A beautifully moving and thought provoking coming of age story.
At a couple points in this film, our main character quotes the Bible about how even if we do the most righteous things without love, they are pointless. This may be what she has been taught but it is not how the world around her acts. There might be love deep down with some of the people in her life, but it is love that they often keep well hidden. She lives in one of those societies where, like the pharisees that Jesus rebuked, people have turned faith and religion into little more than a set of impossible to follow rules. If you cannot follow these rules then you are rebuked and treated harshly instead of being shown the love you need and crave. This film lets us see just what such a society can do to a person, especially a young person. It is hard not to sympathize with Jem in this movie, even if you have never had this kind of upbringing. That is because writer/director Laurel Parmet (in what is amazingly her first feature film), does such a wonderful job of making us experience every moment with her. There is not a false moment in this film nor a moment when we do not feel like we are experiencing just what this young woman is. This is also helped by a truly incredible performance by Eliza Scanlen. This actress may be young, but she plays this role like a seasoned pro and even if you are familiar with the actress, you will find yourself forgetting you are watching an actress and only see the character. This is also a movie that is not afraid to move into darker territory and there are scenes that are downright disturbing and painful to watch. Yet these scenes always feel completely earned and never forced. This movie also never comes off as too meanspirited or paints any of its characters as simple stereotypes. Instead even the characters who would be just unlikable villain types in lesser films, have a little more depth and nuance to them here. Considering the road that so many similar movies have taken this feels honestly quite refreshing.
Also as someone who loves country music hearing Emmylou Harris and the Chuck Wagon Gang on the soundtrack certainly helped me love this movie.
This movie is heavily based on Sebastian Maniscalco's (who stars in and co-wrote this movie) stand-up comedy, where he spends quite a bit of time talking about his father and the relationship between the two. Because of this Maniscalco, essentially plays himself, even using his own name. He does this with a great deal of charm and he has great chemistry with Robert DeNiro (who plays his father). I admit to not being familiar with his standup routine, as I don't really listen to much standup comedy, but while I can see some of the charm of this as a standup routine, it doesn't really work as a movie. The main problem is that what might be funny in standup is not necessarily funny in a fictionalized movie. Because of this much of the humor falls very flat. Much of this is due to the fact that the humor simply relies on the working-class father not fitting into the high-class world he finds himself in when visiting the son's girlfriend's family. This type of thing is automatically funny in standup comedy but in a film it is simply the setup to a gag. When the only gags here are very tired and cliché jokes that weren't even that funny, the comedy simply falls flat. The other major contributor to the comedy is that the girlfriend's family is very eccentric. However again this feels like more of a setup for a joke than an actual joke itself. There were a couple jokes that made me smile but I rarely actually laughed which is a major problem for a film like this. The story here is also a mess. It is about as cliché and familiar as it gets and there is no time when you do not know how it will end. This is not helped by the storyline become repetitive as it repeats its own emotional beats over again. Its heart seems to be in the right place but the story still doesn't work.
Alas for good intentions, this just isn't a good movie.
In this episode Cheetah steals Wonder Woman's magic lasso, Brianiac steals Green Lantern's power ring and Scarecrow steals Batman and Robin's utility belts. They are then teleported to the Legion of Doom's headquarters where they are put on trial by the Legion of Doom with Lex Luthor as judge. Things are made worse by the fact that our heroes were protecting the liquid light in the Astro-Chemical Research Plant. While the trial is going on some other members of the Legion of Doom steal this liquid light and put the whole Earth in danger. The rest of the Super Friends must protect the world before the liquid light destroys much of it.
This is such a fun episode that perfectly shows why I love these types of corny superhero stories so much fun. The idea that the Legion of Doom puts them on trial for trying to uphold the law is simply really funny. I love how after Batman says that everything, they are on trial for is perfectly within the law, Lex Luthor states, "your laws." The complete nonsense of this and just how much the villains are enjoying this trial is a joy to watch. I especially love Grodd's line of "so help you Grodd." The punishments for each of the Super Friends are very creative. They also lead to some great and very atmospheric background art that is wonderful to look at. The action scenes here are very exciting and there is even a good deal of suspense in them.
This is simply a very fun episode that shows just why I love this show so much.
As many of you know lately Gerald Butler has been making mostly dumb turn your mind off action flicks. This movie tries to do much more than just provide some fun action (though it does that too) and what is most surprising is that for the most part this works quite well. The main two characters here are not the bland movie stereotypes you might expect. In fact as much as Gerald Butler's character is the hero of this story, he also does quite a bit that is not exactly the most moral course of action. This adds a layer to depth to this character, without ever going too far as to make the character completely unlikable. His translator starts off feeling like a bland character, but as the film goes on and we learn more about him, we see he is quite a bit more. This movie also takes a surprisingly intelligent look at today's wars. At one point a character states that he feels like wars today are not meant to be won. Yet this movie doesn't only state this idea but it shows it as well and by the end of the film we are wondering about the same thing. Yet most people came to this movie for the action and on this count the film does not disappoint. Though it takes a while to get to the major action scenes, they are just as well staged and exciting as action movie fans hoped they would be. They are also only enhanced by the depth of the two main characters.
This movie does certainly have its problems though. Though the two main characters have some depth to them, every other character is simply bland and uninteresting. Many of them even feel more like plot devices than actual characters. One man on a motorcycle is obviously supposed to be a major character but he is easy to completely forget about when he is not on screen. There are also too many plot points that are brought up and simply brushed off. Some of them are never mentioned again and some appear so little that when a conclusion comes for them, we completely forgot about them. This is also another film that tries to add a bit of family drama, without showing much of the family and this makes certain scenes not as emotionally effective as they should have been.
