Color Rhapsody

❧

Wikipedia

Color Rhapsody
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
November 11, 1934 – June 30, 1949
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Color Rhapsody is a series of usually one-shot animated cartoon shorts produced by Charles Mintz's studio Screen Gems for Columbia Pictures.[1] They were launched in 1934, following the phenomenal success of Walt Disney's Technicolor Silly Symphonies and Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies. Because of Disney's exclusive rights to the full three strip Technicolor process, Color Rhapsody films were produced in the older two-tone Technicolor process until 1935, when Disney's exclusive contract expired.

The Color Rhapsody series is most notable for introducing the characters of The Fox and the Crow in the 1941 short The Fox and the Grapes. Two Color Rhapsody shorts, Holiday Land (1934) and The Little Match Girl (1937), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).[2]

Columbia begin reissuing cartoons as Columbia Favorites from 1947 until the late 1960s, and extended past Screen Gems, with cartoons from UPA (which succeeded the original Screen Gems) and Hanna-Barbera's Loopy de Loop later on.[3][4]

Filmography

1930s

No. Title Release date[5] Director Character(s) Notes
1 Holiday Land November 9, 1934 Sid Marcus Scrappy
2 Babes at Sea November 30, 1934 Arthur Davis
3 The Shoemaker and the Elves January 20, 1935
4 Make Believe Revue March 22, 1935 Ben Harrison
5 A Cat, a Mouse and a Bell May 10, 1935 Arthur Davis
6 Little Rover June 28, 1935 Sid Marcus
7 Neighbors August 15, 1935 Lost cartoon
8 Monkey Love September 12, 1935 Arthur Davis Soundtrack exists
9 The Bon Bon Parade October 10, 1935 Ben Harrison
10 Doctor Bluebird February 5, 1936 Scrappy
11 Football Bugs April 29, 1936 Arthur Davis
12 Glee Worms June 24, 1936 Ben Harrison
13 The Untrained Seal July 26, 1936 Arthur Davis
14 The Novelty Shop August 15, 1936
15 In My Gondola September 3, 1936 Sid Marcus Scrappy
16 Merry Mutineers October 2, 1936 Ben Harrison
17 Birds in Love October 28, 1936
18 Two Lazy Crows November 26, 1936 Ub Iwerks
19 A Boy and His Dog December 23, 1936 Sid Marcus Johnny
20 Gifts from the Air January 1, 1936 Ben Harrison
21 Skeleton Frolics January 29, 1937 Ub Iwerks
22 Merry Mannequins March 19, 1937
23 Let's Go April 10, 1937 Ben Harrison
24 Mother Hen's Holiday May 7, 1937 Sid Marcus
25 The Foxy Pup May 21, 1937 Ub Iwerks
26 The Stork Takes a Holiday June 11, 1937 Ben Harrison Lost cartoon
27 Indian Serenade July 16, 1937 Sid Marcus
28 Spring Festival August 6, 1937 Ben Harrison
29 Scary Crows August 20, 1937 Sid Marcus Johnny
30 Swing, Monkey, Swing September 10, 1937 Ben Harrison
31 The Air Hostess October 22, 1937 Sid Marcus
32 The Little Match Girl November 5, 1937 Arthur Davis
33 Hollywood Picnic December 18, 1937 Sid Marcus
34 Bluebird's Baby January 21, 1938 Ben Harrison Johnny
35 The Horse on the Merry-Go-Round February 17, 1938 Ub Iwerks
36 The Foolish Bunny March 26, 1938 Sid Marcus
37 Snow Time April 14, 1938 Ub Iwerks
38 The Big Birdcast May 13, 1938 Ben Harrison
39 Window Shopping June 3, 1938 Sid Marcus
40 Poor Little Butterfly July 4, 1938 Ben Harrison
41 Poor Elmer July 22, 1938 Sid Marcus
42 The Frog Pond August 12, 1938 Ub Iwerks
43 Hollywood Graduation August 26, 1938 Arthur Davis Lost cartoon
44 Animal Cracker Circus September 23, 1938 Ben Harrison Johnny
45 Little Moth's Big Flame November 3, 1938 Sid Marcus
46 Midnight Frolics November 24, 1938 Ub Iwerks
47 The Kangaroo Kid December 23, 1938 Ben Harrison
48 Peaceful Neighbors January 26, 1939 Sid Marcus
49 The Gorilla Hunt February 24, 1939 Ub Iwerks
50 The Happy Tots March 31, 1939 Ben Harrison The Happy Tots
51 The House That Jack Built April 14, 1939 Sid Marcus
52 Lucky Pigs May 26, 1939 Ben Harrison
53 Nell's Yells June 30, 1939 Ub Iwerks
54 Hollywood Sweepstakes July 28, 1939 Ben Harrison
55 Jitterbug Knights August 11, 1939 Sid Marcus
56 Crop Chasers September 22, 1939 Ub Iwerks
57 Dreams on Ice October 20, 1939 Sid Marcus
58 Mountain Ears November 3, 1939 Manny Gould
59 Mother Goose in Swingtime December 18, 1939 Manny Gould

