Posted by Dave on December 01, 2009 at 11:07:26:
Perennial holiday classics "Hardrock, Coco and Joe," "Suzy Snowflake" and "Frosty the Snowman," which have aired on Chicago television since 1953 and "Peter Cottontail" have been digitally re-mastered by Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) and are now available on DVD!
These classic "Song Cartoonettes" have become a Chicago holiday tradition, appearing for decades on WGN-TV's Garfield Goose and Friends, Bozo's Circus and, in recent years, the WGN Morning News.
The shorts feature black and white stop-motion animation, a cinematic process that brings a figure or puppet to life on the screen. They have brought joy to millions for over half a century.
HARDROCK, COCO AND JOE, THE THREE LITTLE DWARFS
On December 18, 1956, WGN-TV's "Garfield Goose and Friends" introduced Chicago area children to Santa Claus' three favorite elves, Hardrock, Coco and Joe. At two-feet-high, Hardrock drove Santa's sleigh while Coco navigated and Joe tagged along for fun. To create the animated short or "song cartoonette", Hill & Range Songs hired Centaur Productions. The company was established in the early 1950s by Wah Ming Chang, a sculptor in Walt Disney's Effects and Model Department who created the model of Pinocchio; and George Pal, a producer and Academy Award nominee. The shorts were produced in black-and-white using stop-motion animation, a cinematic process that brings figures or puppets to life by minutely reposing and photographing them frame-by-frame, resulting as fluid movement on screen.
SUZY SNOWFLAKE
On December 28, 1953, Chicago area kids were introduced to the whimsical story of Suzy Snowflake "tap, tap, tappin'" on every windowpane, seen on "Garfield Goose and Friends" then on WBBM-TV and later WGN-TV. Like "Hardrock, Coco and Joe", Suzy too was brought to life by the stop-motion animators of Centaur Productions. Norma Zimmer was Suzy's voice and the song was sung by The Norman Luboff Choir, a premier studio group who recorded with well-known artists, such as Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte.
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
The holiday season wouldn't be complete without the jolly, happy soul of "Frosty the Snowman." Chicago area viewers were introduced to Frosty in December 1953 as he ran "over the hills of snow - jing-jing!" "Frosty the Snowman" was produced for Hill & Range Songs by UPA (United Productions of America), a studio comprised of animation veterans with a new approach to cartoons, which focused on contemporary design and stylized movement (which ushered in the "limited animation" associated with TV cartoons). UPA's most famous cinematic creations were "Mr. Magoo", "Gerald McBoing Boing" and the "Dick Tracy" cartoons.
PETER COTTONTAIL
Hippety Hop down the bunny trail!
"Peter Cottontail", the jazzy cartoon short about that "cool little bunny" giving baskets full of Easter joy, has not been available to the public since its original airing in the 1950s. Like "Frosty the Snowman", "Peter Cottontail" was also made by UPA. Together, they provide a great example of '50s animation and design, while exemplifying the idea of "timeless entertainment."
The DVD collection is available exclusively at www.museum.tv. All proceeds benefit the museum.
Promotional sponsors include WGN TV 9 Chicago's CW, nationally on WGN America, and WGN Radio 720.