The Katzenjammer Kids - Cartoons

Cartoons

The Katzenjammer Kids characters initially appeared outside of comics in a handful of live-action silent films, the first released in 1898. Between December 1916 and August 1918, a total of 37 Katzenjammer Kids silent cartoon shorts were produced by William Randolph Hearst's own cartoon studio International Film Service, which adapted well-known comic strips owned by Hearst for animation. The series was retired in 1918 at the height of the characters' popularity - partly because of the growing tension against titles with German associations after World War I. The comic strip was briefly renamed to "The Shenanigan Kids" around this time, and in 1920 another five cartoons were produced under this title. All Katzenjammer Kids/Shenanigan Kids cartoons from International Film Services were directed (and most likely also animated) by Gregory La Cava.

In 1938, The Captain and the Kids became the subject of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's first self-produced series of theatrical short subject cartoons, directed by William Hanna, Bob Allen and Friz Freleng. Unlike the strip, which focused most of all on the gruesomely amusing antics of Hans and Fritz, the MGM cartoons often centered around the Captain. The series was overall unsuccessful, ending after one year and a total of 15 cartoons. Following that cancellation, Freleng returned to Warner Bros., where he had earlier been an animation director. The Captain was voiced by Billy Bletcher, and John Silver was voiced by Mel Blanc.