FIVE WACKY GUYS

I thoroughly enjoyed Kenneth Turan’s article concerning the L.A. County Museum of Art’s retrospective on the Fleischer Studios cartoons (“Get Ready to Boop Till You Droop,” Jan. 5). He does, however, perpetuate a myth that only two Fleischer brothers were responsible for the output of Fleischer Studios.

There is no denying the animation genius and creativity of Max Fleischer or the far-out wit and zaniness of Dave Fleischer, but Fleischer Studios would not have come to fruition without the other three brothers who toiled behind the scenes without credit then and, apparently, now.

Yes, Max Fleischer patented the Rotoscope but, in all likelihood, it was designed and built by brothers Charlie and Joe, mechanical and electrical geniuses who designed and hand-crafted almost every piece of equipment used by the studio to produce its films.

Yes, it is true that Cab Calloway “laughed so much that he fell right down on the floor of the projection room and kicked his feet in the air” when he saw “Minnie the Moocher.” What tickled him so much was not only the incredible animation of his dance sequence but the amazing mouth actions and synchronization to the music and lyrics, all of which was the work of my father, Lou Fleischer, who, as head of the music department, selected, produced and supervised the music for the cartoons when sound was added to the animation. Additionally, he invented many of the techniques used to guide the animators in “syncing up” with all of the sounds, music and dialogue. He also bounced the famous “Bouncing Ball.”

Lastly, the demise of Fleischer Studios did not come about because their “anything-goes ethos proved to be no match for the organization men at Disney.” The tremendously successful studio committed suicide in a final kamikaze-like burst of egotism when, despite the other brothers’ pleading, Max and Dave abrogated their agreement with Paramount by refusing to work on any more cartoons together in the future.

The real story of Fleischer Studios is the amazing collaboration of five, not just two, crazy brothers who, I hope, are looking down upon us now, finally together, from above, taking pleasure from the joy their work has given to so many people.

BERNIE FLEISCHER

Glendale