Terrytoons was an American animation studio in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including

Fanny Zilch Fanny Zilch is an animated cartoon character, part of the ''Terrytoons'' series. She made her debut in 1933. Her cartoons were musical spoofs of melodrama serials like '' The Perils of Pauline'', in which blonde sweetheart Fanny -- "the Banker's Da ...

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorro ...

Heckle and Jeckle Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon characters created by Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pair of identical anthropomorphic yellow-bi ...

Gandy Goose Gandy Goose is a Terrytoons cartoon character who first appeared in the 1938 short ''Gandy the Goose''. He is frequently paired with Sourpuss, a cat, beginning in the 1939 short ''Hook Link and Sinker''. Sourpuss' first appearance was in the 193 ...

, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Clint Clobber, Tom Terrific,

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

Hector Heathcote Hector Heathcote is a Terrytoons animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer Elias "Eli" Bauer (17 November 1928 - 7 January 1998) was an animation layout and story man and comics artist, having his cartoons appear in such magazines as Sat ...

Hashimoto-san Hashimoto-san is a fictional Japanese mouse created by the Japanese-born animator Bob Kuwahara and Eli Bauer for the Terrytoons animation company. Hashimoto is a judo instructor living in Japan with his wife Hanako, son Saburo, and daughter Yuriko ...

, Sidney the Elephant, Possible Possum, James Hound,

Astronut ''The Astronut Show'' is an animated TV series, produced by the Terrytoons animation studio. It first aired on August 23, 1965. Each episode included an episode of ''Astronut'', '' Hashimoto-san'', and '' Luno The White Stallion''. Astronut firs ...

, Sad Cat,

The Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 20 episodes.

, and Sally Sargent.

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

got his start as an animator, and eventually as a director, at Terrytoons. Terrytoons shorts were originally released to theaters by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. CBS later purchased the Terrytoons library and its theatrical library is now owned by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

History

Pre Terrytoons Era

Terry first worked for

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

in 1916, where he created the

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

Edison Pictures, called "Farmer Al Falfa's Wayward Pup" (1917), and some later cartoons were made for

. Around 1921, Terry founded the Fables animation studio, named for its ''

Aesop's Film Fables ''Aesop's Fables'' (later renamed ''Aesop's Sound Fables'') is a series of animated short subjects, created by American cartoonist Paul Terry. Produced from 1921 to 1933, the series includes ''Closer than a Brother'' (1925), '' The Window Washe ...

'' series, in conjunction with the studio of

Amedee J. Van Beuren Amedee J. Van Beuren (born Amedee Vignot; July 10, 1879 – November 12, 1938) was the producer of Frank Buck's first three films, as well as many cartoons and short films. Early years Van Beuren was born in New York, the son of Alfred Vignot ...

. Fables churned out a Fable cartoon every week for eight years in the 1920s. In 1928, Van Beuren, anxious to compete with the new phenomenon of talking pictures, released Terry's '' Dinner Time'' (released October 1928). Van Beuren then urged Terry to start producing actual sound films, instead of post-synchronizing the cartoons. Terry refused, and Van Beuren fired him in 1929. Almost immediately, Terry and much of his staff started up the Terrytoons studio near his former studio. One staff member during that time was

Art Babbitt Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and al ...

, who went on to become a well-known Disney animator.

Peak era

Through much of its history, the studio was considered one of the lowest-quality houses in the field, to the point where Paul Terry noted, "Let Walt Disney be the

Tiffany's Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

of the business. I want to be the

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

!" Terry's studio had the lowest budgets and was among the slowest to adapt to new technologies such as

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

(in about 1930) and

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

(in 1938). While its graphic style remained remarkably static for decades, it actually followed the sound cartoon trend of the late 1920s and early 1930s very quickly. Background music was entrusted to one man, Philip Scheib, and Terry's refusal to pay royalties for popular songs forced Scheib to compose his own scores. Paul Terry took pride in producing a new cartoon every other week, regardless of the quality of the films. Following the success of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...

