Flip the Frog

Flip the Frog
Flip the Frog in his first appearance
First appearance	Fiddlesticks (1930)
Last appearance	Soda Squirt (1933)
Created by	Ub Iwerks
In-universe information
Species	Frog
Gender	Male

Flip the Frog is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Ub Iwerks. He starred in a series of cartoons produced by Celebrity Pictures and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1930 to 1933. The series had many recurring characters, including Flip's dog, the mule Orace, and a dizzy neighborhood spinster.

History

Ub Iwerks was an animator for the Walt Disney Studios and a personal friend of Walt Disney. In 1930, after a series of disputes between the two, Iwerks left Disney and went on to accept an offer from Pat Powers to open a cartoon studio of his own, Iwerks Studio, and receive a salary of $300 a week, an offer that Disney was unable to match at the time.

Iwerks was to produce new cartoons under Powers' Celebrity Pictures auspices and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The first series he was to produce was to feature a character called Tony the Frog, but Iwerks disliked the name and was subsequently changed to Flip.

Ub Iwerks planned to release the series in both color and black and white versions through Celebrity Productions, Inc. The series attracted public attention in England by being the first color sound cartoon series, in the two-color British Multicolor System. These shorts were exhibited in England in color, but not in the United States where they were made. After four shorts had been produced (Fiddlesticks, Flying Fists, Little Orphan Willie and Puddle Pranks) MGM picked up the series. They agreed to exhibit Fiddlesticks and Flying Fists. Little Orphan Willie and Puddle Pranks were never copyrighted and remain in the public domain. MGM decided to produce the series entirely in black and white, releasing the ones produced in color in black and white versions only. Some have speculated that Techno-Cracked (1933) may have been photographed in Cinecolor. The Cinecolor process was a new two-color process that came out in 1932, the year that Technicolor began phasing out its two-color system in favor of their new three-strip process. Iwerks would go on to make extensive use of Cinecolor with his ComiColor Cartoon series.

Iwerks' studio quickly began accumulating new talent, such as animators Fred Kopietz, Irv Spence, Grim Natwick, and Chuck Jones (who worked at the Iwerks studio as a cel-washer before going on to inbetweening and then animating at the Leon Schlesinger studio). After the first two cartoons, the appearance of Flip the Frog gradually became less froglike. This was done under the encouragement of MGM, who thought that the series would sell better if the character were more humanized. Flip's major redesign is attributed to Grim Natwick, who made a name for himself at the Fleischer Studios with the creation of Betty Boop. Natwick also had a hand in changing Flip's girlfriend. In earlier films, she was consistently a cat, but Natwick made Flip's new girlfriend, Fifi, a human who shared distinct similarities with Betty (even down to her spit curls).

The frog's personality also began to develop. As the series progressed, Flip became more of a down-and-out, Chaplin-esque character who always found himself in everyday conflicts surrounding the poverty-stricken atmosphere of the Great Depression. Owing to the influx of New York City animators to Iwerks' studio, such as Natwick, the shorts became increasingly risqué. In Room Runners (1932), Flip, out of cash and luck, attempts to sneak out of his hotel in order to avoid paying his past-due rent. Another gag has Flip watch a girl taking a shower through a keyhole. In The Office Boy, released the same year, Flip tries to secure a low-level office job and meets a shapely secretary. At one point in the short, a mischievous mouse that Flip tries to apprehend scoots up the secretary's skirt. In A Chinaman's Chance (1933), Flip and his dog track down the notorious Chinese criminal Chow Mein. While investigating in a Chinese laundry, Flip stumbles into an opium den, inhales the drug though an opium pipe he takes from a sleeping junkie, and begins hallucinating.

The character eventually wore out his welcome at MGM. His final short was Soda Squirt, released in August 1933. Subsequently, Iwerks replaced the series with a new one starring an imaginative child named Willie Whopper. Flip became largely forgotten by the public in the ensuing years, but the character would make a small comeback when animation enthusiasts and historians began digging up the old Iwerks shorts. All of the Flip cartoons are now available in the 2004 Region 2 Flip the Frog DVD set released by Mk2/Lobster in France. Most are available in Region 1, in particular on the Cartoons That Time Forgot series.

Flip the Frog Annual

In 1931, a Flip the Frog Annual was issued in England by Dean & Son Ltd. Published "by exclusive arrangement with Ub Iwerks, the originator of the film character, Flip The Frog", it was drawn by Wilfred Haughton, who also drew the early Mickey Mouse Annuals for Dean. The Annual only ran for one edition, based on Flip's ending in 1933 and the lack of success with it. The earlier, more frog-like character was used rather than the later version. The book contains 11 full cartoon strip stories, 4 colour plates and other one-page items that are not derived from any of his cartoons. All the adventures take place outside, unlike the cartoons, and feature additional characters, including a mischievous boy fox ("Freddie"), a policeman ("Robert"), an Uncle Flop (mentioned only), and others not shown in the cartoon films. An additional cartoon co-star included is Flap, Flip's frog girlfriend from Puddle Pranks (1930).

