History Creator / FrankTashlin

In 1941, he found work at Creator/ColumbiaCartoons, where he became the studio's creative producer and directed three short cartoons, one of them being the first of Columbia's star series ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheCrow''--the short in question, "The Fox and the Grapes" was the first cartoon to use a "blackout gag" format, which director Creator/ChuckJones would cite as an influence on his [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner]] cartoons. While Tashlin's tenure would revitalize the lagging studio creatively (alongside restaffing its ranks with a bevy of former Disney artists and storymen, among them eventual key UPA director John Hubley), Columbia's upper management, seeking to exercise greater control over Screen Gems, demoted Tashlin only a year later, leading to his departure months afterwards; he would be replaced by the (similarly briefly-tenured) [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer Dave Fleischer]].

In 1936, Leon managed to lure Tashlin back to his studio, giving him a position as a director there, right during a time when Creator/TexAvery was starting to take the studio away from its Creator/{{Disney}} roots in favor of faster-paced, more cartoony shorts. Frank jumped right in, getting off to a good start with "Porky's Poultry Plant", where he adapted live-action-style fast cutting and dynamic camera angles into his cartoons, giving them a cinematic, energetic feel lacking in Creator/TexAvery and Creator/FrizFreleng's cartoon shorts. Despite this, he wasn't particularly happy due to being stuck working on WesternAnimation/PorkyPig cartoons, who Tashlin later admitted was his least favorite character.

* Now That Summer Is Gone. The first short produced by a restructured Tashlin unit now including notable animators Bob McKimson and Ken Harris, commencing a noticeable AnimationBump that would continue for the remainder of Tashlin's first directorship at Warners.

* Hare Remover: Second of two WesternAnimation/BugsBunny shorts he directed but was uncredited. Last Warner Bros. short Tashlin directed during his third stint at Warner Bros; his second unit would subsequently be inherited by longtime master animator (including, coincidentally, under Tashlin in the late 1930s) Robert McKimson.

* Buddy's Beer Garden: Animator.

* WesternAnimation/PorkysPoultryPlant: First credited directorial effort at the studio.

* Speaking of the Weather: First [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] short he worked on. This short is the first of the "Tashlin Trio" of things-come-to-life cartoons that managed to single handedly destroy the genre due to their immense popularity.

* Now That Summer Is Gone

* Little Pauncho Vanilla
* You're An Education: The final member of the "Tashlin Trio" and the last cartoon he worked on during his second stint at Warner Bros.

* WesternAnimation/PorkyPigsFeat: First short upon his return to WB.

* Hare Remover: Second of two WesternAnimation/BugsBunny shorts he directed but was uncredited. Last Warner Bros. short Tashlin directed during his third stint at Warner Bros.

* Film/WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'': An animated short based on his book, directed by Creator/ChuckJones.

Departing Warner's for the final time in 1944 (his final short would be the 1946 WesternAnimation/BugsBunny short ''Hare Remover''), Tashlin went on to direct and write for many live-action films, most famously the Creator/JayneMansfield comedies ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' and ''Film/WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter'', and numerous Creator/JerryLewis movies. His films are notable for including live-action versions of cartoon gags, such as the near-sexual reactions of every man who sees Jayne Mansfield's character walk by in ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (such as the ice melting in the ice truck and the milkman's bottle of milk popping and spilling over). He also wrote five books: "The Bear That Wasn't" (1941), "How The Circus Learned to Smile" (1949, "The Possum That Didn't" (1950) and "The World That Isn't" (1951) and a self-help cartooning book "How to Create Cartoons" (1952). He even briefly returned to animation in 1967, adapting one of his children's books ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'' into an Creator/{{MGM}} animated short, directed by his former colleague Creator/ChuckJones (which Tashlin didn't like).

To get a more deep idea of Tashlin as a person and his history at Warners, an interview of him has been posted by Micheal Barrier [[http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Tashlin/tashlin_interview.htm here.]]

Following his deparyure from Screen Gems, Tashlin would once again return to Creator/WarnerBros in 1942, initially as a storyman (specifically for the iconic Bob Clampett short ''A Corny Concerto'') and, following the departure of Norm McCabe, as a director. Now an exponentially more experienced filmmaker, Tashlin adopted a more experimental approach in his second directorial tenure, bringing stylized, magazine-like angular designs to his new shorts. Some of these later shorts notably had overt sexual themes, particularly ''WesternAnimation/PlaneDaffy'' (which had a FemmeFataleSpy character named [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Hatta Mari]], whose blond hair and top-heavy hourglass figure recalled real-life sex symbols of the day). It's been said that the difference between Creator/BobClampett's cartoons and Frank Tashlin's cartoons in terms of risqué humor is that Tashlin was more polished and subtle while Clampett was broader, wilder, and more adolescent (though some Tashlin cartoons, such as "I've Got Plenty of Mutton" and "Swooner Crooner" do have their moments of Clampett-esque raunchiness).