'' (1937) Paul Terry considered making an animated feature film adaptation of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' starring Farmer Al Falfa. However, after seeing the commercial failures of Disney's ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

'' and ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' (both 1940) and

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he becam ...

's ''

Mr. Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animated Technicolor feature film produced by Fleischer Studios, previewed by Paramount Pictures on December 5, 1941, and released in California ...

'' (1941), he decided to abandon the project. Until 1957, screen credits were very sparse, listing only the writer (until 1950, solely John Foster; then Tom Morrison thereafter), director (Terry's three main directors were

Connie Rasinski J. Conrad "Connie" Rasinski (January 28, 1907 in Torrington, Connecticut – October 13, 1965 in Larchmont, New York) was an animation director who did the 1952 animated short "Hansel and Gretel" among others. Rasinski's "House of Hashimoto" was ...

, Eddie Donnelly, and Mannie Davis), and musician (musical director Philip A. Scheib). Terrytoons' first distributor was

Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational pr ...

, specialists in short-subject comedies and novelties. Audio-Cinema in the early 1930s backed the production of Terrytoons, and distributed the Educational library internationally, except in the United Kingdom and Ireland where the library was distributed by Educational and Gaumont-British in partnership with the

Ideal Film Company The Ideal Film Company (often known as Ideal Films or simply Ideal) was a British film production and distribution company that operated between 1911 and 1934. The company, based in Soho, London, was started by the two Jewish brothers Harry M ...

. The

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

company (from 1935,

) then released Educational shorts to theaters in the 1930s, giving the Terry cartoons wide exposure. After 20th Century-Fox withdrew its support from Educational Pictures, the company both backed and distributed Terrytoons. Farmer Al Falfa was Terry's most familiar character in the 1930s; Kiko the Kangaroo was spun off the Farmer Al Falfa series. Most of the other cartoons featured generic animal characters. One of the stock designs was a scruffy dog with a black patch around one eye; Terry ultimately built a series around this character, now known as Puddy the Pup. Paul Terry may have realized that Educational was in financial trouble because he found another lucrative outlet for his product. In 1938, he arranged to release his older cartoons through home-movie distributor

Castle Films Castle Films was a film company founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle (1897–1960) in 1924. Originally, Castle Films produced industrial and advertising films. Then in 1937, the company pioneered the production and d ...

. Educational went out of business within the year, but 20th Century Fox continued to release Terrytoons to theaters for the next two decades. With a new emphasis on "star" characters, Terrytoons featured the adventures of Super Mouse (later renamed

), the talking magpies

, silly

, Dinky Duck, mischievous mouse Little Roquefort, and The Terry Bears. Despite the artistic drawbacks imposed by Terry's inflexible business policies, Terrytoons was nominated four times for the

Academy Award for Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

: ''All Out for V'' in 1942, ''My Boy, Johnny'' in 1944, '' Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Life'' in 1945, and ''Sidney's Family Tree'' in 1958.

Changing hands

The studio was sold outright by the retiring Paul Terry to CBS in 1955, but 20th Century Fox (TCF) continued distribution. The deal closed the following year in 1956, and it became a division of the

CBS Films CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019. CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...

subsidiary. Later, in 1957 CBS put it under the management of UPA alumnus

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

, who had to work with even lower budgets. Deitch's most notable works at the studio were the '' Tom Terrific'' cartoon segments for the ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...

'' television show. He also introduced a number of new characters, such as Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon, John Doormat, and Clint Clobber. Before Deitch was fired in 1959, Bill Weiss took complete control of the studio. Under his supervision, ''Heckle and Jeckle'' and ''Mighty Mouse'' went back into production. Besides the three core directors of the Terry era who were still involved as animators and directors, two

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control ...

stalwarts joined the crew, Dave Tendlar and Martin Taras. Other new theatrical cartoon series included ''Hector Heathcote'', ''Luno'' and ''Hashimoto San''. The studio also began producing the ''

'' series for television in 1959. Another television production for the ''Captain Kangaroo'' show was ''The Adventures of Lariat Sam'', which was written in part by Gene Wood, who would later become the announcer for several TV gameshows including ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

''. Phil Scheib continued as the studio's musical director through the mid-1960s when he was replaced by Jim Timmens and Elliott Lawrence. The best-known talent at Terrytoons in the 1960s was animator/director/producer

, who started with Terrytoons in the 1950s as an opaquer, and eventually helmed the ''

Mighty Heroes ''The Mighty Heroes'' is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Ralph Bakshi for the Terrytoons company. The original show debuted on CBS, on October 29, 1966, and ran for one season with 20 episodes.

