Rainbow Parade is a series of 26 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936.[1] This was the only color cartoon series produced by Van Beuren, and the final series of the studio.

Rainbow Parade
The opening title card in "The Sunshine Makers".
Directed byBurt Gillett
Ted Eshbaugh
Steve Muffatti
Tom Palmer
Shamus Culhane
Dan Gordon
Produced byAmadee J. Van Beuren
Music byWinston Sharples
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
July 27, 1934 — October 2, 1936
Running time
7–8 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

History

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The Van Beuren Corporation was struggling to make successful cartoon series and had multiple production struggles throughout the early 1930s, with a lawsuit from Walt Disney Productions over copyright infringement, and ill-fated attempts at cartoon series like Tom and Jerry and Cubby Bear. In 1933, when Walt Disney received universal praise for the cartoon short Three Little Pigs, the short's director, Burt Gillett, was also seen as a top commodity in the animation industry.[2]

Gillett was lured by the Van Beuren studio with prospects of higher pay and full creative control over the animation staff, and he joined around April 1934.[3] Right away, the animation output of Van Beuren's studio took a drastic change. Older series ended and were replaced with the short-lived series Toddle Tales, notable for including live-action wraparounds with child actors interacting with animated characters, and the Rainbow Parade cartoons, which became their main series throughout the rest of the studio's existence.

Production was troubled, as Gillett was known for being hard to work with, having large emotional outbursts and mood swings, constantly firing crew members, as well as demanding harsh work environments for animators. This caused the constant rejection of large chunks of animation or full cartoons well into production, resulting in enormous overtime hours to compensate and replace animation, voices, and music, often gone unpaid. Because of this, animators working at the studio called for union action and held strikes against the studio, which Gillett and Van Beuren combated long throughout production.[4]

In addition, Disney held a contract with Technicolor for exclusive use of their three-strip process when the Rainbow Parades started, so Van Beuren opted for the cheaper two-color Cinecolor process for their first season, a process which featured a somewhat more limited but still appealing palette of hues. Once Disney's contract expired in 1935, Van Beuren quickly switched to Technicolor for the rest of the series.

Many of the Rainbow Parade cartoons were one-shot stories with no recurring characters, but some of the films featured originally created characters like the Parrotville Parrots and Molly Moo-Cow, or established characters repurposed for color animation like the Toonerville Folks and Felix the Cat. Notable cartoon directors like Shamus Culhane and Dan Gordon contributed to this series when they were still establishing themselves in the industry.

Ultimately, production on the cartoons cancelled in 1936 when Disney, long a rival of the Van Beuren cartoon studio, signed an exclusive deal to produce cartoons with Van Beuren's distributor, RKO Radio Pictures. The Rainbow Parade cartoons wrapped production with the staff let go in May 1936[5] and the final cartoons distributed until October of the same year, with some cartoons still unproduced.[6]

Aftermath

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The producer Amedee J. Van Beuren died in 1938, not long after the studio's closure, and copyrights on the series lapsed shortly after. This prompted independent distributors like Walter O. Gutlohn[7] and Commonwealth Pictures[8] to pick up rights for the films to be sold in home movie catalogues and syndicated for television throughout the decades. Low-budget home video distributors used any film prints of these cartoons they could find to cheaply include in cartoon compilations in the wakes of VHS and DVD.

Efforts have been taken in recent years to restore these cartoons as in 2021, Thunderbean Animation, in association with Blackhawk Films and the UCLA, released a Blu-ray collection of the first 13 Rainbow Parade cartoons from the existing master materials, updating their DVD collection from 2009. The second half of the series is also in the process of being restored by Thunderbean, and is currently available from the best existing prints released by Image DVD/Blackhawk Films/Film Preservation Associates.

