Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with one of Chuck Jones' great Bugs Bunny cartoons, Wackiki Wabbit (1943). The two castaways who try to eat Bugs in this cartoon, were caricatured to look like and were voiced by Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies writers, Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce. Many of Chuck's cartoons of this time had great experimentation with background art (due to the work of such artists as John McGrew, Bernyce Polifka and Gene Fleury) and that is certainly true here. The following are some exhibitor's reviews from the Motion Picture Herald. "Wackiki Wabbit: Merrie Melodies Cartoons: A 'Bugs Bunny' short that shows signs of getting him back into his once high place. If they like Bugs, they'll like this one. - W. Varrick Nevins, Ill, Alfred Co-op Theatre, Alfred, N.Y." "Wackiki Wabbit: Merrie Melodies Cartoon— This is one of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons of the season and it went over big here. - Thomas Di Lorenzo, New Paltz Theatre, New Platz, N.Y." The experimental artwork in this film drew both praise and criticism from those working in animation. The Disney layout artist Karl Van Leuven wrote in the cartoonists' union newsletter (in December 1943), "This opus is notable not for its habit-formed story, but for the imaginative experimentation of its layout and background. Particularly noteworthy was the discovery that a flat tone can carry background movement. Novel but not so successful was the use of tapa cloth patterns with overlays of stylized foliage plotches as backgrounds for action on a typical tropical isle. [producer Leon Schlesinger] is pacing the current background breakaway from the cute." Warner Brothers background artist (and future voice of the Road Runner) would remember the reaction the film had from others in the studio. "The picture culminated in a chase where two people ran off into the distance, and the background ... was so flat it came off like, here are two people shrinking into a piece of wallpaper. That created kind of an upset ... a popular outcry - what the hell is going on here? The expression 'artsy-fartsy' got used a great deal that month."
Next comes the silent Out of the Inkwell cartoon, Koko's Quest (1927).
Now for our good friend, Farmer Al Falfa in The Tin Can Tourist (1937).
Up next is Mr. Magoo's film debut, Ragtime Bear (1949). The UPA studio wanted to get away from funny animals and use human characters as their stars. Yet Columbia (their distributor) had little interest in that, feeling they should stick to the funny animals that dominated much of cartoons at this time. Columbia reluctantly accepted Ragtime Bear because it did have a funny animal in it and that the animal was the titular character. Of course, after Mr. Magoo became popular Columbia never argued about a human being the star of the cartoons. Mr. Magoo as a character benefited heavily from the voice talents of Jim Backus. Jerry Hausner (voice of Magoo's nephew Waldo) commented on recording this first cartoon, "We went into the studio with two pages of dialogue. We read all of the speeches that had been written down, then [John] Hubley did something that no other animated cartoon director had ever done in my presence. He said 'Let's do it again and ad-lib around the subject. Throw in any wild thoughts you might have.' We did another version of it. Backus began to go crazy and have a good time … He invented a lot of things and brought to the cartoons a wonderful and fresh approach." About the origins of Magoo's voice, Backus would state, “Magoo’s voice was taken from the character I play in my nightclub act — the man in the club car [the train car where alcohol can be purchased]. You know, the loud-mouth traveling salesman who shows pictures of his family to everybody in the club car, belongs to all the clubs and tells dirty jokes. It was the same with Magoo in the beginning. He was a dirty old man. Half the time you couldn’t understand what he was saying, he just used to mumble.” Director John Hubley later stated about the early version of Magoo that appeared in this film, "A great deal in the original character, the strength of him, was that he was so damn bull-headed. It wasn't just that he couldn't see very well; even if he had been able to see he still would have made dumb mistakes, cause he was such a bull-headed, opinionated old guy." This cartoon would be reissued to theaters in 1959.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now for Donald Duck in Cured Duck (1945). In this short Donald tries to learn how to control his temper, which may not be that easy. The story was written by Roy Williams who would later be the big Mouseketeer on TV's Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959). This cartoon would make its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland TV series entitled Donald's Award (1957).
Next we join Dimwit the dog in Flying Cups and Saucers (1949). This sci-fi themed Terry Toons cartoon was directed by Connie Rasinski. Terry Toons producer Paul Terry would state about Rasinski, "He came to work when it was Terry, Moser and Coffman. An old friend of mine named Litchfeild, who was a painter, passed away, and his wife sent this kid over to get a job, and I gave him a job. And that's Connie. Connie, who came to work for me as a kid, developed rapidly and he was with me for practically all his life. He was fat and everything he drew was chubby and round and well fed." After appearing with Terry characters like Heckle and Jeckle and Mighty Mouse, Flying Cups and Saucers was the first film in Dimwit's own starring series.
Now for an early Woody Woodpecker short, The Dizzy Acrobat (1943). In these earlier Woody films, the character is a bit cruder than fans of his later work are used to. But there is something about this sheer unabashed craziness that many cartoon fans (including myself) can't get enough of. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award; however, it lost to Disney's Der Fuehrer's Face (1943). The following is from an issue of Showman's Trade Review (dated June 5, 1943), "Walter Lantz Cartune Studios which releases through Universal, has just released 'The Dizzy Acrobat,' A Woody Woodpecker special. The cartune revolves around the circus, and Lantz had experts advising the animators so that the action and facts would be accurate.
Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in The Bart Simpson Show (1988). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own TV series. It is weird to have Bart call Homer "dad" while Lisa calls him "Homer." It is also fun to see such an early version of Itchy and Scratchy.
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
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