Terrytoons

Paul Terry founded Terrytoons in 1929 in New Rochelle, New York, with animator Frank Moser, building on the assembly-line approach he had developed during his time on Aesop's Film Fables. Terry did not aim to rival the artistic achievements of studios in Burbank, famously comparing Disney to Tiffany's and his own operation to Woolworth's. The studio operated efficiently, producing a consistent stream of animated shorts on limited budgets, initially distributed by Educational Pictures and later by Twentieth Century-Fox.

The studio's early lineup featured rural characters such as Farmer Al Falfa and Gandy Goose, but its success shifted in 1942 with the introduction of a costumed mouse character originally named Super Mouse and later renamed Mighty Mouse. His dramatic heroics became a staple of Saturday-morning television. Other popular characters included the sassy magpies Heckle and Jeckle, along with Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, and a range of supporting characters.

In 1955, Terry accomplished what few of his contemporaries did: he sold the entire studio and its library to CBS for approximately three and a half million dollars, securing his wealth just as television was transforming the value of classic cartoons. CBS brought in Gene Deitch to modernize the studio's style; Deitch introduced a graphic approach influenced by UPA and created Tom Terrific before parting ways with management.

CBS continued operating the New Rochelle studio for another fifteen years, employing figures such as young Ralph Bakshi, but the business model for theatrical shorts was declining, and new production became sparse. In 1972, CBS permanently closed the studio. However, the characters remained in continuous television rotation, long after the final animation was completed.