THE MUTILATION OF THE a.a.p. PACKAGE
BY ARGUS SVENTON
In 1956, Associated Artists Productions got, what I consider to be the most wanted syndicated cartoon package of its time. I'm referring to the color Warner Bros cartoons made before mid-1948 as well as the Paramount Popeye cartoons.
But if you saw the cartoons that aap bought back in 1956 today, you'd be shocked at what's happened to these cartoons since then.
First off, there's the Blue Ribbon reissues. Click here for a list of Blue Ribbon reissues. These reissues denied us the opportunity to see the original end and opening titles. Of course, AAP could do nothing about it, as they were only getting what Warner Brothers was selling them.
AAP also had a contract with Paramount Pictures, prohibiting the issuing of cartoons with the Paramount logo attached. Interestingly enough, Paramount's copyright remained on the cartoons. Since Paramount was still producing Popeye cartoons, they retained theatrical rights through 1967. On June 27, 1956, when AAP acquired the Popeye cartoons, Paramount was still producing Popeye cartoons. The first Popeye cartoon released after the sale was "Assault and Flattery".
When production stopped in 1957, the remaining Popeye cartoons were acquired by AAP as well and syndicated to television stations.
If you have read the aap section of my cartoon distributors site, you know how Ted Turner got his hands on them. Let's flash forward to 1986.
Ted Turner, having purchased the aap package of Warner Bros movies and color cartoons, the MGM and RKO film libraries, as well as the Paramount Popeyes, begins to computer colorize the live action movies. King Kong, Citizen Kane, Casablanca,, as well as a few other well known movies are computer colorized.
But the black and white cartoons that aap owned, like the Harman-Ising Merrie Melodies, and the Popeye cartoons were a different story. Turner had the black and whites redrawn in the same manner as the B&W Looney Tunes were done in 1970. Also, some of the cartoons' original titles returned on the color cartoons. New prints were done on the post-sale cartoons, and on the ones done in Cinecolor and Polacolor, with the Paramount logo. Turner managed to restore "Alpine for You", with an interesting gag involving Bluto and the Paramount logo.
Meanwhile, the black and white cartoons were redrawn in color. The opening and closing a.a.p. logos were done in all sorts of strange color combinations. Seeing a redrawn a.a.p. logo is a sight to behold.
But these weren't just ordinary cartoons. Some were done with 3-D live-action backgrounds. When they were redrawn, the cartoons' backgrounds were reduced to images. The cartoons were ruined in the process.
Of course, when they appeared in the access syndication package in 1988, I was of the impression they were redone in the same manner as the live action films. Viewers like me were never told they were redrawn in Korea.
Eventually, the Popeye cartoons made their way to TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. But that was just the beginning of the mutilation of the a.a.p. package.
"DUBBED VERSIONS"
Special thanks to William A. Padron and Jon Cooke for providing some of the info in the following section. Here is a link to the articles about the "DUBBED VERSIONS".
The aap WB cartoon package is now being remastered. Therefore, the Associated Artists Productions logo, for years, a staple of kids show programming is being removed. But that isn't the only thing redone. The original end titles are being redone with a generic end title, which looks like, IMHO, it was a computer graphic instead of the original title.
In "The Old Grey Hare", there was a end gag involving the end title shaking. In the "Dubbed Version", it doesn't shake anymore. I think the disclaimer is put there, because some of these cartoons may be public domain.
As the AAP Vanishes Quickly And the Paramount Logo Reappears in a Random Manner
The associated artists productions logo, had for the most part remained on the Popeye cartoons, until just recently. I started noticing cartoons that once had the aap logo in the 1988 syndicated package, now had the Paramount logo. But they were redone in a quick manner.
courtesy of Ken Layton
1956 titles were affixed to most of the color Popeye cartoons, which had the aap logo during their run in the Turner syndication. Even the ones made in the mid-40's had 1956 titles affixed to them. The 1956 titles had the Paramount logo with clouds in the background. The words "A Paramount Picture" were nearer to the top of the mountain in the 1956 titles. Also, the type was thicker than the 1940's titles, depicted below.
Click here to see the original end title to a Little Lulu cartoon in 1945. This also was used as the end title for Popeye in 1944.
Above are the two end Paramount cartoon logos from the late 1940's.
Some of the 1956 openings dubbed over the a.a.p. openings of the 1940's cartoons did not contain the Famous Studios logo. Famous Studios was dissolved into Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956.
But the redrawn cartoons were also redone in all manners of combinations. Some had a Popeye head opening affixed to them. This opening was from the 1941-42 season. This opening is described at Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research site. Sometimes, the opening title card was frozen for a few seconds. Some even still had the a.a.p. closing at the end.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE
THE MERRIE MELODIES
Future "dubbed versions" should be redone in a different manner. Obviously, the copyright statements at the end of the cartoons, should be removed. The original opening music, opening titles, and closing titles should be shown. The aap logo should be preserved on a few lesser known cartoons. The aap logo is a part of the cartoons' history, and can be kept for future generations, to know more about this company.
Of particular interest and concern is "The Old Grey Hare". Its original end gag is not there anymore, because of the "Dubbed Version" end title card. The end titles from the original cartoons should be used, and if a disclaimer is needed, why not put it somewhere else.
POPEYE
The Popeye cartoons should be restored in a better manner. First, go back to the original black and white elements and restore the original Paramount logos, from "Protek the Weakerist", the only Fleischer Popeye cartoon with original Paramount logos. Through the contributions of "Hips", one of this site's benefactors, we now show you these logos, "redrawn" of course.
The following is a list of the Popeye cartoons made in the 3-D process.
For Better or Worser
King of the Mardi Gras
I-Ski Love-Ski You-Ski
Bridge Ahoy!
I Wanna Be A Lifeguard
Let's Get Movin'
Little Swee'pea
The Spinach Roadster
Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
I Never Changes My Altitude
Protek the Weakerist
Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
Learn Polikeness
The opening Paramount logo from "Protek the Weakerst" should be put at the beginning of these particular cartoons. The end title card from "Protek the Weakerist" should be used for the opening for the other B&W pre-1941 Paramount Popeye cartoons.
Click here for an article written by the International Popeye Fan Club about the redrawn Popeye cartoons.
The WWII B&W Popeye cartoons' original Paramount openings were posted onJerry Beck's Cartoon Research recently. If these elements can be restored to the B&W cartoons, and they can with Beck's help, IMHO, it would improve their quality.
The B&W cartoons should be computer colorized carefully, to preserve the 3-D backgrounds. The color Popeye cartoons should be restored with correct titles. Surely, the original titles exist to these cartoons.
IN CLOSING
The efforts made by Ted Turner and Warner Bros. in restoring the aap library have not impressed me. Cartoon Network continues to relegate the Popeyes to ACME Hour and Late Nite Black and White. "Dubbed Versions" will continue, and eventually, we won't be able to tell a pre-40 from a pre-48 cartoon. We'll never get to appreciate the 3-D backgrounds.
Recently, Turner Classic Movies aired a documentary on film preservations. While watching a "redrawn" print of "The Adventures of Popeye", I was disturbed that Turner hadn't practiced what he preached in restoring cartoons.
MAJOR NEWS, THE POPEYE CARTOONS ARE NOW BEING RESTORED!
PART I: Sock a Bye Baby Starts a New Era In Popeye's History
December 9, 2001: 2nd Update: A Little Bit of Everything But No 3-D Backgrounds Yet
Click above links to read the story of the restoration of Popeye.
Click here to return to the aap page.
courtesy of Ken Layton
