Home Books Book-related Interviews USTownhall RealStories presents author ANDY MANGELS
USTownhall RealStories presents author ANDY MANGELS
Written by Scott Katz   
Friday, 07 December 2012 13:45

Lou-Scheimer-Filmation-resize2We recently interviewed USA Today best-selling author and DVD documentary producer Andy Mangels to discuss his latest book, the years-in-the-making Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation.  Weighing in at 288 pages, this book, co-written with Lou Scheimer himself, is part biography and part business history as it chronicles both Lou's life and the life of the Filmation animation studio, one of the preeminent television animation producers for over 25 years.

As in-depth as this interview is, it can give you only a taste of what happened behind the scenes in the often harsh world of television production.  Although shuttered in the late 1980s, Filmation's legacy endures today as many of its classic series are available to own on DVD, and many of today's top animators got their start at this legendary animation studio.

For more, including information on how to order Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, please visit www.andymangels.com and www.twomorrows.com

 

Get Adobe Flash player

Click the triangular "play" button above to listen to the show!

As long as the browser window is not refreshed, you can click the "pause" button at any time and resume where you left off.

 

 

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

0:00

Intro & overview of the Filmation studio and the shows it produced

1:09:40 L'Oreal buys Filmation leading to the demise of the studio
3:25 Filmation's use of licensed properties such as The Archies, Star Trek, etc.; Archie song segments as a precursor to music videos; Fat Albert introduces stories with morals and messages 1:13:00 Lou Scheimer's mood as he realized Filmation was being closed for good
9:30 Lou Scheimer's dedication to shows with a pro-social message & stories that had value in addition to entertainment; Filmation was first animation studio to feature minority characters that weren't racist caricatures 1:16:50 Mr. Mangels' personal appreciation for Filmation's output and innovations in the process of creating the book
12:20 Mr. Mangels discusses how he met Lou Scheimer while creating DVD documentaries for BCIEclipse animated DVD sets 1:20:00 Why is Filmation considered the also-ran when discussing television animated studios?; Stories of how Filmation cartoons have affected its audience
16:10 Interviewing Lou Scheimer for the book and including information that couldn't be included in the DVD documentaries 1:25:50 Lou Scheimer's feelings regarding fan reaction vs. critical reaction
19:35 Mr. Mangels talks about his extensive time interviewing Lou Scheimer and his sense of Mr. Scheimer as a person 1:28:25 Unfair critiques of Filmation by animation historians; Filmation's use of more realistally drawn characters, detailed backgrounds, and rotoscoping
22:40 Animation & special effects legends who got their start at Filmation; Filmation's commitment to keeping all its animation work in the United States 1:34:00 Filmation's going the extra mile in developing their licensed series in terms of hiring DC and Star Trek writers and hiring the original actors to reprise their voices for the animated series
27:35 How Pinky and the Brain was inspired by a Filmation cartoon; Some behind-the-scenes stories about the history of television animation; Filmation creating the weekday syndicated animation boom in the 1980s with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
1:37:10 Did Filmation's having so many licensed properties hurt their standing among animation historians?; Using Laugh-In writers in Filmation shows; Being ahead of the curve regarding diversity in series such as Isis and Fat Albert, among others
34:00 Relationship between Kid Super Power with Shazam and the Archies; Presenting all sides of the story besides Mr. Scheimer's recollections in the book; DC copyright lawsuit regarding Tarzan and the Super 7 characters 1:44:00 Many Hanna-Barbera shows could be traced back to a successful Filmation series
39:30 Filmation being sued by DC at the same time as being in business with DC; Filmation's plans for a new Batman live-action series starring Adam West & Burt Ward in the 1970s; Why Filmation never did a series for Marvel Comics; Batman being used by both Hanna-Barbera and Filmation in the 1970s; Behind the scenes in selling animated series to networks; Being inspired to create animation for weekday syndicated market 1:47:20 Status of Filmation series original materials today
51:50 Did the DC lawsuit hurt the working relationship with DC?; Changes in licensing in the post-Star Wars era; Cartoons based on toys including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 1:52:00 Status of materials for projects that never made it to series and never seen by the public; Filmation library recently purchased by DreamWorks
56:25 Filmation working with Mattel in creating the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series 1:55:30 Who has video rights to Filmation's licensed properties?; Why are some series released on DVD, but others are not?; Non-Filmation animated series Time-Life may release in the future
1:00:00 Internal thoughts at Filmation on their big gamble in producing the He-Man series; Increased competition in the wake of He-Man's success 2:00:00 Final notes from Mr. Mangels about his book and what readers can find in the book including the real story of how the Flintstones were created and when Lou Scheimer's father punched out Adolf Hitler!
1:05:00 Filmation's moral-based style suffering in comparison to GI Joe and Transformers; The rise of video games and their impact on animated programming

 

 

 

MORE INTERVIEWS...

