Animation &Animation Artifacts 20 Mar 2008 08:07 am
Terry’s Logo
I was looking at an older piece of animation I had posted about two years ago. I’ve always loved these drawings and felt that they truly represented an era at Terrytoons and, more specifically, New York animation. I thought I’d like to post them again (adding a QT movie
of the motion.)
– Since first seeing them in the 50′s, I’ve been a fan of the films from the Gene Deitch period at Terrytoons. You know, Clint Clobber, Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon and Tom Terrific. Call this a guilty pleasure.
The animated logo included a linear face which had some scribbled hair that animated to read “Terrytoons” when a door closed on it. It was a short bit that seemed different and more lively than other logos of the day, though I think things started to change with Gene Deitch’s approach.
The UPA films had a tighter animation style. There was some looseness in the opening credits of the Gerald McBoing Boing Show, but generally there was a less freestyle animation in the limited UPA approach. The Dick Tracy show was airtight.
Perhaps the full credit should go to Deitch or perhapts it was Jim Tyer’s influence at Terrytoons that really changed things. I don’t know who actually animated this logo, but there’s plenty of life in it.
1 
2
(Click any image to enlarge to its full size.)
Terrytoons Logo, animated.
on 20 Mar 2008 at 12:49 pm 1.Stephen Worth said …
I love that logo animation too. It’s the best cartoon studio logo ever.
I spoke to Ralph Bakshi yesterday, and he agreed to do an interview with me at the San Diego Comicon this year. The panel is going to be about his early years at Terry-Toons. Ralph has some amazing stories about the battles that went on between the “old timers” like Jim Tyer and the “modern” artists like Ernie Pintoff. Apparently, it was a very contentious time, and Flebus was the film that brought it all to a head.
I heard the same thing from the family of Carlo Vinci. He was told when Deitch came in that any artist over fifty was going to be forced to retire. (Vinci was 49 at the time and had worked at Terry-Toons for 25 years..) He took that as a good reason to move his family West to join Bill and Joe, and ended up animating for another quarter century.
The story of Terry-Toons is fascinating. There’s a lot still to find out about what went on there.
See ya
Steve
on 20 Mar 2008 at 1:32 pm 2.Eddie Fitzgerald said …
Nice animation! I’ve always liked that logo. I’m not a fan of Deitch, though I like Sidney the elephant, which I assume is his. Who’s responsible for the animation of that character?
I can’t imagine ever having a conflict with someone like Jim Tyre or Carlo Vinci.
on 23 Mar 2012 at 10:52 am 3.Gene Deitch said …
I never had a conflict with Jom or Carlo. They were among the good guys at Terryroons! Gene