Quick Quiz

[lupercal]

Someone said I should post more quick quizzes some time ago, so here's a pretty easy one:

Who am I? I was Hanna Barbera's only theatrical character (i.e. my cartoons were theatrical shorts, not made for TV)

I starred in 49 theatrical shorts between 1959 and 1965.

[Lucky_Bob]

ARRGH! I know this one...
I've just forgotten lol.
James

[lupercal]

Ok, it's down to a simple recognition test then...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/lupercal/clue.jpg

[starlac]

I knew who this was from the first post, but I was waiting to see if anyone else did. Since it's been over 24 hours how and you've posted a pic, I suppose I'll answer it now.

It's Loopy de Loop.

[lupercal]

Which is why I didn't use my nick.

Loop

(I don't see why I should have a monopoly on this, so as winner, feel free to post the next one if you like)

[starlac]

Okay here's a little riddle from the top of my head then:

If S.S. is to Disney what M.M. is to Warner, then what is to Fleischer, and what does it stand for?

[lupercal]

T.T. - Talkartoons?

Loop

[starlac]

Hope, sorry... Nice try though.

Here's another sort of clue.

Think in lines of what M.M. is to S.S. and of emulation.

[lupercal]

Ok, I'll take a stab at 'Screen Songs', but if that's wrong, I'd be clutching at straws.

Loop

[starlac]

Again nice try, but not what I was looking for... looks like you'll be clutching at those straws.

[lupercal]

Well, if the answer (as I suspect it is, from your addition of the colour Betty Boop) was 'Color Classics' - that was going to be my third choice. I tossed up between that and 'Screen Songs', but ironically gave it to Screen Songs for much the same reasons as the actual ones for Color Classics.

Loop

[starlac]

Kind of thought putting up Poor Cinderella would give the game away.

The Color Classics (like Warner Bros Merry Melodies) were setup as a competitor to Disney's Silly Symphonies, as it was a series that went toward one-shots and based it structure around songs rather than continuing characters(the only recurring characters I can think of here are the donkey's Hunky and Spunky). A lot of them also try to emulate Disney style and as such can get far away from the kind of work one would normally expect from the studio.

Merry Melodies started in much the same way with music from popular Warner Bros films being the central focus, until the animation units protested about the limitations of such a structure won out and the lines between them and Looney Tunes blurred.

The Screen Songs were more the earliest kind of sing-a-longs, bouncing ball and everything. That series would also be re-launched by Famous Studios for a brief run.


Anyway, your turn if you will.

[lupercal]

Well, I didn't really guess it...

Loop

[lupercal]

Well, ok....

Which actress was allegedly the 'model' for Jenna in 'Balto'?

(clue: her peak of fame was in the 60's, and she died not long before 'Balto' was released)

(If you can name the actual film which was used as a reference yout get extra clever points)

Loop

FWIW I have seen what I believe the actual reference photo next to a promo photo of Jenna, and I'm pretty convinced

[lupercal]

Ok...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/lupercal/who.jpg

Loop

[athena]

Audrey Hepburn?

[lupercal]

Very good!

Loop

[lupercal]

This is by no means the best comparison I've seen. There used to be an Australian VHS jacket which showed Audrey Hepburn in a pose which I am convinced was replicated by the artists in 'Balto', but in any case this the nearest I can come , from what I can find on the web now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/lupercal/audjen2.jpg

Loop

(NB: I can't remember how this image of Jenna ended up on my HD. I assume it's a screencap, but in case it's one of Greykitty's pictures, apologies, though their excellance renders the origin academic.)

[lupercal]

Ok, here's a different one. I would probably rate this is as tough if you try and work it logically, though you might easily stumble upon the answer by intuition. Or I could be completely wrong. With nothing more than that in the way of clues for now, let's see if anyone cracks this. Oh - one clue: the answer has nothing to do with animation (at least, I don't think it does).

Since Svankmejer has been in the news a bit on the forums lately, I'll start with him..


What do these people have in common?

Jan Svankmejer
Yuri Norstein
Tim Burton
John Kricfalusi
Don Bluth
Brad Bird
Chuck Jones


Loop

[MonkeyFunk]

I've got it!

