Cubby Bear's 80th Birthday and a look at the RKO Roxy

February 10th, 2013 marks the 80th Birthday of the theatrical cartoon "Opening Night" which debuted Cubby Bear; a now obscure cartoon star who was one of the many 1930's cartoon creations utilized to outdo Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse.  Despite not being animated overly well, "Opening Night" is still an interesting time piece that, in a way, offers modern day viewers a look at the past and at an era long gone.  

"Opening Night", was made by the Van Beuren Corporation, a motion picture company located in New York City, that specialized in the production of both live action and animated theatrical short subjects.  The cartoon was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures who, like Twentieth Century-Fox and United Artists, never had their own in-house cartoon studio and only distributed animated cartoons to theaters during Hollywood's golden age (Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, Columbia, and Universal at one point had their own in-house cartoon studio during this era).  During the years of 1932 through 1936, the Van Beuren Corporation was RKO's unofficial theatrical cartoon studio.

RKO's triumphant radio tower logo and lightning bolt logo.  Unlike Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, Columbia, and Universal, who placed their proud logos on their animated theatrical cartoons, neither of RKO's two logos ever made an appearance on any of Van Beuren's cartoons.

          Cubby Bear was another unsuccessful attempt by the Van Beuren Corporation to take on Mickey Mouse.  The studio had tried earlier with other characters, including one that was a crudely drawn Mouse that looked vastly similar to Mickey Mouse; the character actutally fooled audiences in thinking it was Mickey Mouse and thus prompted a law suit from Walt Disney.  Cubby Bear was only featured in twenty cartoons (one of which was not released to theaters) that were made throughout 1933 and 1934.  Though these cartoons were not overly popular with the general public at the time of their original theatrical release, today they are still fun to watch as they are incredibly campy with their bizaire stories and crude animation.  One of the best of the bunch "The Nut Factory" (1933) clearly demonstrates some of the strange plots that were thought up for Cubby Bear.

          "Opening Night", though still odd, sticks out from the other Cubby Bear cartoons and holds some interesting historical value.  To begin with, the cartoon was a spoof of the grand opening of the RKO Roxy Theatre in New York City which had opened a few months prior, on December 29th 1932.  The Theater, a beautiful art-deco streamlined theater located in Rockefeller Center in New York City, was an un-identical sister theatre to RKO's other newest theater, Radio City Music Hall.  Both theater's were beautiful additions to both New York City and RKO's Theatre Chain.  Information regarding the Roxy Theatre's grand opening and it's architecture can be found on the Cinema Treasures' Page for the Roxy, which has a nice write up regarding it by William Gabel.  The plot of the cartoon revolves around Cubby sneaking into the grand opening show of a RKO Roxy Theatre and eventually leading the orchestra to the theatre's opening prologue show.  While the cartoon revolves around Cubby's exploration of the venue, it also showcases some of the strange modern features offered to its cartoon character patrons.  Many of these features include a cavernous lobby, foyer, and auditorium, moving seats that bring patrons to the auditorium, and trap doors that dispose of rude inconsiderate patrons.

Images from "Opening Night".  Note how crudely designed the film and animation is.

Top Left, Image 1: The Exterior of the RKO Roxy. Top Image 2, outside of the theatre.  Top Image 3: the staircase infested  Foyer of the theatre. Top image 4: the door to the theatre "control room".  Bottom Left, Image 1: Moving chairs that bring patrons to a spot within the auditorium.  Bottom Image 2 & 3: The auditorium.  

Bottom Image 4: The Stage with the grand opening prologue show.

      Though unrealistic, in some aspects the cartoon offers modern day viewers a look at the past.  While the film is not a documentation of the (real NYC) Roxy Theatre's grand opening, it does poke fun at the emphasis that was put towards the Roxy, and also towards many other brand new or recently renovated movie theaters located throughout the United States in the 1920's and 1950's.  Grand opening advertisements for new or recently renovated movie theaters often over emphasized the new special features and modern comforts the venue had to offer its patrons.

Though not related to the Roxy Theatre in New York City, two examples of grand opening theatre advertisements which accentuate the wonderful features and modern comforts found in the particular venues.  Left is a 1928 grand opening advertisement for the Embassy Theatre in Waltham MA.  Right is a 1947 grand re-opening advertisement for the, modernized, Victoria Theater in Greenfield MA (built 1913).

The opening prologue show featured at the end of the cartoon, though not overly funny, is still interesting from a historical perspective.  The show, which does not seem to spoof any particular stage show, is an exaggeration of the elaborate stage shows that were often put on at theatres such as the Roxy Theatre.  These stage shows were performed prior to the showing of a feature film. (Smaller theaters located in towns would feature vaudeville acts, stage acts, dance acts, etc.  in their programs).

Left: A scene from "Opening Night" of an elaborate opening prologue show.  Right: A Vintage postcard of Radio City Music Mall with an elaborate stage show or prologue show taking place. (Many postcards from this era were often Black and White Photographs that were colored)

            Another interesting historical perspective regarding "Opening Night", is that the film may have been attempting to subliminally market Cubby Bear with the new Roxy Theatre.  Perhaps the Van Beuren Corporation thought if they debuted Cubby Bear, RKO's newest cartoon star, with the Roxy Theatre, an RKO Theatre that was highly praised, the subliminal marketing would cause Cubby to be more successful than Mickey Mouse.  If this was the case, the technique unfortunately failed, as after only 19 cartoons Cubby was still struggling to outdo Mickey Mouse.   It should be stated that several months later in July of 1933 the Disney studios released a cartoon entitled "Mickey's Gala Premiere"; a film that revolved around the premiere of a new Mickey Mouse cartoon at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.    In the cartoon, the Chinese Theater (one of Hollywood's grand premiere movie palaces) is jam packed with caricatures of Hollywood's top celebrities all excited to see Mickey's most recent film.  Unlike "Opening Night", the Disney cartoon is a celebration of Mickey Mouse's popularity and isn't trying to subliminally market their cartoon star with a popular theater.

Still images from "Mickey's Gala Premiere"

Available on the "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 1" DVD

           So if you are into researching classic movie theaters and experiences relating to going to the movies, I would recommend viewing "Opening Night".  The cartoon is in the public domain and is available on two excellent DVD compilations.  The first compilation is "The Cartoons That Time Forgot: from the Van Beuren Studio" and is a collection that mainly showcases the three-strip Technicolor "Rainbow Parade" cartoons produced by Van Beuren in 1935 through 1936.  (The "Rainbow Parades" were the studios un-succesful attempt on taking on Walt Disney's Three-strip Technicolor "Silly Symphony" cartoons.  They were made in 1934 through 1936)  Along with the Three-Strip Technicolor cartoons the collection also features one "Cubby Bear" cartoon "Opening Night", a couple of the studio's "Tom and Jerry" cartoons (not the famous Cat and Mouse duo from MGM) and one of the greatest Van Beuren cartoons ever made "The Sunshine Makers".  The other collection is "The Goldenage of Cartoons: The Complete Adventures of Cubby Bear", a DVD compiliation by film historian Steve Stanchfield, that features all twenty Cubby Bear Cartoons.

PS- Be sure to check out "Mickey's Gala Premiere" available on the "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 1" DVD.


Addition Links:

BOOK: "American Showman: Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and the Birth of the Entertainment Industry"

BOOK: "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons" by Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck

DVD's: Steve Stanchfield's Thunderbean Animation DVD sales page (More great Van Beuren compilations).