One of the best Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts.
In this cartoon, Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy investigate a mysterious disappearance in cars. While on a stakeout, the Mystery Machine is shrunk along with our heroes inside.
This is a really fun cartoon. The villain, Pistons McGee, is a wonderful villain. He has a great design (that is a bit reminiscent of the Batman villain Hugo Strange) and a great voice. He also feels like a real threat to our heroes and despite not being in a monster costume is a bit reminiscent of classic Scooby villains in being such a threat. A giant rat, who appears here even brings some delightful creepiness into an era that was lacking just that. The gimmick of a shrinking ray allows for a cartoon that feels unique among Scooby adventures. This allows for some very clever, playful and imaginative moments. Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are all each well utilized here, each having their moment to shine. Plus, the final gag is delightful.
Writer Ron Sellz remembered having great trouble with the shrink ray. He originally referred to it as a shrinking gun, but network censors were dead set against any sort of gun appearing in a cartoon watched by children. Not only could it not be referred to as a gun, but it couldn't look like one either. Sellz remembered, "The animators were given the task of drawing or attempting to draw a shrinking device that didn’t look like a gun. After several drawings were turned down, I was summoned once again. The producers, “Joe Ruby and Ken Spears”, informed me that if a solution wasn’t found, the episode would be scrubbed. Afterall, we can’t have a shrinking device that resembles a gun. When I was a kid, I remembered that the toy company, “Wammo” had a device called an air blaster. It used compressed air to shoot targets., I drew a picture to show them that it couldn’t be confused as a gun, but they said that it looked like a gun, so my idea was thrown out. Back to the drawing board. Anyway, several more secret meetings ensued and a solution was reached. I was sent a drawing of the shrinking device. Would you believe, it looked like a gun! That’s right! It was truly a circle jerk. Back to square one. What a waste of everyone’s time."
The villain was quite similar to actor Lionell Atwill. Some readers of this blog might be familiar with Atwill, who played villains in such classic 1930's horror movies as Doctor X (1932), The Vampire Bat (1933), Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and Murders in the Zoo (1933). About the similarity Sellz stated, " They kept saying that the car thief was a Lionel Atwill type. I pretended to know who Lionel Atwill was because he was before my time. As it turned out, I saw a picture of him and the car thief looks like him. He always played a mad scientist or something. A good bit of casting."
This episode features the only time Shaggy's uncle Fearless Shagaford appears onscreen. He is mentioned in other episodes but never shown. He is only shown briefly here, but he never talks.
In this episode, Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Scrappy go to the Overview Hotel to investigate when the ghost of the previous owner is haunting it.
This mystery can often feel quite phoned in. Despite the presence of a ghost, there is nothing even remotely spooky about this episode. The design of the ghost is quite lazy and completely unmemorable. With so many great ghost and monster designs from this franchise, the ghost here just looks like some guy. The humor is basic and not especially funny. There seems to be little effort for the slapstick gags here. What is very off-putting though is that the voices of the new characters are kind of annoying and don't really work.
The references to The Shining are kind of fun but they aren't enough to save this rather lame mystery.
In this cartoon, Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy visit Shaggy's hillbilly relatives, the Shaggbillies. However, they are feuding with the McGurks because Shaggy's relative Betty Lou won't go to hoedown with him because he won't take a bath.
Like many of the Scooby and Scrappy shorts, this cartoon is enjoyable but not especially memorable. Some of the slapstick here is pretty enjoyable and the ending is chuckle worthy. Still there is a little here that hasn't been done in many other cartoons and this storyline and these gags would work just as well with any number of cartoon characters. There is nothing about this episode that particularly benefits from these characters, especially when the characters take a back seat to the slapstick gags.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again, it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with the Fleischer Screen Song cartoon, I'd Climb the Highest Mountain (1931). The title song comes was written by lyricist Lew Brown and composer Sidney Clare. The same year this cartoon came out, Bing Crosby sang this song in the short film, One More Chance (1931). In 1926 this song was recorded by Al Jolson. Decades later the song would become a hit for Ricky Nelson.
Next is Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote in Compressed Hare (1961). This movie marked the fourth time Bugs and Wile E. would be pitted against each other. Unlike in the Roadrunner cartoons, in these films, Wile E. talks quite a bit. There would be only one more theatrical cartoon pairing the two characters, Hare-Breadth Hurry (1963). However, in Hare-Breadth Hurry, Wile E. would not speak.
Now for Dinky Duck in The Orphan Egg (1953). Despite being released in the 1950's, this film feels more like a 1930's cartoon, along the lines of the Silly Symphonies or especially Happy Harmonies shorts. There is a cute moralistic story and even a chorus singing the narration. This is a far cry from the fast paced, gag filled cartoons that Warner Brothers, MGM or even Disney were making or the experimental and graphically daring films UPA was making.