In 1941, he found work at Creator/ColumbiaCartoons, where he directed three short cartoons, one of them being the first of Columbia's star series ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheCrow''--the short in question, "The Fox and the Grapes" was the first cartoon to use a "blackout gag" format, which director Creator/ChuckJones would cite as an influence on his [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner]] cartoons.

He would once again return to Creator/WarnerBros in 1943, this time bringing stylized, magazine-like angular designs to his new shorts. Some of these later shorts notably had sexual themes, particularly ''WesternAnimation/PlaneDaffy'' (which had a FemmeFataleSpy character named [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Hatta Mari]], whose blond hair and top-heavy hourglass figure recalled real-life sex symbols of the day). It's been said that the difference between Creator/BobClampett's cartoons and Frank Tashlin's cartoons in terms of risqué humor is that Tashlin was more polished and subtle while Clampett was broader, wilder, and more adolescent (though some Tashlin cartoons, such as "I've Got Plenty of Mutton" and "Swooner Crooner" do have their moments of Clampett-esque raunchiness).

After his cartoon career ended, Tashlin went on to direct and write for many live-action films, most famously the Creator/JayneMansfield comedies ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' and ''Film/WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter'', and numerous Creator/JerryLewis movies. His films are notable for including live-action versions of cartoon gags, such as the near-sexual reactions of every man who sees Jayne Mansfield's character walk by in ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (such as the ice melting in the ice truck and the milkman's bottle of milk popping and spilling over). He also wrote five books: "The Bear That Wasn't" (1941), "How The Circus Learned to Smile" (1949, "The Possum That Didn't" (1950) and "The World That Isn't" (1951) and a self-help cartooning book "How to Create Cartoons" (1952). He even briefly returned to animation in 1967, adapting one of his children's books ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'' into an Creator/{{MGM}} animated short, directed by his former colleague Creator/ChuckJones (which Tashlin didn't like).

Initially, Tashlin cut his teeth working for [[Creator/{{Terrytoons}} Paul Terry]] as an animator on the ''Aesop's Film Fables'' series of cartoons, only to quickly drift off to another animation stint at Creator/VanBeurenStudios. Finally, in 1932, he found work at the then-rising WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] cartoon studio, working as an animator while working on a short-lived comic strip in his spare time called ''Van Boring'', the name being an obvious jab at his previous boss. When Leon tried to swindle Frank into giving him a cut of the comics profits, Frank told him to shove it and promptly lost his job as a result. Once again adrift, he did a brief stint at the Creator/UbIwerks cartoon studio in 1934, only to leave in 1935 for Creator/HalRoachStudios to be a writer on the ''[[Film/TheLittleRascals Our Gang]]'' series, where he learned quite a bit about live-action film-making, including film-camera techniques.

However, he left the studio again, with his crew being handed over to Creator/ChuckJones, while he went to work for Creator/{{Disney}} from 1938 to 1940, where he began story work on Walt's proposed MickeyMouse feature, which would later evolve into the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree''.

* The Alphabet Murders

Francis Fredrick von Taschlein (February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972) was a prominent animator, writer, and director of both cartoons and live action films. His most notable work was done for the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Leon Schlesinger cartoon studio]] during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, having three separate stints at the place.

Initially, Tashlin cut his teeth working for [[Creator/{{Terrytoons}} Paul Terry]] as an animator on the ''Aesop's Film Fables'' series of cartoons, only to quickly drift off to another animation stint at Creator/VanBeurenStudios. Finally, in 1932, he found work at the then-rising WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] cartoon studio, working as an animator, while working on a short-lived comic strip in his spare time called ''Van Boring'', the name being an obvious jab at his previous boss. When Leon tried to swindle Frank into giving him a cut of the comics profits, Frank told him to shove it and promptly lost his job as a result. Once again adrift, he did a brief stint at the Creator/UbIwerks cartoon studio in 1934, only to leave in 1935 for Creator/HalRoachStudios to be a writer on the ''[[Film/TheLittleRascals Our Gang]]'' series, where he learned quite a bit about live-action film-making, including film-camera techniques.

In 1936, Leon managed to lure Tashlin back to his studio, giving him a position as a director there, right during a time when Creator/TexAvery was starting to take the studio away from its Creator/{{Disney}} roots in favor of faster paced, more cartoony shorts. Frank jumped right in, getting off to a good start with "Porky's Poultry Plant", where he adapted live-action-style fast cutting and dynamic camera angles into his cartoons, giving them a cinematic, energetic feel lacking in Creator/TexAvery and Creator/FrizFreleng's cartoon shorts. Despite this, he wasn't particularly happy due to being stuck working on WesternAnimation/PorkyPig cartoons, who Tashlin later admitted was his least favorite character.

However, he left the studio again, with his crew being handed over to Creator/ChuckJones, while he went to work for Creator/{{Disney}} in 1938 to 1940, where he began story work on Walt's proposed MickeyMouse feature, which would later evolve into the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree''.

