Well, folks, we’ve finally reached the 1940s, almost inarguably the greatest decade in animation history.
And 1940 itself may be the greatest year ever for animated features; sure, only two were released, but when those two are
Pinocchio and
Fantasia, that’s a lot to live up to.
Both films were considered financial disappointments after the phenomenal success of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, but - needless to say - they are now hailed as towering achievements in the art of animation.
As for the shorts, 1940 was still part of the awkward phase between the cute fables of the mid-thirties and the brash slapstick comedy of the war years. Walt Disney’s focus on features meant that his shorts were no longer pushing the boundaries of animation as they once were, and the Fleischer studio was really spinning its wheels (in 1940, they initiated three new series: Stone Age, Gabby and Animated Antics... all of them duds).
That being said, 1940 saw the birth of some new characters that would dominate the industry over the next couple of decades: Woody Woodpecker at Walter Lantz, Tom & Jerry at MGM and, most importantly, Bugs Bunny at Warner Bros., all three of which appear on this list. Speaking of which, the Academy Awards made a pretty massive blunder this year, handing the Oscar to a syrupy and generally forgotten Rudolf Ising cartoon called
The Milky Way over fellow nominees
Puss Gets the Boot (Tom and Jerry’s debut) and
A Wild Hare (Bugs Bunny’s debut). I guess we should be thankful the Academy recognized these important new characters at all, although they probably would’ve been deprived of a nomination if Disney had decided to submit any of his films to the Academy this year (as a result, this was the first year a Disney cartoon didn’t win the Oscar).
Anyway, on this list you’ll find a handful of classics from Warner Bros. and Disney, as well as a few efforts from Fleischer, MGM, Walter Lantz and even Terrytoons. Take a look:
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