Happy Harmonies are a series of 37 animated cartoons produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The first entry, The Discontented Canary, was first released on September 1, 1934. They are the "first" MGM cartoons.
The series had much success, with two entries being nominated for Oscars, but they constantly went over the budget of MGM. MGM terminated production of the shorts in early 1938 for the black-and-white The Captain and the Kids series, which was unsuccessful, unlike Happy Harmonies, and was terminated less than a year later with 15 cartoons. After these two series, MGM just produced Happy Harmonies cartoons without the name, a.k.a., one-shots that say AN MGM CARTOON, and introduced their newest star Barney Bear.
Shorts[]
1934[]
- The Discontented Canary (first MGM cartoon, oldest to be currently owned by Turner Entertainment, A METRO COLOR CARTOON in the opening because the name Happy Harmonies was not existent yet)
- The Old Pioneer (first with the name Happy Harmonies)
- Tale of the Vienna Woods
- Bosko's Parlor Pranks (first MGM cartoon with Bosko)
- Toyland Broadcast
1935[]
- Hey-Hey Fever (final cartoon with Bosko in Looney Tunes form)
- When The Cat's Away
- The Lost Chick
- The Calico Dragon (academy-award nominee)
- Good Little Monkeys
- The Chinese Nightingale
- Poor Little Me
- Barnyard Babies (final cartoon in 2-hue color, final cartoon with Coffee the Lion)
- The Old Plantation (first cartoon in 3-hue color, first cartoon with Tanner the Lion)
- Honeyland
- Alias St. Nick
- Run, Sheep, Run! (first appearance of blackface Bosko)
1936[]
- Bottles (longest Happy Harmony short)
- The Early Bird and the Worm
- The Old Mill Pond
- Two Little Pups
- The Old House
- The Pups' Picnic
- To Spring (public domain)
- Little Cheeser
- The Pups' Christmas
1937[]
- Circus Daze
- Swing Wedding
- Bosko's Easter Eggs
- Little Ol' Bosko and the Pirates
- The Hound and the Rabbit
- The Wayward Pups
- Little Ol' Bosko and the Cannibals
- Little Buck Cheeser
1938[]
- Little Ol' Bosko in Bagdad (final Bosko cartoon, due to stereotyping of black people)
- Pipe Dreams (from Disney)
- The Little Bantamweight (final Happy Harmonies cartoon due to overbudget concerns, from Disney)
Specials[]
More than a decade after the Happy Harmonies series ended, MGM continued to produce more Happy Harmonies-esque one-shots, aptly referred to as Specials. Shorts released under this banner include:
1939[]
- The Little Goldfish
- Art Gallery
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- The Bookworm
- One Mother's Family
- The Blue Danube
- Peace on Earth
- The Mad Maestro
1940[]
- Puss Gets the Boot
- Home on the Range
- A Rainy Day
- Swing Social
- Tom Turkey and His Harmonica Humdingers
- The Milky Way
- The Bookworm Turns
- Romeo in Rhythm
- Papa Gets the Bird
- The Homeless Flea
- Gallopin' Gals
- The Lonesome Stranger
- Mrs. Ladybug
1941[]
- Abdul the Bulbul-Ameer
- The Little Mole
- The Goose Goes South
- Dance of the Weed
- The Alley Cat
- Little Cesario
- Officer Pooch
- The Field Mouse
1942[]
- The Hungry Wolf
- The First Swallow
- Little Gravel Voice
- Bats in the Belfry
- Blitz Wolf
- The Early Bird Dood It!
- Chips Off the Old Block
1943[]
- The Boy and the Wolf
- Red Hot Riding Hood
- Who Killed Who?
- One Ham's Family
- War Dogs
- The Stork's Holiday
- What's Buzzin' Buzzard?
1944[]
- Innertube Antics
- Batty Baseball
- The Tree Surgeon
1945[]
- Jerky Turkey
- Swing Shift Cinderella
1946[]
- The Hick Chick
1947[]
- Uncle Tom's Cabaña
- Slap Happy Lion
- King-Size Canary
1948[]
- What Price Fleadom
- Little 'Tinker
- Lucky Ducky
- The Cat That Hated People
1949[]
- Bad Luck Blackie
- The House of Tomorrow
- Doggone Tired
- The Counterfeit Cat
1950[]
- Ventriloquist Cat
- The Cuckoo Clock
- Garden Gopher
- The Peachy Cobbler
1951[]
- Cock-a-Doodle Dog
- Symphony in Slang
- Car of Tomorrow
1952[]
- Magical Maestro
- One Cab's Family
- Rock-a-Bye Bear
1953[]
- Little Johnny Jet
- The T.V. of Tomorrow
1954[]
- Billy Boy
- The Farm of Tomorrow
- The Flea Circus
1955[]
- Field and Scream
- The First Bad Man
- Cellbound
- Good Will to Men
1957[]
- Cat's Meow
1965[]
- The Dot and the Line