Saturday Morning Cartoon: Terry Gilliam

Before he directed 12 Monkeys, Brazil, The Fisher King and Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam was the lone American-born (Minnesota) member of Monty Python. As good as Python was, it wouldn't have had the same impact without Gilliam's unique cartoons. Gilliam animated the opening credits and hilarious, bizarre and disturbing vignettes that made the show a lot more artful and more impressive. Not surprising the guy was good; in the States he worked under Mad Magazine founder and comic legend Harvey Kurtzman*. Kurtzman didn't work with no-talent boobs (although he did work with boobs, as fans of his Playboy comic Little Annie Fannie would doubtless point out.)

Here's some classic Gilliam cartoonage, courtesy, as always, Yootoob and copyright violation.












*Gilliam's best movie, Brazil, has a hapless manager named Mr. Kurtzman, played by Ian Holm.