They're all male!

[lupercal]

True. They're also all carbon-based life-forms (i.e. it's a bit more difficult than that...)

Loop

[lupercal]

Nobody wants another clue. Just too obscure?

BTW, another in that list is

Earl Hurd (inventor of the animated cel)

but that wasn't a clue.

Loop

[starlac]

I guessing so I could be completely wrong on both counts, but...

Either

All these people started at the bottom of the ladder (Cel washer etc) and worked their ways up to eventually become directors.

Or...

They all have or have had their own production companies.

[athena]

Very good!

hehe. I had just watched Breakfast at Tiffany's a few weeks ago and I thought the image looked familiar.

[lupercal]

Starlac - no, like I said, the answer has nothing to do with animation.

Though it does have something to do with your name.

Loop

[starlac]

My name :eyebrow: - Star... right I get it now.

They were all born under Virgo. Amazing what you miss when it's right in front of you, staring you in the face. :lol:

[lupercal]

Bingo! most correct.

This came from way back when I was compiling a list of dates when we used to have an 'on this day' box in the bottom right corner - dunno if anyone remembers that. Of course what I'd done so far wasn't comprehensive, but as a former astrologer (used to do birthcharts for spare cash back when there weren't any computer programs for it. I was sceptical but still found it interesting), I noticed that Virgo seemed to be over-represented in birth dates of people I was pulling up. I seemed to be getting twice as many Virgos as any other sign (only counting directors, not animators, voice actors, etc. Actually I hadn't got to animators yet.)

In fact if you extend Virgo to cover the few days on 'the cusp' on either side, you also get Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, and Winsor McKay.

There were some big names scattered through the rest of the zodiac of course. I remember Scorpio got Ralph Bakshi and Tezuka; Sagittarius got Walt Disney and Nick Park; Taurus got Bob Clampett, Walter Lantz and Joe Murray, Pisces got Tex Avery, and Capricorn got Miyazaki and John Lassetter.


Your go

Loop

[starlac]

Strange that.

I notice that you're a Virgo too. ;)

…Scorpio got Ralph Bakshi and Tezuka…

I'm a Scorpio myself, so I'm happy that they repesented. I've read a little on astrology myself (though I'm no expert) and had my birth chart made up (which I've now lost somewhere).

Okay a fairly simple, straight forward little question this time round...

If the Flintstones were inspired by the Honeymooners, then what show get Top Cat get its inspiration from?

[lupercal]

Yes, I am a Virgo (cusp of Leo), but I don't think that can have affected things, because I was thinking of people and then looking up their birthdays, rather than thinking up dates and then looking up people. I noticed Greykitty is a Virgo too - two days after me.

Also I'm the first to admit Virgos seem to be underrepresneted in some other areas, such as rock bands. The few exceptions seem to be main songwriters (e.g. Roger Waters in Pink Floyd). OTOH there are a lot more Virgo solo artists, which seems to suggests Virgos are loners or leaders, or something, I suppose. For instance in the 'Canadian singer-songwriters' dept you get Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. I get Leonard Cohen.



I'm a Scorpio myself, so I'm happy that they repesented.

Just looking, you also get Daws Butler.

But I get Don Messick, Mae Questrel and Charles Fleischer (same birthday actually).

But the big voice actor gong I suppose goes to Cancer, for Mel Blanc.

And maybe Aries gets runner-up for Maurice LaMarche.


I've read a little on astrology myself (though I'm no expert) and had my birth chart made up (which I've now lost somewhere).

Well I studied all this tripe back before computers - did birth charts with pages of scribbled equations and so forth. And my conclusion is that it has no right to work, but it kinda seems to.

FWIW, astrologically, Virgos and Scorpios are supposed to get along, which oddly, has been my experince IRL.


Okay a fairly simple, straight forward little question this time round...

If the Flintstones were inspired by the Honeymooners, then what show get Top Cat get its inspiration from?

Ok.... I thought I knew this but couldn't think of it. So I looked it up, only to discover that I did know it (well, I knew who TC was based on, not the whole show, and since you're asking about the whole show, I never did know that.) In any case, I disqualify myself.