'' series. Bakshi left Terrytoons in 1967 for Paramount's own cartoon studio, which closed its cartoon unit later that year. He would later go on to produce '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' for television in 1987, which was also produced by

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, voice actor and former animator. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which was ...

of '' Ren & Stimpy'' fame.

Post-history

After the departure of Bakshi, the studio petered out, and finally closed in 1973. As a result of the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

banning TV networks from owning cable television and

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

of television programs, CBS created Viacom International to handle all network programs beyond TV production and network broadcasting. On July 4, 1971, Viacom International spun off from CBS; neither Viacom International nor CBS had any interest in Terrytoons. The Terrytoons film library was still regularly re-released to theaters by Fox. The studio's last short was an unsold TV pilot called ''Sally Sargent'', about a 16-year-old girl who is a secret agent. Soon after ''Sally Sargent'' was completed, Viacom International ended their relationship with Fox and re-releases ceased. Terrytoons’ existence soon came to an end. Art Bartsch, who kept the studio running after Bakshi left, would soon die along with Connie Rasinski, and

Bob Kuwahara Rokuro "Bob" Kuwahara (August 12, 1901 – 1964) was a Japanese-born American animator best known for his work with Walt Disney and Terrytoons between the 1930s and 1960s. Kuwahara was born in Tokyo on August 12, 1901, and his family moved to the U ...

, reducing the studio to a ghost studio with executive producer Bill Weiss and story supervisor Tom Morrison; Viacom kept the studio open until 1972. By October 1972, Viacom International announced that Terrytoons will leave New Rochelle and relocate to Viacom International's office in New York City. By December 29, Viacom sold the now abandoned New Rochelle studio, and the company's fate was forever sealed. Bill Weiss continued Terrytoons production from his New York City office with the 1970s Terrytoons cartoons (especially ''Mighty Mouse'' and ''Deputy Dawg'') being syndicated to many local TV markets, and they were a staple of after-school and Saturday-morning cartoon shows for over three decades, from the 1950s through the 1980s, until the television rights to the library were acquired by

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

in 1989. However, any new cartoons of the studio's stars came from other studios. In the late 1970s,

Filmation Studios Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and p ...

licensed the rights to make a new Mighty Mouse series from Viacom International. Meanwhile, Bakhsi would return to Fox in 1977 with his feature-length films, '' Wizards'', followed by '' Fire and Ice'' in 1983, a latter collaboration with veteran comic book artist

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He i ...

. In 1987, Ralph Bakshi produced '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'', which lasted for two seasons. Bakshi and

inspired the staff to try to get as much Jim Tyer-style drawing in the show as possible. Tyer, a stand-out Terry animator of the original cartoons with a unique style, became a strong influence on the artists of the Bakshi series. Kricfalusi would later go on to create '' Ren & Stimpy'' for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

, one of the first of the three animated shows to air on the network to be dubbed as "Nicktoons" (alongside both ''

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

'' and ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, a ...

'') which would go to spawn other famous properties from said network such as ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

'', ''

The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him ...

'', ''

Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...

'', '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''

Invader Zim ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...

'', ''

PAW Patrol ''PAW Patrol'' is a Canadian computer-animated children's television series, children's television series created by Keith Chapman. It is produced by Spin Master, Spin Master Entertainment, with animation provided by Guru Studio. In Canada, the ...

'', ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpar ...

'', '' Jimmy Neutron'', and ''

My Life as a Teenage Robot ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Set in the fictional town of Tremorton, t ...

