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David McGowan

@animatedstardom.bsky.social
393 followers 385 following 82 posts

Author of Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts, out now from University of Texas Press. Reseach interests include animation, classic Hollywood, stardom, & home video/streaming. Lecturer at UAL. Views my own.

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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Essential Polish Animation Blu-ray is part of the sale for anyone who was planning to pick it up.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
US readers: It appears that the Kindle version of my book Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts is currently available for just 50 cents! Not sure what's going on there, but definitely quite the discount! www.amazon.com/Animated-Per...
amazon.com
Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts
Amazon.com: Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts eBook : McGowan, David: Kindle Store
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
About to start! Still time for anyone to jump in if you're interested!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
I will be talking about the star image of Baby LeRoy - Hollywood's youngest actor to be signed for a long-term contract - as part of the Peripheries of Stardom & Performance Symposium tomorrow. It's taking place online - 3pm BST, 10am EDT - and free to join (info below)!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Hi, the booking link isn't working for me, and I can't seem to find it on the venue's site. Is the London event still happening?
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Entrants had to write a 50 word statement on the subject "Why I Like Mickey Mouse". The full article is here: archive.org/details/scre...
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
While putting together materials for an upcoming publication, I came across a 1935 fan magazine article announcing a Mickey Mouse competition. I think, from a 2026 perspective, I'd actually be happiest winning fourth prize (suitably framed, of course)!
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Neckties of Noir @neckties-of-noir.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
#filmsky #silents Sadly, another loss. 💔 Film historian, author, & brilliant silent film location sleuth, John Bengtson. Here he is leading a tour in Hollywood for Buster Keaton fans, 2018. We’re in the alley where in COPS (1922) Keaton runs through it & grabs the speeding car (gif in comments).
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I've resisted rewatching the fourth-in-the-series Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact, so there may be some hope for me yet.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I'm annoyingly pleased with myself about this (though it did involve having to watch Double Impact).
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
For readers in the US, the ebook version of my monograph Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters in American Theatrical Shorts is discounted to just $2.99 for, presumably, a limited time. Kindle: t.co/zczewqrxZW Kobo: t.co/D62Uct2CCh Nook: t.co/kIpfBIg1Hp Apple Books: t.co/mOQIiGiZTJ
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
It's a bit of a nostalgic love fest, rather than aiming to break particularly new ground, but I very much enjoyed this BBC Radio 4 documentary about the production of The Muppet Show in the UK. Well worth a listen if you're a fan of Kermit and the gang! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, How the Muppet Show Began in Britain
Louise Gold celebrates The Muppet Show’s anarchic birth in Britain in the mid-1970s.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Good riddance 2025, a year with an absolutely punishing workload, and little more than a shrug from my (supposedly part-time!) employer. No real change as we enter January, but hopefully I might finally clear the backlog by the end of 2026...
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
My greatest achievement of 2025.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
The Shrek films have just been added to the UK Disney+ catalogue. It really feels like up is down in this new streaming landscape...
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
#Noirvember has come to an end and I still have so many noir films that I'd planned to watch but didn't find the time. Will need to do an emergency Janoirary and possibly Noirch in the new year!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
I've only had time for a quick skim through the book so far, but I've already noticed an amusing bit of trivia: research for the male stripper performance in Girls Night Out (1986) was undertaken at a pub in Elephant and Castle, the same part of London where #sas36 took place!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
My pre-ordered copy of Joanna Quinn & Les Mills' new book, Beryl, just arrived! I still can't quite believe that Joanna agreed to present a keynote for us at the Society for Animation Studies conference this year, & I'm looking forward to learning even more from the book.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Brings back lots of memories of being an undergraduate and having to go to the library to photocopy whatever article from Screen was on that week's reading list!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
A nice treat arrived in the post - a copy of the issue of Screen with my article on Rocky IV inside. It's been so long since I've received a physical copy of anything that I've published, with so much academic work being digital only these days.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Was particularly excited to spot my book on the Reading Room shelves! Quite an honour!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
A long held scholarly wish has finally been fulfilled. Today I'm visiting the Margaret Herrick Library to do some Hollywood-based research!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
I was very fortunate this afternoon to attend an event with Paul Dooley (best known to me as Wimpy from the live-action Popeye movie) at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. He's 97 years old and still going strong!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
I'd always wanted to visit Portmeirion since seeing The Prisoner (1967) on DVD a quarter of a century ago. I finally got to go last weekend, and it did not disappoint!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
