HarveyToons: The Complete Collection was released with little fanfare last year, but this set is one of the more important historical artifacts to come along. All images ™ & © Harvey Ent. Inc.

The holiday season was a wonderful time for DVD enthusiasts. Boxed sets bonanzas and slews of series made their way to digital disks, and animation fans of all stripes delighted in obtaining previously unreleased gems, both old and new. From those annual treats from the Disney archives to the uninspired dross that was Tennessee Tuxedo, there was truly something for everyone who sent letters to Santa this year. One underpriced set, which attained some notice but flew largely under the radar, was HarveyToons: The Complete Collection, compiled by Classic Media.

The title is somewhat of a misnomer: Not all of these cartoons are originally HarveyToons, and the collection is far from complete. This set, however, consisting of four double-sided discs, is one of the more important historical artifacts released last year. It is true that these cartoons were dismissed by countless critics in comparison to finer work done at other studios. However, I intend to make a case that these cartoons do matter, especially to those of us with an interest of animation appreciation and cartoon history. Let us begin, as always, with the back-story.

The Fleischer studio, birthplace of Betty Boop, as well as the first animated versions of Popeye the Sailor and Superman, went down in a hail of debt to Paramount Pictures in January of 1942. Max and Dave Fleischer, the now-bickering brothers who founded the studio were ousted, and Paramount now owned every writer, animator, inker and painter in the stable. This still-formidable staff included some of the most respected artists in the business: on board were Dave Tendlar, Johnny Gentilella, Orestes Calpini, Jim Tyer, Nick Tafuri and Myron Waldman, to name just a few. At one point, the legendary Bill Tytla would be on the Famous creative team.

Voice artists included the venerable troika of Jack Mercer, Jackson Beck and Mae Questal, who continued their fine work on the ongoing Popeye series, as well as versatile radio comedians Arnold Stang and Sid Raymond. Overall supervision of the studio, now renamed Famous, was in the hands of Fleischer veterans Sam Buchwald, Izzy Sparber and Seymour Knietel. By 1944, all Famous cartoons were finally produced in Technicolor, and the future looked to be stronger than a sailor on spinach.

Famous first attempted to make a star out of Marge Buell Henderson's comic strip character Little Lulu, but dropped the curly moppet in 1948. It was easier and cheaper to replace her with an in-house character named "Little Audrey" than continue to pay for the rights to Lulu. In 1945, story man Seymour Reit and animator Joe Oriolo sold an idea for a one-shot cartoon to Famous president Sam Buchwald. The star was a friendly little ghost named after a comic strip character, Casper Milquetoast. By 1950, Casper the Friendly Ghost was the star of his own series; he would be the most popular character to emerge from Famous.

By 1950, Casper the Friendly Ghost was the star of his own series. He would be the most popular character to emerge from Famous.

A mouse called Herman starred in an early series as pal to a henpecked rooster, but when he was paired with a vicious, stupid feline named Katnip, both characters became popular mainstays as well. With Arnold Stang and Sid Raymond doing the respective voices of Herman and Katnip, the results were vastly entertaining. Buzzy the Funny Crow (who could not pass muster in today's politically correct world of animation) had some great turns with Katnip as well.

Animator Marty Taras contributed the dopey star Baby Huey (also voiced by Raymond), who is best described as the Incredible Hulk among his fellow ducks. Old stars, such as Spunky the mule appeared in the studio's Noveltoons shorts along with more recent creations, such as Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hair (one has to love that pun!)

Still, despite the talent and money involved, something about the cartoons is not quite right. Part of the problem may have been the studio's location in New York, far from the animation scene in Hollywood. The Famous staff became imitative of what they believed worked at Disney, Warner Bros. and MGM. The Famous cartoons of the 1950s were essentially replications of shorts made in the 1940s. Repetition and reuse of gags is highly evident -- to an experienced animation buff, they seem to be telegraphed in advance.

The UPA influence, which shook the conventions of how American animation used design, did not register any impact on Famous until perhaps seven years after other studios began to alter their styles. There is no better example than the Casper short True Boo (1952). Compare the design for the young boy and his mother in this short with that of the character of Gerald McBoing Boing, who made his debut a year earlier, Mrs. Mc Boing Boing. Worse, the plot and action in True Boo are direct lifts from the Fleischer cartoon Christmas Comes but Once a Year -- released in 1936.

By 1956, the end was in sight. Famous was liquidated, then revived as Paramount Cartoon Studios. Its many characters were sold, with rights in perpetuity, to Harvey Comics. Paramount severely slashed the budgets for new cartoons, and a similar move occurred with personnel. Finally, production stopped on the Popeye shorts. The fall of the house of Fleischer was complete. No Famous cartoon, in the entire history of that studio, ever garnered an Oscar nomination. Unless one was a comicbook aficionado, Little Audrey, Herman and Katnip, and Baby Huey faded into obscurity.