All in all this is a good movie. Despite any faults, it is gives the audience exactly what they want and in some cases even more than the expected.
Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with Gene Autry with his 1945 recording of Silver Spurs (On The Golden Stairs). Gene co-wrote this song with Cindy Walker, who also wrote the country classic, You Don't Know Me.
This is followed by The Petersens with How Firm a Foundation. It is unknown who exactly wrote this hymn. When it originally appeared in 1787's A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, it was simply credited to “K—.” The 1822 edition of A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors credited the writer as “Kn.” The 1835 edition credited the writer as “Keen.” Finally the 1844 edition was credited to “Kirkham.”
Then comes the Osborne Brothers with What a Friend We Have in Jesus. This hymn still has an important message for us today. When it seems like there is no one to turn to at any moment of our lives, Jesus is always there. He is always there to listen to us, no matter what. More than that though he deeply cares about every single one of us. A better friend than Jesus could never be found no matter how hard we try. What a friend we have in Jesus indeed.
Afterwards is The Issacs with It is Well With My Soul. Though this is a hymn of hope and peace it was written in a time of great sadness. The song was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. He had planned a European trip for himself, his wife and four daughters, however because of his work he was unable to go, and he let his family go without him and after he finished his work, he would meet them there. However, the ship was hit and quickly sank. Though his wife was saved all four of his daughters had gone down with the ship. Amazingly he wrote this hymn when approaching an area near where his daughters had sunk.
Next is The Carter Family with their 1928 recording of Anchored in Love.
Now for The Sons of the Pioneers with He Walks With the Wild and Lonely. This song was written by Bob Nolan, one of the founding members of the group and one of my personal favorite songwriters. When in a 1979 interview fellow cowboy singer and songwriter Stuart Hamblen asked Bob what he thought the best song he had written was, Bob answered that it was quite possibly this song. He explained why stating, "The lyrics and the music were so perfectly wed that I just couldn’t improve on it." This version of the song comes from the group's 1963 gospel album, Hymns of the Cowboy. Though we often times may feel that we are alone, and God is nowhere to be found, God is always walking with us through any tough time or hardship we may face.
Then is The Chuck Wagon with their 1941 recording of On the Jericho Road. This hymn was written in 1928 by Don and Marguerete McCrossman. It was copyrighted in 1933, and recorded by The Propes Quartet in 1934.
Next is Johnny Cash singing a gospel song he wrote himself, Meet Me in Heaven. Though he stated that this song was written for his wife, June, the words "meet me in heaven" came from his brother Jack's tombstone (who died at the young age of 14 and whose death left an incredible impact on Johnny for the rest of his life). This recording comes from his 1996 album, Unchained and features Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his backing band. In the documentary film, Running Down a Dream (2007) Tom Petty remembered this album as one of his favorites that he and his band ever worked on.
Today's musical selection ends with Roy Roger and Dale Evans with their 1950 recording of Old Rugged Cross. The song itself dates back to 1913 and was written by evangelist, George Bennard. Actually the first verse was written in 1912. It was written while Bennard was a part of a series of revival meetings in Albion, Michigan. He was worried about the complete disregard for the gospel around him and wrote this verse as a repose. Of writing it Bennard said, "I seemed to have a vision ... I saw the Christ and the cross inseparable." The song wouldn't be completed for several months, when he was leading meetings at a local church in Pokagan, Michigan. He played it for Rev. Leroy (the sponsoring pastor) and his wife, Ruby Bostwick, both of whom found themselves moved to tears. It was then incorporated into a service at that church on June 7, 1913. The song has the same effect today as it must have back then.
Now for a sermon from S.M. Lockridge.
Now for an episode of Roy Roger's TV show, Bullets and a Burro (1953). This episode was directed by John English, who before working in TV directed many B-Western movies starring such western stars as Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Bob Steele and Roy Rogers himself.
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13
They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. Nehemiah 9:17
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:4
But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:25
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremaih 29:11
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 Ge Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Mighty Mouse in Prehistoric Perils (1952). This short film is one of the operetta Mighty Mouse cartoons, where most of the dialogue is sung in an operetta style rather than spoken. The first of these cartoons was Mighty Mouse and the Pirates (1945), which was also the first Mighty Mouse cartoon to feature Oil Can Harry as the villain. Oil Can Harry is the villain in this movie as well.
Up next is Woody Woodpecker in Panhandle Scandal (1959). In this movie Woody helps bring law and order to the west. Bad guys should watch out, when Marshall Woody Woodpecker is on the job.
Next comes a silent movie, where Koko the clown travels to a very distant future year. So enjoy KoKo in 1999 (1927).
Next is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Beans the Cat (one of the Boston beans). Though not as well known Beans made his film debut in the same cartoon as Porky, I Haven't Got a Hat (1935). That cartoon was a takeoff on the Our Gang shorts and featured a bunch of little kid characters in a talent show. The studio did not know right away, which character would be the most popular, so they all appeared starred in some Looney Tunes when the studio was looking for a new character to replace Buddy (the rather bland character that had become that series' star). While Porky would become the most popular of these characters, Beans certainly had his fans in the studio as he would star in eight of these cartoons (Porky would even be relegated to a supporting role in some of these). Hollywood Capers (1935) is a good example of one of these Beans cartoons. While it may not be as laugh out loud funny as a Tex Avery or Bob Clampett Looney Tune, this is a charming little film that always puts a smile on my face. As a character Beans certainly has more personality than his predecessor Buddy. In many ways his personality is like the early Mickey Mouse before Mickey got toned down. He is very mischievous and always on a lookout for the next big adventure. Naturally this gets him in a lot of trouble but he always manages to have quite a bit of fun along the way. A quick joke has Beans disguise himself as Oliver Hardy to sneak into the movie studio. Porky would later try to do the same (less successfully) in You Ought to be in Pictures (1940). Look in the background for a poster advertising a fight between “Punchy” Pierce and “Hurricane” Hardaway. This is referring to two of the writers of Warner Brothers cartoons at the time, Tedd Pierce and Bugs Hardaway. Also Beans is voiced by Tommy Bond here (who played Butch in the Our Gang shorts).
