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Cartoon Art Museum
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
655 Mission St(between New Montgomery St & Annie St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 227-8666
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 11 am - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
125 reviews for Cartoon Art Museum
Review Highlights
"I loved their Edward Gorey exhibition."
(in 11 reviews)
"The first exhibit I saw was Mary Blair."
(in 10 reviews)
"For the record, I am not a comic book geek."
(in 15 reviews)
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125 reviews in English
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Review from A E.
San Francisco, CA
11/21/2011 3 photos
I cannot give a place that has this http://www.yelp.com/bi...
anything less than five stars. I nearly peed myself when I saw it.
I heart the Cartoon Art Museum. Or rather, my inner dork hearts the Cartoon Art Museum. -
Review from Ann L.
Updated - 2/7/2012
Pay What You Want First Tues of the Month at Cartoon Art Museum. Girl gave me an envelope to put my money in, then I dropped it into a box.
I only stayed about 10 min. Lots of comics, but not funny or interesting to me.
Exhibit: Black & White & Read all over comics of the new millennium
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Gift shop on the outside - 10% off purchases on Wednesdays.
Separate bathrooms in the back.Listed in: cool places that not many have…, Things to do in SF, Museums in SF
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/4/2011
Went to Cartoon Art Museum, they have "Pay What You Want on First Tues of the Month", regular adult… Read more »
Comment from Andrew F. of Cartoon Art Museum 1/31/2011
Ann, Sorry you didn't have a more enjoyable visit. Just to… More » -
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Review from Grace C.
1/8/2012
Political Satire. Nerd jokes. Old-school jokes on things/events growing up. A majority of the comics are by recent comic writers, but there are also comics from 20+ years ago...showing the progression of comics until now. I think most of the material can only be appreciated by high school aged kids and older.
They do have a TV screen showing old Warner Bros. cartoons. Go to their website to see what their current exhibitions are.
I think it's worth coming here 1x if you have extra time to spare in SF and it's near Union Square. Plus, it's "Pay what you want" on the 1st Tuesday of the month. -
Review from Daniel S.
San Francisco, CA
12/24/2011
I stumbled on this place and I had a chance to visit last year. Admission was $7 but the museum was SMALL. It was literally like two rooms, and one room with a television showing cartoons.
The cartoons were cool. I read through all of them. Some were funny, and some not so funny. If you read through everything it should not take you more than 45 minutes to go through. Good hour of your time. But for $7 not really worth it. If it was $5 or so my rating would be higher. Their is also a small gift shop, I browsed around but didn't buy anything. -
Review from Veda F.
Fairfax, CA
1/13/2012
A friend recently took me to this Cartoon Art Museum. This is a professional museum that curates show such as Cartoon art from 9-11. That was really interesting to see. The day I visited the museum there was a special Wizard of Oz show. Newspapers from the 1930's were hung showing original story lines from the famous "Harry Potter"-like series. I also enjoyed seeing the more story-boarded strips with the full color newspapers just next to them. This is an art form that is ever expanding and it's nice to see its recognition.
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Review from Girish M.
San Francisco, CA
12/7/2011
Finally, my chance to admit my deep dark secret in public - I'm a huge comic book nerd. I've been meaning to visit this museum since moving to SF a few years back and we finally wandered in yesterday (note: Tuesday is apparently "pay what you wish day"). In a sentence: Great idea, bad execution.
They're currently featuring 70 years of Archie...I'm not a huge fan but it was kind of interesting seeing the evolution over time. Unfortunately, there's not much rhyme or reason to the exhibits - there's no explanation of the pieces or their significance, just a series of seemingly random prints (including entire comic books broken into individual pages) from the Sunday paper, comic books, etc. Furthermore, a lot of the pieces are extremely commonplace making me thing this is a pretty low budget museum (e.g. clippings from recent newspaper comic sections, printouts from the internet, etc) - I laughed when I saw the "medium" of many of the pieces was "inkjet on paper".
Anyways, we made a small donation on the way out so that they can hopefully improve the collection...but we're not holding our breaths. Again, great idea, terrible execution...spend your money instead on the next Comic Con! -
Review from Stephanie Y.