After his cartoon career ended, Tashlin went on to direct and write for many live action films, most famously the Creator/JayneMansfield comedies ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' and ''Film/WillSuccessSpoilRockHunter'', and numerous Creator/JerryLewis movies. His films are notable for including live-action versions of cartoon gags, such as the near-sexual reactions of every man who sees Jayne Mansfield's character walk by in ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (such as the ice melting in the ice truck and the milkman's bottle of milk popping and spilling over). He also wrote five books: "The Bear That Wasn't" (1941), "How The Circus Learned to Smile" (1949, "The Possum That Didn't" (1950) and "The World That Isn't" (1951) and a self-help cartooning book "How to Create Cartoons" (1952). He even briefly returned to animation in 1967, adapting one of his children's books ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'' into an Creator/{{MGM}} animated short, directed by his former colleague Creator/ChuckJones (which Tashlin didn't like).

* WesternAnimation/MrDuckStepsOut: A WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck short. He did not direct, but wrote the story.

* Hare Remover: Second of two WesternAnimation/BugsBunny shorts he directed, but was uncredited. Last Warner Bros. short Tashlin directed during his third stint at Warner Bros.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBearThatWasnt'': An animated short based off of his book, directed by Creator/ChuckJones.

--> '''Frank''': Well, they destroyed the cartoon with one little thing. I saw that, I almost cried. I never talked to Chuck about it, I've never talked to him since. It was a terrible thing. This bear, he goes to sleep under a factory, when he wakes up they try to convince him he's a [man], as you well know, and he keeps insisting he's a bear, and that's the point of it. Up front in the beginning of this thing, when they are telling him he is a man and he is insisting he's a bear, they put a cigarette in his mouth. Now, the picture was destroyed there, because by the acceptance of a cigarette—you never saw where he got it—by putting a cigarette in his mouth, he was already a man. You know what I mean? Psychologically, the picture was ruined. It stopped working from that point on. So that was a terrible experience.

* GenreBusting : His feature films were radical and innovative comedies. ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' was a pioneer in the rock musical genre, and gave audiences around the world their first glimpses of favorite rock acts of the 50s.

* RenaissanceMan: One of the few animation directors who transitioned to live action. See Creator/BradBird for a modern equivalent.

* The Fixer Uppers: A Creator/LaurelAndHardy short he wrote for.
* Tit For Tat: A Creator/LaurelAndHardy short [[RuleOfThree he wrote for.]]

* Speaking of the Weather: First [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] short he worked on. The short is one of three parodies of the "Things come to life in a store" genre of cartoons that was prevalent during the 30s.

* WesternAnimation/HaveYouGotAnyCastles: Second of three "Things come to life in a story" parodies.

* You're An Education: Last short he directed at his second Warner Bros. stint.

* Hare Remover: Second of two WesternAnimation/BugsBunny shorts he directed, but was uncredited.

* Scrap Happy Daffy

* Porky's Building

* FanService: His live-action movies are full of this.

* HotterAndSexier: The WesternAnimation/PrivateSnafu cartoon "Censored", which features a topless woman. The one time Creator/CartoonNetwork aired the cartoon, the scenes were cropped to conceal the nudity.

He would once again return to Creator/WarnerBros in 1943, this time bringing stylized, magazine-like angular designs to his new shorts. Some of these later shorts notably had sexual themes, particularly ''WesternAnimation/PlaneDaffy'' (which had a FemmeFataleSpy character named [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Hatta Mari]], whose blond hair and top-heavy hourglass figure recalled real-life sex symbols). It's been said that the difference between Creator/BobClampett's cartoons and Frank Tashlin's cartoons in terms of risqué humor is that Tashlin was more polished and subtle while Clampett was broader, wilder, and more adolescent (though some Tashlin cartoons, such as "I've Got Plenty of Mutton" and "Swooner Crooner" do have their moments of Clampett-esque raunchiness).

* I Got Plenty of Mutton: A one-shot cartoon that would be the inspiration for Creator/ChuckJones' WesternAnimation/PepeLePew cartoons

* Censored

* WesternAnimation/TheUnrulyHare: One of two WesternAnimation/BugsBunny shorts he directed.

* CreatorBacklash: Was not a fan of the animated adaptation of ''The Bear That Wasn't''.

He would once again return to Creator/WarnerBros in 1943, this time bringing stylized, magazine-like angular designs to his new shorts. Some of these later shorts notably had sexual themes, particularly ''WesternAnimation/PlaneDaffy'' (which had a FemmeFataleSpy character named [[UsefulNotes/MataHari Hatta Mari]], whose blond hair and top-heavy hourglass figure recalled real-life sex symbols. It's been said that the difference between Creator/BobClampett's cartoons and Frank Tashlin's cartoons in terms of risqué humor is that Tashlin was more polished and subtle while Clampett was broader, wilder, and more adolescent.

* The Stupid Cupid

* Nasty Quacks

However, he left the studio again, with his crew being handed over to Creator/ChuckJones, while he went to work for Creator/{{Disney}} in 1938 to 1940, where he began story work on Walt's proposed MickeyMouse feature, which would later evolve into the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of ''Disney/FunAndFancyFree''.