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now we join Popeye the Sailor in I'm in the Army Now (1936). This cartoon is a cheater and uses clips from such films as Blow Me Down! (1933), Shoein' Hosses (1934), Choose Your 'Weppins' (1935), and King of the Mardi Gras (1935).
Now for some Saturday Morning Minions.
Next is the Silly Symphony, Wynken, Blynken & Nod (1938). This movie took a long time to reach the screen. The name of the film was registered with the MPPDA in January of 1934. It was planned to make this movie a sequel to an earlier Silly Symphony, Lullaby Land (1933). However story work did not begin until January of 1935. This cartoon had delays in production and who was working on the movie was constantly moving around due to work on the Disney feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The story wouldn't reach the point of being approved for animation until January 8, 1937. Still revision of the story would still be happening even after work on the animation had started. Because of this there were scenes that were animated but which not appear in the final cartoon. These included more scenes with the Boogey Man and the man in the moon, as well as some more scenes involving fishing. The finished film features elements that were considered for Snow White's Someday My Prince Will Come sequence but ultimately dropped. Despite this trouble in production this is a delightful little film.
Now to end with the Looney Tunes webtoons cartoon, Junkyard Run #1 (2001).
Broadcasting Telecasting, 1956
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for some more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
The fundamental problem with these Disney remakes lies not only in the execution but in the very idea. The 2D animation of the original films is a very different style of filmmaking than the mixture of live action and CGI of the remakes. Because of this you can't do the same thing in both styles and expect the same result. When these remakes try to directly copy certain scenes, these scenes can't do anything but fall flat. This is especially seen the song numbers of this movie. In the 1989 film, the visuals during Under the Sea, make it feel like we have been fully immersed in this underwater fantasy world. We were enchanted by this magical world and caught up in the pure energy and imagination of the visuals. In this remake, it feels completely lifeless and joyless. In the 1989 movie, Poor Unfortunate Souls created a real feeling of suspense and danger. Here it simply looks like an underwater level of a video game and in no way makes us feel any dread about what will happen next. These scenes only had the effect of making me wish that I was watching the 2D animated movie instead. It doesn't help that much of the CGI here is often unpleasant to look at. This is especially true of the designs of Sebastian the crab and Flounder the fish, both of which can be an uncomfortable mixture of cartoony and realistic and both of which are simply ugly. The giant cartoony eyes on the otherwise ultra-realistic Flounder will haunt my nightmares. When Sebastian first appeared on screen, I found myself laughing (something I never did when this film was trying to be funny) before there was any joke, because I couldn't believe that this design actually made it to the screen. It doesn’t help that these designs make it impossible for these characters to physically show any emotion with their faces or bodies. Despite the length of this film, I never got used to these awful designs and they looked just as terrible to me at the end as they did in the beginning. This makes it hard to ever emotionally connect with these characters. The underwater world is incredibly bland looking and offers no sense of magic or wonder. A fantasy movie like this should make one feel like they are transported to another world but with visuals like this, it is hard to in any way feel engaged with this world. Even the above ground scenes have a bland and lifeless look to them with little to make them stand out from the many Hollywood costume films over the years.
As for the story itself it often times feels very overstuffed. This movie copied much of the 1989 film nearly shot for shot and line for line, but it also added quite a bit making the original 83-minute movie into a 135-minute movie. The problem was that the 1989 movie was that length because the filmmakers knew that was how long it took to tell the story and nothing more was needed. Here there is much more than is needed to tell the story and this can make the film really drag. True that a remake can be a completely different take on a story, but with the exact copying of many scenes this opportunity is wasted. In other words, this is the exact same take on the story only stretched out to a longer length. If this film was telling the story in a different way than perhaps this longer runtime could have been necessary, but as it is it just feels like padding to an already complete story. It doesn't hurt that these new scenes often are not very good and sometimes embarrassing. The new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (who had previously written songs for the Disney animated films, Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021)) are shocking quite bad. The prince's "I want" song is immediately forgettable and the rap number (I am sadly not making that up) is embarrassing is to watch. That rap was so bad, it was hard to believe what I was actually hearing. There are also attempts here to make Prince Eric a less bland character than he was in the previous movie, but they fail and there is still not much to him, only now this really boring character has much more screen time. As I stated before the humor is awful and there is not one comedic moment here that even slightly works. The only parts of the story that somewhat worked were parts that still worked much better in the 1989 movie. This makes the whole film feel pointless and makes one wish they were watching the 2D animated movie instead.
The only thing I liked about this movie was Halle Bailey, who is positively charming as Ariel and is the only thing that brings any real life to many of the scenes. I simply loved her performance and wished that it could have been in a good movie. She also has a truly beautiful singing voice. On the other hand, is Melissa McCarthy as Ursla. She is completely miscast here and the attempts to add the actress' regular screen persona to this role fell flat and made the character completely annoying. Not only this but it took away from the creepiness of this character.
Unfortunately, these Disney remakes show no sign of stopping and this movie is a great representation of just how bad these films can truly get.
