During his forty-year career in animation, Paul Terry animated, directed, and produced over 1,100 cartoons. Yet despite his prodigious output he remains one of animation’s unsung legends. ‘Terrytoons’ chronicles the fascinating life of one of the animation industry’s cartoon giants, from his humble beginnings on a family farm in San Mateo, California, to his rise as one of the leading super producers of cartoon shorts during the golden age of American animation. Walt Disney admitted that one of his earliest ambitions was to produce cartoons of comparable quality to Paul Terry.

Terry’s story is one of survival in the face of natural disasters, economic collapse and bitter rivalries. With biographies on all of the key Terrytoons staff and hundreds of lavish illustrations and photographs, many of which are in color, this biography is a long overdue homage to the legendary producer and invaluable addition to any cartoon lover’s book collection.