Noveltoons was a long running anthology series of animated cartoons produced by the Paramount Pictures cartoon outlet Famous Studios from 1943 to the close of the studio in 1967. Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey all got their start from this series. It was the successor series to the Color Classics series produced by Fleischer Studios (indeed, several Noveltoons would feature characters who originated in Color Classics). This series was also very similar to the two series from Warner Bros., Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in that it features several recurring characters under one umbrella title.
As the studio system began to collapse and the Golden Age of animation was coming to an end, Paramount began to see little value in their cartoons and the characters they had owned/created. Ultimately, the pre-October 1950 Noveltoons were sold to television distributor U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. in 1956. National Telefilm Associates acquired those cartoons soon afterward. Paramount sold the rest of the Noveltoons from that point, including the characters who appeared in them, to Harvey Comics in 1959. As new Noveltoons were produced, they were also sold to Harvey, until 1962. Harvey Comics was later sold to Classic Media in 2000.
Currently, the Noveltoons trademarks, characters and related elements, including the October 1950-1962 cartoons, are owned by Universal Studios through their DreamWorks Classics unit, as they acquired DreamWorks Animation in 2016. Universal also owns their own Golden Age cartoons and characters created by Walter Lantz, making them the second studio along with Warner Bros. to own multiple Golden Age cartoon libraries from other studios (Warner Bros. owns the MGM cartoon library as well as Paramount's Popeye cartoons through Turner Entertainment). Ironically, Universal also owns most of Paramount's pre-November 1949 sound features through the In Name Only unit, EMKA, Ltd. As for the pre-October 1950 cartoons, Paramount managed to retrieve them in 1999, when NTA's successor, Republic Pictures, was merged with Paramount by parent Viacom (which acquired Republic's parent, Spelling Entertainment, in 1994 thanks to its merger with Blockbuster); however, many of them have since fallen into the public domain due to NTA not renewing their copyrights.
- No Mutton Fer Nuttin' (1943) Public Domain.
- The Henpecked Rooster (1944) Public Domain.
- Cilly Goose (1944) Public Domain
- Suddenly It's Spring (1944): Starring Raggedy Ann. Public Domain.
- Yankee Doodle Donkey (1944) Public Domain.
- Gabriel Churchkitten (1944)
- When G.I. Johnny Comes Home (1945) Public Domain.
- Scrappily Married (1945) Public Domain.
- A Lamb in a Jam (1945)
- A Self-Made Mongrel (1945) Public Domain.
- The Friendly Ghost (1945): The debut of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Public Domain.
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm (1945) Public Domain.
- Cheese Burglar (1946) Public Domain.
- Sheep Shape (1946) Public Domain.
- The Goal Rush (1946): Though not apart of Screen Songs it presents itself in a similar fashion. Features snippets of the songs "Slum and Gravy", "Notre Dame Victory March" and "Anchors Aweigh".
- Sudden Fried Chicken (1946) Public Domain.
- Spree for All (1946) Starring Snuffy Smith. Considered a lost cartoon, sans a VERY low quality Black and White print.
- The Stupidstitious Cat (1947) Public Domain.
- The Enchanted Square (1947) Starring Raggedy Ann. Public Domain.
- Madhattan Island (1947): Though not apart of Screen Songs it presents itself in a similar fashion. Features snippets of the songs "Sidewalks of New York", "Forty Second Street" and "Penthouse Serenade".
- Much Ado About Mutton (1947) Public Domain.
- The Wee Men (1947) Public Domain.
- The Mild West (1947): Though not apart of Screen Songs it presents itself in a similar fashion. Features the song "I'm an Old Cowhand". Public Domain.
- Naughty But Mice (1947) Public Domain.
- Santa's Surprise (1947) Public Domain. The debut of Little Audrey.
- Cat O' Nine Ails (1948) Considered a lost cartoon, sans a single print in the UCLA Film and Television archive.
- Flip Flap (1948) Public Domain. Based on the "Calling all Kids" comic book. Only Noveltoons to be released in Polacolor.
- We're in the Honey (1948)
- The Bored Cuckoo (1948) Public Domain. Based on the "Funny Book" Magazine.
- There's Good Boos Tonight (1948): A follow-up to The Friendly Ghost. Public Domain.