This movie follows a very simple premise. A woman (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who had a semi-successful book with her memoir, writes a non-fiction book for the first time. Her husband (Tobias Menzies) tells her how much he loves the book but in reality he is just telling her this to encourage her. One day she overhears him talking to a friend, saying he doesn't really like the new book and this breaks her heart and puts a strain in their relationship. This in many ways sounds like it could be a simple episode of a sitcom and honestly such a premise would work perfectly in a sitcom. Yet this movie never feels like a sitcom stretched to feature length and in fact this film is much more introspective than the average sitcom episode would be. This works because the film taps into something that is universal, human insecurities. This film does a wonderful job of looking at this part of human nature and all of the main characters have their own insecurities. The husband even has insecurities of his own. He is a therapist, who feels like he is completely failing at his job lately. Many of us who have had a job have experienced times when we wondered if we are actually any good at our job and this movie perfectly captures how it feels to have these kinds of self-doubts as he is no longer able to find any satisfaction or sense of accomplishment and begins to simply do nothing but go through the motions as he is working. This is just as much true with the story of the wife finding out her husband was lying about liking her book. As much as we say want people to be honest with us, this movie makes us question if we really would want that. It also makes it easy to put ourselves in the main character's shoes, as it is hard to watch the movie and not wonder how we would feel in her place. The relationship between husband and wife is also at the center of this film and it is wonderfully handled. There is a real sweetness and love felt in many of their scenes together. Even the scenes in which they are fighting, you can feel how much these characters truly care for each other. All of this is handled with a good amount of heart and charm that simply seems effortless.
This film has a really dry sense of humor. Sometimes this humor is hilarious and made me laugh out loud. Other times it could be more clever than actually funny. There were also a few times when it could fall completely flat. Still to me the times when the humor worked completely made up for the times it didn't.
This review will not go into much detail because this is one of those films where it works best if you go into blind. I knew little about this movie outside of who directed it and who starred in it. When one scene happened fairly early on in this picture, I was shocked. I was also hooked and felt the need to know where this movie would be going next. Though this is a slow-moving movie with not much action, I still found myself on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. As the story unfolds this film takes you to some very dark places, often addressing the worst parts of humanity. This is a movie that is completely willing to make you feel uncomfortable. There are times when this can even be hard to watch. Yet we become too engrossed in the story to ever fully look away. What is really impressive about this movie is that as dark as it gets there is actually a tinge of hope and optimism behind much of it. This impressively never feels forced or like it is going against the grain of the story, instead it feels like something that is completely earned. Director and writer Paul Schrader (who made a name for himself writing the screenplay for Martin Scorsese's brilliant Taxi Driver (1976)), does a wonderful job of balancing this darkness with a bit of hope and always making it believable. This is also heavily helped by wonderful performances from a truly great cast that includes Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, and Quintessa Swindell. All of whom give their full hearts to their performances here and bring a humanity to even the darkest parts of their characters.
This movie does have its faults though. The narration comes off as unnecessary adding little to the overall effect of the film. Much of it can also sound a little too pretentious. There are also some boring side characters and interesting plot threads that can too often fall into the background or have disappointing conclusions.
This is a movie that will definitely give you quite a bit of food for thought after watching it.
In this episode, Gorilla Grodd invents an inter-spacial time conveyor, that allows the Legion of Doom to go back in time to steal various historical treasures. It is up to the Super Friends to stop them but they are excepting and ready for the Super Friends.
There is a lot to enjoy about this episode. The idea is just the type of over-the-top type of Super Hero adventure I love. There is a real creativity to this story, and it is fun to see our favorite DC heroes and villains travel to all these different time periods and locations. This also gives the episode a unique feel among Super Friends episodes. Naturally this also allows for the great background art that populates Hanna-Barbera cartoons of this era and this makes the episode a joy to look at. The episode also moves at a really fast and fun pace that never allows the episode to become boring for a second. This is helped by some really good action set pieces. The fact that this episode never takes itself too seriously, only adds to the fun. I also love that this episode gives nearly every Super Friend something to do without feeling overcrowded.
This film has a very simple storyline. A transgender boy growing up in 1970's Rome feels like none of his family understands him and watches as his parent's marriage falls apart. As simple as the story is the emotions it will evoke are anything but simplistic. This is at once both a film filled with great joy and one that will truly break your heart. Both the joyous moments and the heartbreaking moments feel completely authentic. Director/Writer, Emanuele Crialese based much of this movie off of his own childhood and even if you did not know this going in, you can fully feel it. This is not a film about gender identity, mental illness, the collapse of a marriage, infidelity or spousal abuse (although all of these appear in the movie). Instead this is a film about human beings. As the film goes on, we truly care about these characters deeply as if they are our own friends. There are many times in which we simply want to reach out and give them a hug. The heart of this movie is in the mother and child relationship. This relationship is far from simplistic in any way. You can tell that the two truly do care about each other, but you can also tell that neither of them understands the other. The mother can't understand her child calling himself a boy and why he wants to go off to an abandoned area during his free time (it is because there is a girl he meets there, who seems to be the only person, who kind of understands him). The complicated relationship he has with his mother is expressed in two especially great scenes. One of these he tries to defend his mother when some creepy guys hit on her followed by his reaction to her calling herself ugly, and the other one is when she wishes to go under the table to play a child's game with the children at a party. These two scenes perfectly show how complex this relationship is but in a way that feels perfectly real and relatable. This relationship and these characters feel all the more real with the incredible performances of both Penélope Cruz and Luana Giuliani, both of whom simply light up the screen whenever they appear. This movie also does a wonderful job of balancing its mature themes and heartbreaking moments with moments of great humor and joy. Yet the humorous and fun scenes never feel out of place but instead seem to stem directly from the story and never dimmish the more heartbreaking moments.
Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1948 recording of The Old Rugged Cross. The song dates back to 1913 and was written by evangelist, George Bennard. Actually the first verse was written in 1912. It was written while Bennard was a part of a series of revival meetings in Albion, Michigan. He was worried about the complete disregard for the gospel around him and wrote this verse as a repose. Of writing it Bennard said, "I seemed to have a vision ... I saw the Christ and the cross inseparable." The song wouldn't be completed for several months, when he was leading meetings at a local church in Pokagan, Michigan. He played it for Rev. Leroy (the sponsoring pastor) and his wife, Ruby Bostwick, both of whom found themselves moved to tears. It was then incorporated into a service at that church on June 7, 1913. The song has the same effect today as it must have back then.
Then comes Dwight Yoakam with It is Well with My Soul. Though this is a hymn of hope and peace it was written in a time of great sadness. The song was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. He had planned a European trip for himself, his wife and four daughters, however because of his work he was unable to go, and he let his family go without him and after he finished his work, he would meet them there. However, the ship was hit and quickly sank. Though his wife was saved all four of his daughters had gone down with the ship. Amazingly he wrote this hymn when approaching an area near where his daughters had sunk.
Afterwards comes Moe Bandy with Many Mansions. This song reminds us that no matter what we go through in this life, none of the tragedies we might have to endure can measure up to the blessings that God has waiting for us in Heaven. This recording comes from Moe Bandy's 2022 gospel album, Thank You Lord.
Next is Tex Ritter with his 1950 recording of Onward, Christian Soldiers. This hymn was written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865. Baring-Gould was a schoolmaster, a deacon, and a priest. When he wrote this song he was writing in the British town of Horbury Bridge. He wrote this song for the children of the area to sing as they headed to church. Its lyrics symbolized the children prepare themselves for study of God's word and to stand strong so they would not fall into temptation.
Then comes The Chuck Wagon Gang with their 1948 recording of Looking for a City.
Now for Johnny Cash with Children. The fact that Jesus loves and cares deeply for children is made very clear in the Bible. Jesus in fact said that if we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven we need to make ourselves like little children. When little children came to him, he told his disciples that we are not to hinder any child from coming to Jesus. This song was written by singer/songwriter Joe South and this recording comes from Johnny Cash's movie The Gospel Road (1973). This film was a pure passion project for John.
Next is Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with a wonderful version of the classic hymn, How Great Thou Art. In their book, Happy Trails: Our Life Story, Roy tells of a story that had to do with this song. "I'll tell you about one time we nearly got into a real war with the promoters: at the World Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden in 1952. During the first rehearsal I started to practice 'How Great Thou Art,' a religious song I wanted to make the centerpiece of our musical act. There's a line in that song that goes, 'Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee...' Someone in the front office heard the rehersal and came to me that night to tell me I wasn't allowed to mention Christ at the rodeo. 'It might work for the kids in Houston, Texas' he told me, 'But this is New York. You can't preach to kids here.' I told him I wasn't preaching but that the Savior was a part of the song and I fully intended to sing that song in New York or anywhere else we performed. They suggested that I could change the words of the song so it didn't mention Him. I'm not one for grandstand plays but I told those fellas that if I couldn't sing 'How Great thou Art' just how it was written, Dale and I would pack up and leave town. The song stayed in the show. That year we did forty-three performances over twenty-six days and broke all Madison Square Garden attendance records."
Today's musical selection ends with Jack Hannah (from the Sons of the San Joaquin) with Hallelujah.
Now for the C.S. Lewis essay, Must Our Image of God Go.
Now for the moment, you have all be waiting for, the final chapter in Gene Autry's movie serial, The Phantom Empire (1935).
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Exodus 33:19
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. Micah 7:18
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Numbers 23:19
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. Jeremaih 17:14
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24
This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. Psalm 119:50
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning, once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with a fun short film starring Woody Woodpecker, Fowled Up Falcon (1960). This movie has Woody facing off against a falcon that proves to be no match for him.
UPA was one of the most unique and artistically daring studios of the golden age of animation. They were a studio that refused to follow the other studios' reliance on funny animals and slapstick violence but instead set out to create short films that showed how animation could do more things than the average cartoon short was doing. In my opinion one of the best films from the studio is The Unicorn in the Garden (1953). This short was an adaption of a short story by James Thurber. Stephan Bosustow (head of the studio) wanted to make a feature film adaption of a Thurber story, but couldn't get the funding. He asked director William Hurtz to make a short film based on a Thurber story. Hurtz chose The Unicorn in the Garden because it relied on human characters instead of animals. Hurtz studied the work of Thurber extremely closely for this film, but Bosustow was still disappointed and refused to enter it for an Academy Award. I respectfully disagree feeling that this film is a fantastic adaption. I am not the only one as it ended up as #48 in Jerry Beck's excellent book The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Next comes the Terry Toon short, Happy Valley (1952). This movie is in many ways just a silly cartoon, but it surprisingly has a good message about greed and how happiness doesn't always mean acquiring more wealth.