San Francisco, CA
10/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
We took advantage of the free smithsonian sponsored museum day here. This place is a lot smaller than I thought, just 3 rooms. They were featuring Archie in 70 years, so the first room was filled with Archie. Not to say I'm not a fan, but I wished there were more to see. When I went to the Tim Burton exhibit, they showed his scupltures and doodles from his childhood. I wish this place would add some of that.
The gift shop is neat. Lots of manga... of course. Some neat gifts for friend's birthdays can be found here. -
Review from Jordan P.
San Francisco, CA
12/19/2011
For lovers of cartoons...
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Review from Lizzie G.
7/6/2011
This is what museums should be like. A cool collection of current work that spans back through the ages, taking you step by step and making you giggle. Cartoons are so underestimated. They are art with a sense of humour and this museum demonstrates that perfectly.
It's $7 to get in but totally worth it. You can browse the images for a good few hours even though the museum isn't actually that big. You can see how story boards were put together with Tippex and bits of cut out paper covering mistakes. This art was around way before computers and it looks ahead of its time. Some of the drawing from the 1900s are so beautiful, you can see the style and fashion of drawings change.
I am a comic book geek. I was in my element but... as so many others say, this museum is for all.Listed in: San Francisco a London CMs…
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Review from Carol Y.
4/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
After reading some of the reviews here on yelp, I thought this would be a complete waste of time. However, my companion for the day chose this lesser known museum because he was really into a comic strip artist whose work was being featured here. The hand drawings revealed a lot about how comic strips were produced back in the day. As we moved through the collection, we noticed how the art evolved over time and how the characters changed. Eventually, the artist switched over to single pieces of computer generated art using totally different characters. Although I knew nothing about the comic strip I was looking at, I did get a lot out of seeing this collection.
In other rooms, there were more recognizable pieces. I recall seeing Dennis the Menace, The Jetsons, Looney Tunes characters, and Garfield. Some of these pieces included animation cels, something I actually knew a little about as I was once an avid Japanese anime cel collector. This was when I started doing the explaining.
It took us about two hours to get through the gallery and we both learned a lot about comic art. I learned a little about his favorite comic strip artist and he picked up some of what I knew about animation art. Check it out if you have a genuine interest in learning about these forms--otherwise, you may get a little bored. -
Review from Jason L.
Pasadena, CA
8/15/2011
I'm a total geek for this material, but I see better work flipping through various artist's work at comic con. I love the concept behind this museum, but I'm not altogether impressed with the curation.
A couple of great pieces to look for: The Spirit by Will Eisner, color keys for The Jungle Book (Disney); Cruella de Ville by Marc Davis -
Review from Allie A.
Surprise, AZ
8/2/2011
Okay, this place is small. It is private. It gets no love or funding from notorious or infamous sources. It is wonderful! Quaint, quiet, well organized, and exceptionally clean.
They had cartoons I had forgotten... So very sorry Prince Valiant and Family Circus! This place brought back fond memories of Sunday mornings as a kid; pouring over the Sunday paper comics after mom and dad had finished to get a little giggle... Thank you Cartoon Art Museum!
So why only 4 stars? It's small... And the store was out of Green Lantern rings... And let's face it, it doesn't compare to the Legion of Honor (which earned all 5 stars).
But this was a great stop between the Ferry Building Marketplace and the Bi-Rite Creamery on our day-long foodie exploration of SF! If you have 30 minutes, hit this up, it is worth the exceptionally reasonable $7 entry fee. -
Review from Kevin G.
Los Angeles, CA
2/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
The MOMA is just blocks away, but this place is worth visiting simply because animation is always dismissed as art. It's tinier than how it appears from the outside & that's saying a lot since it already looks microscopic when walking up to it. Calling it a museum is a bit grand; it's more like an art gallery. The Looney Tunes exhibit takes up a nice amount of the space. Can't complain. It was great seeing the various cels & sketches made from such a long time ago.
Talk with the staff for the full experience. They were very helpful dropping knowledge on certain pieces. Also, be sure to bring your wallet because the bookstore will likely prevent you from leaving empty-handed. -
Review from Mike M.
Peoria, IL
10/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Small museum that doesn't take too long to walk through, which is a good thing! Great place if you're into drawing and don't feel like spending the whole afternoon walking around.
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Review from Judy P.