Loop

[MonkeyFunk]

If the Flintstones were inspired by the Honeymooners, then what show get Top Cat get its inspiration from?

Sgt. Bilko?

[starlac]

Sgt. Bilko?

Correct (Technically it was called The Phil Silvers Show, but it was also known as Sgt. Bilko, but that's just splitting hairs).

Your go then.

[MonkeyFunk]

Okay, here we go...

What do these people have in common? (And yes, this time it does have something to do with animation):

Winsor McCay
John Kricfalusi
The Brothers Quay
Norman McLaren
George Dunning
Caroline Leaf
Bob Godfrey
John Halas

[lupercal]

They all immigrated from their home country ( a lot of them to England)

Loop

[MonkeyFunk]

Well the precise answer was that they all created their most famous works after emigrating (that's why I said it has something to do with animation), but close enough.

Your turn again

[lupercal]

Ok, I'm feeling morbid, so name the cause of death of the following celebrities. If you miss some, we can have multiple winners. The one with the most correct gets the next go. Details are good, but basic correct answer will suffice)



Wolfang Reitherman
Frank Churchill (Disney composer)
Eva Gabor (voice: Duchess, Miss Bianca)
Rene Goscinny (creator of Asterix)
Bobby Driscoll (voice: Peter Pan)
Elizabeth Hartman (voice: Mrs Brisby)
George Sanders (voice: Shere Khan)

[MonkeyFunk]

George Sanders, Bobby Driscoll, Eva Gabor: suicide?

[lupercal]

George Sanders - suicide. Gabor, no, and Driscoll, probably no.

Sanders took a huge drug overdose. His suicide note read:

"Dear World, I am leaving you because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool - good luck."

That leaves the other 6.

Loop

[MonkeyFunk]

Are we allowed second guesses?

If Driscoll didn't kill himself, then I think he died an alchohol-related death. I'm pretty sure it was one of the two.

EDIT: and something lurking at the bottom of my fuzzy memory says Goscinny died of cancer.

[lupercal]

Sorry. Struck out with both them. Though Driscoll was getting warm.

Loop

[lupercal]

I think you got warm enough with Driscoll, that by just saying that you did, someone mighy guess it, so I'll blow that one. Ot still leaves 5.

Bobby Driscoll died from hepatatitis, copntracted from heroin abuse. He was homeless and according to which version you prefer he was either found dead in an abanoned tenament, or by some children in an alley. The boy who wouldn't grow up was 31.

Loop

[lupercal]

Well, I think most everyone's had a chance to look at this, so here are the other answers:

Wolfang Reitherman: car accident

One of Disney's 'nine old men'. Worked on every Disney animated feature from 'Dumbo' to 'The Fox and the Hound' and directed everything they did in the 60's and 70's (co-directed 101 Dalmatians). Drove his car into a tree, presumably accidentally.

Frank Churchill: suicide

Composer of the original son gs from 'Snow White', 'Dumbo' and 'Bambi' (e.g. 'Whistle While you Work', Drip drip drip, Little April Showeer, Some Day my Prince Will Come). Blew his brains out seated at his piano a matter of weeks before 'Bambi' was released.


Eva Gabor: food poisoning

Actually the technical cause was respiratory failure, but it was a complication of the food poisoning.


Rene Goscinny: heart attack

Managed to die on an excercise bike in a heart clinic in Paris. He was 51.


Elizabeth Hartman: suicide

Jumped from the window of her 5th storey apartment (a character in one of her early films also suicided by jumping from a 5th storey window)

[lupercal]

Anyone can take this. If I happen to think of something, I'll continue. Otherwise...

Loop

[lupercal]

Strange that.

I notice that you're a Virgo too. ;)



Indeed. Though I have Aries rising, moon in Sagittarius, and am on the cusp of Leo, and have a Grand Trine in the fire signs, and Venus in the fifth house, ruled by Leo. Which explains a fair bit, if you believe that sort of thing.

Oh, I've got something in Scorpio, too, but I forget what.

Loop