
The 50 Greatest Cartoonsnote is a list compiled in 1994 by animation historian Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew, along with many others in the animation field. The criteria were that each cartoon be under 30 minutes long and cel animated (with Gertie the Dinosaur being the sole exception, since it predates cels). Tellingly, 43 of the shorts are from The Golden Age of Animationnote ; 17 of those are from the Warner Bros. studio (a full fifth of the list having been directed by Chuck Jones).
Compare to The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes, which shares many of the Warner Bros. cartoons featured on this list.
The Main List:
- "What's Opera, Doc?" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1957
- "Duck Amuck" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1953
- "The Band Concert" Wilfred Jackson, Disney, 1935
- "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1953
- "One Froggy Evening" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1955
- "Gertie the Dinosaur" Winsor McCay, 1914
- "Red Hot Riding Hood" Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1943
- "Porky in Wackyland" Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1938
- "Gerald McBoing-Boing" Robert Cannon, UPA (Columbia Pictures), 1951
- "King Size Canary" Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1947
- "The Three Little Pigs" Burt Gillett, Disney, 1933
- "Rabbit of Seville" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1950
- "Steamboat Willie" Ub Iwerks, Disney, 1928
- "The Old Mill" Wilfred Jackson and Graham Heid, Disney, 1937
- "Bad Luck Blackie" Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1949
- "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1946
- "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor" Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1936
- "The Skeleton Dance" Ub Iwerks, Disney, 1929
- "Snow White (1933)" (The Betty Boop version) Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1933
- "Minnie the Moocher" Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1932
- "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs" Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1943
- "Der Fuehrer's Face" Jack Kinney, Disney, 1943
- "Little Rural Riding Hood" Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1949
- "The Tell-Tale Heart" Ted Parmelee, Columbia Cartoons, 1953
- "The Big Snit" Richard Condie, National Film Board of Canada, 1985
- "Brave Little Tailor" Burt Gillett, Disney, 1938
- "Clock Cleaners" Ben Sharpsteen, Disney, 1937
- "Northwest Hounded Police" Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1946
- "Adventures In Music: Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" Charles Nicholls and Ward Kimball, Disney, 1953
- "Rabbit Seasoning" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1952
- "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1950
- "The Cat Came Back" Cordell Barker, Richard Condie (National Film Board of Canada), 1988
- "The Mad Scientist" aka "Superman" Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1941
- "You Ought to Be in Pictures" Friz Freleng, Warner Bros., 1940
- "Ali Baba Bunny" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1957
- "Feed the Kitty" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1952
- "Bimbo's Initiation" Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios, 1931
- "Bambi Meets Godzilla" Marv Newland, 1969
- "Little Red Riding Rabbit" Friz Freleng, Warner Bros., 1944
- "Peace on Earth" Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
- "Rooty Toot Toot" John Hubley, Columbia Cartoons, 1953
- "The Cat Concerto" William Hanna and Joe Barbera, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1946
- "Woody Woodpecker: The Barber of Seville" James "Shamus" Culhane, Walter Lantz, 1944
- "The Man Who Planted Trees" (L'homme qui plantait des arbres) Frédéric Back, 1987
- "Book Revue" Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1946
- "Quasi at the Quackadero" Sally Cruikshank, 1975
- "A Corny Concerto" Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1943
- "The Unicorn in the Garden" William T. Hurtz, Columbia Cartoons, 1953
- "The Dover Boys at Pimento University or the Rivals of Roquefort Hall" Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1942
- "Felix in Hollywood" Otto Messmer, Pat Sullivan Studio, 1923
The Runners-Up
Besides the main list, the book also included a list of 57 runner up cartoons that almost made it to the list, but ultimately didn't get enough votes. Unsurprisingly, 45 of these shorts are also from The Golden Age of Animation. For convenience, they are posted below:- Allegretto Oskar Fischinger, 1936
- Balloon Land Ub Iwerks, Celebrity Pictures, 1935
- Baseball Bugs Friz Freleng, Warner Bros, 1946
- The Big Snooze Bob Clampett, Creator/Warner Bros, 1946
- Blitz Wolf Tex Avery, MGM, 1942
- The Box Fred Wolf, Murakami-Wolf Films, 1967
- Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1942
- Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1944
- Crac Frédéric Back, 1981
- The Cracked Nut Walter Lantz, Universal, 1941
- The Crunch Bird Ted Petok, Maxwell-Petok-Petrovich Productions, 1971
- Education for Death Clyde Geronimi, Walt Disney Pictures, 1943
- Ersatz Dusan Vukotic, Zagreb Film, 1961 (only European cartoon on list)
- Fast and Furry-ous Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1949
- Ferdinand the Bull Dick Rickard, Walt Disney Pictures 1938
- Flebus Ernest Pintoff, Terrytoons, 1957
- Flowers and Trees Burt Gillett, Walt Disney Pictures, 1932
- Frank Film Frank Mouris, 1973
- The Furies Sara Petty, 1978 (unavailable for decades, uploaded online
in 2018)
- Gorilla My Dreams Robert McKimson, Warner Bros., 1948
- Hair-Raising Hare Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1946
- I Love to Singa Tex Avery, Warner Bros., 1936
- Kitty Kornered Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1946
- Koko's Earth Control Max Fleischer, 1928
- Little Nemo Winsor McCay, 1911
- Lonesome Ghosts Burt Gillett, Walt Disney Pictures, 1937
- Lupo the Butcher Danny Antonucci, 1987
- The Mechanical Monsters Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1941
- Mickeys Service Station Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1935
- Mickeys Trailer Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1938
- Moonbird John and Faith Hubley, Hubley Studios, 1959
- Mother Goose Goes Hollywood Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Pictures, 1938
- Mouse Cleaning Bill Hanna And Joe Barbera, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1948
- Moving Day Ben Sharpsteen, Walt Disney Pictures, 1936
- Music Land Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Pictures, 1935
- The Old Grey Hare Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1944
- The Old Man of the Mountain Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1933
- Plane Crazy Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, 1928
- The Pointer Gerry "Clyde" Geronimi, Walt Disney Pictures, 1939
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1937
- Poor Cinderella Dave Fleischer, Paramount Pictures, 1934
- Rabbit Hood Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1949
- Rhapsody in Rivets Friz Freleng, Warner Bros., 1941
- Rhapsody Rabbit Friz Freleng, Warner Bros., 1946
- Scaredy Cat Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1948
- Screwball Squirrel Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1944
- Señor Droopy Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1949
- The Street Caroline Leaf, National Film Board of Canada, 1976
- The Sunshine Makers Ted Eshbaugh, Van Beuren Studios, 1935
- Swing Shift Cinderella Tex Avery, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1945
- A Tale of Two Kitties Bob Clampett, Warner Bros., 1942
- Thru the Mirror David Hand, Disney, 1936
- Tweetie Pie Friz Freleng, Warner Bros., 1947
- When Magoo Flew Pete Burness, Columbia Cartoons, 1955
- Who Killed Cock Robin? David Hand, Disney, 1935
- A Wild Hare Tex Avery, Warner Bros., 1940
- Your Face Bill Plympton, 1987
Tropes In The Book Itself:
- Loads and Loads of Characters: The cover spread (both front and back) has a whopping 67 different cartoon characters (all of them from the cartoons within) spread across it.