Jordan Lund wrote:
> In the special features there are a series of cartoons reccomended by
> Hellboy. The weird part is that these were apparently done in the 50s
> and not only had I never heard of them before, they are from UPA, a
> studio I've never heard of before.
>
> The style is the polar opposite of Hellboy, Gerald McBoing Boing is a
> kid who can't speak in words but goes "BOING BOING!" instead. The art
> style is similar to the classic "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and the
> writing style is closest to Dr. Seuss.
> The Tell Tale Heart is a wonderful bit of animation based, naturally,
> on the Poe story.
>
> Note to self: find out more about UPA animation...
[Translated version:]
UPA's best known for giving Faith & John Hubley their start, but better
known for the Mr. Magoo series.
And del Toro mentioned in interviews he specifically slipped it into his
contract that the UPA cartoons be included, since--as fellow DVD fan--he
knew Sony was notoriously lax about getting the Columbia/UPA cartoons on
tape *or* disk (apart from "Magoo's Christmas Carol", obviously).
In an opening to one of the "classic" Mr. Magoo specials, Magoo parodies
the more award-winning UPA shorts--
As he's leading a "studio tour group" (a cat and three kittens), he
finds his way to the First Aid medicine cabinet:
"And here, as you can see, in this glass case, we keep the many Academy
Awards that UPA has won over the years:
(United Corn Plaster) Here's one for 'Unicorn in the Garden'...
(Tick-Tock Heart Tonic) And for 'Tell-Tale Heart'...
(General Bunion Remedy) And, of course, for 'Gerald McBoing-Boing'..."
Derek Janssen