'') is a short story published in 1953 by French author Jean Giono. An allegorical tale, it tells the story of one shepherd's long and successful single-handed effort to ...

'' (1987; ) and ''

Quasi at the Quackadero ''Quasi at the Quackadero'' is a 1975 animated short by Sally Cruikshank. This cartoon follows two anthropomorphic ducks and a pet robot at an amusement park where phenomena such as time travel, telepathy, and reincarnation are exhibited as side ...

'' (1975; ). The book's front and rear cover art shows a variety of famous cartoon stars seated in a nightclub. In the appendix, a list of other cartoons with substantial votes are featured.

Legacy

A mixture of the book's selections and its runner-ups were featured on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

on March 14, 1998, as part of "The 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time" marathon. The reason for this is because the network only aired the cartoons owned by

The marathon also included interviews with animators such as

and

Joe 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 i ...

, as well as historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

and voice actors Charlie Adler and

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

. A similar marathon aired the following year.

References

External links

*
10 of the Greatest Cartoons of All Time on Flavorwire

List of the 50 at imdb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:50 Greatest Cartoons, The 1994 books Animation books Top film lists Lists of animated films Animation fandom

Criteria

Legacy

See also

References

External links