Michael Barrier facts for kids

Michael J. Barrier, born on June 15, 1940, is an American expert who studies the history of animation and comic art. He is famous for his deep research into how American cartoons were made. He wrote important books like Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age (published in 1999). He also wrote The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney (published in 2007).

Barrier also started a magazine called Funnyworld. It was one of the first serious magazines about the history of comics and animation. His work looks closely at how animation grew as an art form and an industry. He studied famous studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and Fleischer Studios. He talked to many important people in the animation world. This helped him record and understand the history of cartoons.

About Michael Barrier

Starting Funnyworld

Michael Barrier created and edited a magazine called Funnyworld. It started in October 1966 and ran until Spring 1983. This was the first magazine completely focused on comics and animation. It began as a small publication for a group of amateur writers. By 1970, it became a larger magazine. It was sold to many people and printed thousands of copies.

Writing About Comic Books

Barrier was also one of the first people to praise the work of Carl Barks. Carl Barks was a famous comic book artist. Barrier wrote about Barks' work in Funnyworld. He also wrote an essay about Barks in another magazine in 1968. These writings led to Barrier's book, Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book, published in 1982.

Researching Hollywood Cartoons

In 1973, Michael Barrier began working on a big project. He signed a contract to write a history of Hollywood animation. This project took him over 24 years to finish. He worked with an animator named Milt Gray. They interviewed many key people who helped create classic American cartoons.

Barrier studied cartoons from famous studios. These included Disney (like Silly Symphonies and Mickey Mouse). He also looked at Warner Bros. (like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies). Other studios he studied were MGM (like Tom and Jerry) and the Fleischer/Famous studios. All this research became his large book, Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. It was first published in 1999. A new version came out in 2003.

Barrier also helped edit another book. It was called A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. He worked on this book with writer Martin Williams. It was published in 1982.

Other Contributions

From 2003 to 2007, Barrier provided audio commentaries for Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets. These are like extra talks you can listen to while watching the cartoons. He shared a lot of information on the first DVD set. He has also appeared in documentaries about animation.

In 2004, Barrier had a long talk about animation with John Kricfalusi. He was allowed to share this discussion on his own website.

Barrier's next book was a biography of Walt Disney. It was called The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney and came out in 2007. Some people had different opinions about the book. One reviewer said it focused more on criticizing Disney's cartoons. However, Disney historian Wade Sampson said it was a trustworthy source of information for Disney fans.