The Haunted Ship (1930)

Well, it's time for another weird Van Beuren cartoon from 1930. "The Haunted Ship", released on 27th April (my birthday ;-) is a real classic of the spooky and surreal early '30s style. I'd even compare it with the best Fleischer cartoons of the similar kind. Animation is certainly above the average Van Beuren standard of that time. This is also the first cartoon that featured two obscure characters named Waffles the Cat and Don Dog. Only three more cartoons were made, before Waffles and Don morphed into the well known human duo called Tom & Jerry.

Note: as you probably know, Van Beuren "Tom & Jerry" were a pair of humans, and they are in no way related to the famous Hanna-Barbera cat & mouse. You can find a complete filmography and lot of info about VB Tom & Jerry and their precursors HERE.

A Nightmare on Van Beuren Street

The world of late '20s and early '30s Van Beuren cartoons was often populated by truly bizarre nightmarish creatures. In the next few screenshots, you'll see some typical examples of these ugly, demented and absolutely delightful characters. Enjoy... and try to guess the names of the cartoons these screenshots were taken from. One of these cartoons is going to be featured in more detail, next week.