Rainbow Parade

Rainbow Parade was a series of 27 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936. This was the all-color series and final series produced by Van Beuren.

Many of the Rainbow Parade cartoons were one-shot stories with no recurring characters, but several of the films featured Parrotville Parrots, Molly Moo-Cow, Toonerville Folks, and Felix the Cat. This series was purchased by Commonwealth Pictures in 1941 and was later syndicated for television. The 1935 short The Merry Kittens was used in an episode of The Wubbcast. Thunderbean Animation released a collection of the early Rainbow Parade cartoons on 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

All cartoons released in 1934 were produced in Cinecolor. All shorts from 1935 were produced in two-strip Technicolor. All shorts from 1936 were produced in three-strip Technicolor.

Title	Characters	Original release date	Director	Notes
Pastry Town Wedding	Bride, Groom, Pastry Chefs	July 27, 1934	Burt Gillett Ted Eshbaugh	First Rainbow Parade cartoon. Later reissued as a promotional film for a bakery by the name of Cushman's Sons, Inc. This reissue adds an extra animated scene advertising the bakery, along with special title cards.
The Parrotville Fire Department	The Flasher, Firefighters	September 14, 1934	Burt Gillett Steve Muffatti	First appearance of characters from Parrotville.
The Sunshine Makers	Gnomes, Goblins	January 11, 1935	Ted Eshbaugh	Later reissued as a promotional film for Borden's Milk.
Parrotville Old Folks	Matron Birdkins, Captain, Friend, Old Folks	January 25, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Second appearance of characters from Parrotville
Japanese Lanterns	Japanese Children, Father, Stork	March 8, 1935	Burt Gillett Ted Eshbaugh	Two-strip Technicolor was thought to be lost
Spinning Mice	Wizard/Rabbit, Lizards/Doves, Toad/Squirrel, Mice/Devils, Girl, Boy, Mice	April 5, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer
A Picnic Panic (a.k.a. The Stupid Teapot)	Molly Moo-Cow, Teapots	May 3, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	First appearance of Molly Moo-Cow (although some claim that this character was not yet named Molly Moo-Cow). Later home video releases by Pictoreels cut off the opening scenes.
The Merry Kittens	Three Kittens, Terrier	May 17, 1935	Burt Gillett Shamus Culhane
Parrotville Post-Office	The Captain, Black Parrot, Mrs. Perkins, Mr. Perkins' Children	June 28, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Final appearance of characters from Parrotville
Rag Dog	Three Kittens, Two Terriers	July 19, 1935	Burt Gillett
The Hunting Season	Molly Moo-Cow, Ducks, Hunters	August 19, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Second appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
Scotty Finds a Home	Scotty, Family, Bully	August 23, 1935	Burt Gillett
Bird Scouts	Birds, Cat	September 20, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer
Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies	Molly Moo-Cow, Collector, Butterflies	November 15, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Third appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
Molly Moo-Cow and the Indians	Molly Moo-Cow, Indian Squaw, Papoose, Indian Brave, Two Ducks	November 15, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Fourth appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
Molly Moo-Cow and Rip Van Winkle	Molly Moo-Cow, Rip Van Winkle, Little Men	November 17, 1935	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Fifth appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
Toonerville Trolley	Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Katrinka, Molly Moo-Cow, Bull	January 17, 1936	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	First appearance of characters from Toonerville Folks Sixth appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg	Felix the Cat, Goldie, Captain Kidd, Pirates	February 7, 1936	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	First appearance of Felix the Cat. Felix was voiced by Walter Tetley.
Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe	Molly Moo-Cow, Robinson Crusoe, Cannibals	February 28, 1936	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Final appearance of Molly Moo-Cow
Neptune Nonsense	Felix the Cat, King Neptune, Annabelle, Octopus, Electric Eel, Mermaid	March 20, 1936	Burt Gillett Tom Palmer	Second appearance of Felix the Cat.
Bold King Cole	Felix the Cat, Old King Cole, Ghosts	May 29, 1936	Burt Gillett	Final appearance of Felix the Cat.
A Waif's Welcome	Orphan, Mother, Father, Son	June 19, 1936	Tom Palmer
Trolley Ahoy	Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Mr. Bang, Katrinka	July 3, 1936	Burt Gillett	Second appearance of characters from Toonerville Folks
Cupid Gets His Man	Dan Cupid, Edna May Oliver, W.C. Fields	July 24, 1936	Tom Palmer
It's a Greek Life	Centaur, Mercury, Two Ducks	August 2, 1936	Dan Gordon
Toonerville Picnic	Toonerville Trolley, Skipper, Mr. Bang, Katrinka, Dog, Octopus	October 2, 1936	Burt Gillett	Final Rainbow Parade cartoon Final appearance of characters from Toonerville Folks

External links

• Big Cartoon Database Van Beuren Studios filmography