Who's Who in Cartoons

There has been debate on which is the best. The best for your health, the best person for the country. The best hard rock of the 80's for the deaf during a snow storm. It's all been done many times before. But none discussed the one factors that matter, which cartoon company is the best. First lets introduce the cartoons Companies:

• Disney- started in 1923 with Walt and Roy Disney. They made there first theatrical debut with Steamboat Willie starring the beloved character, Mickey Mouse. They are the first company to create animated movie with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The company has been creating cartoons ever since. They were also the first to create an amusement park with rides based on various cartoons. In the timeline of Disney, Roy faded out and Walt was the head of the company until his death. Staple character: Mickey Mouse

• Warner Bros.- started in 1903, the company didn't start making cartoons until the 1930's. The first cartoons where musical cartoons. In 1933, Leon Schlesinger created the production dream team with directors Fez Freleng, Tex Avery, Robert Clampett, and Chuck Jones. There first noticeable character was Porky Pig created by Tex Avery. Soon Porky pig led to Daffy Duck, then Daffy Duck led to Bugs Bunny. They made many different noticeable characters including Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat. The company eventually outed Disney in animated shorts. Staple character: Bugs Bunny

• MGM- Didn't really start until 1933 but did make cartoons in 1930. They were trying to match up against rival Warner Bros. They tried making a rip off of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies with Happy Harmonies created by former Schlesinger team members Hugh Herman and Rudolph Ising. Unfortunately, Happy Harmonies went over budget and could not be sustained. They abandoned it until 1939. After rehiring Herman and Ising, they created a noticeable character of Barney Bear. In 1940, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created the two characters that set MGM up in the classes with Warner Bros. and Disney with Tom and Jerry. The Tom and Jerry cartoons led to seven Academy Award wins. In 1941, Tex Avery joined MGM. Staple Character: Tom and Jerry

• Hanna- Barbera- The last big name cartoon production company until the 1980's. Hanna- Barbera was first a subsidiary of MGM with directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. In 1957, MGM shut down Hanna- Barbera and soon the company started to privately making their own cartoons. They created a plethora of cartoons for t.v. They were criticized for there lack of artistic value and relied mostly on their voice acting and sound effects. They were the only production company on t.v. and the cheapest. They were able to produce a 10 minute cartoon with only 1/ 20 of the drawings. They made greater cartoons and took MGM's cartoon Tom and Jerry. Staple character: Yogi Bear?

Now that we have a brief history of the four studios lets start ranking them. First category please:

Art:

This includes character drawing and background composition. There is no debate on whether which one should be where from greatest to least.

1. Disney- cartoon of recognition: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Warner Bros- cartoon of recognition: Most of the Merry Melodies cartoons
3. MGM- cartoon of recognition: those made by Tex Avery
4. Hanna- Barbera- cartoon recognition: The Smurfs

Music:

This includes sound effects, background, and intro/exit music. This is more contested than the last category. From greatest to least.

1. Hanna- Barbera: had the many great sound effects, great background music, and had good opening themes.
2. Warner Bros.: They had a lot of success with Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies which used an orchestra to create the sound effects and Background music
3. Walt Disney: They didn't really produce great music staples until later. Most of their movies had a standard musical number which did not go with the rest of the movie. They had the money to get high class rock stars to create songs for the company.
4. MGM: Since they weren't taken seriously as a cartoon company, they didn't really have great music. The only great aspect of music was Tom and Jerry which was a Hanna- Barbera cartoon.

Writing:

1. Disney- really tried to create a good composition of writing. They are not here because they were the best, the others created a big mistake.
2. Hanna- Barbera- they were the best comedy writers in the business. No one could come close to what they could do. The reason they were down below Disney was because they often rehashed many cartoon styles aka Jabberjaw, Speed Buggy, etc. were carbon copies of Scooby- Doo
3. Warner Bros.- suffered the same fate as Hanna- Barbera. They had great writers but many cartoons used the same plot as the ones before. Also they used many cliche jokes.
4. MGM- They weren't great cartoon writers. The Tom and Jerry franchise was the only well written cartoon and none of the characters spoke

Recognizability:
The cartoons recognizability to the public and the how they associate with the company

1. Disney- Disney is everywhere. Mickey Mouse is known world wide. Disney has branded their characters into our psyche.
2. Warner Bros.- Bugs Bunny is almost as recognizable as Mickey Mouse and the other main characters are right behind. Warner Bros. did a great job of creating these memorable characters
3. Hanna- Barbera- Yogi bear is this companies staple character. Wait it's the Flintstones. No its Scooby Doo. Right now the company is recognized by Yogi Bear but could suffer an identity crisis. They created the most cartoons but some cartoons could not be placed in the memory with the company.
4. MGM- this company suffers from no identity. Its only good characters were Tom and Jerry. Even though they had great cartoons, there wasn't any returning characters.

Who is the best cartoon creator

In reverse order

4. MGM

3. Hanna Barbera

2. Warner Bros.

And #1.....






1. Disney

Now this is just my opinion. Your opinion is welcomed. Please comment.