- The Land of the Lost (1948)
- Butterscotch and Soda (1948) Public Domain.
- The Mite Makes Right (1948) Public Domain.
- Hector's Hectic Life (1948) Public Domain.
- The Old Shell Game (1948) Public Domain.
- The Little Cut-Up (1949)
- Hep Cat Symphony (1949) Public Domain.
- The Lost Dream (1949) Public Domain.
- Little Red School Mouse (1949) Public Domain.
- A Haunting We Will Go (1949): Another follow-up to The Friendly Ghost. Public Domain.
- A Mutt in a Rut (1949) Public Domain.
- Campus Capers (1949) Public Domain.
- Leprechauns Gold (1949) Public Domain.
- Song of the Birds (1949): A remake of the 1930's Color Classic short, starring Little Audrey. Public Domain.
- Land of the Lost Jewels (1950) Public Domain.
- Quack-A-Doodle-Doo (1950): The debut of Baby Huey. Public Domain.
- Teacher's Pest (1950) Public Domain.
- Tarts and Flowers (1950) Public Domain.
- Ups An' Downs Derby (1950) Public Domain.
- Pleased to Eat You (1950) Public Domain.
- Goofy Goofy Gander (1950) Public Domain.
- Saved by the Bell (1950)Public Domain.
- Mice Meeting You (1950)note
- The Voice of the Turkey (1950)
- Sock-A-Bye Kitty (1950)
- One Quack Mind (1951)
- Mice Paradise (1951)
- Hold the Lion Please (1951)
- Land of Lost Watches (1951)
- As the Crow Lies (1951)
- Slip Us Some Redskin (1951)
- Party Smarty (1951)
- Cat-Choo (1951)
- Audrey the Rainmaker (1951)
- Cat Tamale (1951)
- By Leaps and Hounds (1951)
- Scout Fellow (1951)
- Cat Carson Rides Again (1952)
- The Awful Tooth (1952)
- Law and Audrey (1952)
- City Kitty (1952)
- Clown on the Farm (1952)
- The Case of the Cockeyed Canary (1952)
- Feast and Furious (1952)
- Starting from Hatch (1953)
- Winner by a Hare (1953)
- Better Bait Than Never (1953)
- Surf Bored (1953)
- Huey's Ducky Daddy (1953)
- The Seapreme Court (1954) Public Domain.
- Crazytown (1954) Public Domain.
- Hair Today Gone Tomorrow (1954)
- Candy Cabaret (1954)
- The Oily Bird (1954)
- Fide Beta Kappa (1954)
- No Ifs, Ands or Butts (1954)
- Dizzy Dishes (1955)
- Git Along Lil' Duckie (1955)
- News Hound (1955)
- Poop Goes the Weasel (1955)
- Rabbit Punch (1955)
- Little Audrey Riding Hood (1955)
- Kitty Cornered (1955)
- Sleuth But Sure (1956)
- Swab the Duck (1956)
- Pedro and Lorenzo (1956)
- Sir Irving and Jeames (1956)
- Lion in the Roar (1956)
- Pest Pupil (1957) Public Domain.
- Fishing Tackler (1957)
- Mr. Money Gags (1957)
- L'Amour the Merrier (1957)
- Possom Pearl (1957)
- Jumping with Toy (1957)
- Jolly the Clown (1957)
- Cock-A-Doodle Dino (1957)
- Dante Dreamer (1958)
- Sportickles (1958)
- Grateful Gus (1958)
- Finnigan's Flea (1958)
- Okey Dokey Donkey (1958)
- Chew Chew Baby (1958)
- Travelaffs (1958)
- Stork Raving Mad (1958)
- Dawg Gawn (1958) Public Domain.