''. During that same time, Fox would rebound their success in the animation field—from their line of

adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

television shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

such as ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'', ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

'', ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'', ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'', ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—wh ...

'', ''

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

'', and ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'', to their line of theatrical animated franchises such as ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

'', ''

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

'', ''Dr. Dolittle (franchise), Dr. Dolittle'', ''Night at the Museum (franchise), Night at the Museum'', ''Alvin and the Chipmunks in film, Alvin and the Chipmunks'', ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series), Diary of a Wimpy Kid'', ''Anastasia (1997 film), Anastasia'', ''FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Ferngully'', and ''List of Dragon Ball films, Dragon Ball Z''―and by 1994 Fox would sell its Terrytoons theatrical distribution to Paramount. However, through the years that have followed since the last Terrytoons TV series material in 1988, the rights have been scattered as a result of prior rights issues and the corporate changes involving Viacom (2005–2019), Viacom and CBS Corporation, CBS. Since CBS Corporation re-merged with Viacom to form ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global), reuniting CBS with Paramount, on December 4, 2019, Paramount Pictures now owns the theatrical distribution on behalf of Paramount Animation and CBS Entertainment Group, while CBS Media Ventures owns the television distribution on behalf of CBS Eye Animation Productions to the Terrytoons film library. However, some Terrytoons shorts are believed to be in the public domain and have been issued on low-budget VHS tapes and DVDs. On January 5, 2010, the first official release of any Terrytoons material by CBS Home Entertainment, CBS DVD was issued in the form of the complete series of ''Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures''. In 1999, Nickelodeon attempted to revive the Terrytoons characters as part of a TV series called ''Curbside''. ''Curbside'' would have been a parody of late-night talk shows with Heckle and Jeckle serving as hosts of the show, along with their assistant Dinky Duck, and would have featured new cartoons featuring Terrytoon characters like Deputy Dawg, Sidney the Elephant, and Mighty Mouse. However, it was never picked up, making it the only Terrytoons show that was never officially released. In 2002, the Terrytoons characters returned to television in original commercials for Brazilian blue cheese (for what is now America's Dairy Farmers) and fine wine.

Terrytoons comic books

Among the many licensed Terrytoons products are comic books, mainly published throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The company's characters — including Mighty Mouse, the magpies Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Gandy Goose, and Little Roquefort — were initially licensed to Timely, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, in 1942. St. John Publications took over the license from 1947 to 1956, Pines Comics published Terrytoons comics from 1956 to 1959, Dell Comics made an attempt from 1959 to 1962 (and again later from 1966 to 1967), and finally Western Publishing published Mighty Mouse comics from 1962 all the way up to 1980. The lead title, ''Terry-Toons Comics'', was published by Timely from Oct. 1942–Aug. 1947. With issue #60 (Sept. 1947), publication of the title was taken over by St. John Publications, which published another 27 issues until issue #86 (May 1951). The series continued in 1951 (with duplicate issues #85-86) as ''Paul Terry's Comics'', publishing another 41 issues until May 1955, when it was canceled with issue #125. Timely launched the Mighty Mouse series in 1946. The first St. John Terrytoons comic was ''Mighty Mouse'' #5 (Aug. 1947), its numbering also taken over from the Timely run. That series eventually ran 71 issues with St. John, moving to Pines for 16 issues from Apr. 1956 to Aug. 1959, to Dell for 12 issues from Oct./Dec. 1959–July/Sept. 1962, and Western for 17 issues from Oct. 1962 to Jan. 1980 (with a hiatus from Sept. 1965 to Mar. 1979), finally ending with issue #172. St. John's Terrytoons comics include the field's first Stereoscopy, 3-D comic book, ''Three Dimension Comics'' #1 (Sept. 1953 oversize format, Oct. 1953 standard-size reprint), featuring Mighty Mouse. According to Joe Kubert, co-creator with the brothers Norman Maurer and Leonard Maurer, it sold an exceptional 1.2 million copies at 25 cents apiece at a time when comics cost a dime. Dell Comics published eight issues of a ''New Terrytoons'' title from June/Aug. 1960 to March/May 1962.

