Happy Harmonies

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Happy Harmonies
Title card
Directed by
Produced by
  • Hugh Harman
  • Rudolf Ising
Color processTechnicolor
Production
companies
Distributed byLoew's, Inc.
Running time
7–10 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Happy Harmonies is a series of animated short films produced by Harman-Ising Productions and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[1] Produced in Technicolor, these cartoons were similar in tone to Walt Disney Productions' Silly Symphonies and Leon Schlesinger Productions' Merrie Melodies musical series, which Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising created. They occasionally featured Bosko, a character who starred in the first Looney Tunes shorts that the duo produced for Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. Pictures. After the first two cartoons, the design of Bosko changed from an "inkblot" to a more realistic African-American boy.[2]

The two final titles in the series were originally produced by Harman and Ising as Silly Symphonies cartoons. Disney originally planned to outsource the production of three shorts to Harman-Ising, including a short planned at the studio (Merbabies). Two shorts planned at Harman-Ising, Pipe Dreams and The Little Bantamweight, were rejected due to Roy O. Disney's interference and sold to MGM, who released them as Happy Harmonies. Harman and Ising lost the contract to MGM's newly formed animation division under Fred Quimby the same year. After the failure of comic strip-based cartoons, Quimby was forced to hire Harman and Ising, causing the studio's output to be similar in tone to the Happy Harmonies series until both left in 1941 and 1942.[3]

The original negatives to the Happy Harmonies series were destroyed in the 1978 George Eastman House fire. Harman, who kept master positives of the films, sold prints of individual cartoons to external companies for home and non-theatrical distribution and was sued by MGM in 1946.[4]

List of cartoons

1934

No. Title Directed by Notes Release date
1 The Discontented Canary Rudolf Ising September 1, 1934
2 The Old Pioneer Rudolf Ising
  • First cartoon to label the name Happy Harmonies on the title card.
  • Extra on the DVD of Manhattan Melodrama (1934).
 September 29, 1934
3 Tale of the Vienna Woods Hugh Harman October 27, 1934
4 Bosko's Parlor Pranks Hugh Harman
  • First appearance of Bosko, Honey, and Bruno in a color cartoon.
  • Final appearance of Wilber (his only appearance in a color cartoon).
  • Final appearance of the original Honey design.
  • Extra on the DVD of Midnight Mary (1933).
 November 24, 1934
5 Toyland Broadcast Rudolf Ising December 22, 1934

1935

No. Title Directed by Notes Release date
6 Hey-Hey Fever Hugh Harman
  • Final appearance of the original Bosko and Bruno designs.
  • Extra in the DVD of A Tale of Two Cities (1935).
 January 9, 1935
7 When the Cat's Away Rudolf Ising
  • First appearance of Little Cheeser.
  • Extra in the DVD of Night Flight (1933).
 February 16, 1935
8 The Lost Chick Hugh Harman March 9, 1935
9 The Calico Dragon Rudolf Ising
  • Extra in the DVD of Roberta (1935).
 March 30, 1935
10 Good Little Monkeys Hugh Harman
  • First appearance of the Good Little Monkeys.
 April 13, 1935
11 The Chinese Nightingale Rudolf Ising April 27, 1935
12 Poor Little Me Hugh Harman May 11, 1935
13 Barnyard Babies Rudolf Ising
  • Final two-strip Technicolor cartoon released by MGM.
 May 25, 1935
14 The Old Plantation Rudolf Ising
  • First cartoon in three-strip Technicolor not produced by Disney.
 September 21, 1935
15 Honeyland Rudolf Ising October 19, 1935
16 Alias St. Nick Rudolf Ising November 16, 1935
17 Run Sheep, Run! Hugh Harman
  • First appearance of Bosko and Bruno's redesigns.
 December 14, 1935

1936

No. Title Directed by Notes Release date
18 Bottles Hugh Harman January 11, 1936
19 The Early Bird and the Worm Rudolf Ising February 8, 1936
20 The Old Mill Pond Hugh Harman
  • First appearance of the Jazz Frogs.
  • Extra on the DVD of Born to Dance (1936).
 March 7, 1936
21 Two Little Pups Rudolf Ising
  • First appearance of the Two Little Pups.
 April 4, 1936
22 The Old House Hugh Harman
  • Features Bosko, Honey, and Bruno.
  • First appearance of Honey's redesign.
 May 2, 1936
23 The Pups' Picnic Rudolf Ising
  • Features the Two Little Pups.
 May 30, 1936
24 To Spring William Hanna, Paul Fennell June 4, 1936
25 Little Cheeser Rudolf Ising July 11, 1936
26 The Pups' Christmas Rudolf Ising
  • Features the Two Little Pups.
 December 12, 1936

1937

After Circus Daze, the films are not billed as Happy Harmonies cartoons but are retroactively considered to be part of the series.

No. Title Directed by Notes Release date
27 Circus Daze Hugh Harman
  • Features Bosko and Honey.
  • Last cartoon billed as a Happy Harmonies.
 January 16, 1937
28 Swing Wedding Hugh Harman
  • Featuring the Jazz Frogs.
 February 13, 1937
29 Bosko's Easter Eggs Hugh Harman
  • Features Bosko.
  • Final appearance of Honey and Bruno.
 March 20, 1937
30 Little Ol' Bosko and the Pirates Hugh Harman
  • Features Bosko and the Jazz Frogs.
 May 1, 1937
31 The Hound and the Rabbit Rudolf Ising May 29, 1937
32 The Wayward Pups Rudolf Ising July 10, 1937
33 Little Ol' Bosko and the Cannibals Hugh Harman
  • Features Bosko and the Jazz Frogs.
 August 28, 1937
34 Little Buck Cheeser Rudolf Ising December 15, 1937

1938

No. Title Directed by Notes Release date
35 Little Ol' Bosko in Bagdad Hugh Harman
  • Final appearance of Bosko and the Jazz Frogs.
 January 1, 1938
36 Pipe Dreams Hugh Harman
  • Features the Good Little Monkeys.
 February 5, 1938
37 The Little Bantamweight Rudolf Ising
  • Final MGM cartoon not to be produced in-house.
 March 12, 1938

Home media

The only official home video release to date containing a significant number of the Happy Harmonies shorts is the Happy Harmonies Cartoon Classics LaserDisc box set. The LaserDisc set was released in 1994 by MGM/UA Home Video, which predated the merger of Turner Broadcasting System with Time Warner in 1996. The four-disc set contains 17 of the 37 Happy Harmonies shorts while the remaining 25 shorts include one side of six Barney Bear cartoons, the 1939 short Peace on Earth and the 1940 animated short The Milky Way.[5] In 1999, MGM paid Time Warner $225 million to end its lease of distributing content owned by Turner Entertainment Co. prior to 1996 (the cartoons are part of MGM's pre-May 1986 library which Turner had purchased). Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has occasionally released Happy Harmonies shorts as extras on Warner Archive Collection releases.[6]

References