Lemme tell you about Jerry Beck and why we need one. We need one because people who run film studios usually can't see very far…usually not past this year's budget and what they have to do to keep costs down. They can't see into the past either, often being shamefully unaware of their studio's heritage. They are incapable of imagining that people would pay good money to see some of that stuff…that is, assuming the negative hasn't rotted or been lost because some previous studio head didn't want to spend sufficient money on preservation. In the area of animation, it is often necessary to call in someone like Jerry Beck and ask them, "What do we own?" and even, in this era of home video, "What can we do with it?" Sometimes, Jerry also has to help them track down viewable copies. We all get to see a lot of classic animation these days, in theaters and on DVD, because of Jerry.
Yesterday afternoon, he pulled together a minor miracle…a major one if you love 3-D animation. He arranged at this year's 3-D Film Fest in Hollywood, a screening of all (I think all) of the 3-D animated theatrical shorts. For technical and contractual reasons, this has never before been possible and it may never be possible again. A sell-out crowd of cartoon buffs packed the Egyptian Theater, put on the funny glasses and watched the two 3-D cartoons Disney made, the two from Paramount, the one from Warner Brothers, the one Woody Woodpecker, etc. It was about ninety minutes total and included some surprises such as a bizarre, inexplicable thing called The Adventures of Sam Space that starred stop-motion puppets that all had voices by Paul Frees.
It was all fascinating and expertly presented, with Dan Symmes and Jerry hosting and the two projectors necessary running flawlessly in sync. (Did you know it takes two projectors to run one 3-D movie? I didn't.) Oh, the Casper cartoon — Boo Moon — was kind of lame…but hey, it was in 3-D. They say the best cartoons appeal to audiences on different levels. Well, 3-D cartoons all have different levels. If you don't like what's happening in the foreground, you can always look at the background or just sit there and wait for something to fly off the screen and into your face.
So was there anything that didn't work for me? Yes! The 3-D didn't work for me. It made me loopy and more than a little sleepy and I probably didn't see the depth effects as well as I should have. I've been blessed with excellent vision but I found out yesterday it's somehow incompatible with 3-D motion pictures…or at least it is now. These were the first ones I'd seen in over 25 years if you don't count the MuppetVision presentation at Disney World in Florida. That worked for me and the 3-D epics I viewed a quarter-century ago worked for me…but the parade of shorts at the Egyptian literally put me to sleep twice and made me identify with the title of the Woody Woodpecker short they ran, which was called Hypnotic Hick. That was me. At intermission, I was staggering about like Otis the Town Drunk and when I got home, following a lovely post-screening dinner across the street at the Musso & Frank Grill, I fell into bed and slept four hours. I'm not sure but I think in my dreams, people kept throwing things at me.
I enjoyed the afternoon tremendously, especially the delight of the local animation community gathering together for such a historic event, and I'm glad I was there. But earlier in the day, I spoke with Alice Maltin (wife of Leonard) and she told me they'd sat through four 3-D movies at the festival and the next morning, she woke up with a hangover. Never having imbibed, I don't know quite what a hangover feels like but I wouldn't be surprised if it feels a lot like I do right now.