Max Fleischer's Gabby (Plus Bonus Cartoons)

After making their first big-budget feature-length movie Gulliver's Travels (1939) animation pioneers Max and Dave Fleischer looked for ways to maximize the film's potential. Perhaps inspired by how Dopey from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) had become a merchandising phenomenon, they decided to spin off Gabby, the Lilliputian town crier from Gulliver, into his own theatrical cartoon shorts. Beginning with October 1940's King for a Day, the series followed the nosy Gabby as he tirelessly irritated the king, mayor, and even firefighters of Lilliput. As in Gulliver, he was played by animator/voice actor Pinto Colvig, most famous as the voice of Disney's Goofy. The outbreak of WWII meant that the Fleischers were unable to claim Gulliver's overseas profits, putting them in the red. They went bankrupt and were bought out by Paramount, who turned the remains of their animation company into Famous Studios. Though they continued many of the Fleischers' popular series like Popeye, Betty Boop, and Superman, Famous Studios never made a single Gabby cartoon, letting the character fall into obscurity. King for a Day (1940) All's Well (1941) Two for the Zoo (1941) Swing Cleaning (1941) Fire Cheese (1941) Gabby Goes Fishing (1941) It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day (1941) BONUS: Color Classics To compete with Disney's Silly Symphonies, the Fleischer brothers started incorporating vibrant three-strip Technicolor into their cartoons. These shorts, called Color Classics, were heartfelt morality tales purposefully at odds with the racy material the Fleischers had previously been known for. They also made stunning use of the Stereoptical process invented by Max, in which animation cels were filmed in front of real three-dimensional backgrounds. Five of these unique cartoons are included on this set, though more can be found on the Alpha Video release Max Fleischer Color Classics, 1934-1940 (ALP 7845D). Hawaiian Birds (1936) Play Safe (1936) A Car-Tune Portrait (1937) Little Lamby (1937) Hold It! (1938).