Flickr Friday: UPA Cartoon Art
Friday, April 20th, 2012Recently I had the privilege of reviewing the 3-disc UPA Jolly Frolics DVD set put out by Turner Classic Movies over at DVDTalk. Although the copy I reviewed was pre-release screeners and not the final retail set, I could definitely tell the set was put together with a lot of TLC. The cartoons, dating from 1948-59, all look fantastically restored. I included some screen shots with the DVD Talk review, including this gem from the 1955 cartoon The Jaywalker. This image says “UPA Style” better than most anything:
As much as UPA is identified with a modernist look, they also did several more traditional-type cartoons. The background below is stitched together from a Disney-esque 1950 effort called The Popcorn Story (it makes sense, since the film was co-directed by Disney vet Art Babbitt). I love the colors!
This is a wonderful set that I would recommend to vintage cartoon fans as well as those who appreciated 1950s modern design. Buy it at TCM here or at Amazon.com here.
