"What do we get from a Disney film if we cannot see it?" The BBC and the “Radio Cartoon” 1934-1953. (original) (raw)

Abstract

This paper will explore the BBC’s attempts to adapt animated film to radio in Britain during the 1930s and 1940s. During this period the corporation produced several programmes based on the music and characters of animated films as well as adaptations of feature films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Moreover, they also came to experiment with the intriguing concept of “radio cartoons” which were inspired by the style and content of animated films but were originated for the radio. In this paper I will outline and explore the BBC’s experiments into the “radio cartoon” in order consider how and why the animated film, seemingly so grounded in visual media, was translated to radio. I will use this point of media convergence to examine how the medium specificity of animation was being formulated and discussed in this period by the BBC and within critical discourse in Britain. Finally I will consider what influence the development of the “radio cartoon” had on British animation? This paper will draw heavily on a wealth of primary research material from the written archives of the BBC, the trade press, national and local newspapers and magazines such as the BBC’s The Listener.

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