  

the-apprentice-logo-thumb UslanMichael-resize-thumb 30-rock-thumb agnes-nixon-thumb BenSpierman-thumb big-brother-logo-thumb bobby-flay-thumb Bridgeboy-logo-thumb
cast of The Apprentice 10

BATMAN film producer MICHAEL USLAN

Sherri Shepherd

Vanessa Minnillo

All My Children creator AGNES NIXON

Bronx Opera's BEN SPIERMAN

cast of Big Brother 12 BOBBY FLAY & STEVE ELLS of America's Next Great Restaurant Cast of the play Bridgeboy
bruce-canwell-thumb chuck-thumb crystal-chappell-thumb dan-kroll-thumb dan-parent-thumb david-lyons-thumb debbie-gibson-tiffany-thumb dede-emerson-thumb
Library of American Comics' BRUCE CANWELL RYAN McPARTLIN & SARAH LANCASTER

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL

part 1: Guiding Light

part 2: Days of Our Lives

soapcentral.com founder DAN KROLL DAN PARENT of Archie Comics DAVID LYONS of The Cape DEBBIE GIBSON & TIFFANY Author DEDE EMERSON of A Different Kind of Streetwalker
dowling_jpeg-thumb eliana-ujueta-thumb jamal-igle-thumb Jay-Mary-thumb jeremy-irons-thumb jerry-beck-thumb josh-groban-thumb kai-soremekun-thumb
BOB DOWLING of the 3D Entertainment Summit Indie filmmaker ELIANA UJUETA of Beneath the Rock comic book artist JAMAL IGLE Genesis Repertory's JAY MICHAELS, MARY MiCARI, & actors Oscar-winning actor JEREMY IRONS

Animation historian JERRY BECK

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-songwriter JOSH GROBAN

web series producer KAI SOREMEKUN of Chick

1st interview

2nd interview

kathy-bates-thumb kenneth-johnson-thumb kyle-bornheimer-thumb law-and-order-los-angeles-thumb logo-thumb luann-de-lesseps-thumb max-thumb mike-miz-thumb
Oscar-winning actress KATHY BATES of Harry's Law Television producer KENNETH JOHNSON of V, Bionic Woman, Incredible Hulk KYLE BORNHEIMER & HAYES MacARTHUR of Perfect Couples

Terrence Howard, René Balcer

Dick Wolf, Alfred Molina, Alana de la Garza

publisher DAN HERMAN of Hermes Press COUNTESS LuANN de LESSEPS of The Real Housewives of New York City author MAX ALLAN COLLINS of Road to Perdition WWE Champion Mike "The MIz" Mizanin
MillCreeklogo-thumb nick-lachey-thumb niki-taylor-thumb paul-reiser-thumb ricky-gervais-thumb rosie-odonnell-thumb steve-niles-thumb the-event-cast-logo-thumb

JEFF HAYNE of Mill Creek Entertainment

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-actor NICK LACHEY supermodel NIKI TAYLOR talks The Celebrity Apprentice actor PAUL REISER of The Paul Reiser Show actor-producer RICKY GERVAIS of The Office actress-television host ROSIE O'DONNELL comic book writer STEVE NILES

Ian Anthony Dale, Nick Wauters

Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Željko Ivanek

thore-jo-thumb tom-brokaw-thumb tom-pelphrey-thumb apothecary-theatre-thumb tori-spelling-thumb
THORE SCHÖLERMANN & JO WEIL of Verbotene Liebe Peabody & Emmy award winning journalist TOM BROKAW Emmy award winning actor TOM PELPHREY of Guiding Light actors from The Apothecary Theatre Company TORI SPELLING & DEAN McDERMOTT of sTORIbook Weddings

 

 

MORE FEATURES... 

 

Reviews & Previews:

Summer 2011 Movie Preview

Fall 2010 Television season

Fra Diavolo

Die Drei Pintos

Romeo and Juliet in Brooklyn

MPI Home Video

Timless Media Group

Boris Karloff's Thriller

Hunter: The Complete Series

Polly and Her Pals

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman

Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

Spider-Man musical delayed again

Frozen

Dead Space: Aftermath

Altitude

 

 

    

Events:

New York Comic Con

Apprentice 10 kickoff

Farewell to Guiding Light

Farewell to As the World Turns

The Broadway Directory

 

Award Show winners:

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Grammy Awards

Tony Awards

American Music Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

American Country Awards

 

    

Television blogs:

American Idol 10

American Idol 9

American Idol 8

Big Brother 12

Big Brother 11

ABC Cancels Both All My Children and One Life to Live

Guiding Light: A Look Back

 

Editorials & Issues:

Scam Alert: Have You Received This E-Mail Job Offer?

Meet the 112th Congress

Brooklyn politicians Kevin Peter Carroll vs. Ralph Perfetto

Before Rosa Parks There Was Lizzie Jennings

Understanding New York State Government

USTownhall RoundTable podcast: The Worlds of Entertainment and Current Events