Flip the Frog filmography

1930

Film	Animated by	Backgrounds	Original release date	Availability	Notes
Fiddlesticks	Ub Iwerks Fred Kopietz Tony Pabian	Fred Kopietz	August 16, 1930	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	In two-strip Harriscolor; released by Celebrity Productions (early 1930) and MGM (August 16, 1930).
Flying Fists	Ub Iwerks	N/A	September 6, 1930	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Originally in two-strip Harriscolor; released by Celebrity Productions (early 1930) and MGM (September 6, 1930). Harricolor elements have not been located in the modern era.
Little Orphan Willie1	Ub Iwerks	N/A	1930	Return of the 30s Characters	Rejected by MGM and never copyrighted. Originally in two-strip Harriscolor, though color elements have not been located in the modern era.
Puddle Pranks2	Ub Iwerks	N/A	1930	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	The first cartoon to open with Flip's specially-animated piano theme song. Rejected by MGM and never copyrighted. Originally in two-strip Harriscolor, though color elements have not been located in the modern era.
The Village Barber	Ub Iwerks Fred Kopietz	N/A	September 27, 1930	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	The first cartoon both produced for and released by MGM.
The Cuckoo Murder Case	Ub Iwerks Irven Spence	N/A	October 18, 1930	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)

¹ Little Orphan Willie and Puddle Pranks were both rejected by MGM and never copyrighted. They were released domestically by Celebrity Productions, Inc., which also released Fiddlesticks and Flying Fists before the series was picked up by MGM. They were also released in Europe by other distributors, including the UK's Showman Films.
² First cartoon produced for MGM, though rejected and not released by them; variant nitrate elements exist that present it with MGM titles. The 2023 Thunderbean Blu-ray collection includes this version as an alternate.

1931

Film	Animated by	Original release date	Availability	Notes
The Village Smitty	Ub Iwerks Grim Natwick	January 31, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist.
The Soup Song	Ub Iwerks Fred Kopietz	January 31, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Laughing Gas	Ub Iwerks	March 14, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Ragtime Romeo	Ub Iwerks Grim Natwick	May 2, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
The New Car		July 25, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	First cartoon featuring the redesigned Flip Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist
Movie Mad	Ub Iwerks	August 29, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist.
The Village Specialist		September 12, 1931	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Jail Birds	Ub Iwerks Grim Natwick	September 26, 1931	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Africa Squeaks		October 17, 1931	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist.
Spooks		December 21, 1931	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)

1932

Film	Animated by	Original release date	Availability	Notes
The Milkman	Ub Iwerks Fred Kopietz Grim Natwick	February 20, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	This is one of the shorts that made pre-Hays Code Hollywood films notorious for pushing the boundaries of what was considered taboo at the time, particularly the use of curse words and profane terms. However, a character uses the term "hell" in the context of the phrase "What the hell do we care".
Fire-Fire	Ub Iwerks	March 5, 1932	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
What A Life		March 26, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist.
Puppy Love		April 30, 1932	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
School Days		May 14, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
The Bully		June 18, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
The Office Boy	Pete Burness Chuck Jones Fred Kopietz Grim Natwick	July 16, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Room Runners	Shamus Culhane Grim Natwick Irven Spence	August 13, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Stormy Seas	Ub Iwerks Grim Natwick	August 22, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Circus	Ub Iwerks	August 27, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
The Goal Rush	Ub Iwerks Grim Natwick	October 3, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	Original opening MGM logo music and footage exist – one of the few Flip shorts that is found with Jackie's roar.
The Pony Express 1	Shamus Culhane Al Eugster Grim Natwick	October 27, 1932	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
The Music Lesson	Ub Iwerks Shamus Culhane Chuck Jones Grim Natwick	October 29, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Nurse Maid	Shamus Culhane	November 26, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)	First cartoon in which the character is simply referred to as "Flip" in the opening titles.
Funny Face	Shamus Culhane Grim Natwick	December 24, 1932	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)

¹ Retitled as "Phoney Express" when the cartoon was reissued by Pat Powers.

1933

Film	Animated by	Original release date	Availability
Coo Coo the Magician	Shamus Culhane Grim Natwick	January 21, 1933	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Flip's Lunch Room	Lee Blair Shamus Culhane Grim Natwick	April 3, 1933	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Techno-Cracked 1	Shamus Culhane	May 8, 1933	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Bulloney	Shamus Culhane Al Eugster Ub Iwerks	May 30, 1933	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
A Chinaman's Chance	Shamus Culhane	June 24, 1933	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Pale-Face	Shamus Culhane Al Eugster	August 12, 1933	Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)
Soda Squirt	Lee Blair Shamus Culhane Al Eugster Grim Natwick Irven Spence	October 12, 1933	Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 2 Flip the Frog, 2004 2-DVD set, Mk2/Lobster Films (France)

¹ Possibly filmed in color.

Home media

Thirty-seven of Flip's cartoons were compiled on the French Mk2/Lobster Films 2004 2-disc DVD set Flip the Frog. Twenty-seven of Flip's cartoons are included in the two DVD collections Cartoons That Time Forgot: The Ub Iwerks Collection, Vol. 1 and 2.

Another early Flip short, Little Orphan Willie, while not included on any of the above DVD releases, is included on the DVD collection Return of the 30s Characters from Thunderbean Animation.

All thirty-eight of Flip's cartoons were released restored on Blu-ray in October 2023 by Thunderbean Animation. The Blu-ray has an introduction by documentary filmmaker and Ub Iwerks' granddaughter Leslie Iwerks.

In popular culture

A clip of the character tap-dancing on a turtle from Fiddlesticks is featured on a television set in the music video for Eminem's song "The Real Slim Shady", which a viewer laughs at.

Footage from Room Runners is featured during the intro sequence of the Futurama episode "Children of a Lesser Bog".

In the Muppet Babies episode "The Great Muppet Cartoon Show", footage from Funny Faces appears during the "We Love Cartoons" song.

See also

• Golden Age of American animation

Further reading

• Maltin, Leonard (1987): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.
• Lenburg, Jeff (1993): The Great Cartoon Directors. Da Capo Press.
• Flip the Frog Annual (1932). Dean & Son, London.

External links

• Flip the Frog at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.
• Fiddlesticks (1930) public domain theatrical cartoon short