It is time for a true classic with the Disney Silly Symphony short, The Tortoise and the Hare (1934). This was an especially important cartoon in the history of American animation and is often credited with bringing a real sense of speed that had not previously been seen in cartoons. Director Wilfred Jackson once told in a 1939 studio lecture that this was their first film where "we depicted speed on the screen. Before that time nobody dared to move the character across the screen in five frames." However, unlike future fast paced cartoon this film was not simply a quick procession of gags. Animator Dick Huemer told film historian Joe Adamson, "If [any other studio] had done The Tortoise and the Hare it would have been a series of assorted gags about running one after another. Not all this clever, boastful stuff like stopping with little girls and bragging and being admired and showing off how he could play tennis with himself." The character of Max Hare perhaps has a greater significance to cartoon history rather than just starring in this great film. Tex Avery and Frank Tashlin (both of whom had directed cartoon for Warner Brothers) have stated that Bugs Bunny was greatly inspired by Max Hare. Animator Ham Luske also stated that Mortimer in the Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Rival (1936) was based off of Max Hare (Ham animated on both cartoons). Such a cartoon however would not have the effect it does now if not for the top-notch group of animators working at Disney at this time. They were the ones who made not only the speed work but made these characters feel more real and full of personality here. Louie Schimdt animates the opening scene with the crowd at the starting line. Dick Lundy (who would go to direct cartoons for both MGM and Walter Lantz) animates the introduction of Toby Tortoise and Max Hare and Toby running with the snails, dodging branches and passing Miss Cottontail's school. Milt Schaffer animates the crowd in the bleachers and at the finish line. Frenchy de Trémaudan animates the starter. Ham Luske animates Max running, tricking Toby, showing off for the girls and playing tennis and baseball with himself (some of the tennis animation would later be reused in the Donald Duck cartoon, The Hockey Champ (1939). Future Disney legend and one of Walt's Nine Old Men was Ham's assistant animator. Larry Clemmons animates the trees being uprooted. Eric Larson (another of Walt's Nine Old Men) animated Max passing the picket fence and crane. Les Clark (another of Walt's Nine Old Men and one of the finest Mickey Mouse animators) animates the little girls. Dick Huemer animates the finish of the race and of the film. A song was written for this cartoon called Slow but Sure. This song had music by Frank Churchill and lyrics by Larry Morey. While the lyrics are never heard an instrumental version is used as Toby's theme music. About the music in this film Wilfred Jackson would state in another 1939 studio lecture, "We tried to phrase it so the peaks of the siren [used as a repeating sound effect] would fall naturally on the peaks of the music and still give us time to cut back and forth." This cartoon would make its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland TV show entitled From Aesop to Hans Cristian Anderson (1955). Max and Toby would later star in a sequel film Toby Tortoise Returns (1936) and would appear in the opening of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next is one of my favorite Walter Lantz produced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons, Wax Works (1934).
Now for Herman and Katnip in Frighty Cat (1958).
Next comes an excellent Daffy Duck cartoon, A Coy Decoy (1941). This film was part of a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies in the 1930's and 1940's that featured books coming to life at night. The first of these was I Like Mountain Music (1933) and the last was Book Revue (1946, also starring Daffy Duck). This cartoon features the early Daffy Duck meaning he is not yet the greedy and attention seeking duck he would be later. He is just simply crazy which works perfectly with this crazy short. As much as I love the later Daffy, I have a special fondness for this early crazy duck. A review in The Motion Picture Daily states, "The net result is moderate amusement." The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "COY DECOY, A: Looney Tunes Cartoons—A dandy black and white cartoon.—C. L. Niles, Niles Theatre, Anamosa, Iowa, General Patronage."
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
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Brothers Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald
In this cartoon, Shaggy remembers when Scrappy was born. In flashback we see Scooby and Shaggy with Scooby's sister Ruby-Doo as she is about to have a baby. When Scrappy is born, he ventures around the hospital causing trouble for Scooby and Shaggy.
This cartoon has strong ideas. It is cool to meet another member of Scooby's family and an episode revolving around how Scooby and Shaggy met Scrappy is a good premise. However, sadly these ideas are never fully taken advantage of. There are very few actual gags here and the gags that are here are never that funny. The timing is off for all these gags and many of them lack any real payoff. Ruby-Doo is barely on screen and despite a good design she is not especially memorable. It also simply doesn't help that the baby voice Scrappy is given here is quite annoying.
Despite a strong premise, this is a rather bland cartoon.
In this episode, the gang goes on a cruise and come across the Ghost of Captain Pescado, a kelp monster and an octopus monster.
There is a lot to love about this episode. There is a wonderful sense of atmosphere throughout. Having a mystery aboard a cruise ship was a perfect idea. Being aboard a ship with no way off gives the episode a great sense of danger. The use of fog and lighting also help give this episode an eerie feel. The great background art also helps greatly in this area, emphasizing just how enclosed our heroes are. The humor is just the type of corny fun us Scooby fans love. There are nautical puns galore and each one is delightfully corny. The action and chase scenes expertly blend excitement and slapstick.
The Ghost of Captain Pescado has a wonderfully eerie design. He looks creepy enough to be threating but not too creepy to take away from the lighthearted fun. Unfortunately, the kelp and octopus monsters don't fare as well. They simply look too goofy to be creepy or feel like much of a threat.
The largest flaw in this episode is that the mystery is too easy to solve due to a lack of suspects.
In this episode, the gang goes out to enjoy a day of waterskiing. However, when an ancient demon shark appears, the gang has another mystery on their hands.
There is so much to love about this episode. First off, the design of the demon shark is excellent. This design is the perfect level of creepy for a Scooby villain. He is creepy in a way that gives this episode a delightfully spooky feel, while never being too scary to take away from the lighthearted fun. It is too often in these episodes when a demon animal just looks like a regular animal. This makes me appreciate that this shark looks creepier than your typical cartoon shark. Also helping give this episode a delightfully spooky feel is the use of fog. The fog helps give the episode the same feel as an old Universal monster movie. The backgrounds here are also wonderfully detailed and atmospheric, especially during the climbing scenes. This episode also does a great job mixing comedy and mystery. Quite a bit of the episode cuts back and forth between Fred, Daphne and Velma asking questions to solve the mystery and slapstick gags involving Shaggy and Scooby. Both of these types of scenes work very well. The slapstick is often funny, and the mystery elements are very well handled. While you can probably figure out who did it, the way he did it and the clues that lead up to this reveal are great.
