Oct. 18, 1957
BY HAL MORRIS
Mirror-News Staff Writer

There may be no production of cartoon shorts for theaters within five years, warns Walter Lantz, veteran cartoonist-producer.

The creator of Woody Woodpecker blames the possible end of a theater
cartoon era on skyrocketing costs and the lack of extra funds from
exhibitors.

"But there’ll always be a market for cartoons," he hastens to point
out. "Even if no more cartoons are made, old ones will continue to be
screened on a periodic basis."

In 28 years, Lantz has produced 600 cartoons released through Universal
Pictures Co. Thirteen cartoons are slated for production next year.

Seven cartoon producers turned out 175 shorts in 1947, Lantz mentions.
Now, he adds, only 75 cartoons are scheduled this year by five
producers.

He says in 1941 seven- to eight-minute cartoons were made for $15,000
($208,367.01 USD 2006). If produced the same way today, he figures, the
same cartoon would cost $75,000 ($537,396.28 USD 2006). However,
average cost now is $35,000 ($250,784.93 USD 2006) and some of the
quality is lost.

Cartoons are one or two minutes shorter now than in 1941, Lantz
reveals. A 45-piece orchestra for background music in 1941 has been
scaled down to a dozen men. Animators were paid $70 a week in 1941
compared with a minimum of $225 ($1,612.19 USD 2006) now, Lantz
explains.

Meanwhile, exhibitors are paying only 15% more now for cartoons than in the prewar days, he stresses.

"Exhibitors still won’t pay 25 cents extra for a booking," Lantz
emphasizes. "We’re lucky to get $100 a week for a cartoon at a
first-run theater. But the fee goes as low as $4 a week at second-run
small-town houses."

Despite the glum outlook for the cartoon industry, Lantz expects his
Walter Lantz Productions (of which he is sole owner) to increase
business next year. He started his firm with $20,000 in 1937, now
values it at $6 million.

Sensing the downward trend in cartoons, Lantz has expanded to
television, where he shows older cartoons on ABC-TV (Thursdays, 5
p.m.). "If TV hadn’t come along, there would be a very sad picture in
the cartoon industry," he says.

"I’m aiming for the biggest teenage and adult audience of any cartoon
show on TV," Lantz declares. On the TV show, he includes short segments
on how cartoons are made. He also makes TV commercials, using Woody
Woodpecker.

Lantz sees no additional producing firms entering the field. "To start
out today it would cost a firm $40,000 for each six-minute short and
there are many obstacles in the way." The figure does not include rent,
camera equipment, etc.

"It takes four years of showings to break even," he explains. "And if
it weren’t for reissues (about every seven years) I’d be out of
business today."