I was definitely very honoured to be in the company of a broadcasting legend, though neglected to mention that as a child I usually defected to CITV to watch cartoons instead when Blue Peter was on BBC!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
I got to spend a couple of days with Biddy Baxter when I was working at the BBC. As the link indicates, she had a reputation for being quite short with people & my colleagues has experienced this on previous visits. Somehow I met her approval and she was very nice to me when I had to deal with her!
bbc.co.uk
Biddy Baxter: Blue Peter's formidable editor dies aged 92
Blue Peter's long-serving editor turned the children's show into a television institution.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
My Blu-ray copy of Essential Polish Animation has arrived. Looks fantastic!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I also wish they had leant more into the visual humour and moments of direct parody. The background gags were good when they occurred, but other parts of the film felt quite pedestrian, shot more like a generic direct-to-streaming actioner rather than being truly playful with cinematic language.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I'll be interested to see the reviews when the embargo lifts. I found the film fun enough in the moment, though relatively little of it has stuck with me just a day later. A few scenes felt a bit derivative of Austin Powers, and several other gags felt more at home in the early 2000s than 2025.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I had a good time at the preview of the new Naked Gun movie last night, thanks to @empiremagazine.bsky.social. I know the studio is leaning heavily into this in the marketing, but it really was nice to once again see a silly comedy on the big screen with a packed and appreciative audience.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Sam Summers, Michael Meindl, and Aaron Borok presenting in PANEL 10B: TELEVISION AND ONLINE ANIMATION. #SAS36
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
LCC's own Chris de Selincourt presenting in PANEL 8B: THE BOUNDARIES OF REALISM. #SAS36
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A display of research by LCC staff members, kindly put together for the conference by our library team. #SAS36
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A couple of photos of the full panel Q&A from PANEL 3C: MICRO TALKS. #SAS36
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A few days late, but here are some photos that I took from the 36th Annual Society for Animation Studies Conference. First up, UAL's own Kim Noce in PANEL 3C: MICRO TALKS. #SAS36 @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman, closes #SAS36 with his keynote talking about his career.
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
And so #SAS36 comes to a close. Thanks to chairs David McGowan and Susi Wilkinson, and their entire team at the London College of Communication at the University of the Arts, for a great conference! Hope to see you at #SAS37 in Pittsburgh in 2026!
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Life drawing with legendary British animator Joanna Quinn Only at #SAS36
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Misha Mihailova @mihailova.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Starting this year's Society for Animation Studies conference strong with a fascinating keynote by Malcolm Cook! #SAS36 @sasanistudies.bsky.social @malcolmcook76.bsky.social
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
The 36th Annual SAS Conference begins TOMORROW, July 7 (hosted by London College of Communication @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social). Use #SAS36 to tag any conference-related posts and/or follow to see what is happening. Info about the conference is at bit.ly/46qkcDZ. Have a great conference!
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Malcom Cook giving the first keynote of #SAS36! His presentation explores useful animation and the petroleum industry.
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Society for Animation Studies (SAS) @sasanistudies.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Opening of #SAS36! Thanks to David McGowan and the team at London College of Communication at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like #SAS36!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Last week, my wife proposed that we cancel Netflix as we don't use it as much as we used to. I managed to talk her down, and then today Netflix emailed me this supposedly 'personalized' recommendation. I went to bat for you, Netflix, and *this* is what you think of me...?!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Am excited to see that my newest article, '"If I can change": multigenerational cinematic franchises, retconning, and the spectre of Rocky IV', has recently been published in Screen! Available at: academic.oup.com/screen/artic...
academic.oup.com
‘If I can change’: multigenerational cinematic franchises, retconning, and the spectre of Rocky IV
The Rocky saga, created by and starring Sylvester Stallone, has been through various stages of activity and dormancy, success and failure. Rocky IV (Sylves
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
I'm a bit late to the party but finally saw the latest Mission: Impossible film this weekend, and was disappointed that it went even further than its predecessor in being quite grim and self-important for the majority of its extended running time.
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
FINAL REMINDER: Tickets for this year's Society for Animation Studies conference must be purchased by the end of today (Friday, June 6)! Book now or miss out on a fanstastic line-up of speakers! sas2025.cargo.site/registration
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
My Switch 2 arrived! Am still cursing Nintendo for releasing this while I am so swamped with conference admin, but hopefully I'll find a bit of time to give it a try!
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David McGowan @animatedstardom.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Registration closes on June 6! Last chance to join us for the 36th Annual Society for Animation Studies conference in London next month! sas2025.cargo.site
sas2025.cargo.site
Society for Animation Studies 36th Annual Conference - Sustaining Animation
cargo.site
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