Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #210

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with a classic Tom and Jerry short, Designs on Jerry (1955). This short film is one of the best Tom and Jerry cartoons of the 1950's. While it may not have as many laugh out loud gags as the 1940's Tom and Jerry shorts, it more than makes up with this with a clever premise and a great execution. The idea of blueprints coming to life was later reused in the opening of TV's Tom and Jerry Tales. Clips from this film would later be reused in the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Shutter Bugged Cat (1967). 

I love of the cartoons of Chuck Jones from any period but there is something special about his films from 1942 and 1943. At this time, he was fully getting away from his slower paced cuter output of the late 1930's but had not yet gotten to the style of films he would make in the 1950's that everybody is familiar with today. So, what we get from output during these two years are cartoons that experiment with what you can do in an animated short. It doesn't hurt that he worked with such experimental artists as layout man John McGrew. Chuck gave McGrew plenty of freedom and what John accomplished in these movies is nothing short of amazing. This is especially shown in The Case of the Missing Hare (1942), where experimentation is seen in every moment. Just watch the abstract backgrounds that show a mixture of two colors at a time, but the colors change when there is a strong action in the foreground. This is something someone may not notice on their first watch, but it is something they can feel. A review in The Film Daily stated, "Here is another hilarious, the Leon Schlesinger creation that keeps growing in comic strength with every new release." I think anyone watching this cartoon today will recognize that the antagonist is not Elmer Fudd, but one reviewer from The Exhibitor didn't as in his review he stated "...this has Elmer, as a magician..."  A review from the same magazine less than a month later stated, "Elmer isn't in this." The latter is right. A review in Variety called this "One of the better Bugs Bunny subjects."

Up next is the early Terry Toons short, Scotch Highball (1930). 

A couple decades before The Flintstones, the Fleischer Studio made a series of cartoons taking place in the Stone Age. Here is one of those films, The Foul Ball Player (1940). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Heavenly Puss (1949) is probably one of the best remembered and most beloved of the Tom and Jerry films. It certainly is one that has stayed in the minds of cartoon fans. The credited animators here are Ed Barge, Irv Spence, Kenneth Muse and Ray Patterson. Each of them gets their time to shine. Irv Spence animates the scene where Tom is crushed by the piano. Ed Barge handles most of the animation of the cat that grants passage to Heaven as well as the scene with the small kittens. Ray Patterson animates the scenes with the evil version of Spike the bulldog.  William Hanna and Joseph Barbera would later make a semi-remake of this film with the Pixie and Dixie cartoon (from The Huckleberry Hound Show), Heavens to Jinksy (1959). Clips from Heavenly Puss would later be reused in the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Shutter Bugged Cat (1967). 

Next comes the classic Disney cartoon, Orphan's Benefit (1934). This film marks the second Donald Duck cartoon, and the first time Donald appeared alongside Mickey and friends. As many of you know, Donald first appeared in The Silly Symphony short, The Wise Little Hen (1934). However, some of those who worked on the Disney cartoons at this time (including Walt), misremembered this as the first Donald Duck cartoon. This may be because the short was the first one the studio started work on. Historian J.B. Kaufman has stated that the Disney story department began work on this cartoon (with an outline entitled The Surprise Party) in November 1933, before they started work on The Wise Little Hen.  However, this outline was quite different from the finished film. Donald was a small boy who was dragged to a party by his mother and made to recite Mary Had a Little Lamb. The recitation of Mary Had a Little Lamb has its origins in the origin of Donald's voice. Clarence Nash had created this voice as a child himself not to be the voice of a Duck but of a crying baby goat. He used to entertain his friends by reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb in this voice. He would later do this act professionally both live and on radio. Walt Disney, having heard Nash do this voice on radio, felt that it sounded more like a duck and pitched the idea of voicing a duck to Nash. In the early 1940's several older Disney cartoons were considered for some shot for shot remakes. However, only one of these were made and that was Orphan's Benefit (1941). The remake was almost exactly like the earlier picture except being that in color and using the 1941 designs of the characters. In fact, the remake even uses the exact soundtrack of the original. However, I personally prefer this 1934 black and white original and I hope you love it too. A review in The Film Daily stated, "It's all very clever, screamingly funny and with a dandy of a musical score." The original ending for this film was going to be Mickey, Minnie and Donald dressed as pigs performing Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. However, that ending would be replaced by Donald's temper tantrum. Donald Duck's voice Clerance Nash later remembered, "I was more nervous about that picture than I as about The Wise Little Hen. I don't mind telling you that I prayed a lot, that the character would be a success. I was with a group of Disney people and my wife was with me too. I was just like an average audience - I got a big kick out of it, and I completely forgot I had anything to do with it." 

Now for a short silent cartoon starring Pongo the Pup, Pongo Cleans Up The Goat Family (1924). Sorry about the video not having music.

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Bart's Little Fantasy (1989). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before The Simpsons go their own TV show. 

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

Donald Duck: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein

DVD audio commentary (Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1) by Jerry Beck.

 https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/orphans-benefit-revisited/

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/origins-of-the-duck/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Heavenly_Puss

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/go-to-hades-part-2/