Help Support the Puppetoon Animation of George Pal on Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[PUPPETOON]

Coming! The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2!
Your continued contributions are very much appreciated.
Screen Credit for all Donors

Details here:
https://www.scifistation.com/puppetoon2.html

In the 1930s and 1940s, long before Academy Award®-winning genius George Pal made classic features like The Time Machine (1960) and The War of the Worlds (1953), he created dazzling stop-motion animated short subjects called PUPPETOONS™. Brilliant by any measure, these works are pure eye candy that must be seen to be believed!

In 1987, working with Mrs. George Pal, Arnold Leibovit produced and directed The Puppetoon Movie©. In 2013, an acclaimed HD restoration of that film was released on Blu-ray and DVD with Puppetoon extras by B2MP Inc. And now…for the first time many more Puppetoons not seen in generations are at last available in this – THE PUPPETOON MOVIE VOLUME 2 Blu-ray DVD Combo.

This will be an historic collector's release comprised of 18 uncut digitally restored Puppetoons in 2K High Definition plus extras. All films are from original 35mm Nitrate IB Technicolor prints or the original Technicolor Successive Exposure Negatives ~ Never before released on any home media format*

Please visit our Facebook Support Progress page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1492382027551288/

* except Ship of the Ether but first time in HD

 

[dana martin]

nice to see this getting a posting here, from the e-mail that i kept as a receipt, guess i was one of the first on board to help the fund the restoration efforts to get this done. And wait to see the finished product, and am waiting to hopefully hear of an initiative to fund the possibility of a volume 3 of Mr. Pal's wonderfully whimsical Puppetoons, stop motion animation that was the precursor of Gumby of Davey and Goliath.

 

[Rodney]

nice to see this getting a posting here, from the e-mail that i kept as a receipt, guess i was one of the first on board to help the fund the restoration efforts to get this done. And wait to see the finished product, and am waiting to hopefully hear of an initiative to fund the possibility of a volume 3 of Mr. Pal's wonderfully whimsical Puppetoons, stop motion animation that was the precursor of Gumby of Davey and Goliath.

You were one of the first. I remember your post from 2018 which informed me of this release, and my email receipt is dated a few days later. Hard to believe so much time has elapsed, but you can't rush labors of love like this one.

 

[PUPPETOON]

You were one of the first. I remember your post from 2018 which informed me of this release, and my email receipt is dated a few days later. Hard to believe so much time has elapsed, but you can't rush labors of love like this one.

Thanks for you patience and support Rodney. The restorations are moving along and the results for many are jaw dropping. My hope is that it will be worth the wait for so many loyal and enthusiastic followers and especially the many wonderful donors to the project.

 

[Brian Kidd]

Oh, wow! This is so exciting! I finally got hold of the first Blu-ray last year and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, I'm not in a place right now to contribute, but should that change, I absolutely will. Best of luck on the project. The Puppetoons I've seen have been astonishing works of art and deserve to be more widely available. Thank you so much for your efforts, Arnold!

 

[Sam Posten]

Hey BTW this thread is Mod and HTF Owner approved! This is the real deal and we welcome discussion and sharing info about this release wide!

 

[PUPPETOON]

Hey BTW this thread is Mod and HTF Owner approved! This is the real deal and we welcome discussion and sharing info about this release wide!

Thanks Sam. I have been posting images and progress on the Facebook Support page for over a year. I certainly will try to post updates here as I can. Right now we are deep into the restoration process where almost all of the European subjects have been restored by Steve Stanchfield of Thunderbean Animation. There are a few subjects I will need to wait for further funding which will occur when I announce the next Volume. In the meantime a selection of those will appear on Volume 2. The emphasis now are the Paramount Pictures subjects which I have been given an exclusive permission to release and restore. Those are true marvels of stop-motion animation and most have not been seen in generations and never in this glorious conditon. The source material are stunning 35mm nitrate prints and successive exposure negatives never before allowed to be accessed. So far the restoration for those look amazing. Much of that work is being done by Tim Romano with RGT Archives. All of this is quite historic and I am so proud to be able to do what has been a lifelong dream of more than 35 years. Again if you go to the Facebook page you can see some progress images and even a few clips. Please ask to join so you will get notifications for updates:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1492382027551288/?ref=bookmarks

Look forward hearing from this community.

All the best,

Arnie Leibovit.

Donations still appreciated at https://www.scifistation.com/puppetoon2.html

 

[PUPPETOON]

Just posted on the Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 Support page: Paramount Presents George Pal’s Madcap Models in Technicolor. Here is the Main Title Card from JASPER GOES HUNTING (1944). Preserved and restored from Paramount Pictures's 35mm IB Technicolor Successive Exposure Negative. Initial preservation of the SEN was underwritten by ASIFA-Hollywood - the Los Angeles branch of the International Animation Film Society who also produces the annual Animation Annie Awards. Further restoration completed by Tim Romano. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1492382027551288/

 

[dana martin]

with the "cameo" that is in this, i was wondering who from Termite Terrace was allowed to go over to Paramount to do the animation, i know that Mel did the voice, but am wondering if the animators were mentioned in the credits as well?

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

with the "cameo" that is in this, i was wondering who from Termite Terrace was allowed to go over to Paramount to do the animation, i know that Mel did the voice, but am wondering if the animators were mentioned in the credits as well?

According to a 1990 book by Joe Adamson, celebrating 50 years of the character in the cameo, it was Robert McKimson himself who cel-animated the bit. This makes sense, since the short was produced a little before McKimson got his first directing gigs, and he was the top animator for the character at the time, having revised the official model sheet to refine the look of the famous toon into what we know him to look like today, in prime form.

