Overview

First time in paperback: the behind-the-scenes story of the cartoon business from its silent-era beginnings to todays computer-generated animation--and how these toons reflect Americas values and dreams.. As Roger Rosenblatt put it, What makes Serious Business a special treat is that it is like the best of the cartoons itselffunny, touching, and infused with thoughtful joy. This generously illustrated history of animation looks at the creation and celluloid careers of such American icons as Felix the Cat, Jiminy Cricket, Mickey and Minnie, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Goofy, Yogi Bear, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, and the Pink Panther. Art and commerce collide again and again as Stefan Kanfer wittily probes the origins of such diverse cartoon families as the Flintstones, the Jetsons, and the Simpsons and looks at the phenomenal success of feature-length animated films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Lion King . Serious Business is itself a classic of animation, bringing to life an art and an industry whose creations have now worked their way into every corner of American life.

Full Product Details

9780306809187

Table of Contents

Reviews

This nicely written and generally informative account provides a cursory though useful history of American animated cartoons. Theater critic and former Time staffer Kanfer (The Last Empire: De Beers, Diamonds, and the World, 1993, etc.) chronicles American cartoons from the silent era to very recent efforts by the Disney Studio, beginning with the primitive, surreal work of innovative legend Windsor McCay, then moving on to document the contributions of the Fleischer Studios (creators of Betty Boop and Popeye), Warner Brothers (Merry Melodies and Loony Tunes), Hanna-Barbera (the Flintstones and others), and, of course, Walt Disney. Kanfer doesn't neglect such lesser known but influential figures as Otto Mesmer (creator of Felix the Cat), Paul Terry (Farmer Al Falfa), Walter Lanz (Woody Woodpecker), and Jay Ward (Rocky and Bullwinkle). Serious Business is a solid introductory text, particularly useful to those with little background in the history and sociology of American animated cartoons, successfully demonstrating Kanfer's proposition that in their own eccentric way, [cartoons] provide an extraordinary reflection of the society and politics of their time. The problem is that Kanfer wants the book to do more than that: His purpose is, finally, he says, to demonstrate that cartoons also powerfully shape our attitudes, not always for the better. Kanfer addresses such important issues as racism in cartoons, cartoons as war propaganda, and the ways in which cartoons reflect issues of identity, conformity, and even anomie (for instance, Ren and Stimpy and Beavis and Butthead). While certainly instructive, Serious Business's pockets of brief analysis on such difficult issues fail to offer sufficient depth or insight. Taken as the less ambitious but valuable work it truly is, Serious Business offers a lively, thought-provoking introduction to the fascinating complexity of seemingly simple animated cartoons. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Stefan Kanfer is the author of six previous books. His articles and reviews have appeared in many major magazines, particularly Time, for which he was a writer and editor for more than twenty years. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available