A to Z of Animation Studios: Van Beuren Studios
(Or: The 1930s Animation Studio That Made Cartoons Feel Like a Fever Dream)
Welcome back to Animation Anarchy, where we celebrate animation history while also exposing which studios made cartoons that look like hallucinations. If you haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel, do it now before Van Beuren’s forgotten characters climb out of the public domain and start haunting your dreams.
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🔥 V is for Van Beuren Studios
If you’ve never heard of Van Beuren Studios, you’re not alone.
They were an early 1930s animation studio that created some of the strangest, most surreal, and wildly forgotten cartoons ever made.
They weren’t Disney.
They weren’t Fleischer.
They were somewhere in between… on a LOT of caffeine.
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The Weirdest Hits (A.K.A. Cartoons That Feel Like a Strange Dream You Had After Eating Expired Cheese)
1. Aesop’s Fables (1921-1936)
• The first major Van Beuren series, featuring talking animals loosely acting out classic fables.
• Most of them devolve into absolute nonsense.
• Examples include:
• A frog who sings about having no money.
• A story where a bear’s life is ruined by a duck playing the saxophone.
• A moral lesson that completely falls apart in the last 10 seconds.
2. The Little King (1933-1934)
• Based on a newspaper comic strip.
• The main character is a bald, childlike king who just vibes through life.
• No real plot. Just strange, wandering humor.
3. Tom and Jerry (1931-1933) (No, Not That Tom & Jerry)
• BEFORE the famous cat and mouse duo, Van Beuren had two human characters named Tom and Jerry.
• They were just two guys who did weird stuff.
• Some episodes had a plot, others felt like actual nightmares.
4. The Wildest Shorts
Van Beuren was known for shorts that just went off the rails.
• “Gypped in Egypt” (1930) – A mummy horror cartoon where nothing makes sense.
• “The Sunshine Makers” (1935) – A surreal short where gnome-like creatures mass-produce liquid happiness in a factory.
• “Molly Moo-Cow” (1935-1936) – A cow who just wanders into weird situations.
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Why Van Beuren Studios Was So Unique
1. They didn’t care about logic.
2. Their animation style was bizarre but strangely charming.
3. They made cartoons that feel like they were animated inside someone’s fever dream.
Eventually, Van Beuren Studios got shut down in 1936 when RKO (their distributor) decided,
“We should just work with Disney instead.”
And just like that, Van Beuren faded into animation history.
But if you ever watch an old cartoon that feels like you’ve entered another dimension, it might just be Van Beuren.
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🎖 Honorable Mention: Vinton Studios (Because Will Vinton Deserves Respect!)
Now let’s talk about Will Vinton—the father of claymation and one of stop-motion’s greatest pioneers.
What Did Vinton Studios Create?
• The California Raisins (1986) – Yes, the dancing, singing raisins from the ‘80s commercials.
• The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) – A dark, surreal stop-motion film featuring the infamous Mysterious Stranger scene.
• Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987) – A charming Christmas special featuring the strangest animated camels ever.
• The PJs (1999-2001) – A stop-motion sitcom starring Eddie Murphy.
Why Will Vinton Deserved Better
• He pioneered stop-motion animation before it was cool.
• He created a unique visual style that no one else had.
• He lost his own studio when Nike’s Phil Knight took over and turned it into Laika.
Will Vinton’s legacy still lives on in modern stop-motion, but his name should be as well-known as Tim Burton’s.
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Final Thoughts (A.K.A. Why You Should Subscribe Before a Claymation Raisin Shows Up at Your Door)
Van Beuren Studios? The forgotten kings of weird, surreal ‘30s animation.
Vinton Studios? The stop-motion pioneer that gave us some of the strangest, most beautiful animated projects ever.
Next up? W for Walt Disney Animation—the studio that built the animation industry and took over the world.
(Spoiler: Yes, we will be talking about Disney’s questionable decisions too.) 🚀
