Bob Clampett Test Footage for John Carter of Mars!

A little history lesson for this Easter Sunday... In 1935, a former college roommate of Edgar Rice Burroughs' son John approached Burroughs about making an animated movie out of John Carter of Mars. Bob Clampett and John Burroughs spent their weekends working on the project which at one point was picked up by MGM (who was making the Tarzan movies at the time) for possible distribution. A screening was held for theater chain owners and things went downhill. The owners felt the central concept-an Earthman traveling to another planet-was too silly for audiences and they wouldn't come (a year later both Clampett and the Burroughs family probably shook their heads when audiences flocked to the Flash Gordon serial.) Clampett later went on to work for Warner Bros on their Looney Tunes shorts and created Beany and Cecil. That test footage for John Carter finally surfaced years ago and has found its way online. So check out below and take a look at what could have been both the first full length animated motion picture (two years before Disney made Snow White) and the first John Carter film. Enjoy!