1/5/2011
The Verdict: nice gallery
Went here to see Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher the Economist cartoonist and really enjoyed the nice intimate reception. Staff was friendly and appetizers and drinks were donation-based... Quality too! We even met Kal, a genuine guy who is very intelligent and creative and talent. He is able to tell a satirical story with the stroke of his brush. -
Review from Yi Z.
3/6/2011
I guess I was expecting anime or something else exciting. About half of the tiny gallery bored me to death. On display was a collection of newspaper comics that required a lot of reading. I tried to get into it so I read all of the dialog but they just weren't funny. I kept asking myself why any newspaper would want to publish these comics.
There were some early sketches of famous Disney and Warner Brothers' cartoon characters and I woke up a bit when I got to that section.
The best part of the "museum" was the display of Kal's political cartoons in the Economist. That guy has some real talent.
I don't know, $7 is enough to buy 2 happy hour drinks at one of the many bars nearby and I think I would've enjoyed drinking beer more than trying to read the fine print of comics that just aren't interesting. -
Review from Eric C.
Newark, CA
6/14/2011
Great little museum, although I might be biased since I'm a collector of animation art and have myself loaned works to this museum. The museum itself is somewhat unique as you don't often see museums solely dedicated to animation, comic and pop art. And the admission price is certainly reasonable. The quality of the shows varies greatly so check their website to see what their latest offerings might be. While this is a great place to come see some fantastic art, I'd love to see the shows expand somewhat. This would include a single show taking up the entire space as well as seeing more emphasis on process and history. The bookstore alone is probably worth a visit. All-in-all, a unique museum that San Fran is lucky to have.
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Review from William D.
Saint Charles, IL
7/18/2011
This place is always a pleasant surprise--yes, there is a permanent display and a great little bookshop. But you never know what little surprises await. This time I wandered in to discover that there were two special exhibits--one devoted to the animation in the wonderful film Howl, and the second devoted to the cartoons of Berke Breathed. What a neat combo! A comfortable space and cetainly worth the cost of admission. Especially if you are a fan of comics and animation.
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Review from Brad C.
12/14/2010
Great display of cartoons as art.
The most memorable exhibit was on Dr. Seuss and his lesser known propaganda posters during the war and darker adult themed pieces.
I left with a greater appreciation of cartooning as an artform that captures modernity in a timely and relevant way. There are times for essays and dissertations but nothing distills it down quite as quickly as a well done illustration. -
Review from Kristen L.
Palo Alto, CA
9/16/2010
I LOVE this place. The nicest people work here. They have great exhibits, and even though its small, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's kind of cozy and friendly. I even signed up for a free drawing lesson with the kids, and they let me take it-- might have been better to sign up for the adult one though-- my mistake. Visiting artists I've met have been very friendly and will sometimes give you pieces of art to take :)
The bookstore is also to die for. Great selection of unique items you might not be able to find elsewhere. Unless you know where to look ;) -
Review from neil c.
San Francisco, CA
5/3/2008
I am having a hard time deciding the rating for this place. They get 5 stars for the vision and idea of creating this place. A museum devoted to the art of comics and cartoons is a fantastic idea.
The exhibits overall are also pretty great. When I went, as part of my date for Tabatha Y's Cron's and Colitis silent date auction, the temporary exhibits were a salute to the local artist Phil Frank, and Sex and Sensiblity - comics by women about modern love. They were both pretty good, but I can't help but feel I would have liked the Gorey exhibit last fall more! Still, 6 dollars is a very fair price for a fairly decent collection of artwork located in SOMA. If there were a special exhibit I was interested in, I would have no second thoughts about returning.
As I alluded to at the top I was not sure if this was a four or five star review. But it's clear to me now that they deserve all five stars. PEW PEW PEW. -
Review from Autumn K.
9/10/2007
In case you're not in the know, I come from Comic Book stock. My grandparents owned many of the comic shops in Southern California at one point, and believe me: there are far worse family businesses to be born into. So comic books and cartoons make me a wee bit nostalgic for my little girlhood spent playing with my Bubby and Pop Pop in their stores and receiving bulging manila envelopes (I almost said bulging packages...gross!) full of little-girly comics.
The Cartoon Art museum is a great place to reminisce. Compact, modern, and minimalistic, it is simple to navigate and packs enough content to keep you busy for around an hour. If you really really like comics, cartoons, and the people who make them, you can probably squeeze another hour out of the experience by reading every last informational plaque and going over each illustration with a fine-tooth comb. Exhibits are rotating and as often as I visit (approx. 3 times a year), there are always new things to see. I also bring kids from a local shelter here from time to time (ages 6-12) and they just love it.
