Rainbow Parade was a series of 27 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios

Van Beuren Studios

Van Beuren Studios was an American animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons from 1928 to 1936.Producer Amedee J. van Beuren first became involved in the animation industry in 1920, when he formed a partnership with Paul Terry and formed the "Aesop's Fables Studio" for the production of...

 between 1934 and 1936. This was Van Beuren's all-color series.

Many of the 'Rainbow Parade' cartoons were one-shot stories with no recurring characters, but several of the films featured Molly Moo-Cow

Molly Moo-Cow

Molly Moo-Cow was the name of an animated character appearing in Rainbow Parade shorts produced by the Van Beuren Studios in the 1930s.This series was sold to Commonwealth Pictures in 1941 and was later syndicated for television...

, Toonerville Trolley

Toonerville Folks

Toonerville Folks was a popular newspaper cartoon feature by Fontaine Fox, which ran from 1908 to 1955. It began in 1908 in the Chicago Post, and by 1913, it was syndicated nationally by the Wheeler Syndicate...

 and Felix the Cat

Felix the Cat

Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...

. This series was purchased by Commonwealth Pictures

Commonwealth Pictures

Commonwealth Pictures was a motion picture company that primarily dealt with reissues of old features and shorts. In 1941, they purchased shorts and features from the Van Beuren Corporation, which used to handle short subjects in the 1930s for RKO. Some of these films from Van Beuren were...

 in 1941 and was later syndicated for television. The short The Merry Kittens was used in an episode of The Wubbcast. Thunderbean Animation released a collection of the early 'Rainbow Parade' cartoons on a DVD in 2009. The second half of the series is available from the original negatives released by Image DVD/Blackhawk Films/Film Preservation Associates.

Filmography

Title	|Release date	|Director	Notes
Pastry Town Wedding	July 27, 1934	Burt Gillett, Ted Eshbaugh Ted Eshbaugh Ted Eshbaugh was a Canadian animated filmmaker whose work includes The Wizard of Oz, Goofy Goat Antics, and The Sunshine Makers.Sammy Salvage 1943 - External links :...
The Parrotville Fire Department	September 14, 1934	Burt Gillett, Steve Muffatti
The Sunshine Makers	January 11, 1935	Ted Eshbaugh	Originally released as a promotional film for Borden's Milk
Parrotville Old Folks	January 25, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer Tom Palmer (animator) Anthony "Tony" Pipolo, known professionally as Tom Palmer was an Italian-American animator who was active in the 1930s and worked at several animation studios. He was born with the surname of "Pipolo" but changed his name to Palmer...
Japanese Lanterns	March 8, 1935	Burt Gillett, Ted Eshbaugh
Spinning Mice	April 5, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Picnic Panic	May 3, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
The Merry Kittens	May 15, 1935	Burt Gillett, Shamus Culhane Shamus Culhane James "Shamus" Culhane was an American animator, film director, and film producer.Culhane worked for a number of American animation studios, including Fleischer Studios, the Ub Iwerks studio, Walt Disney Productions, and the Walter Lantz studio. He began his animation career in 1925 working for J.R...
The Foxy Terrier	May 31, 1935	Burt Gillett
Parrotville Post-Office	June 28, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Rag Dog	July 19, 1935	Burt Gillett	James the Cat cameo
The Hunting Season	August 19, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer	The first of five Rainbow Parade cartoons featuring Molly Moo-Cow
Scotty Finds A Home	August 23, 1935	Burt Gillett
Bird Scouts	September 20, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies	November 15, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and the Indians	November 15, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and Rip Van Winkle	November 17, 1935	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Toonerville Trolley	January 17, 1936	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer	The first of four Rainbow Parade cartoons featuring characters from Toonerville Folks
The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg	February 7, 1936	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer	The first of three Rainbow Parade cartoons featuring Felix the Cat
Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe	February 28, 1936	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer
Neptune Nonsense	March 20, 1936	Burt Gillett, Tom Palmer	Features Felix the Cat
Bold King Cole	May 29, 1936	Burt Gillett	Features Felix the Cat
A Waif's Welcome	June 19, 1936	Tom Palmer
Trolley Ahoy	July 3, 1936	Burt Gillett
Cupid Gets His Man	July 24, 1936	Tom Palmer
It's A Greek Life	August 2, 1936	Dan Gordon
Toonerville Picnic	October 2, 1936	Burt Gillett

External links

• Big Cartoon Database Van Beuren Studios filmography