Now for a really fun early Disney Silly Symphony short, Summer (1930). This movie was directed by Ub Iwerks, who was around this time pretty much Walt Disney's right hand man and had co-created Mickey Mouse with Walt. He was definitely one of the people most responsible for the style of film Disney was making in the 1920's and early 1930's. When distributor Pat Powers offered Ub the chance to head his own studio he left Walt. Ub's own studio would never receive the success that the Disney studio did, but he turned out some films that still delight cartoon buffs to this day. Ub would later return to Disney to help create the special effects in such feature films as Song of the South (1946), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1953), The Parent Trap (1961) and Mary Poppins (1964). Outside of Disney, Ub also did some special effects work for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Like all Disney films of this time period, Summer benefits from a truly great cast of animators. Wilfred Jackson, who would not only later direct some of the best Silly Symphonies but would also go on to be one of the co-directors on the Disney feature films Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955), animates the butterflies dancing, the bugs rolling the cocoon, the cocoon bursting, the beetles dancing and the flies dancing. Ub Iwerks animates the opening and closing shots of the film including the spider's whole dance at the end. Les Clark, who would later become one of Walt's Nine Old Men and is often considered one of the finest Mickey Mouse animators, animates the jitterbugs on the water, the beetles waterskiing and the beetles rolling their nest. This short film made its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired on December 29, 1955.
Now for a commercial break.
Now for one of Frank Tashlin's classic Looney Tune cartoons, Porky Pig's Feat (1943). Tashlin spent much of his cartoon directing career dreaming of directing live action features. Because of this his cartoons are some of the most cinematic of the era, featuring a lot of great camera angles and brilliant cutting and timing. This one is no exception. In fact this is one of his finest Looney Tunes shorts. This film was also released during the same year as the last black and white Looney Tune, Puss 'n Booty (1943, also directed by Tashlin). However cartoons like this make one sad that black and white left the Looney Tunes series. Tashlin's use of black and white here is incredible and the look of this cartoon is simply breathtaking in a completely different way than a color cartoon ever could be.
Now for the Ant and the Aardvark in Hasty but Tasty (1969).
Now for a silent movie, A Thrilling Drill (1920).
Motion Picture News, 1916
Now for the moment you have all been waiting for, the final chapter of the Toon Marooned (2001) saga.
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
Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
This may not be "great cinema", but it is exactly what fans would want from a Fast and Furious movie.
Some of you may know that this movie was originally set to be directed by Justin Lin, who had directed the fourth, fifth, sixth, and nineth films in the series. However Lin stepped down due to "creative differences" though he still receives a screenwriting and producer credit on the final film. The director's chair was taken over by Louis Leterrier, who has experience directing action films with the first two Transporter movies as well as The Incredible Hulk (2008). Despite this change in directors, this movie fits perfectly into what anyone excepts from this franchise. The storyline is at the same time needlessly complex and very simplistic. Yet it gives us just enough to care about the characters and to nicely tie together each of the wonderful action sequences. The action sequences are fantastic here. It is pointless to complain about the lack of logic behind these sequences as that is actually much of the charm. We all want to see a person driving a car pull multiple helicopters with said car or watch that car fall from a plane and land on and destroy other cars, but still keep going itself. This is just the type of nonsensical fun that makes people want to see these over the top action films on the biggest screen possible. The climatic massive car chase is a pure adrenaline rush that is simply too fun to care if it doesn't make logical sense (though admittedly the fact that no cars go into space this time makes it more realistic than the last film). This is only one of the fun action set pieces though. A scene early on in Italy and a street race are also quite a bit of fun. Yes, even though this movie is far from the lower stakes movies that started this franchise, there is actually a street race here and this proves why actor Tyrese Gibson, said this this film would have the franchise in some ways go back to its roots. While this street race is a much higher stakes affair than anything in the first movie, it certainly is a lot of fun, and captures the charm of the earlier films. This film also benefits from a truly wonderful villain. Dante is probably the best villain this franchise has ever had. Jason Momoa has stated that he had the time of his life playing this character and this definitely shows on screen. This is an over the top performance but that is the point and that is just what is needed for this type of character. This character clearly feels a lot of joy in the pain he inflicts on our heroes and this joy can be felt in every moment he is on screen. Momoa's performance is incredibly energetic and fun, and he even employs a crazy laugh that reminds me of Frank Gorshin as the Riddler.
This movie does have its share of faults though. The main one is that it feels the need to fit nearly every character from the franchise into one film. This can make the movie feel overcrowded and overstuffed. Not only this but the scenes starring the supporting characters are simply not as interesting as the scenes between our main hero, Dom, and our main villain, Dante. When the story drifted from these two characters, I often times found my attention drifting a bit and I certainly was not having as much fun (the exception being the one cool fight scene between Letty and Cipher). This gave the film a feeling of being overlong and padded out. This movie also has quite a bit of unfunny humor and clumsy dialogue. I also was not a fan of the ending. The film ends on a cliffhanger, but unfortunately this cliffhanger doesn't really work and it feels like the movie just seems to end at a random moment.
This movie is a Fast and the Furious film to its core with both the obvious flaws and the pure fun that one excepts from the franchise.
Plus how can I not enjoy a movie that features Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing Happy Trails?
An excellent movie based on the creation and fall of the BlackBerry phone.
I admit that before seeing this film, I knew pretty much nothing about the behind the scenes story of the BlackBerry phone. Because of this I cannot say for sure how much of this story is true or not, but what I can say is that it felt like a true-life story as I was watching it. Much of this is due to how naturally this story flowed and how real the major three characters feel. Though this film has a quirky and geeky sense of humor at times, it never sacrifices its believability. This is achieved by the fact that the humor comes from the quirkiness of the characters and is oftentimes used to emphasize the major story points of this film. For instance, when RMI is still a little company, this humor is quite prominent but as the company grows this humor becomes less prominent emphasizing how the relaxed atmosphere and the world these geeks knew is disappearing from view. This change is also shown greatly through one of the main characters himself. This character's whole outlook is affected greatly by fully entering into the corporate world. As the film goes on, he is clearly becoming a very different person. Yet this is done in such a gradual and believable way that you never second guess that this is the same person. This change is also held together by a wonderful performance by Jay Baruchel, who captures not only the character's change by highlighting the character's own self-awareness of the change. There are multiple scenes where you can see the character realizing how he is changing but feeling that he has no choice but to become what he is becoming. This is a complex and hard to convey idea, but Baruchel does it so well not through dialogue but through his performance. This film also highlights its sense of realism through the visual filmmaking. Director Matt Johnson, who has only directed two feature films prior to this, gives this movie a documentary like feel, especially in the earlier scenes. For much of the time this enhances the feeling that you are watching the real people, instead of actors.