Terrytoons comic book titles

* ''Adventures of Mighty Mouse'' (18 issues, November 1951 – May 1955) — St. John * ''Dinky Duck'' (19 issues, November 1951 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Gandy Goose'' (4 issues, March 1953 – November 1953) – St. John * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (32 issues, October 1951 – June 1959) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (4 issues, November 1962 – August 1963) — Western Publishing * ''Heckle and Jeckle'' (3 issues, May 1966 – 1967) — Dell * ''Little Roquefort Comics'' (10 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Mighty Mouse / Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse Comics'' (172 issues, Fall 1946 – January 1980) — launched by Timely; continued by St. John, Pines, Dell, and Western * ''Mighty Mouse Album'' (3 issues, October – December 1952) — St. John * ''New Terrytoons'' (8 issues, June/August 1960 – March/May 1962) — Dell * ''Terry Bears Comics / Terrytoons, the Terry Bears'' (4 issues, June 1952 – Summer 1958) — launched by St. John, continued by Pines * ''Terry-Toons Comics'' / ''Paul Terry's Comics'' (125 issues, Oct. 1942 – May 1955) — launched by Timely Comics, continued by St. John * ''TerryToons Comics'' (9 issues, June 1952 – November 1953) — St. John; separate from ''Terry-Toons Comics'' / ''Paul Terry's Comics''

Terrytoons staff: 1929–1973

(Note: Staff members besides the producer, director, writer, and musical director were left uncredited into 1957.)

Producers

* Paul Terry (1929–1956) * William M. Weiss (Executive Producer; 1955–1973) * Frank Schudde (Production Manager; 1942, 1946–1963)

Directors

* Cosmo Anzilotti (1965–1969) *

(1963, 1965–1967) * Art Bartsch (1958-1968) * Mannie Davis (1936–1961) *

(Supervising Director, 1956–1958) * Eddie Donnelly (1936–1962) * John Foster (cartoonist), John Foster (1937-1938) * George Gordon (animator), George Gordon (1936–1937) * Al Kouzel (1957–1969) *

(1959, 1962–1964) * Frank Moser (1929–1937) *

(1937–1965) * Martin Taras (1959) * Robert Taylor (animator), Robert Taylor (1966–1972) * Dave Tendlar (1959–1971) * Paul Terry (1929–1938) * Bill Tytla (1944, 1962) * Jack Zander (1937) *Volney White (1940-1941)

Writers

* Joseph Barbera * Larz Bourne * Tod Dockstader * John Foster (cartoonist), John Foster * Dick Kinney * Isadore Klein *

* Donald McKee * Tom Morrison * Al Stahl * Kin Platt * Paul Terry *Jack Mercer *Bernie Kahn

Animators

* Cosmo Anzilotti *

* George Bakes *

* Joseph Barbera * Vinnie Bell * Peggy Breese * George Cannata * Don Caulfield * Al Chiarito * Theron Collier * Doug Crane * Mannie Davis * Ed Donnelly * Dave Fern * John Foster (cartoonist), John Foster * John Gentilella * Dan Gordon (animator), Dan Gordon * George Gordon (animator), George Gordon * Juan Guidi * Armand Guidi * T. Hee * Elizabeth Huntemann * Isadore Klein * Bill Kreese * Frank Little * Jim Logan * Frank Moser * John Paratore * Ralph Pearson * Connie Quirk *

* Margaret Roberts * Jerry Shields * Larry Silverman * Milton Stein * Martin Taras * Frank Tashlin * Paul Terry * Reuben Timmins * Jim Tyer * Bill Tytla * Carlo Vinci * Jim Whipp * Gordon Whittier * Volney White * George Zaffo * Jack Zander * Cy Young (animator), Cy Young *Paul Sommer *Robinson McKee *Vivie Risto *Dan Noonan

