Here are the opening two pan shots of “Slumber Party Smarty,” one of the earliest Yogi Bear cartoons put into production in 1958 (Yogi still has a mask around his eyes). Fernando Montealegre is responsible for the backgrounds in this cartoon from layouts by Dick Bickenbach.
On the horizontal pan shot below featuring Yogi, the pavement stones indicate the floor. Very '50s, UPA concept.
The bulk of the cartoon is shot inside Yogi’s cave. Here’s another interior. Nice window you’ve got, Yogi. Looking toward the left of the drawing, it appears the stones might be on an overlay. I think I can detect a line edge. Lew Marshall drew the sleep-walking bear.
This is a pre-formula cartoon. No picnic baskets, Boo Boo, Ranger Smith or endless chatter. Yogi may be in a generic cave, not Jellystone Park. Even today, fans love the Yogi formula but I still really like these early cartoons before Yogi’s setting was codified. And this one contains my favourite drawing of the self-pitying, manipulative duckling who later become the more upbeat Yakky Doodle. The drawer closes on his head. Now that’s comedy!
Yowp, I love the early Yogi cartoons also. The picture of Yogi by the window is when the duck wakes up and sees Yogi sleepwalking. What has always been a great laugh to me is that fact that the duck knows Yogi is a bear. Yet, he wakes, sees Yogi sleepwalking and says; " A Big Ol bear ". Grabs the gun from the rack and shoots Yogi. I love what follows. The duck informs Yogi that he shot a bear..and Yogi with smoke rising from his clothes retorts " I know,Daniel Boone, I know! ".Maybe he didn't know he was a bear. Same way Postman Huck tries to out wit...dogs. Great cartoon. Love what some may call the " Unrefined " look of Yogi and Huck in the early ones
ReplyDeleteI love these! More HD backgrounds, please! They're gorgeous! Thank you for the consistent updates of your blog. It's REALLY appreciated. I come back almost every day. :-)
ReplyDeleteOne of the things about this cartoon, and several of the other early ones, is that Yogi is beleaguered, and falls victim to the rule of "No good deed goes unpunished". There's also a grouchy side to his persona that comes out as the result of being the character to takes it more than he dishes it out, which would become the case more and more as the series progressed, and Ranger Smith became the main foil for the stories.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are a few good cartoons with Ranger Smith, but I think it was the beginning of the end for Yogi, just as it was for the Flintstones as soon as Pebbles and Bam-Bam show up. The art, voices and gags were all better in the early cartoons...
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