Happy Harmonies

Happy Harmonies ( German: cheerful harmonies ) is a series of animated short films that were released 1934-1938 Metro-Goldwyn -Mayer. Were produced these cartoons by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, the anknüpften with these films to their earlier successes of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and wanted to Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies emulate. The 36 films were made throughout in color and with the exception of Bosko, who appeared in nine of the Happy Harmonies movies, with no recurring characters. Two films in this series, In the Land of Stuffed Animals and The Old Mill Pond, were " Best Animated Short Film " nominated for an Oscar in the category.

History

In the early 1930s operated the movie company Metro -Goldwyn- Mayer ( MGM) not own animation studio, but acted as lender of films produced by Ub Iwerks. From 1930 to 1933 films were released with Flip the Frog, on the flip followed the less popular Willie Whopper. Disappointed by the recent films ended the contract with MGM in 1934 Iwerks. MGM closed then with the animation producer Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, who worked until 1933 for Warner Bros., where the cartoon series Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies developed a lucrative contract from, who granted them a high budget for the production of sophisticated films.

Harman and Ising were together working as a producer at Warner Bros. as before, but they led separate director and each had their own teams. The first production for MGM was Ising's short film The Discontented Canary, which was completed in June 1934, and in September was released in theaters. Starting with the second film of Harman - Ising, The Old Pioneer, the cartoons were published under the title Happy Harmonies. The name of the film series played - as in Harman and Ising's productions at Warner - on the highly successful Disney series Silly Symphonies at. Stylistically Disney films were imitated with their " winning figures" and " imaginative stories ."

Despite compared to the Looney Tunes significantly more generous budgets animations were reused from the older movies of Harman and Ising for the early Happy Harmonies movies often. Harman reactivated for some of his films, even the character Bosko, who was the main character in the Looney Tunes Warner, whose exploitation rights but continue to Harman - Ising possessed. From the beginning, the Happy Harmonies films were shot in color, first in the two-color method of Technicolor, because Disney until September 1935 had the exclusive rights for the use of the three-color process. Starting with The Old Plantation but were able to use the three-color method, which offered a wider range of colors also Harman and Ising. Connected with the improved color, the films were naturally designed as published at the end of 1935 Bosko in the film Run, Sheep, Run for the first time with a realistic human figure.

Over the years, the Happy Harmonies movies consuming and high quality, which ultimately resulted in two Oscar nominations. 1936 Rudolf Ising's been nominated in the land of stuffed animals, a year later, Hugh Harman's The Old Mill Pond. Both times sat down but a Disney film at the Oscars by. MGM considered the rise in production costs with suspicion, especially Harman had in his style of production problems, to comply with the contractual agreements. The film company finally announced in February 1937 the contract with Harman - Ising. With the release of The Little Bantamweight in March 1938, the Happy Harmonies series ran out at MGM.

After the separation from Harman and Ising MGM given its own animation studio, which was to take over the production of cartoons. Head of the studio was Fred Quimby, as a former employee directors Harmans, and the abgeworbene Warner Friz Freleng were other William Hanna, obliged. After the designed as a successor to the Happy Harmonies cartoon series The Captain and the Kids proved to be a flop, Harman and Ising were brought back in the fall of 1938 to MGM. But you did not continue the series Happy Harmonies, but developed new films and figures. 1939 succeeded Rudolf Ising, with Barney Bear to establish a new cartoon series, their greatest success, the animated film department of MGM but only after the new and final departure of Harman and Ising at the beginning of the 1940s with Tom and Jerry and the films of Tex Avery.

Filmography

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