Design and background artists

* Art Bartsch * Eli Bauer * Robert Blanchard * Anderson Craig * Bill Hilliker * W.M. Stevens * Robert Taylor (animator), Robert Taylor * John Vita * George Zaffo * John Zago * Lin Larsen * Bill Tytla *Charles Thorson

Sound directors

* George McAvoy * Tom Morrison

Voice actors

* Elvi Allen * Dayton Allen * Bern Bennett * Herschel Bernardi * Bradley Bolke * Roy Halee * Margie Hines * Betty Jaynes (actress), Betty Jaynes * Arthur Kay (musician), Arthur Kay * Norma MacMillan * Bob McFadden * Jo Miller * Tom Morrison * Doug Moye * John Myhers * Sid Raymond * Philip A Scheib * Ken Schoen * Ned Sparks * Allen Swift * Paul Terry * Lionel Wilson (voice actor), Lionel Wilson * Patricia Terry

Musical directors

* Philip A. Scheib (1930–1973) * Jim Timmens (1964–1973)

Productions

: ''See List of Terrytoons animated shorts for complete filmography''

Cartoon series

* ''Aesop's Fables (film series), Aesop's Fables'' (1929-1933) (Inherited from The Van Beuren Corporation) * ''

'' (1964–1971) * '' Clint Clobber'' (1957–1959) * ''

'' (1960–1964) * ''Dimwit'' (1953–1957) * ''Dingbat'' (1950) * '' Dinky Duck'' (1939–1957) * ''Duckwood'' (1964) * ''

'' (1933-1938) * ''

Farmer Al Falfa Farmer Al Falfa (also known as Farmer Alfalfa),
at

'' (1938–1955) * ''Gaston Le Crayon'' (1957–1959) * ''Good Deed Daily'' (1955–1956) * ''Half Pint'' (1951) * ''Hashimoto-san, Hashimoto'' (1959–1963) * ''

'' (1946–1966) * ''

'' (1959–1971) * ''James Hound'' (1966–1967) * ''John Doormat'' (1957–1959) * ''Kiko the Kangaroo'' (1936–1937) * ''Little Roquefort'' (1950–1955) * ''Luno The White Stallion'' (1963–1964) * ''Martian Moochers'' (1966) * ''

'' (1942–1961) * ''Nancy and Sluggo'' (1942) * ''Possible Possum'' (1965–1971) * ''Puddy the Pup'' (1935–1942) * ''Sad Cat'' (1965–1968) * ''Sidney the Elephant'' (1958–1963) * ''The Terry Bears'' (1951–1956)

TV series

* ''Barker Bill's Cartoon Show'' (1953–1956) * ''Mighty Mouse Playhouse'' (1955–1967) * ''CBS Cartoon Theatre'' (1956) * ''The Heckle and Jeckle Show'' (1956) * '' Tom Terrific'' (1957) * ''Deputy Dawg, The Deputy Dawg Show'' (1959–1964) * ''The Adventures of Lariat Sam'' (1962) * ''The Hector Heathcote Show'' (1963) * ''The Astronut Show'' (1965) * ''

, &

'' (1966–1967) * ''Sally Sargent'' (1968) (pilot) * ''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle'' (1979-1980) * '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' (1987–1988) * ''Curbside'' (1999) (pilot)

Appearances in other media

Many of the characters (such as Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, and others) were slated to make cameos in the 1988 film ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', but only the Timid Pig, Looey Lion, and a character resembling Gandy Goose appeared. They can all be seen during the film's finale. They were also planned to appear in the deleted scene of Marvin Acme's funeral.

References

External links

* *
Post Paul Terry era filmography
{{Children's programming on CBS Terrytoons, 1929 establishments in New York (state) 1956 mergers and acquisitions 1972 disestablishments in New York (state) 1972 mergers and acquisitions American animation studios American companies disestablished in 1972 American companies established in 1929 Companies based in New Rochelle, New York Mass media companies disestablished in 1972 Defunct companies based in New York (state) Mass media companies established in 1929 Fox animation 20th Century Studios franchises Paramount Global subsidiaries Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures franchises