We went to see the Edward Gorey Dracula exhibit over the weekend. If you like Edward Gorey, you should probably head over there before the exhibit's up. With a lot of back story on Gorey's involvement in the design and production of Dracula and accompanying illustrations, artist's notes, and play memorabilia, it's a pretty comprehensive exhibit.
My very favorite part is the Museum Store. Because I really really like to spend money on things I don't need. If you are reading this and you've been looking for the perfect gift for me in the $20-$30 range, I'd really really like to have the Edward Gorey Dracula: A Toy Theater 3-D toy set. I mean REALLY REALLY I'd like to have it. And if you're reading this and you're looking for the perfect gift for Jason K, he really REALLY liked the Clara book, chronicling the pornographic adventures of Clara, a voluptuous, mostly naked Bettie Page lookalike. I mean He REALLY LIKED it. They take Visa and Master Card, for your convenience. -
Review from Bucky K.
San Francisco, CA
8/2/2007
You're about to read something that may shock you. In fact, you may want to sit down for this... I am about to review a comic-related business. *gasp* the horror... THE HORROR!!! My eyes, they are bleeding... where there used to be tears, there is now only blood!!!
I know what you are thinking, "Hey Bucky, like playing with flammable liquid, isn't reading comics just for kids??" And to that I would respond, "No my simple-minded friend, it is for adults also. In fact, in some circles it is considered an art form." Which brings us to the Cartoon Art Museum...
Located in SOMA, this museum has a permanent collection of original art from animation cels to comic books to daily comic strips. Along with that, there is a rotating exhibit that changes out every few months. When I was there, the new exhibit was a collection of editorial cartoons from foreign papers about the US and a collection of modern comic artists (including Pia Guerra and Erik Larsen, yea!!).
The permanent collection is very cool. There is a room dedicated solely to Charles Schutlz. I had a couple geek-out moments like seeing an animation cell from the Fleischer era Superman cartoons, but I won't bore you with the details.
This is a great museum and I am lucky to have it in a city where I live, because the stuff they have on display usually ends up in someones private collection. My only complaint is that there just isn't that much to see. I had allotted myself two hours before a movie to walk around the place, and that was probably an hour and fifteen minutes too long.Listed in: The Comic Book Geek & San…
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Review from carlos a.
1/29/2009
I headed over to the Cartoon Art Museum on a whim.
It's a couple of blocks from my office and I had always wanted to check it out.
It was about $6, so not terribly expensive.
Do not be surprised at how small it is. There are two gallery rooms and a gift store.
My favorite part was reading the old comic strips. You could spend a good hour or two just reading over early american comic strips.
Definitely a cool place if you are into cartoon art but if you are not I don't know if it's enough of a novelty to excite anyone.
For $6 it doesn't hurt to check it out. -
Review from M. C.
Mill Valley, CA
7/25/2010
Looking for something to do one fine day (yesterday, actually), I logged into the wonderful Mill Valley Library website and took a look at which museum passes were available (yes, my library allows me to check out museum passes. For free. Mill Valley Public Library, I love you.)
Fast forward 2 hours: I'm in the city, parking right in front of the Cartoon Art Museum. (Hint: bring lotsa quarters. I did.)
Why 3 stars? This was a fine thing place to visit. I admire the concept. I enjoyed the Beetle Bailey strips...But, I felt like that was about it. It is a nice little museum, very affordable even if you have to pay, sweet staff.
What I missed: cultural context for the Bailey exhibit. The rest of the museum seemed like they put out a call for original cartoon artwork and now display the mix of art that was donated.
If you love cartoons, this place is clearly worth a trip. Other exhibitions may have more depth. We liked the museum fine, and enjoyed the offerings in the gift shop as well. I'd say: go if you are in the neighborhood. -
Review from Michael E.