There is still some stuff here that doesn't quite work. The quirky humor can be quite hit and miss, with some of it being laugh out loud funny and some of it falling completely flat. There is also that outside of our three main characters, none of the other characters ever feel real, because they come off as little other than simple stereotypes. Also while I like a lot of the visual filmmaking there are times when the amount of camera movement can become distracting.
All in all this is a really good film, and it overcomes its flaws easily.
In this episode Brainiac uses a device to make it seem like the Earth has vanished. When Wonder Woman, Hawkman and Black Vulcan try to investigate, Toyman tricks them into falling into a black hole and landing in a planet full of toy-based traps. The rest of the Super Friends set out to save their friends. However the Riddler is sending the other Super Friends on a wild goose chase with his riddles.
This episode already sets itself up as a great episode from the very start. The opening shots of the swamp where the Legion of Doom has their headquarters is simply wonderful and features some truly great and atmospheric artwork. The design of the various toy traps are also wonderful, especially the design of the giant pinball machine. Many of these traps are also very clever and the pure imagination put into them is a lot of fun. I also love how this episode does a great job of making non-superpowered villains like Toyman and The Riddler feel like believable threats to the Super Friends. This is quite impressive and certainly no easy feat from a writing standpoint. This is especially a joy for me as The Riddler is my favorite Batman villain. Many of the action scenes here are quite fun and exciting. This episode also features a lot of the great dialogue that is simply very charming in its corniness. I especially love a lot of the Toyman's quips and The Riddler's puzzles. Speaking of the Riddler's puzzles the places they lead our heroes to are also very atmospheric and well designed.
This is a really fun episode and a pure delight to anyone who enjoys old fashioned superhero fun.
Hello my friends. I love both the Ma and Pa Kettle movies and Francis the Talking Mule films. These movies are as corny and silly as you can find, but dang it if they aren't very entertaining. These 1950's comedies never fail to put a smile on my face, no matter how many times I watch them. Below is an advertisement from a 1964 issue of Sponsor that advertises these movies being on TV in prime time. It would make me very happy if these films would return to prime time.
Another bland and ill-conceived live action movie adaption of an anime series (it was a manga first).
Hollywood has a terrible track record when it comes to taking anime and adapting it into live action movies. This film does nothing to improve this track record. This movie will not only dishearten anime purists but also anyone who just simply wants a halfway decent movie. There is simply very little here to actually like. The action scenes are astoundingly bad. These scenes are full of really bad and fake looking special effects as well as fighting moves that look more like people dancing very poorly than them fighting. These scenes are almost unintentionally funny at first but it doesn't take long until even they are not even unintentionally enjoyable anymore, but simply embarrassing. The characters are incredibly bland and feel more like walking clichés than actual characters. Not one of them ever feels real to us and this is one of the worst sins a fantasy movie can have. If the characters don't feel real than nothing feels real including the fantasy world in which the film takes place. Speaking of this fantasy world, the world building is so poor here that even by the end of the picture, we still don't quite understand how this world works. This especially hurts the already poor action scenes as we do not understand just what any of these characters are actually capable of. The storyline is very cliché and familiar and it is hard to watch this without automatically thinking of many other movies. The story problems are made worse by how seriously this movie takes itself. It takes itself so seriously and has such a lack of humor that we are forced to try to take the story seriously ourselves. The movie also suffers from very weak and cliché dialogue. This is the type of dialogue that makes it so anyone who has seen more than one movie before can finish the character's sentences and guess what the next line will be.
Admittedly the actors are good in their parts and do bring a certain likability to their otherwise incredibly bland characters. There are also a few interesting ideas brought up in this film. Unfortunately, these ideas are never really explored and are often brushed aside for something less interesting.
This is simply a poor film that I would not recommend to anyone, whether they are an anime fan or an average movie goer. It is obvious that the filmmakers want to make this into the next big movie franchise but I doubt that after this film that anyone would want this to happen.
A really interesting documentary on the search for the location of Mount Sinai (where Moses came down with the Ten Commandments).
What makes this movie really stand out from other documentaries is the fact that it keeps us intellectually engaged throughout the film. Since it is unknown which of these places (if any of them) was the biblical indication of Mt. Sinai, this movie does not offer an exact answer to this question. Not only this but the filmmaker doesn't share his opinions on them until the end of the film. We instead spend much of the time listening to knowledgeable people talk about why they do or don't believe one location is the actual location. Therefore, we hear the arguments for and against each location and make up our minds for ourselves. This creates a real engagement and interest in the film that lasts throughout the whole movie as we are listening carefully trying to figure it out for ourselves. This also makes us feel like we are part of the movie. Listening to the various knowledgeable people talk is very interesting. They go into great detail but never in a way that either feels inaccessible or talks down to the average person. The location filming is also fantastic and it is wonderful to see all these possibly historical sites we may never get to see otherwise.
