Nudnik

Nudnik is a series of Czechoslovakian/Czech animated shorts created by Gene Deitch, produced by Rembrandt Films, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and Paramount Cartoon Studios. The series involves a misfortunate homeless man being hated by almost everyone in the city and lives in a broken-down apartment. The character was based on Gene Deitch's own clumsiness as a child (which was previously used for a Terrytoons character under the name of Foofle. Unfortunately, the shorts were released to theaters by the time television became the standard for animation in general. It was canceled after only 15 shorts.

The character faded into obscurity, but was brought back in an anthology series entitled The Nudnik Show. His shorts were finally released in 2013 on DVD under the title, Nudnik Revealed! In 2018, he got his own channel on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfeEynAjqPG1X5z8LriG9rg

1965

 * Here's Nudnik (pilot, August 1, 1965)
 * Drive On, Nudnik! (November 1965)

1966

 * Home Sweet Nudnik (March 1966)
 * Nudnik on a Shoestring (March 12, 1966)
 * Welcome, Nudnik (May 1966)
 * Nudnik on the Roof (July 1966)
 * From Nudnik with Love (September 1966)

1967

 * Who Needs Nudnik? (May 1967)
 * Nudnik on the Beach (May 1967)
 * Good Neighbor Nudnik (June 1967)
 * Nudnik's Nudnickel (August 1967)
 * I Remember Nudnik (September 1967)

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Rembrandt Films animation in its purest form.
 * 2) It's was an massive improvement for Deitch's direction.
 * 3) Like the previous character from Terrytoons, Nudnik is the easiest to root for and is likable. He has plenty of bad luck along the way, whether it'd be breaking a door down when knocking or losing his lunch when eating. The only thing he gets right is putting on his bandana.
 * 4) A set of supporting characters that help balance out the humor, such as a big lady in pink, a police officer in blue, or a yellow dog with a furry spherical body.
 * 5) The light-hearted and upbeat music scores are a step-up from the pilot film "Here's Nudnik", which had melancholy jazz music. "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" became the most iconic theme of the series and was used most often in the shorts.
 * 6) The idea of a clumsy person having trouble doing things in the world and being hated by nearly everyone around him is executed well.
 * 7) Great writing from Eli Bauer, Al Kouzel and Gene Deitch himself.
 * 8) The soundtrack is well composed by Czech composer, Ferdinand Havlik.
 * 9) Good animation from the same team that worked on the ill-fated attempt at rebooting the Tom and Jerry franchise.
 * 10) * As the shorts went on, the animation quality improved slightly (from the color choices to the backgrounds).
 * 11) After fading into obscurity, he was brought back in an anthology series featuring his shorts and earlier one-shots from Rembrandt Films.
 * 12) His shorts were finally released to DVD, after his show was taken off the air in the late 1990s. Nudnik Revealed! showcased the history of Nudnik's film career and his animated shorts.
 * 13) * He even got his own YouTube channel in the late 2010s.
 * 14) Gene Deitch did the narration on a few shorts, though not as heavy on exposition as the 1960 Terrytoon, "Foofle's Picnic".
 * 15) * He also did the vocal effects for Nudnik, such as sighing, moaning, ouching, etc.
 * 16) What makes the art style different from the Foofle shorts is the xerography of thin pencil lines as opposed to inking with bold and thick UPA lines.
 * 17) * This is because television was getting much sharper in the mid-60s and every animation studio in Hollywood had to get rid of the bold inking style.
 * 18) Nudnik was popular enough to get his own merchandise and a book about the history of his film career.
 * 19) Like Tom and Jerry, the shorts are famous for their use of pantomime and lack of dialogue. Even more so than what Hanna-Barbera did with the cat and mouse duo.
 * 20) Nudnik's character design proves to be much different from Foofle's, with him wearing a bandana instead of a droopy hat.
 * 21) It is one of the more decent Paramount Cartoon Studios series during the studio's dark age.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The plot of the pilot, "Here's Nudnik" felt too generic without the addition of supporting characters.
 * 2) The series had the misfortune of being released to theaters, resulting in its cancellation.
 * 3) Just like Tom & Jerry (Gene Deitch Era), Most of the supporting characters are unlikable, but that's what adds to the mayhem of the shorts.
 * 4) Some of the humor can be hit-or-miss.
 * 5) Nudnik never spawned in other mediums, such as comic books and console-based video games outside of animation.
 * 6) "I Remember Nudnik", while a decent way to end the series, is just a clip show of old footage (with repainted characters and backgrounds).

Trivia

 * Nudnik made his debut on Cartoon Network's Toonheads through a five-parter, but these episodes are currently lost and hard to track down.
 * On The Nudnik Show, he was given newly-animated gag bumpers before entering the next cartoon. One-shots, such as Munro and How to Avoid Friendship, were included in the package.