San Francisco, CA
11/6/2007
Man, this review is roughly 3 years overdue. It's right across the street from Yelp HQ, and I have spent many a brainstorming session in their bookstore when I'm low on creative juice. When I was a kid, I wanted to write and draw comic strips. I was in love with Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. I had the paper, the pens, the ink the books, everything. I even did comics in college, but eventually gravitated towards graphic design the more drugs and alcohol I pumped into my system. :)
But I've always had a soft spot for comics, especially original art where you get to see the white paint coverup, the splotchy ink coverage and the blue pencil lines underneath it all. It just reminds me of my childhood ambitions of being the next Bill Watterson. And the Cartoon Art Museum has all of that to satisfy. Political cartoon exhibits to Disney cells to original Gertie the Dinosaur sketches from Windsor McCay. And it's deceptively large on the inside.
Ah, comics.... I definitely have to bust out my old pens more often. -
Review from Justin C.
8/24/2010
This place is so much fun!
I'm not huge comic fan but found this place very enjoyable. I randomly wandered in on my way to the MOMA and was pleasantly surprised by the art work and decor.
The staff didn't talk down to me like expected. Check this place out! -
Review from Rachel A.
12/17/2009
The Cartoon Art Museum is a destination that is probably not on the radar of many tourists. How many of you have even heard of Cartoon Art Museum? And if you have heard about it, you probably wondered if it really did exist. I heard it was tiny and when I got there I found the rumor to be true. It was small.
If you are a turbo tourist or a scanner, you could probably be done with CAM in half an hour. If you are really into art, comics, cartoons, animated movies, underground pop culture and graphic novels, then you could spend anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour at CAM. Any longer and I'll tell you to get a life. Although small, CAM makes up for it's shortcomings through selection and preservation.
Imagine the Sunday comics spilled onto the walls of a house. That's what CAM is like. Everything was framed and given it's time of day. There are even benches for you to sit on and stare at the walls and tv screen. The exhibits I saw on my visit were the art of Sleeping Beauty, Monsters of Webcomics, and Spain Rodriguez (Rebel in Ink). Sleeping Beauty was great because it is my all time favorite Disney cartoon. Other highlights at CAM included vintage action figures on display, original Peanuts and all the classics like For Better or Worse and Blondie. Monsters of Webcomics explored the internet medium and Spain Rodriguez celebrated San Francisco's very own. CAM had a good representation of cartoons incorporating historical aspects and present day trends.
Some cartoons were racy, some were juvenile, some were simple and some were really elaborate. CAM is something the whole family could enjoy. It's not someplace I'd go raving about (go see the Golden Gate first) but it is cool. Right now they have an exhibition on Fantastic Mr. Fox. I would love to check out those creepy little puppets but the original animation cells of Sleeping Beauty were enough for me. My 45 minutes at CAM were enough to make my downtown San Francisco wandering a day not wasted.Listed in: Interesting, but terribly…
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Review from Ben P.
Oxnard, CA
4/10/2006
This little museum is pleasant, non-assuming, and interesting even to people to aren't comic book freaks. While by no means comprehensive (that would be like trying to have a "comprehensive" literature museum), a good selection of time periods, genres, and formal types is usually on display. During your visit, you might see animation stills from Fantasia, early New Yorker cartoons, some freaky shit by R. Crumb, Calvin and Hobbs, and some pages from the Sandman.
What might seem like a flaw in the idea of a Cartoon Art Museum is actually an advantage: none of the works on display here were orignally intended for gallery viewing. Rather, they were created for mass-production, and these originals are often filled with blue pencil lines and white out blotches that disappear upon reproduction. Unlike establishment gallery art, the real artwork as far as comics and cartoons are concerned is the printed book or the television screen. What the Cartoon Art Museum offers are not complete works of art to be analyzed, but a rare and fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the process of the creation mass visual culture. -
Review from Christine A.
Cerritos, CA
8/8/2009
Came to see the Stan Sakai and "Watchmen" movie exhibits. I was floored--hand-drawn Usagi Yojimbo art (you can see where Stan whited something out in some of them!) and Watchmen costumes and props.
Both exhibitions were well-presented with nice explanations on the placards beside the pieces. Outstanding.
Though I frequent many art museums, sometimes I'll just walk through whole rooms without stopping at any particular pieces, just glancing at them as I stroll from one gallery to another. At the Cartoon Art Museum, I felt compelled to stop and read every frame of every loving piece of original comic art in there. Though the museum is only maybe four or five rooms, you really spend some time in there absorbing what you see and read.
Wish I could go there now for the Sleeping Beauty and webcomic exhibits. Seems like there's always something great there. -
Review from matthew r.
