Cartoons - Stage 5 Comprehension Pack PDF

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Cartoons Text focus: Information Text Walt Disney Important People Throughout the 100-plus years of animated cartoons, there have been several notable people or groups of people that have helped to push the art form forwards. Some have brought incredible, lasting characters to th...

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Cartoons Text focus: Information Text Walt Disney Important People Throughout the 100-plus years of animated cartoons, there have been several notable people or groups of people that have helped to push the art form forwards. Some have brought incredible, lasting characters to the table, whereas others have changed the way we see cartoons in society. Walt Disney It would be hard to discuss the history of animation and not talk about the head of one of the most famous animation studios of all time. In the beginning, Disney was famous for creating family-friendly feature-length animations that were based on classic tales. Some of their earliest films included: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); Pinocchio (1940); Cinderella (1950); and Alice in Wonderland (1951). Working with Ub Werks, Walt Disney created a ra of memorable characters that live on today, such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera was one of the most influential and iconic animation studios of the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. It was formed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera and George Sidney in 1957 and went on to produce cartoons that were a staple of many childhoods around the world. If you’ve watched any of the following animated series, then you’ve watched a HanaBarbera creation: The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Wacky Races, Josie and the Pussycats, The Smurfs, Tom and Jerry, Johnny Bravo and Dexter’s Laboratory. That’s by no means an exhaustive list! If you haven’t seen any of them, you definitely should. Warner Bros Much like Disney, Warner Bros. Studios began animating cartoons in the 1930s. In fact, the first two animators (Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising) had worked with Walt Disney at his first studio. Disney had recently created a series of short animations with repeating characters called the Silly Symphony series. The head of Warner Bros., Leon Schlesinger, wanted his own equivalent. Instead of Silly Symphony, he called it Looney Tunes! The first one of these animations was called Sinkin’ In The Bathtub and was the first time a all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com Warner Bros. cartoon ended with the iconic “That’s all folks!” tagline. Over the next few decades, Warner Bros. would go on to be responsible for characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner and many more. In 2001, Warner Bros. bought Hanna-Barbera Studios. Studio Ghibli With its instantly recognisable style, Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata. The studio is based in Japan and produces acclaimed family-friendly animated films based on fantastical animals, magic and whimsy. Their animation style is distinct and has won many awards. Some of their most famous films, which are well-worth watching, include Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Grave of the Fireflies (1988), My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001). RETRIEVAL FOCUS 1. For how long have cartoons been around, according to the text? 2. Which studio created Bugs Bunny? 3. Where is Studio Ghibli based? 4. Who was responsible for Looney Tunes? 5. Give an example of a Disney film based on a classic story, mentioned in the text. V V I S V VIPERS QUESTIONS Find and copy a word that tells the reader that lots of other companies looked to Warner Bros. for inspiration. What does the phrase “repeating characters” tell you about them? Why might Hanna-Babera have wanted to copy what Disney were doing? How was Warner Bros. linked to Disney? Which word in the Studio Ghibli section means “well-regarded” or “highly thought of”? all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com