Amadee J. Van Beuren

Cupid Gets His Man

A look into the whole cupid operation; we see how the process is supposed to work, with cupids practicing their archery, and the couples handed off to the stork. But there's one particularly resistant couple (the man is a W.C. Fields caricature) who takes the whole crew to finally corral.

Bold King Cole

Felix the Cat is perched in a tree playing his guitar and serenading himself and a canary with a little ditty called "Nature and Me." It is a beautiful day in cartoon-land but Mother Nature, perhaps not a music lover, whips up a lightning-laden thunderstorm and Felix is soon seeking shelter. He finds it at the castle of King Cole, a boastful, fabricating blow-hard. The King's ancestors, tired of hearing the braggart, come out of their pictures as ghostly specters and take the King to the dungeon and pump the gassy hot-air out of him.

Bird Scouts

13th Cartoon in the Van Beuren Rainbow Parade Series.

Japanese Lanterns

5th Cartoon in the Van Beuren Rainbow Parade Series. Retitled "Chinese Lanterns" during World War II.

Adventure Girl

Faux documentary told in first-person narration, about an "adventuress" who sets sail to Guatemala with her father and two male crewmen, rescues them when their fresh-water supply is compromised, finds a treasure map, and attempts to steal a fabulous emerald from a ruined temple, much to the aggrevation of a worshipful native princess and her subjects.

Goode Knight

The classic story of Robin Hood, with Brownie Bear as the prince of thieves.

Christmas Night

On Christmas Eve, the Little King sneaks two tramps into the castle. The next morning, the three men are thrilled by the presents Santa left behind.

Gay Gaucho

Brownie the Bear as a young, dapper Gaucho and his adventures as a South American cowboy.

The Bully's End

A farmer, his family and all the barnyard animals are bullied by the rooster, who is vain and mean to everyone. He thinks one of his hens has cheated on him and knocks out the peacock. He can't stand to see 2 ducks in love and beats up the boy duck to steal his girl. The rooster is challenged to a fight by Runty Duck. Bully Rooster gets drunk on gasoline while the rest of the barnyard animals a partying because of the upcoming fight. The fight starts and Runty Duck seems to be getting the best of Bully Rooster. In the last moments, Runty KOs the Rooster and wins. Every one celebrates the win and carries Runty on their shoulders.

Opening Night

Cubby the Bear sneaks into the Roxy Opera House on it's opening night and ends up condicting an epic, animal-enacted version of Faust.

Tumble Down Town

Dancing animals in a depression-era shanty town.

Silvery Moon

As two feline sweethearts sail along Moonlight Bay, the moon invites them up for a visit. They discover the moon is not made of green cheese, as is rumored, but is actually a land of candy, ice cream and cake.

The Golden Goose

The old woman who lives in the shoe is a cat. Her son Jack climbs the beanstalk and gets the golden goose.

The Wild Goose Chase

In this Van Beuren cartoon, various animals are singing "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" before we go to a couple of cats-one male, one female-looking for the gold pot at the end of the rainbow.

Circus Romance

At a circus, the ring master and a clown both love Kitty the high-wire artist.

Wot a Night

Two passengers refuse to pay their cab fare, so the taxi drives chase after them.

The Fly Guy

An Aesop's Fables cartoon about a musical fly.

Cinderella Blues

The Cinderella story as told by the Van Beuren Studios.

Old Hokum Bucket

A slow farm life is turned upside-down thanks to some magic pills....

Radio Racket

The Aesop Sound Fables, while almost forgotten today, produced some of the strangest cartoons during the Depression with dream-like backgrounds, surreal imagery and some of the best cartoon scores.

The Animal Fair

An ordinary fair, but run by animals.

A Toytown Tale

Late night in the toy shop. The toymaker goes up to bed, leaving his wind-up policeman to guard the shop, and the other toys come to life. First order of business: throw that pesky cop into the glue pot. The wind-up soldiers march around. They pass a doll, and the lead soldier stops them so he can go woo her. He has some success, until they are threatened by an elephant; he sucks up the other soldiers, and our hero cowers in fear. Then a monkey attacks, and our soldier continues not to be brave.

The King of Bugs

Early sound cartoon with an all-insect cast. An eager-to-please young bugler inadvertently annoys the king during a parade and tournament, but redeems himself by rescuing the king's daughter, who's been abducted by a really horrid-looking spider.

Deep South

Short subject from Pathe based on the writings of Grantland Rice, primarily remembered for his elegant approach to sportswriting. This was one of the last of the Van Beuren Corporation’s “Song Sketches,” along with another “The Voice of the Sea.”

Good Old Schooldays

A Aesop's Fables cartoon with the animals going to school and causing mischief.

Singing Saps

In this Van Beuren cartoon a quartet of singers kidnap a girl and the mouse has to try and save the day.

Ship Ahoy

Silent cartoon.

Barnyard Melody

A cat and mouse nonchalantly dance on roller skates and comically harass Farmer Gray.

House Cleaning Time

Farmer Alfalfa and his cat are having a wash day and mice starts a soap war.

Ball Park

An animated short film, and part of Paul Terry's Aesop's Film Fables, in which some animals play a game of baseball.

Skating Hounds

A series of animated short subjects created by Paul Terry and actor-turned-writer Howard Estabrook.

Presto-Chango

In this entry in the Aesop's Fables series, a boy and girl cat cannot keep their eyes- and paws- off each other.

A Lad and His Lamp

Another Van Beuren's mouse cartoon variation of Aladdin's lamp, with a soundtrack added in the late 1940s.

Gridiron Demons

Cartoon short.

White Elephant

Silent cartoon.

Laundry Man

Aesop's Fable from Paul Terry & VanBeuren.

Sunday on the Farm

Silent cartoon.

Horses, Horses, Horses

Milton Mouse, the demon rider, stages a one-man round-up, puts the horses into the barn and then calls on Rita, the rancher's daughter. They are getting along famously until terrible Thomas sneaks up, lassos the barn, knocks out Milton, steals Rita, and drives away with his booty.