Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram Series

In May of 1922, one Mr. Walt Disney opened a little animation studio in Kansas City Missouri. Laugh-O-Gram studios hobbled along with not much money, teetering on the edge of survival. A local dentist name Thomas McCrum extended the life of the studio for a short while with a $500 commission for Tommy Tucker’s Tooth (1922), the animated tooth that demonstrated the merits of brushing. (Yes, Thomas McCrum is solely responsible for the million animated, self-righteous teeth who lectured you through out your childhood).

But even didactic teeth can’t save an animation studio, and Laugh-O-Gram went Chapter 11 in July of 1923. There’s a lot more to this story, but you probably know the high points. Suffice it to say, Mr. Walt Disney lit out for Hollywood.

Apocryphally, Disney claimed that it was a tame brown mouse who cavorted in is Laugh-O-Gram wastebasket that inspired a certain cartoon mouse.

For more info on Laugh-O-Gram, check out these links:

• Laugh-O-Gram Wiki
• Lost Laugh-O-Grams Found – And Shown
• Laugh-O-Grams at Cartoon Brew
• Laugh-O-Grams at the TCM Film Festival

Or, screw the reading about Laugh-O-Gram. Have a watch instead.

Alice in Wonderland (1923)

Tommy Tucker’s Tooth (1922)

Little Red Riding Hood (1922)

Cinderella (1922)

Alice in WonderlandcinderellaLaugh-O-GramLaugh-O-Gram Studiolittle red riding hoodsilent animationtommy tucker's toothWalt Disney