- The Animal Fair (1959)
- Houndabout (1959)
- Huey's Father's Day (1959)
- Out of This Whirl (1959)
- Be Mice to Cats (1960)
- Monkey Doodles (1960)
- Peck Your Own Home (1960)
- Silly Science (1960)
- Counter Attack (1960)
- Turning The Fables (1960)
- Munro (1960) — Oscar for Best Animated Short Filmnote
- Fine Feathered Fiend (1960)
- The Planet Mouseola (1960)
- Northern Mites (1960)
- Miceniks (1960)
- The Lion's Busy (1961)
- Hound About That (1961)
- Alvin's Solo Flight (1961)
- Goodie the Gremlin (1961)
- Trick or Tree (1961)
- Cape Kidnaveral (1961)
- Turtle Scoop (1961)
- Abner the Baseball (1961)
- Kozmo Goes to School (1961)
- Good and Guilty (1962)
- T.V. or No T.V. (1962)note
- Anatole (1962)
- Yule Laff (1962)
- It's For The Birdies (1962)
- Fiddlin' Around (1962)
- Without Time or Reason (1962)
- Good Snooze Tonight (1963)
- A Sight For Squaw Eyes (1963)
- Gramps To The Rescue (1963)
- Hobo's Holiday (1963): Final Paramount cartoon to feature the "Bouncing Ball" aesthetic. Features the song "The Big Rock Candy Mountain".
- Hound For Pound (1963)
- The Sheepish Wolf (1963)
- Hiccup Hound (1963)
- Ollie the Owl (1963)
- Whiz Quiz Kid (1964)
- Laddy and His Lamp (1964)
- A Tiger's Tail (1964)
- Homer on the Range (1964)
- The Story of George Washington (1965)
- A Leak in the Dike (1965)
- Tally Hokum (1965)
- Geronimo & Son (1965)
- Horning In (1965)
- A Hair Raising Tale (1965)
- Space Kid (1966)
- Op, Pop, Wham And Bop (1966)
- Sick Transit (1966)
- The Trip (1967)
- Robin Hoodwinked (1967)
Tropes:
- Animated Adaptation: The short "Gabriel Churchkitten" (1944) is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Margot Austin (republished in Churchmouse Stories.)
- The Land of the Lost subseries is an adaptation of a radio serial of the same name by Isabel Manning Hewson.
- Dogs Love Fire Hydrants: "The Goal Rush" has a scene where the football team of cats use a fire hydrant to distract one of the dog players.
- Have a Gay Old Time: Related to "Poop Goes The Weasel". Back then, "Poop" didn't have the same context as it does today.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: In "Out of This Whirl" a Martian shrinks a policeman down to a tiny size when he attempts to write a speeding ticket to the housewife that the Martian is spending the day with.
- Non-Mammal Mammaries: The songbird that the title character becomes smitten with in "The Bored Cuckoo" is pretty stacked.
- One-Word Title: Also a Portmantitle, for Noveltoons itself, but the shorts that comprise it have some examples as well:
- Travelaffs
- Houndabout
- Munro, which is also a Protagonist Title.
- Miceniks
- Anatole
- Pathetic Drooping Weapon: A Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare short, Sleuth But Sure, has a prison alarm droop
after the prisoner it was signaling about managed to get away. While it is a non-weapon example, the execution matches the trope's conventions. - Pet Heir: "Kitty Cornered" revolves around a kitten being chased by her butler to take her fortune, which she inherited from her late owner, who plans to lend the money to said butler upon her demise.
- Portmantitle: Also a One-Word Title, for Noveltoons itself, but the shorts that comprise it have some examples as well:
- Travelaffs
- Houndabout
- Public Domain Animation: Many of these cartoons, particularly those still under Paramount's control, have become Public Domain staples. On the other hand, most of the cartoons that were sold to Harvey had their copyrights renewed.
- Saint-Bernard Rescue: In "A Mutt in a Rut", a deceased Dogface is put on trial at The Pearly Gates (depicted as a courtroom) for his mistreatment of a homeless kitten. The judge is a St. Bernard dog who gives Dogface a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech loaded with Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, and wets his whistle by pouring a shot glass of brandy from the barrel under his neck.
- Superstition Episode: The short "The Stupidstitious Cat". A very superstitious cat wants a bird for breakfast, and his target is Buzzy the Crow is targeted. Buzzy uses the cat's superstition to outwit him. Buzzy then freaks out when he discovers it's Friday the Thirteenth.
- Wartime Cartoon: "Yankee Doodle Donkey" and "When GI Johnny Comes Home".
- Young Future Famous People: "The Little Cut-up" is about a boy who chops down a tree, which left several Woodland Creatures homeless. He takes them to his family's estate to move in, and when he chops down a cherry tree for some beavers to make a new dam, his father comes out and is about to shoot the beavers when the boy confesses "I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet." Yep, that little boy was George Washington.
