Oddball Films presents Tunes and Toons: Animated Adventures in Musicland, a night of charming, stunning and vibrant animation, all about the magical process of making music. Di$ney's Symposium on Popular Songs (1962) takes you through the first half of the 20th century of popular music through a mixture of cell-animation, stop-motion and paper cutouts, in gorgeous color (try not to lose your head when rutabagas start dancing!). The British musicians of the Hoffnung Palm Court Orchestra (1965) keep calm and carry on playing, even in the face of calamity. Ward Kimball's Academy Award-winning Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953) is percussively savvy and a gorgeous demonstration of mid-century graphics. Fairy tales get a modern twist when a princess must choose between two musicians working to make a "new sound" in The Pretty Lady and the Electronic Musicians (1972). Gumby gets into a surreal battle of wits with a shape-shifting piano in the zippy Gumby Concerto (1957). George Pal carved hundreds of wooden puppet heads for the Art Deco marvel Cavalcade of Music (1934). Plus, a beatnik teases a Calypso Singer (1966), Will "California Raisins" Vinton directs the psychedelic claymation rock concert, Mountain Music (1975), the dazzling Blame it on the Samba (1948) and a surprise pre-show! Whether you're a musician, an animation enthusiast, or just in need of a bit of fun, Oddball's got the tune for you.
Symposium on Popular Songs (Color, 1962)
No matter what the calamity, from fire to shipwreck and beyond, this blissful trio plays on in sweet, sweet oblivion. A colorful cartoon take on the veddy, veddy British idea of keeping calm and carrying on, from the makers of Oddball fave Birds, Bees and Storks.
Academy Award winner in stunning Technicolor- this short was originally released in theaters as part of the “Adventures in Music” educational series. Directed by the brilliant Ward Kimball, this is a classic of mid-century cartoon design and has been ranked one of the top 50 greatest cartoons.
An unforgettable and mesmerizing Technicolor film mix of live action and animation featuring Ethel Smith, the Dinning Sisters and a dizzying array of animated characters. Produced by Walt D*sney.
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educational films, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.