San Francisco, CA
10/17/2007
I've been here a couple times now and I've been meaning to review it; I might as well do it now and beat the post-event bandwagon by a few hours, mainly so that I can tell people that I reviewed the Cartoon Art Museum before reviewing the Cartoon Art Museum was cool.
In any case, Their permanent collection struck me as kind of small but well rounded, spanning the 1920s to the present. Strips from the past and the present such as Little Nemo, The Yellow Kid (I still can't figure out if this strip is offensive or not) Pogo, Krazy Kat, Beetle Bailey, Calvin & Hobbes, and more. You could probably view the collection in detail in 60 to 90 minutes.
The exhibitions and traveling shows can be worth a look as well; The current Gorey exhibit is fun and offers a look at his earlier work, but is mainly focused on a play for which he designed the sets and costumes in the late 1970s and doesn't show much of his later work.
Posters, comics, and trade paperbacks are available in the gift shop, along with other fun stuff. I'll know in a few hours if they can throw a decent party or not.
Oh, and the men's restroom is clean but has a dark, ominous quality about it that I can't quite place; I just wanted to take care of business and get out of there as quickly as I could. I'll bet David Lynch will shoot scenes in there if he ever finds out about it. Use the restroom at home if possible. -
Review from Michael H.
Hayward, CA
Updated - 1/7/2009
http://www.yelp.com/ev...
So I finally headed over to the Cartoon Art Museum to look at some incredible illustrations by international talents for the Totoro Forest Project. All of the pieces have already been auctioned off for charity, so don't expect to get your hands on any of them. Even though the place isn't that big I spent a good deal of time digesting each beautiful illustration. Definitely worth your time if you're a fan of Totoro, Miyazaki, or Ghibli Studios (pretty much one in the same).
There is also a flat screen television displaying short animation films by top talents. I saw an entire short film by John Lasseter entitled, "Nightmare". It's easy to see how this became inspiration for Monsters Inc.
The room on the right is another exhibition featuring the comic book illustrations of Gene Colan. It's amazing artwork that has undoubtedly influenced many proceeding generations of comic book artists. Featured artwork includes such superheroes as Daredevil, Iron Man, and Captain America. A big treasure for comic book nerds.
Two awesome exhibits. I forgot that the Cartoon Museum is free the first Tuesday of the month, luckily I strolled by. CAM continues to hold great exhibits, residencies, classes, trips, and fundraisers on a yearly basis.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/1/2008
This museum is the size of the MOMA's first floor. Don't expect Walt Disney's archives. They… Read more »
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Review from Daniel P.
Houston, TX
11/18/2009
After reading about how small this place was and visiting their bland website straight out of 1997 (now redesigned), my expectations weren't too high. However, we really enjoyed ourselves on our first visit and spent a good couple of hours perusing classic comic strips, graphic novel excerpts, and cartoon frames. I don't know how often they rotate exhibits, but be sure to look out for current displays that interest you. I'm sore over apparently missing a Totoro and Usagi Yojimbo exhibit from who knows when.
I got turned on to some cool, funny web comics from their current web comic exhibit. It was strange, but I let out small bursts of laughter as I paced through this exhibit reading pieces. You get really self-aware of yourself laughing when in a quiet, museum-like setting. I would have thought people were thinking like "what the fuck is this crazy guy laughing at?" but didn't cause the place was pretty much empty. I was also impressed by the frames of background paintings from "Sleeping Beauty" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Crazy beautiful and detailed, especially the watercolored ones.
The small giftshop/bookstore has a pretty rad selection of graphic novels, art books, collectibles, and the like. The place is worth visiting for the bookstore alone. I saw this really cool ceramic, desk top cat bus from "My Neighbor Totoro" pencil holder thing, in all its glorious cat bus detail, and seriously contemplated buying it, but it was like 40 bucks, and I sharply realized that I'm an adult male about to buy a cat bus pen holder for 40 bucks (Shit, now I regret not picking it up). -
Review from Noel M.
5/10/2009 1 photo
It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but still worth the visit. The installations are revolving and there are few "precious works" that are always there, it was more like a gallery instead.
This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy seeing work by Nell Brinkley. Plus, the concept art from Alice in Wonderland and Fantasia was interesting. There is even newer items such as a storyboard from the Simpsons.