1940s

No. Title Release date[5] Director Character(s) Notes
60 A Boy, a Gun, and Birds January 12, 1940 Ben Harrison
61 The Happy Tots' Expedition February 9, 1940 The Happy Tots
62 Blackboard Revue March 15, 1940 Ub Iwerks
63 The Greyhound and the Rabbit April 19, 1940 Sid Marcus
64 The Egg Hunt May 31, 1940 Ub Iwerks
65 Ye Olde Swap Shoppe June 28, 1940
66 The Timid Pup August 1, 1940 Ben Harrison
67 Tangled Television August 30, 1940 Sid Marcus
68 Mr. Elephant Goes to Town October 4, 1940 Arthur Davis
69 The Mad Hatter November 3, 1940 Sid Marcus
70 Wise Owl December 6, 1940 Ub Iwerks
71 A Helping Paw January 7, 1941 Sid Marcus Cornelius Van Goon
72 The Way of All Pests February 28, 1941 Arthur Davis
73 The Carpenters March 14, 1941 Paul Fennell Produced by Cartoon Films Ltd. and later reissued as a Columbia Favorite.[6]
74 The Land of Fun April 18, 1941 Sid Marcus
75 Tom Thumb's Brother June 12, 1941 Tom Thumb
76 The Cuckoo I.Q. July 3, 1941 Cornelius Van Goon
77 Who's Zoo in Hollywood November 17, 1941 Lost cartoon
78 The Fox and the Grapes December 5, 1941 Frank Tashlin The Fox and the Crow
79 Red Riding Hood Rides Again December 5, 1941 Sid Marcus
80 A Hollywood Detour January 23, 1942 Frank Tashlin
81 Wacky Wigwams February 22, 1942 Alec Geiss
82 Concerto in B Flat Minor March 20, 1942 Bob Wickersham
83 Cinderella Goes to a Party May 3, 1942 Alec Geiss
84 Woodman, Spare That Tree July 2, 1942 Bob Wickersham The Fox and the Crow
85 Song of Victory September 4, 1942
86 Tito's Guitar October 30, 1942 Tito, Burrito and Rosita
87 Toll Bridge Troubles November 27, 1942 The Fox and the Crow
88 King Midas Junior December 18, 1942 John Hubley

Paul Sommer
89 Slay it with Flowers January 8, 1943 Bob Wickersham The Fox and the Crow
90 There's Something About a Soldier February 26, 1943 Alec Geiss Lost cartoon
91 Professor Small and Mr. Tall March 26, 1943 John Hubley

Paul Sommer

 Professor Small and Mr. Tall
92 Plenty Below Zero May 14, 1943 Bob Wickersham The Fox and the Crow
93 Tree for Two June 21, 1943
94 He Can't Make It Stick July 25, 1943 John Hubley

Paul Sommer

 Partially lost
95 A-Hunting We Won't Go August 23, 1943 Bob Wickersham The Fox and the Crow
96 The Rocky Road to Ruin September 16, 1943 John Hubley[7]

Paul Sommer
97 Imagination October 29, 1943 Bob Wickersham
98 The Herring Murder Mystery December 30, 1943 Dun Roman Igor Puzzlewitz
99 The Disillusioned Bluebird May 26, 1944 Howard Swift
100 Dog, Cat and Canary January 5, 1945 Flippy
101 Fiesta Time April 4, 1945 Bob Wickersham Tito, Burrito and Rosita
102 Rippling Romance June 21, 1945 Soundtrack exists
103 Hot Foot Lights August 2, 1945 Howard Swift
104 Carnival Courage September 6, 1945 Willoughby Wren
105 River Ribber October 4, 1945 Paul Sommer Professor Small and Mr. Tall
106 Polar Playmates April 25, 1946 Howard Swift
107 Picnic Panic June 20, 1946 Bob Wickersham Tito, Burrito and Rosita
108 Loco Lobo January 9, 1947 Howard Swift
109 Cockatoos for Two February 13, 1947 Bob Wickersham
110 Big House Blues March 6 Howard Swift Flippy
111 Mother Hubba-Hubba-Hubbard March 29, 1947 Bob Wickersham
112 Up N' Atom July 10, 1947 Sid Marcus
113 Swiss Tease September 11, 1947
114 Boston Beanie December 4, 1947
115 Flora March 18, 1948 Alex Lovy
116 Pickled Puss September 2, 1948 Howard Swift
117 Lo, the Poor Buffal November 4, 1948 Alex Lovy
118 The Coo-Coo Bird Dog February 3, 1949 Sid Marcus
119 Grape Nutty April 14, 1949 Alex Lovy The Fox and the Crow
120 Cat-Tastrophy June 30, 1949 Sid Marcus

Accolades

Film Award Category Result Ref.
Holiday Land 7th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [8]
The Little Match Girl 10th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [9]
Imagination 16th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [10]
Dog, Cat and Canary 17th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [11]
Rippling Romance 18th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons Nominated [12]

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
    2. ↑ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 170–171. ISBN 9781476672939.
    3. ↑ "112 Shorts for Col With 24 in Color". Variety. September 12, 1947.
    4. ↑ Yowp (2013-11-28). "Tralfaz: A Columbia What?!". Tralfaz. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
    5. 1 2 Maltin, Leonard (1980). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (1987 Revised ed.). New York City: Plume. pp. 414–419. ISBN 0-452-25993-2. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
    6. ↑ "The Five Best Columbia/Screen Gems Cartoons of the 1940s |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
    7. ↑ "MichaelBarrier.com -- Interviews: John Hubley". www.michaelbarrier.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
    8. ↑ "THE 7TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1935". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
    9. ↑ "THE 10TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1938". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
    10. ↑ "THE 16TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1944". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
    11. ↑ "THE 17TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1945". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
    12. ↑ "THE 18TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1946". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023.