Public domain art deco cartoons
August 12, 2024 6:17 AM   Subscribe

Apart from pre-1928 Fleischer Brothers cartoons, what are some public domain cartoons with an art deco aesthetic?

I’m putting together a stage show for my band with a rear-screen projection of art deco cartoons. I know some of the Fleischer cartoons are in the public domain. What are some other cartoons that would work?

AFAICT “Page Miss Glory” is not PD. I’m also not looking for the Krazy Kat cartoons, which are not as visually striking. Otherwise, what are some good art deco cartoons that are in the public domain?
posted by pxe2000 to Media & Arts (3 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't know if you are only looking at animated cartoons or would consider comic strips too?

Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, I would imagine, are prime examples.

I understand Buck Rogers will enter the public domain in 2025. Not sure about Flash Gordon, and there may be exceptions for comics versus the characters themselves (IANAL)

Blake and Mortimer and Dick Tracy have that look as well, but they came out in the 40s to 50s.

Maybe some Betty Boop and Max Fleischer early loops?
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 10:01 AM on August 12, 2024


Frank Tashlin was the most art deco of the classic Warner Brothers directors, and some of his cartoons are public domain
posted by Chenko at 12:17 PM on August 12, 2024 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Until a librarian drops by: At the Internet Archive, 1937's Merry Mannequins has "Usage - Public Domain Mark 1.0" in the details; another Art Deco-themed animated cartoon, 1938's All's Fair At The Fair does not have that info. (Found these via this Cartoon Brew article.) "Vintage Cartoons features public domain animation submitted by Internet Archive Users." (See also: Animated Shorts at the Internet Archive. Animation and Cartoons at the Internet Archive.) 1937's Skeleton Frolic, 1930's "The Family Album", Fleischer's Hawaiian Birds (1936),
UB Iwerks' Balloon World, & Crying for the Carolines (a weird hybrid).
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:34 PM on August 12, 2024 [4 favorites]


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