Page 25 - The Collector's Companion: Issue CC103

Loose limbs telling time Rubber hose style

Making the 1930s a time to smile
Simple shapes for working quickly
In 1932 a 28-year-old designer named Earl Arnault, from There really is no mistaking these early cartoons,
Oregon, USA, invented a clock to bring some cheer to wonderfully surreal, at times disturbing, there would Conjoined and/or (slice of) pie eyes
a country in the midst of The Great Depression. This be nothing surprising about a cupboard opening
clock came in the form of a cat with a “wagging tail, its own door to hand the homeowner the contents,
rolling eyes, and contagious smile”. or for a bird’s beak to take on the form of a musical White gloves for clarity
instrument as it sang. Just like the Busby Berkeley
At this time the comic strip and animated film market films of the 1930s that used dancers’ bodies to create
was saturated with b&w cartoon cats making it an dazzling kaleidoscopic displays, the cartoons fed Bendy, stretching limbs
obvious choice for Arnault to achieve the feel-good into America’s insatiable desire for escapism from
factor. The most famous of these was Felix the Cat their real-life troubles. I am most fond of Fleischer
(1919) but there were also Krazy Kat (1913), Julius the Studios’ Betty Boop cartoons featuring Cab Calloway, Little or no detail in clothing
Cat (1922) and Waffles (1921). the combination of the animation and the soundtrack
capturing the mood of the era so perfectly.
“Mickey had to
It would be wrong to talk about famous animated
animals of the 20s and 30s without mentioning the be simple. We
biggest (yet smallest!) of them all – Mickey Mouse. had to push out
Walt Disney created Mickey having lost the rights
to his previous character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit seven hundred
(created by Walt for Universal Pictures in 1927).
Mickey’s early appearances make full use of the feet of film every
rubber hose style, where stretching and bending limbs
play a crucial role in what the characters are able to two weeks.”
do. While Oswald disappeared quite quickly, and Felix Walt Disney
failed to find success in the sound era, Mickey is the
Fifty years apart - Kit-Cat 1982 and 1932 anthropomorphic animal who has stood the test of
time. Going back to the topic of time, Mickey Mouse
Kit-Cat’s appearance is rooted in the animation style has been featured on wristwatches and alarm clocks
of the 1920s and 1930s. With his smooth lines, black since 1933. Unlike Kit-Cat it isn’t his tail that moves, Right: 1978 Bradley alarm
body, white muzzle and huge bulbous eyes he could but his rubber hose arms, rotating round as the clock clock with internal bell,
be easily mistaken for one of the aforementioned hands. rotating arms and nodding
cats. This style is known as rubber hose, the first head. Made in Hong Kong.
standardised Hollywood style of animation, because of L-R: Waffles (1930), Felix (1928), Julius (1925), Felix (1922) and Krazy
the fluid, rubbery way in which the characters moved. Kat (1932). Dates refer to the characters’ appearance at the time, not
when they were first created.

Visit our website for our
1930s cartoons playlist!

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