One big problem I have with this film happens to do with its framing and one way it tries to encourage audience involvement. This is that early in the movie a QR code appears on the screen and the audience is encouraged to scan it with their phones and use their to record keep track of their opinions on various aspects of the places visited in the movie. There is something about this idea that feel very uncinematic and seems to go against so much of what I love about the movie going experience. After various topics were discussed, the audience was given time to record their thoughts about these aspects while the director reviewed what was said about each of these topics. This simply made the movie slow down to a halt and cause the film to really drag in these parts. Needless to say, I was not a fan of this idea and I hope it is not employed in too many future films.
Despite a very major fault, this movie was incredibly fascinating and a very thought-provoking documentary.
Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing Sweet Hour of Prayer. This is another song about the importance of prayer. Many Christians (me included) will sometimes take prayer for granted without realizing what an amazing blessing it is to be able to talk directly to God. Not only this but he listens to everything we say and cares about us each as individuals is simply hard to even fathom but it is also completely true.
This is followed by Moe Bandy singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Despite being Joseph Medlicott Scriven's most famous composition, when he made a collection of his writings entitled Hymns and Other Verses it did not appear. It has been assumed that the reason for this is that he probably wrote it for his mother when she was sick and not for the public. It is believed that it is through his mother that the hymn reached the public. It first appeared in 1865's Social Hymns, Original and Selected credited as anonymous.
Then comes Eddy Arnold with Open Thy Merciful Arms.
Next is Lorretta Lynn with Old Camp Meetin' Time. This song comes from Lorretta's 1965 gospel album, Hymns. This is a song about the joy of following the Lord. Being a Christian should not be some solemn thing. God has given us so many blessings and continues to do so each and every day. The fact that there is a God who loves us so much should be something that gives us incredible joy.
Next up is The Sons of the San Joaquin with Ridin' Up the Glory Trail. This song comes from the group's 2005 album, Way Out Yonder. This song states that as you ride the Glory Trail, God will be riding with you the whole way. This is completely true and there is nowhere we can go in this life where God won't be with us. No matter how hard things get in this life God is right beside us through each heartbreak as well as each blessing.
Afterwards comes Arizona Dranes with her 1928 recording of God's Got a Crown.
Now for The Sons of the Pioneers with The Mystery of His Way. This song was written by Bob Nolan, who was one of the founding members of the Sons of the Pioneers and one of my all-time favorite song writers. The song comes from the group's 1963 gospel album, Hymns of the Cowboy.
Today's musical selection ends with George Jones with Softly and Tenderly. The song was written by an Ohio businessman named Will Thompson in 1880. As well as writing gospel songs Thompson also wrote quite a few secular songs and parotic songs. When the songs he wrote were rejected by publishers he created his own company, Will L. Thompson & Company. This company would not only publish music by sell musical instruments. Softly and Tenderly first appeared in 1880's Sparkling Gems, Nos. 1 and 2, a collection of songs from the company. When evangelist Dwight L. Moody was on his death bed he told the songwriter, "Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life." This was appropriate as Will decided to make songwriting his career while at a meeting held by Moody
Now for a sermon from the Rev. Billy Graham.
Now for the next chapter of Gene Autry's movie serial, The Phantom Empire (1935).
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Exodus 33:19
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16
They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. Nehemiah 9:17
And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day." 1 Kings 3:6
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isiaih 41:10
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Get Lost (1956). This short film marks the first animated appearance of Woody Woodpecker's nephew and niece, Knothead and Splinter. However the characters had already appeared in comic books as early as 1952. In their earliest comic book appearances both characters were boys and Knothead was called Nuthead. This pair of characters would only appear in 6 theatrical cartoon shorts but would later become regulars on TV's The New Woody Woodpecker Show (1999-2001).
Though certainly much less remembered than the studio's Popeye, Betty Boop and Superman cartoons, the Fleischer Studio made a series of cartoons that took place in the Stone Age. This series ran only for 12 short films and all these cartoons were released in 1940. Here is one of those cartoons, The Ugly Dino (1940). Like quite a few of the Fleischer cartoons of this era, this movie is much more in the style of a Disney short, than the Fleischer's more distinct earlier style.
Despite Taz's extreme popularity with Looney Tunes fans today, he only appeared in 5 of the original short films. My favorite of these cartoons is Ducking the Devil (1957). This movie marks the only time during the golden age of Looney Tunes that Taz was paired against Daffy Duck. In the other four films, Taz had worked against Bugs Bunny. This movie like the other Taz cartoons is directed by Robert McKimson.
Next is a great one-off Disney short, Pigs is Pigs (1954). You will easily notice watching this movie that is looks quite different from the average Disney cartoon short. This was at the time when the UPA studio was being held as the next big thing in animation. Using the type of flat and more stylized look that was so prominent in the UPA films became something that every American animation studio did. Disney admittedly used this style of artwork less often than many of the other studios did. However there were a few cartoons made by the Disney studio, where the storyline called out for this type of artwork and when it was appropriate Disney would use it for a short. This may be my favorite of Disney's UPA inspired shorts.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now for a silent movie, The Extra Quick Lunch (1918) starring Mutt and Jeff.
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Moving Picture World, 1917
Now for some Saturday Morning Minions.
Next up is The Ant and the Aardvark in Odd Ant Out (1970). This movie is an unusual one in the series, due to the fact that the ant does not have much screen time. Instead the majority of this short film involves the Aardvark fighting with a green aardvark over a can of chocolate covered ants. This green aardvark had previously appeared in the short, I've Got Ants In My Plans (1969). That was a similar short with the two aardvarks fighting over the ant, with the big difference between the two cartoons being that in the earlier short the ant got more screen time. /
Now for the next chapter of the webtoon series, Toon Marooned (2001) starring the Looney Tunes characters. There are only three constants left. Who will make it through this episode and who will be voted off?
Thanks for joining me come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
