Christmas Cards
At Christmas it was a tradition for Fleischer staff to exchange these cards with each other. These mini works of art were drawn and often hand-colored by the animators themselves. They featured studio stars like Betty Boop or Popeye, photos of spouses and children— or sometimes they’re just a gag about Christmas! The many marriages that happened between Fleischer staffers are reflected in some of these cards.
Most of the Christmas cards here were drawn by men. In the early 1930’s there were no women animators at any of the studios. Women were only hired to do other jobs, such as painting and coloring cels. In 1933, Fleischer Studios was the first animation studio to hire a female animator! This card is from Max and Dave Fleischer, the brothers and pioneers in early film, who eventually formed Fleischer Studios. Max was President and Dave was Vice-President. |
Christmas Comes
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This extremely rare film, never shown before, shows the Fleischer Studios Christmas party of December 1935. It’s blurry, and jumps around… but it’s amazing this bit of film still exists.
The Studio had a BIG Christmas party for the whole staff every year. These were usually held in a theater or hotel, and they were big affairs! There was dancing, eating, crazy gifts, skits by staff, and a rousing good time. The parties grew bigger every year. While Fleischer Studios had nearly 100 employees in 1930—by 1939, after they relocated to Florida, their staff had grown to over 700. |