The Dover Boys is a classic short. The Dover Boys was an experimental film, which pioneered the use of limited animation. It used smear drawings from each position. Chuck Jones directed the short. The story was by Ted Pierce who also voiced Tom. This was a parody of the books Jones read as a kid. Chuck Jones was an avid reader and his father made sure he read a lot. This was a parody of The Rover Boys as well as homage to other books such as Tom Sawyer. The animators included Phil DeLara, Rudy Larriva, Ken Harris, Robert Cannon, and Ben Washam.
According to Tom Sito, this short was Chuck Jones and Ted Pierce's joking about two popular trends in the 1940s. Young men's adventure fiction and the nostalgia wave for the Gay Nineties. In World War II, people yearned for when life was simpler and more polite which was the case in The Dover Boys.
This cartoon was the first modern cartoon, which pioneered limited animation. It is a clear that this short probably influenced the UPA-style. In fact, Chuck Jones directed the first UPA short. That isn't even the major UPA connection though. Another animator on this cartoon is Robert Cannon. Cannon would later become most known for his work at UPA. He is one of the major studios of UPA. He directed all the Gerald Mcboing-Boing shorts, as well as the TV show. He also directed Madeline and several Magoo cartoons.
John McGrew did the backgrounds on this cartoon. You can read an interview with him here. Mcgrew did the backgrounds for many of Chuck's early cartoons. This short had a much larger cast then most Warner Bros Cartoons. Ted Pierce voices Tom. John McLeish voices the narrator. Mel Blanc voices Dan Backslide. According to Tom Sito, Dan Backslide was a caricature of Ted Pierce. Marjorie Tarlton voices various characters and Bea Benadaret was the voice of Dora.
Leon Schlesinger wasn't a fan. Neither were Warner executives. They weren't a fan of the extensive use of limited animation. The executives were going to fire Jones and were in the process of doing so because of his previous shorts, which extensively used Disney-like characters and stories. They couldn't find a better replacement so they kept him around.
Special Thanks to:
Jerry Beck
Tom Sito
Mark Kausler
Bea Benaderet, according to all sources, did not start voicing WB cartoons until 1943. With all ddue respect, you sure it IS her???? other excellent cartoon., all ten minutes plus of it. "Un HAND her, Dan Backslide! Un-HAND her, Dan Backslide..Un-Say..we're getting in a rut!!"-Tedd Pierce as Dan.
ReplyDeleteAccording to several sources, it is hard too tell who voices because there isn't much records from the short. You probably are right Voice Chasers and IMDB say Bea Benaderet. It's hard to tell.
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