 

[PUPPETOON]

According to a 1990 book by Joe Adamson, celebrating 50 years of the character in the cameo, it was Robert McKimson himself who cel-animated the bit. This makes sense, since the short was produced a little before McKimson got his first directing gigs, and was the top animator for the character at the time, having revised his official model sheet to refine the look of the famous toon into what we know him to look like today, in prime form.

Yes it was Robert McKimson who animated Bugs Bunny in his first cameo outside of a Warner Bros. cartoon with the permission of Leon Schlesinger! Attached is the image of Bugs from the current gorgeous restoration!

 

[PUPPETOON]

Bugs Bunny deserves his own post so here's the beautiful restored image of Bugs again in Jasper Goes Hunting (1944) in his first time cameo outside of a Warner Bros. cartoon with the permission of Leon Schlesinger and animated by Robert McKimson!

 

[dana martin]

nice, the reason for the question was simple, each animator and director had their own take on the character, subtle differences, Robert McKimson's Bugs is different than Tex Averys' or Chuck Jones, actually Charles M. Jones Bugs is different than Chuck Jones the evolution of animation.

 

[PUPPETOON]

Hi everyone, the set is getting closer. We still have 5 subjects to restore and a few more clean ups. Steve Stanchfield and his Thunderbean Animation team has been providing wonderful support along with Tim Romano with RGT Archives. I've attached the most recent wrap but it is still being tweaked as there are a couple of new Extras to be added to the text i.e. my two commentary on Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell".

 

[dana martin]

Hi everyone, the set is getting closer. We still have 5 subjects to restore and a few more clean ups. Steve Stanchfield and his Thunderbean Animation team has been providing wonderful support along with Tim Romano with RGT Archives. I've attached the most recent wrap but it is still being tweaked as there are a couple of new Extras to be added to the text i.e. my two commentary on Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell".

Looks wonderful as expected, have been following Steve from Thunderbean on his assistance on this very important project, for those of us that remember when animation had many different and wonderful forms instead of just being manipulate through someones use of a computer. On the Sci-Fi Station site i see that Volume 3 is almost ready for the announcement phase, the question is would that be the end of Mr. Pal's Puppetoons?

again thank you for not letting this piece of Animation History go unseen, like so many others that have been forgotten to the past.

 

[Robert Harris]

Hi everyone, the set is getting closer. We still have 5 subjects to restore and a few more clean ups. Steve Stanchfield and his Thunderbean Animation team has been providing wonderful support along with Tim Romano with RGT Archives. I've attached the most recent wrap but it is still being tweaked as there are a couple of new Extras to be added to the text i.e. my two commentary on Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell".

Are these being recorded back to film as part of your process?

 

[PUPPETOON]

Thanks Dana for your support!

 

[PUPPETOON]

Are these being recorded back to film as part of your process?

Hi Robert, some are and some are not. Some of the ones that Paramount controls were restored using the YCM process with a preservation print and then digitized. But at some point the studio decided to stay in the digital universe by making 4K scans of the SEN (Successive Exposure Negative) with multiple digital back ups rather than make a generation removed print. The same is being done now at Warner Bros. The resulting image is quite stunning when making the scan directly from the negative and staying in the digital universe. The studio can always make a preservation print and in some cases they are of their features. But not the Puppetoons as the costs are prohibitive and frankly not important enough for them to do it. Most of the Europeans were frankly discoveries of long thought lost material. They come from the best available 35mm Technicolor or Gasparcolor nitrate material and in most cases are the only existing source material I was lucky enough to even find. A number of other Paramount titles are derived from deposit 35mm IB Tech nitrate prints via the Library of Congress and UCLA. They are by and large mint prints that have been scanned in 2K by the LOC and UCLA on Laser Graphic scanners. Those remain in digital preserved form. From there full restorations were undertaken using PF Clean and other restoration programs. The resulting images in some cases are quite stunning but they vary. Ultimately, the best that has been seen so far in history. Thanks, Arnold

 

[Robert Harris]

Hi Robert, some are and some are not. Some of the ones that Paramount controls were restored using the YCM process with a preservation print and then digitized. But at some point the studio decided to stay in the digital universe by making 4K scans of the SEN (Successive Exposure Negative) with multiple digital back ups rather than make a generation removed print. The same is being done now at Warner Bros. The resulting image is quite stunning when making the scan directly from the negative and staying in the digital universe. The studio can always make a preservation print and in some cases they are of their features. But not the Puppetoons as the costs are prohibitive and frankly not important enough for them to do it. Most of the Europeans were frankly discoveries of long thought lost material. They come from the best available 35mm Technicolor or Gasparcolor nitrate material and in most cases are the only existing source material I was lucky enough to even find. A number of other Paramount titles are derived from deposit 35mm IB Tech nitrate prints via the Library of Congress and UCLA. They are by and large mint prints that have been scanned in 2K by the LOC and UCLA on Laser Graphic scanners. Those remain in digital preserved form. From there full restorations were undertaken using PF Clean and other restoration programs. The resulting images in some cases are quite stunning but they vary. Ultimately, the best that has been seen so far in history. Thanks, Arnold

Thanks for the response, Arnold.

Perusing the UCLA inventory, a reasonable number of SEs, as well as fine grain protections.

Are you accessing any of the SE elements or working mostly from recombines?

Regardless, best of luck with the endeavor!

 

[PUPPETOON]

Thanks for the response, Arnold.

Perusing the UCLA inventory, a reasonable number of SEs, as well as fine grain protections.

Are you accessing any of the SE elements or working mostly from recombines?

Regardless, best of luck with the endeavor!

I would say about 10 recombines and the rest from other archives in nitrate form. As to the SE's most of the important ones are included in this Volume and later to be announced Vol 3. All I can say I've done the best humanely possible with very limited funds but help from many to make this happen.