Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #266

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with Sylvester the cat in A Mouse Divided (1953). Though best known for his cartoons with Tweety and Speedy Gonzales, the cat has shown many times that he is more than capable of making a great cartoon without any famous co-stars. This is one of those. The story of Sylvester wanting to eat a small animal until it considers him its parent and then protecting it would be repeated much later in Father of the Bird (1997). A Mouse Divided was directed by Friz Freleng, who directed the Tweety and Sylvester cartoons. 

Next comes Tweety in Birdy and the Beast (1944). This is the second Tweety cartoon. The first three Tweety cartoons were directed by Bob Clampett and feature the bird with other cat antagonists than Sylvester. After Friz Freleng directed the award winning short Tweetie Pie (1947), which first paired Tweety and Slyvester, Tweety would only appear in theatrical cartoons with Slyvester. 

Next comes the first Mickey Mouse cartoon made, Plane Crazy (1928). This was back in the days when Mickey was still a simple country mouse who went around barefoot and didn't wear gloves. These early Mickey cartoons have a genuine rural feel to them (partly because Walt always considered himself a farm boy at heart) that I personally find irresistible and definitely prefer over the later and bland suburban settings featured in his later cartoons. In this film Mickey dreams of being a pilot and makes himself a homemade plane that would make the Our Gang kids jealous. This is because aviation was a popular topic around this time due to the fame of Charles Lindbergh (briefly caricatured here) after his New York to Paris flight of 1927. Walt had already had his earlier star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in an aviation themed cartoon with The Ocean Hop (1927). This cartoon began production in March 1928. The production of this cartoon was done in secret due to the fact that Walt was still under contract to make Oswald cartoons for Universal. Animator Ub Iwerks (who animated the film by himself) was separated from the artists working on the Oswald shorts so that he could not be seen by them. Hugh Harman later described this saying, "They curtained off part of the studio with a great black drop, black skim of some kind, so that I and a few others who were leaving couldn't see the great secret that was going on." Ub Iwerks was one of the fastest animators of the time and finished this cartoon in only a matter of weeks. It has been said that he made as many as 700 drawings in one day. This cartoon was originally made as a silent film, yet you will notice the opening title card says, "Sound Cartoon." The reason for this is that after the success of Steamboat Willie (1928) with sound, a soundtrack was added to this cartoon. 

Now for the silent Aesop's Film Fables cartoon, Snapping the Whip (1929). 



  

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes the New Three Stooges cartoon, A Flycycle Built for Two (1965). The Stooges voice themselves in this made for TV cartoon. In this cartoon, the Stooges try to create a flying bicycle. The live action wrap around segment here is reminiscent of the classic Stooge short, The Ghost Talks (1949). 

Now for the Mighty Mouse cartoon, Hero for a Day (1953). 

If you asked me to pick a cartoon that perfectly shows what the style of the Fleischer Studio was, I would pick, Bimbo's Initiation (1931). This cartoon has everything that makes the Fleischer Studio one of the most unique animation studios of all time. The film has a lot of surreal humor, a very detailed look, a dark and dangerous atmosphere, and was definitely intended more for adults than kids. One thing the Fleischers strived for was to put a gag in every moment of the film and this cartoon has that in abundance. Bimbo was a star character at this time, but his star was soon to be eclipsed by another character in this film, Betty Boop. Betty had made her debut a year earlier with Dizzy Dishes (1930). It wouldn't be long until Bimbo would be playing supporting roles in Betty Boop cartoons. Eventually Betty's films would drop Bimbo. Betty would also later own a dog making her one of the few cartoon characters to both own and date a dog (and even be a dog in her earliest appearances). This cartoon was placed at 37 in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons.



 

Now let us close with a song. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age by Michael Barrier

Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin

The 50 Greatest Cartoons by Jerry Beck

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Movie Review: Shelter

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A very familiar but well-made movie.

 This movie follows the exact formula as most Jason Statham films. He is a loner with a violent past, who befriends someone and must fight to help protect her. We have all seen this story before and this film doesn't add anything new here. Because of this it is hard for the movie to stand out and from being truly memorable.

Despite this the movie tells this story quite well. As you may expect the action scenes are often excellent. They are well paced, staged and quite exciting. The movie never once drags and by the time it is over it is hard to believe that over 100 minutes have passed. However the real heart of the film is in the relationship between our two main characters, the hero and the young girl he befriends. This relationship is quite touching actually and keeps you emotionally invested in the story. Child actress Bodhi Rae Breathnach (who had previously appeared in Hamnet (2025)) is a very talented young actress, who has great chemistry with Jason Statham. 

While overly familiar this is a well-made movie. 

Bugs Bunny is TCM's Star of the Month for February

 

As a massive fan of both Looney Tunes and TCM, I have long been hoping that these two would cross paths more often. After all cartoons are an important part of film history as there was a time when cinema goers couldn't image a trip to the movies without a cartoon. Recently I found some amazing news that I am very excited about. Starting February TCM will now host the classic Looney Tunes shorts. This is being kicked off by making Bugs Bunny, February's star of the month. From February 2nd to the 9th, the channel will be showing 45 selected Bugs Bunny shorts, that include many long-time favorites of Looney tunes fans.  In the spirit of a classic night at the movies these shorts will be grouped by themes and will be followed by a live action feature of the same theme. For instance, Rabbit of Seville (1950) and What’s Opera Doc (1957) will play before the Marx Brothers classic, A Night at the Opera (1935). And this is only the beginning doc; classic Looney Tunes cartoons will become a staple of the channel for the foreseeable future. 

So, Overture, curtain, lights. This is it tonight of nights. No more rehearsing and nursing a part. We know every part by heart. Overture, curtain, lights. This is it; we'll hit the heights and oh what heights we'll hit. On with the show this is it. Tonight, what heights we'll hit. On with the show, this is it.

Video Link: Black Cat Becomes a HERO?! Sorta... - Causally Comics

Video Link: The Disney Voice You Never Knew You Knew - West of Neverland

Movie Review: Mercy

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A surprisingly good sci-fi thriller. 

In this movie a man (Chris Pratt) finds himself in an AI court having to prove that he is innocent of killing his wife. To prove himself innocent he has all of technology (which is being monitored by the government) at his disposal. 

This movie is heavily inspired by such films as Searching (2018) and Missing (2023) with how for much of the runtime every shot is either of the screen for the AI court or our main character. It does little to deviate from the formula firmly set in place, even down to the main story being a mystery. It does however break away from this with some shots neither of the screen or our main character towards the end (though there is a reason for this narratively). 

Though this movie may lack originality, it works quite well as a murder mystery. The mystery itself is very well-written, and it kept me guessing all the way through. The film is full of twists and turns, most of which are very effective. The movie even makes us doubt the main character's innocence at many points or if he knows more than he is telling. The main character himself is quite engaging with how he is a very flawed person but one who truly does care about his wife and daughter. At the end when the mystery is all wrapped up, it feels quite satisfying. 

The movie also benefits from very strong performances from Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Chris Pratt delivers what might be his best non-Guardians performance as he is very believable and deeply human in this role. This show that when called upon to the man really can act. Rebecca Ferguson is fantastic as the AI judge. This is true to the extent that we forget at times we are watching an actress not a real AI. 

I do wish this movie would have delved more into its commentary on AI and capital punishment as well as its implications of how much access the government is given into our technological lives in this film. The movie will touch on these subjects and then quickly move on to the more conventional murder plot. 

Though this movie often plays it too safe, it is still a well-constructed sci-fi murder mystery.   

  

Movie Trailer: The Strangers: Chapter 3