Betty Boop with Henry

[cbrubaker]

I watched a Betty Boop cartoon with Carl Anderson's Henry in it.

Until I watched it, I never realized that Henry was animated.

So, were there any other cartoons with Henry?

This might be rare. Good thing I taped it.

[Chooch]

Originally Posted by cbrubaker

So, were there any other cartoons with Henry?

According to this page, none:
http://www.toonopedia.com/henry.htm

[J Lee]

The closest Henry got to being "animated" again was an episode of SCTV around 1982 or so, when they were making fun of both Siskel and Ebert and (ironically) Robert Altman's live-action Popeye film from two years earlier. The skit had the film critics trashing Altman's latest movie, a live-action adaptation of Henry (which survived in many papers into the 1970s).

[KentB3]

Originally Posted by J Lee

The closest Henry got to being "animated" again was an episode of SCTV around 1982 or so, when they were making fun of both Siskel and Ebert and (ironically) Robert Altman's live-action Popeye film from two years earlier. The skit had the film critics trashing Altman's latest movie, a live-action adaptation of Henry (which survived in many papers into the 1970s).

Actually, Henry ran in 1st-run newspaper comics until 1995, then reruns of the strip started running, must like what is being done with the Peanuts comic strip.

King Features has a Henry page on its website, along with its other comics, which present each days comic strips, about 2 weeks behind their publication dates. Here is a URL to King Features Syndicate's Henry webpage:

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features...enry/about.htm

[Ray Pointer]

I believe the question was whether Henry was featured in any other animated short besided the BETTY BOOP entry. The answer is no. Although BETTY BOOP WITH HENRY, THE FUNNIEST LIVING AMERICAN has the earmarks of a pilot like POPEYE THE SAILOR, a series never materialized. Henry did not seem to come across quite as well on the screen as POPEYE. Perhaps it was because the Fleischer story people failed to incorporate the visual irony that was the key to the strip.

There were other one shots with King Features characters placed in a BETTY BOOP cartoon such as James Swinerton's LITTLE JIMMY. Although THE LITTLE KING had been done as a short-lived series by VAN BEUREN, Fleischer Studios placed him in a BETTY BOOP vehicle too. Although a series never came form this appearance, the animation was superior to what was done in the van Beuren series a few years before.

[JDWeil]

Originally Posted by Ray Pointer

Although THE LITTLE KING had been done as a short-lived series by VAN BEUREN, Fleischer Studios placed him in a BETTY BOOP vehicle too. Although a series never came form this appearance, the animation was superior to what was done in the van Beuren series a few years before.

I can't agree with that. Van Beuren's series on The Little KIng was far more faithful to Soglow's comic strip( even to the point of copying Soglow's drawing style) than Fleischer's one-shot disaster ever was.
Otto Soglow himself wasn't to keen on having his creation adapted to the silver screen. The reason isn't hard to find. The Little King comic strip was a pantomime strip that was designed to get smiles, not belly laughs. The strip's humor is derived from the fact that the title character is about the size and shape of a basketball and he's supposed to be a king. (not very regal looking). The Little KIng was a one-joke character and it's surprising that Van Beuren succeeded asd well as they did while Fleischer kept his house style in the cartoon and the two styles clashed terribly(not even the 3-D setback helped here). Popeye would be Fleischer's only success in transferring a comic strip to animation.

[magadizer]

I have seen many Van Beuren cartoons, but only one of the Little King series, Jolly Good Felons. I thought it was one of the best VB B&W cartoons I have seen, and I enjoyed it for some inexplicable reason. I thought the surreal rubbery animation fit better to this character and his adventures than some of the action that fills the Tom & Jerry series, for example. I also have seen the Betty Boop/Little King Cartoon as well, and I enjoyed it too. I couldn't say that one is "better" than the other myself, being unfamiliar with the original strip, and having only seen the one VB example. I would love to see a "Complete adventures of the Little King" DVD, though......

Are there any archives of the Sogolow comic strip online?

[Ray Pointer]

Originally Posted by JDWeil

I can't agree with that. Van Beuren's series on The Little KIng was far more faithful to Soglow's comic strip( even to the point of copying Soglow's drawing style) than Fleischer's one-shot disaster ever was.
Otto Soglow himself wasn't to keen on having his creation adapted to the silver screen. The reason isn't hard to find. The Little King comic strip was a pantomime strip that was designed to get smiles, not belly laughs. The strip's humor is derived from the fact that the title character is about the size and shape of a basketball and he's supposed to be a king. (not very regal looking). The Little KIng was a one-joke character and it's surprising that Van Beuren succeeded asd well as they did while Fleischer kept his house style in the cartoon and the two styles clashed terribly(not even the 3-D setback helped here). Popeye would be Fleischer's only success in transferring a comic strip to animation.

You are confusing style with animation execution. Actaully the original strip style was far more graphic. The fact that the Van Beuren series came closer
is due more so to the poorer drawing ability of the staff, than by any conscious effort.

In terms of animation, there are too many things to go into from a professional standpoint. But basically the Van Beuren LITTLE KING cartoons have a "floating," weightlessness to them, and generally the timing is too slow. Those scenes that due succeed are the result of the skills of that individual animator. Many people, myself included, have been mesmerised by what appears to be fluid, graceful actions that really do not apply to the situation. Just as jerkyness is bad animation, improperly applied fluid action is bad animation too. It's akin to overacting.

[magadizer]

Very good points, Ray. I think that that "over-flowing" execution is what was so appealing to me in this particular context. Somehow, it did not seem as poor of technique when fit with the Little King. I agree the Fleischer animation was better, but I did like the VB cartoon anyways.