I'll be watching their calendar and save my next visit for exhibits that are close to my heart. -
Review from Mike L.
Mountain View, CA
3/25/2009
Cartoon Art GALLERY
I was extremely disappointed when I visited this "museum." The idea of a museum for cartoon art is ingenious, but I think this place falls short of execution. It feels more like a gallery rather than a museum. I was hoping to see tons of work spanning decades, but the exhibits were small and lacking. The best part of museum was its store with it's great selection of books and graphic novels. Would've given it 2-stars, but the price of admission is incredibly cheap.
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students & Seniors
$2.00 - Children (ages 6 - 12)
FREE - Children (age 5 & below)
The first Tuesday of every calendar month is "Pay What You Wish Day."Comment from Andrew F. of Cartoon Art Museum 6/7/2009
Believe me, we wish we had more space, too, but San… More » -
Review from Eric L.
11/1/2007
I went with my friend Dave to the Cartoon Art Museum, Dave and I both were big comic book fans when we were growing up. It just so happens Dave himself is an amazing artist and knows all kinds of info about old school artists that I've never even heard of before.
So it was a great experience looking at some of the modern comic art that I easily recognize and getting a whole back story on some of the older works from Dave.
The layout of this place is a bit narrow and it seemed they arranged the walls inside to maximize wall space. It was a different vibe from Varnish on Natoma. -
Review from Laura L.
5/4/2009
Despite the Cartoon Art Museum being wicked tiny, it was pretty rad! I can honestly say I liked all of the exhibits. Ok, granted there were maybe... 5 total, but all 5 were awesome!
The museum is currently featuring a Watchmen exhibit, which has a few of the costumes on display, some early sketches of the comic to design prototypes of the outfits used in the film adaptation.
If you're into old time-y cartoons there's a wartime cartoon exhibit. Or, if you're into cartoons from the 20s and 30s, you might get a kick out of the Nell Brinkley exhibit. The whole room showcased her lavish, ornate cartoons which have been included in adverts and ladies "how-to" and etiquette guides.
So much awesome stuff packed into just a few tiny rooms! -
Review from Jacquie L.
San Rafael, CA
2/8/2009
I love Totoro.. and when I heard that they had an exhibit here that had something to do with it, well I jumped up and down just like Totoro did except it didn't have quite the same effect.
Turns out the exhibit didn't really have any work by the great Hayao Miyazaki but, it featured art by other artists that were inspired by the movie instead. The exhibit didn't disappoint at all, and featured artists from all over the globe with renditions and interpretations using all kinds of mediums, including an embroidered piece. Very innovative.
They also had an exhibit featuring drawings and figurines from the new movie Coraline. I know nothing about stop motion animation, but, it was awesome to see all the miniature Coraline clothing and read the story boards.
I also enjoyed the drawings of cartoonist Gene Colan, whose various works, including Iron Man were on display in the 3rd room. The back room also highlighted various cartoon art since it's conception, kind of like a History of Cartoon Art. Very cool.Listed in: Philanthropic Stuff
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Review from Sharon W.
San Francisco, CA
11/3/2009
I came here for my birthday last year. Even though I'm pretty enthusiastic about my cartoons and animation and I like to linger, my boyfriend and I spent under 2 hours. As long as you know it's a small place (yes, more of a gallery than a museum), it's all good.
I liked it better than a regular museum because of its less overwhelming scope. Everything was worth reading and looking at. When I was there, they had a great exhibit about local artist Keith Knight. It's a nice quiet diversion after lunch or paired with some other nearby museum visits. -
Review from natasha s.
Oakland, CA
12/20/2006
I came here a while back for the gross, gruesome and gothic exhibit, or something like that. So, yes, quite a while ago. Anyway, their collection is interesting and fairly diverse. My favorites were pieces from Edward Gorey, Miyazaki and the Wee Pals (Oaktown!). They also have a wide array of animation pieces, ranging from Mr. Magoo, the Smurfs, Steamboat Willie, Disney, etc. to a collection of domestic, historical and international political cartoons (what else in SF).
The space is relatively small so you can peruse the museum pieces in a fairly short period of time. Also, the museum store contains an even wider range of books, reproductions, posters, prints, memorabilia and typical museum-store fare from the cartoon family: low brow, pop surrealists, Japanese art, big-eyed dolls in the house.
