Phase 5 - The Golden Era of Cartoons - 1930s - 1960s - Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Fred Quimby, Looney Toons, Tom & Jerry, Hanna Barbera

TASK ONE: Investigate the following KEY ANIMATORS listed below. There are TWO main tasks: Find out about the animator, watch and review their films. 

a) Look the animators up on WIKIPEDIA and the internet and find out a bit about them, including making a note of some of the films they’ve made – see below for details - Compile BRIEF research data and info for an ‘information sheet’ on each animator. Your work should be brief (about 100 words each) and be on your blog. Try to INCLUDE the following:

1. i)  Where and when were they born (if an individual) and a brief career history – don’t go on too long but include studios they worked in and key personnel they worked with. Are they still alive?
   
2. ii)  Are there any pictures of them available? If so, download some to use
   
3. iii)  What cartoons and/or characters were they responsible for?
   
4. iv)  Name/List some of their main features/cartoons and say where they were
   working when they made them
   
5. v)  Find some on YOUTUBE (as listed below) and write up a ‘FILM RESPONSE
   SHEET’, ONE for each animator (for one animator, review several films and write it all on ONE SHEET) and include your three favourite cartoons they made from the list given. For Fred Quimby you should write about your favourite three Tom & Jerry cartoons from the list.
   

TASK TWO: On YOUTUBE, watch the examples listed of their work – see Mrs T’s Animation playlist on the channel ‘Mediamonkeymovies2’ or find them in the Teaching Resources Student Drive in the Resources Library Folder. 

Key Animators for Stage One: (5)
Tex Avery
Chuck Jones
Fred Quimby – (Tom & Jerry) 

OTHER CARTOONS
TASK 3: Hanna Barbera - for help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna-Barbera

1. When did Hanna Barbera first start? Give a VERY brief outline of the history of the company, showing who they were and who they were owned by up to the present day. This should be a mindmap or in note format but put it on your blog. Use Wikipedia for this question. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna-Barbera
   
2. Look at the shows below – see how many you can find clips for on the internet (remember there are more video sites than just Youtube!). For those shows you can find clips for, watch and make some notes on characters, storylines and style – take some screen shots (CMD + SHIFT + 4) – and for those you can’t find video for you can watch, do the same without watching!
   
3. Looking at the list, some of the cartoons ARE NOT from Hanna Barbera. Find out who made them and put them into groups accordingly.
   
4. Having watched the cartoons, answer the following questions:
   a. What are the MAIN, KEY ingredients of these cartoons? Work out what
   you think the cartoon formula is. Think about
   
   1. What makes it funny?
      
   2. What usually happens?
      
   3. Why does the audience like so much if the cartoons are so
      predictable/work to such a formula?
      
      b. Organise the cartoons into a timeline and write it down–make a Bubbl’us or Mindmap to use later. 

      5. EXTENSION–only if you’re ahead! - See if you can organise the Cartoons list into which were shown on the BBC and which were ITV – this is a hard task as you will have to do the research first. Some may be shown on Cartoon Network etc now but pre-Satellite TV (when these were first shown), there were only three channels in the UK (and four after Channel 4 started in 1982). 
      
      

Homework research task – Your own Cartoon history
A. Compile a list of your favourite cartoons from when you were younger to now B. Research them on Wikipedia to answer the following questions:

1. Who made the cartoon?
   
2. Where/on which channels could you view it?
   
3. What is the usual storyline?
   
4. Who are/were the main characters?
   
5. Is the cartoon still on TV/Satellite/Cable?
   
6. Why did you like it
   

C. Put the cartoons in order to create a kind of personal cartoon history
Prepare to put this information on your blog. You have THREE weeks to complete this section. The deadline is: Weds 22nd May 2013 (last lesson before half term).