Sony Pictures, Turner Release Classic Cartoon Set

6 Mar, 2012 By: Billy Gil

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Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment March 15 will release a set of 38 cartoons from the 1950s in the three-DVD UPA: The Jolly Frolics Collection ($39.99).

The animated shorts from United Productions of America, home to such characters as Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing, are releasing on DVD for the first time. The set will be available exclusively through TCM's online store at http://shop.tcm.com.

The set includes a video introduction by film critic, writer and historian Leonard Maltin, as well as commentaries on selected cartoons by Maltin and animation historian Jerry Beck. The cartoons have each been digitally remastered. Additional bonus features include a pencil test for the short “Christopher Crumpet’s Playmate” (1955), as well as samples of production art, marketing materials and more.

The gate-fold collection also includes a 16-page booklet with historical backgrounds, animator bios and a timeline of the studio.

“I’m sure I’m not the only animation enthusiast who’s been longing to see these great cartoons released on DVD,” Maltin said. “It’s a privilege to be able to introduce them and provide commentary tracks, but it’s even more exciting to see them so beautifully restored.”

Among the set’s highlights are the 1949 short “The Ragtime Bear,” which introduced the cantankerous Mr. Magoo, as well as the Academy Award-winning 1950 short “Gerald McBoing Boing,” based on a story by Dr. Seuss. The list of episodes is as follows:

“Robin Hoodlum” (1948) — Oscar nomination
“The Magic Fluke” (1949) — Oscar nomination
“The Ragtime Bear” (1949)
“Punchy De Leon” (1950)
“The Miner's Daughter” (1950)
“Giddyap” (1950)
“The Popcorn Story” (1950)
“Gerald McBoing Boing” (1951) — Oscar winner
“The Family Circus” (1951)
“Georgie and the Dragon” (1951)
“The Wonder Gloves” (1951)
“The Oompahs” (1952)
“Rooty Toot Toot” (1952) — Oscar nominee
“Willie the Kid” (1952)
“Pete Hothead” (1952)
“Madeline” (1952) — Oscar nominee
“Little Boy with a Big Horn” (1953)
“The Emperor's New Clothes” (1953)
“Christopher Crumpet” (1953) — Oscar nominee
“Gerald McBoing Boing's Symphony” (1953)
“The Unicorn in the Garden” (1953)
“The Tell-Tale Heart” (1953) — Oscar nominee
“Bringing Up Mother” (1954)
“Ballet Oops” (1954)
“The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (1954)
“Fudget's Budget” (1954)
“How Now Boing Boing” (1954)
“Spare the Child” (1955)
“Four Wheels No Brakes” (1955)
“Baby Boogie” (1955)
“Christopher Crumpet's Playmate” (1955)
“The Rise of Duton Lang” (1955)
“Gerald McBoing Boing on Planet Moo” (1956) — Oscar nominee
“The Jaywalker” (1956) – Oscar nominee
“Trees and Jamaica Daddy” (1958) — Oscar nominee
“Sailing and Village Band” (1958)
“Spring and Saganaki” (1958)
“Picnics are Fun and Dino's Serenade” (1959)
 

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