Filmography

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Title Characters Original release date Director Notes
Pastry Town Wedding Bride, Groom, Pastry Chefs July 27, 1934 Burt Gillett
Ted Eshbaugh
  • First Rainbow Parade series short.
  • First short in two-strip Cinecolor.
  • First short co-directed by Burt Gillett and Ted Eshbaugh.
  • Later reissued as a promotional film for Cushman's Sons, Inc. This reissue adds extra animated scenes advertising the bakery, along with special title cards.
The Parrotville Fire Department The Flasher, Firefighters September 14, 1934 Burt Gillett
Steve Muffatti
  • Only short co-directed by Steve Muffatti.
  • The first of three "Parrotville" cartoons in the Rainbow Parade series.
  • Original MPPDA production code #148.
The Sunshine Makers Gnomes, Goblins January 11, 1935 Burt Gillett
Ted Eshbaugh
  • Re-issued in 1940 as a promotional film for Borden's Milk, with the "Borden" script on the title card. The original 1935 Rainbow Parade titles have been found.
  • Runner-up on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list.
  • Original MPPDA production code #242.
Parrotville Old Folks Mrs. Birdkins, Captain, Friend, Old Folks January 25, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • First short co-directed by Tom Palmer.
  • The second of three "Parrotville" cartoons in the Rainbow Parade series.
Japanese Lanterns Japanese Children, Father, Stork March 8, 1935 Burt Gillett
Ted Eshbaugh
Spinning Mice Wizard/Rabbit, Lizards/Doves, Toad/Squirrel, Throwback Mice/Devils, Girl, Boy, Mice April 5, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • Contains a live-action prologue and epilogue sequences.
The Picnic Panic
(a.k.a. The Stupid Teapot)
Molly Moo-Cow, Teapots, Flashback Teapots, Teacups May 3, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • First appearance of Molly Moo-Cow.
  • Contains a live-action prologue and epilogue with animated wraparounds.
  • Original MPPDA production code #374.
The Merry Kittens Three Kittens, Terrier May 31, 1935 Burt Gillett
Shamus Culhane
  • Only short co-directed by Shamus Culhane.
  • Original MPPDA production code #392, listed on credits instead of its standalone screen.
Parrotville Post-Office Captain, Black Parrot, Mrs. Birdkins, Mr. Birdkins' Children June 28, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • The last of three "Parrotville" cartoons in the Rainbow Parade series.
The Rag Dog Three Kittens, Two Terriers July 19, 1935 Burt Gillett
The Hunting Season Molly Moo-Cow, Ducks, Hunters August 19, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Scotty Finds a Home Scotty, Family, Bully August 23, 1935 Burt Gillett
Bird Scouts Birds, Cat September 20, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies Molly Moo-Cow, Collector, Butterflies November 15, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and the Indians Molly Moo-Cow, Indian Squaw, Papoose, Indian Brave, Two Ducks November 15, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and Rip Van Winkle Molly Moo-Cow, Rip Van Winkle, Little Men December 17, 1935 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Toonerville Trolley Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Katrinka, Molly Moo-Cow (cameo), Bull January 17, 1936 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • The first of three Rainbow Parade cartoons based on the Toonerville Trolley comic strip.
  • Cameo by Molly Moo-Cow.
  • Only Toonerville short co-directed by Tom Palmer.
Felix the Cat in "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg" Felix the Cat, Goldie, Captain Kidd, Pirates February 7, 1936 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe Molly Moo-Cow, Robinson Crusoe, Cannibals February 28, 1936 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
  • Molly Moo-Cow's final appearance.
Neptune Nonsense Felix the Cat, King Neptune, Annabelle, Octopus, Electric Eel, Mermaid March 20, 1936 Burt Gillett
Tom Palmer
Bold King Cole Felix the Cat, Old King Cole, Ghosts May 29, 1936 Burt Gillett
  • Final Felix the Cat released cartoon in the Rainbow Parade series.
  • Only Felix short solely directed by Burt Gillett.
A Waif's Welcome Orphan, Mother, Father, Son June 19, 1936 Tom Palmer
  • First of two shorts solely directed by Tom Palmer.
Trolley Ahoy Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Mr. Bang, Katrinka July 3, 1936 Burt Gillett
  • The second of three Rainbow Parade cartoons based on the Toonerville Trolley comic strip.
Cupid Gets His Man Dan Cupid, Edna May Oliver, W.C. Fields July 24, 1936 Tom Palmer
  • One source suggests that the spinster actually is a dead ringer for Margaret Hamilton (who would later gain fame as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz).
  • Second and final of two shorts solely directed by Tom Palmer.
It's a Greek Life Centaur, Mercury, Two Ducks August 2, 1936 Dan Gordon
Toonerville Picnic Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Mr. Bang, Katrinka, Dog, Octopus October 2, 1936 Burt Gillett
  • Final Rainbow Parade series short.
  • The last of three Rainbow Parade cartoons based on the Toonerville Trolley comic strip.
  • Final short solely directed by Burt Gillett.

References

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  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 127–128. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ Maltin, Leonard (November 1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (2 ed.). New York City: Plume. p. 204. ISBN 0452259932.
  3. ^ Baxter, Devon (October 3, 2018). "Animator Profiles: Burt Gillett". Cartoon Research. Jerry Beck. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ Sito, Tom (October 6, 2006). Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 72–74. ISBN 0813171482. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ Strike, Joe. "Jack Zander, 99, On Golden Age of Animation". AWN.com. Animation World Network. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  6. ^ Stanchfield, Steve (August 24, 2023). "Technicolor "Rainbow Parade" Model Sheets" (Blog). Cartoon Research. Jerry Beck. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Selected Shorts Adapted to Very Young Groups" (Brochure). Color Cartoons. Educational Films: 16mm Sound and Silent (8). PreLinger Library: Walter O. Gutlohn, Inc.: 56 1939. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  8. ^ "An All-Time High.. in 16mm Entertainment" (Brochure). In Glorious Technicolor!. Educational Screen. 20 (7). The Educational Screen, Inc.: 309 September 22, 1941. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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