Note that Paramount’s Popeye re-releases still ranked in the top-ten! Three of the six pictured were only in reissue. You wouldn’t know from this page out of Motion Picture Herald’s Annual Box Office Champions survey (1959-60) that theatrical shorts were a dying breed. 220 cartoons were produced (over 60 were produced by Paramount itself, the others farmed out to Gene Deitch, Jack Kinney, Larry Harmon, Halas and Batchelor, and others). Popeye may have ended his run as a theatrical cartoon series, but in 1960 Paramount Studio was called upon to be the central hub of new pack of TV cartoons for King Features Syndicate. Below that: publicity sheets from Harvey, spreading the word to its comic books dealers and newsstand salesman and comic books created to exploit the new network show. Here’s a few storyboard panels:īELOW: Here are some excerpts from the ABC Pressbook which went out to all the local stations to help promote Matty’s Funday Funnies.īELOW: Letters from ABC to Alfred Harvey telling of the phenomenal ratings success of Matty’s Funday Funnies. Seymour Kneitel and the Paramount Cartoon Studio also profited by success – the studio created openings, bumpers ad commercials to support the series. Harvey Comics had taken a gamble, and it instantly paid off in comic book sales, and toy merchandising. In October 1959, all the Paramount theatrical cartoons released between September 19 made their debut, sponsored by Mattel Toys, on the ABC Television network. The 1959-60 season was a busy one for the Paramount Cartoon Studio – but not all of the work was for Paramount, nor was it for the big screen.
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