I’ve been thinking about resurrecting this bit for a little while now. When I first started out using twitter for my company Evans & Finch I posted a daily feed of animation classics, both for my own amusement in tracking down great forgotten films and to provide a bit of light entertainment to anyone following our stream. I recently found this list of animated gems that I posted and I’m feeling saucy, so I’m bringing them back! It won’t be daily as before, but certainly regular. So to kick things off I’m going to start with my 3 top favourites of all time – the first being, ‘The Cat Came Back‘ – by Cordell Barker
I remember vividly the very first time I ever saw this cartoon. I used to religiously watch ‘Rolf Harris‘ cartoon time’ as a kid in the 80’s. I absolutely loved it. My dad even built me a drawing board just like Rolf’s, took me to WHSmith’s in Boston 10 miles away to track down some big fat marker pens and I used to draw along with Rolf! Read on…
I would perhaps credit Rolf Harris as one of the most influential people in sparking my interest in art, drawing and animation in particular. I really should write to him and tell him so while he’s still here. Tony Hart and ‘Hartbeat’ was also key to my interest in all things creative in my formative years, and I never got the chance to thank him. My partner and I even agreed that we should both write to him as she used to love his show as a kid.
It was on an episode of Cartoon Time that I first saw The Cat Came Back. I remember being blown away by how funny the story was, how well the music fitted with the beautifully animated visuals – I was hooked! That cartoon stayed with me. I didn’t even know what it was called until I saw it again many years later – I think on ‘Rolf’s Cartoon Club‘ (You can join today!). That made me realise not only how influential an animated film can be, but also just how difficult it can be to track down and find these films. That’s the main reason why I started posting my forgotten animated gems up to twitter, and why I’m starting it again here. The internet has made it possible for these forgotten classics to be seen again, and I’m here to log them for posterity. Enjoy.
Dave Cropley 