My July 2013 Animation Screenings

Folks, this month there will be two early animation screenings in the New York City that cannot be missed!

All the necessary info is below, but I'll cut to the chase and whet your appetite: the first screening will be my first-ever utilizing 16mm prints outdoors in Launchpad’s lovely backyard, and the second is a mostly digital HD screening taking place at BAMinematek as part of this year’s Animation Block Party festival. You must attend...and bring all your friends to these awesome shows!

July 12th
The Tom Stathes Cartoon Carnival #15: The Great Outdoors
@ LaunchPad, 721 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn
7/12/13 7:30PM

$10 at the door

After many successful Cartoon Carnivals held at LaunchPad in Brooklyn, we’ll be taking advantage of the lovely summer weather and doing the 15th entry in this series in the venue’s backyard*. To commemorate this occasion, I’ve curated a program of cartoons from the 1910s thru 1930s that feature or take place in the outdoors. How often do you get to see ancient 16mm cartoons projected outdoors? Not often. You must attend--and bring everyone else you can think of!

There will be popcorn and possibly other edibles available from the grill for a small contribution. Bring a blanket if seating fills up--or if you prefer camping alongside guests!

Facebook event here. RSVP not required, but it definitely helps us gauge how many people might be attending.

*In the event of inclement weather, the screening will be moved indoors.

July 27th
Early New York Animation
@ BAMcinematek, Brooklyn 4:30PM

BAM website listing here.

This year, I’m most proud to have been asked to participate in the acclaimed annual Animation Block Party festival. It’s the first-ever ABP screening of historic shorts, and I’ve curated a selection of rare, unusual, and funny subjects from my collection that were produced in New York City.

The majority of films in this screening will be presented in digital HD form, and the final subject will be shown in 35mm. Usually I don’t publish set lists, but in this instance you can see what goodies will be screened:

• The Artist's Dream / Bray Studios / John Bray / 5 min / 1913
• Farmer Alfalfa Sees New York / Bray Studios / Paul Terry / 6 min / 1916
• Fireman Save My Child / Bud Fisher / 5 min / 1919
• Felix Comes Back / Otto Messmer / 6 min / 1922
• Col. Heeza Liar, Detective / Bray Studios / 8:30 min / 1923
• Jolly Rounders / Paul Terry / 6:30 min / 1923
• Trip to Mars / Max Fleischer / 7 min / 1924
• Felix the Cat Trips Thru Toyland / Otto Messmer / 6 min / 1925
• Krazy Kat in Scents and Nonsense / Bill Nolan / 7 min / 1926
• *Making ‘Em Move / Van Beuren Studios - Harry Bailey & John Foster / 7 min / 1930
• *rare 35mm print

Following the screening will be a Q&A session with yours truly, animation veteran and historian Howard Beckerman, and others. We really hope to see you there!

Facebook event page is pending, but you can read more about this and the complete ABP weekend events here.

*

I hope to see you and your friends at LaunchPad and BAMcinematek!

To join my private mailing list for screenings, send me an email at cartoonsonfilm (at) gmail (dot) com with the headline “Cartoon screening mailing list"

Coming Up: Cartoon Carnival 14

It’s time for the next installment of the Tom Stathes Cartoon Carnival! For TSCC #14, I’ve put together another assortment of rare, bizarre, funny and quirky 16mm cartoons from the 1910s thru 50s for your enjoyment. 

Facebook RSVP here--not required for attendance, but helps us gauge the amount of people coming.

DETAILS: The Tom Stathes Cartoon Carnival#14: Food Fun

at 

LaunchPad

721 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

Friday, April 12, 2013, 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM

For the simple reason that people enjoy eating, Tom Stathes has curated rare food-related animated cartoons from the 1910s-1940s. Come and experience the latest Cartoon Carnival screening--shown in real 16mm film, with a real projector--a unique experience you'll be sure to remember! Tom Stathes is a "Cartoon Cryptozoologist", with a rare film print collection comprised of over 1,000 shorts. His archive consists of everything from Felix the Cat and Farmer Alfalfa to silent reels from Bray Studios and Out of the Inkwell. A native-New Yorker, he turned his passion for the city’s animation legacy into a preservation mission. With his Bray Animation Project, he has worked with several film and comic historians to document the studio’s invaluable output. For more information go to cartoonsonfilm.com or brayanimation.weebly.com. $10 at the door Doors at 8pm and the cartoons start a little afterward. Earlier arrival is better if you require seating!

Snow White at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

No, it’s not the ever-famous animated feature...it’s the live action 1916 feature film that served as a young Walt Disney’s inspiration!

Snow White (1916)

The fine folks at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival have scheduled the rare silent feature Snow White (1916) to play this coming Saturday, February 16th, 2013. The film was directed by J. Searle Dawley and stars Margeurite Clark, Dorothy Cumming, Creighton Hale, Lionel Braham, and Alice Washburn. Silent film accompanist Donald Sosin will be playing on the grand piano for this marvelous presentation.

What makes this film so important, and especially of interest to animation historians? The story goes that in 1917, a 16 year old Walt Disney saw the film which was being shown in a free event at the Kansas City Convention Center. It was one of the first features Walt saw, and the experience was an inspirational one. Twenty years later, in 1937, Walt’s studio released the first major sound-era animated feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a subject that marked an extremely important turning point in animation history.

I recall seeing a brief clip of the film in a 1950s-era retrospective from the Disney studio but the film had been considered lost in recent decades. Thankfully, materials surfaced in the Netherlands and a print was preserved by the George Eastman House film archive. This is a screening anyone in the San Francisco area should attend--I wish I was going to be there!

The film is being shown in conjunction with the impressive Walt Disney Family Museum, which I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting, but it has been highly recommended to me by all colleagues who have been there. An introduction for the film is to be given by a leading Disney historian I am proud to know, J.B. Kaufman. Mr. Kaufman has two new excellent books out, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film and The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Be sure to attend this fabulous event!