Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts

McGowan, David

ISBN 10: 1477317449 / ISBN 13: 9781477317440

Editore: University of Texas Press, 2019

Riguardo questo articolo

Codice articolo fulvic/20sep24/2445545

Dati bibliografici

Titolo: Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters ...

Casa editrice: University of Texas Press

Data di pubblicazione: 2019

Legatura: Soft cover

Condizione: Near Fine

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto:

Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Felix the Cat, and other beloved cartoon characters have entertained media audiences for almost a century, outliving the human stars who were once their contemporaries in studio-era Hollywood. In Animated Personalities, David McGowan asserts that iconic American theatrical short cartoon characters should be legitimately regarded as stars, equal to their live-action counterparts, not only because they have enjoyed long careers, but also because their star personas have been created and marketed in ways also used for cinematic celebrities.

Drawing on detailed archival research, McGowan analyzes how Hollywood studios constructed and manipulated the star personas of the animated characters they owned. He shows how cartoon actors frequently kept pace with their human counterparts, granting “interviews,” allowing “candid” photographs, endorsing products, and generally behaving as actual actors did—for example, Donald Duck served his country during World War II, and Mickey Mouse was even embroiled in scandal. Challenging the notion that studios needed actors with physical bodies and real off-screen lives to create stars, McGowan demonstrates that media texts have successfully articulated an off-screen existence for animated characters. Following cartoon stars from silent movies to contemporary film and television, this groundbreaking book broadens the scope of star studies to include animation, concluding with provocative questions about the nature of stardom in an age of digitally enhanced filmmaking technologies.