Noveltoons


Noveltoons is a series of animated cartoon short films produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series originated characters such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey, all of whom later became stars of Harvey Comics, which purchased the characters in 1959. All shorts from Baby Huey and Little Audrey are included. It was the successor to the series Color Classics produced by Famous’ predecessor Fleischer Studios. Several Noveltoons feature characters which originated in Color Classics, like Spunky or Raggedy Ann. This series was also similar to the two series from Warner Bros., Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in that it features several recurring characters with one general title.
In 1956, Paramount sold all of the pre-October 1950 Noveltoons to television distributor U.M. & M. TV Corporation. Shortly afterward, U.M. & M.'s assets were acquired by National Telefilm Associates. In the 1980s, NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures, and after a brief period of ownership by Spelling Entertainment in 1994, was acquired by Paramount's parent company Viacom, which placed the cartoons back in Paramount's control.
Later in 1962, Paramount sold the post-October 1950 to pre-March 1962 Noveltoons to Harvey Films, which in turn was purchased by Classic Media in 2001. Classic Media was purchased by DreamWorks Animation in 2012, which was purchased by Comcast's NBCUniversal in 2016 and currently distributed by Universal Pictures.
Paramount continues to own the post-March 1962 Noveltoons.
Most of the pre-October 1950 cartoons are currently under public domain.

Filmography

1940s

1950s

1960s

Home media

In January 2012, Thunderbean Animation released a restored collection of public domain Noveltoons on DVD entitled Noveltoons Original Classics with the following cartoons:
  1. Cilly Goose
  2. Suddenly It's Spring
  3. Yankee Doodle Donkey
  4. Scrappily Married
  5. A Lamb in a Jam
  6. Cheese Burglar
  7. Sudden Fried Chicken
  8. The Stupidstitious Cat
  9. The Enchanted Square
  10. Much Ado About Mutton
  11. The Wee Men
  12. Naughty But Mice
  13. Flip Flap
  14. The Bored Cuckoo
  15. Leprechauns Gold
  16. Quack-a-Doodle Doo
  17. Teacher's Pest
  18. Ups an' Downs Derby
  19. Pleased to Eat You
  20. Saved by the Bell.
In October 2019, Thunderbean Animation re-released Noveltoons Original Classics on Blu-ray. It included the following cartoons:
  1. Cilly Goose
  2. Suddenly It's Spring
  3. Yankee Doodle Donkey
  4. Scrappily Married
  5. A Lamb in a Jam
  6. Cheese Burglar
  7. Old MacDonald Had A Farm
  8. The Stupidstitious Cat
  9. The Enchanted Square
  10. Much Ado About Mutton
  11. Quack-a-Doodle Doo
  12. The Wee Men
  13. Naughty But Mice
  14. Flip Flap
  15. The Bored Cuckoo
  16. The Old Shell Game
  17. Teacher's Pest
  18. Ups an' Downs Derby
  19. Pleased to Eat You
  20. Saved by the Bell.
Paramount Home Entertainment released a restored print of Space Kid on the "Paramount Presents" Blu-ray re-release of the 1982 film 48 Hrs. in July 2021, making it the first Paramount cartoon from the 1960s decade to be restored on any form of home media.
On April 21, 2026, ClassicFlix will release a collection through their label Cartoon Logic called Famous Studios Champion Collection on Blu-ray. It will consist of 18 cartoons restored from 4k scans of original studio materials, in cooperation with Paramount Pictures Archives. These titles include:
  1. No Mutton Fer Nuttin'
  2. The Henpecked Rooster
  3. Suddenly It's Spring!
  4. A Lamb in a Jam
  5. The Friendly Ghost
  6. Bargain Counter Attack
  7. Sheep Shape
  8. Sudden Fried Chicken
  9. Much Ado About Mutton
  10. A Bout with a Trout
  11. There's Good Boos To-Night
  12. Butterscotch And Soda
  13. Readin', 'Ritin', And Rhythmetic
  14. Hep Cat Symphony
  15. A Haunting We Will Go
  16. Campus Capers
  17. Our Funny Finny Friends
  18. ''Quack-a Doodle-Doo''