Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again, it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Porky's Pooch (1941). Though all the classic Charlie Dog cartoons would be directed by Chuck Jones, this Bob Clampett short clearly sets up the template that all of those later cartoons would follow. In fact the first Charlie Dog cartoon, Little Orphan Airedale (1947), would be a remake of this film. The backgrounds in this film are live action photographs. A year later Bob would use a live action opening for Eatin' on the Cuff or The Moth Who Came to Dinner (1942). The following is an exhibitor's review from Motion Picture Herald, "PORKY'S POOCH: Looney Tunes Cartoons—Right up my alley for my patronage. Running time, 7 minutes. —Vic Stephano, Grove Theatre, Groveton, Tex. Small Town Patronage." A review in The Motion Picture Daily called the film, "Good for a few laughs." The Showman's Trade Review gave advice to movie theater owners on how to advertise this cartoon, "Play it up to all Porky fans and make some new fans to win over some of the dog lovers in your community by staging a pet show, prize contest for best snapshot of a pet or prize contest for a brief essay on 'why my dog is the best in town.'"
Next comes the silent Out of the Inkwell short, Koko's Tattoo (1928). This has all the surreal charm and creativity that I love about these shorts.
Next comes the Terry Toons short, Sour Grapes (1950). This cartoon was directed by Mannie Davis and marks the last of five theatrical shorts to star Dingbat. Dingbat is a yellow bird who was often adversarial to Slyvester the Fox.
Next comes Donald Duck in Contrary Condor (1944). This short film was directed by Jack King, who directed most of the Donald Duck cartoons at this time. For a while in the community of cartoon and Disney lovers, the Jack King Donald Duck cartoons were rarely given the accolades they deserve because more attention was paid to the later Donald shorts that Jack Hannah directed. However luckily today many Disney fans are reevaluating this and realizes what wonderful films, the Jack King Donald cartoons are. Contrary Condor is just one of the many examples of how great of a cartoon director Jack King was. However, this film also works because of a wonderful team of animators. John McManus animates the opening moments as well as Donald tossing the dummy and the mom diving after it. Judge Whitaker animates Donald yodeling while climbing the mountain, Donald's first meeting with the mother, Duck applauding the small bird's flight, the small bird gliding and landing, Donald's landing and Donald contemplating a new plan. Nick Nichols animates Donald discovering the nest and hiding in the egg, the hatching sequence, the small bird being jealous, the little bird snaping Donald off the limb, Donald's "flight," the mother applauding, the mother missing the dummy as it falls into the water and the closing sequence. Paul Allen animates the mother pushing the small bird off the limb, the mother encouraging Donald to fly and Donald trying to escape with the egg until the small bird intercepts it. George Nicholas animates the small bird falling and trying to fly. Don Townsley animates the small bird lowering its legs like landing gear and the mother's card trick. Hal King animates the mother attempting to push Donald off the limb and Donald faking a bad wing, Marvin Woodward animates the mother trying to trick Donald with the berry. The working titles for this film were Contrary Condors, Egg Collector and The Colombian Condor. The following is a review from The Film Daily, "Donald Duck provides plenty of laughs in his attempt to swipe an egg from a condor's nest. When Donald emerges from his hiding place in an empty egg shell which a mother condor mistakes for an unhatched egg she accepts our fine feathered hero as one of her own. Her attempts to get Donald to fly are extremely humorous. The Technicolor cartoon is aces."
Now for a commercial break.
Now for the Mickey Mouse Works cartoon, Purple Pluto (1999). This cartoon would later be used in the House of Mouse episode, Ladies Night (2002).
Next is the New Three Stooges cartoon, The Littlest Martian (1965). This series of TV cartoons features the voices of the real Stooges who also appear in the opening and closing live action segments. The live action segments would often be repeated even when the cartoon was new. Curly Joe DeRita felt that this hurt the show. He thought that people would see a live action segment they had seen before and assume the show was a rerun and change the channel not knowing the cartoon was new.
Then comes Mighty Mouse in Winning the West (1946).
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
South of the Border with Disney by J.B. Kaufman.
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Warner Brothers Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald
Like the video game franchise, it is based on, the story is hard from this movie's focus. The storyline is as cliché as can be and feels very rushed as if the filmmakers can't wait to get to the next action scene. This can sadly lead to many character arcs feeling like they happen way too hastily.
Lucky the action scenes are fantastic. They are very well choreographed, paced and filled with delightfully over the top gore. This is the type of gore that is so over the top that instead of repulsive it comes off as fun. There is even a certain amount of creativity that goes into these violent deaths.
Adding to the fun is Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. Karl Urban gives his all to this role and he is very entertaining to watch. It of course doesn't hurt that this character is given some of the best lines and funniest moments.
Adeline Rudolph also stands out as fan favorite Kitana, even if her storyline is underdeveloped and again rushed.
This may be far from a great movie but it is fun and should delight fans of the video game franchise.
This movie may not break any new ground but frankly that is not what anyone is going to a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada for. People seeing this just simply want a fun time at the movies and that is exactly what this film provides. The fun of this (now) series comes from a great cast (I mean Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci) and the fun characters they play. Writer Aline Brosh McKenna and director David Frankel (both of whom worked on the first film) know this. The movie is less about the story than it is about these characters and their interactions. The way this cast plays off each other is fantastic and simply a delight to watch all the way. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between the two Emilies.
This movie also gives you all the style you could hope for. We see beautiful cities, beautiful clothes and beautiful people every second.
The humor in this movie is often more charming than actually funny. There are a few moments that will really make you laugh. However, for the most part, the film is more likely to make you smile than actually laugh.
The storyline here meanders a bit too often. The basic story is rather slim and because of this there seems to be quite a bit of padding here. This is most clear in the excursions into Andy's (Anne Hathaway) romantic life. Her romantic story has no direct impact on the rest of the plot. If the romance wasn't here no one would feel that anything was missing. At the same time the romance and especially the object of her romantic interest are underdeveloped and not even remotely interesting. This romance should have been left out entirely or been given more depth or had more of a direct impact on the plot. As it is, these romantic scenes simply feel like an unnecessary interruption to the story.
This may not be a masterpiece, but it provides a fun trip to the movies, which is exactly what its audience wants.
Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again, it is time for more cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection starts with the first of Walt Disney's Alice comedies, Alice's Wonderland (1923). Before this film was even close to done with production, Walt was already writing distributors stating, "We have just discovered something new and clever in animated cartoons!" He was speaking of the idea of having a live action character enter into an animated cartoon world. This was actually a reversal of what the Fleischer Brother were doing with their Out of the Inkwell films, were animated characters entered our live action world. For the live action little girl Walt hired four year old Virginia Davis. Walt had seen Virginia on an advertisement for Warneker's Bread. Virginia later spoke of this stating, "It was just a picture of me smiling and looking like 'Oh, yum, yum!' and eating this piece of Warneker's Bread with a lot of jam on it." At the time of making this film, Walt and his studio were struggling financially. While many producers would take this as a reason to make a cheap film, Walt plugged into the project with everything he had. This short was downright lavish compared to much of Walt's previous work and still looks great today. Unfortunately the film was not enough to save his company, but it did catch the attention of Margaret J. Winkler, who was also distributing the Felix the Cat and Out of the Inkwell cartoons. His studio went under and Walt moved to Hollywood without his crew. Yet he had this film and was able to secure a deal for 12 more Alice films with Winkler.
Now for the Terry Toons cartoon, Stringbean Jack (1938). This marked the first Terry Toons short in color. The two-headed giant and the W.C. Feilds caricature are a lot of fun here. A similar two-headed giant would later be used for a Terry Toons cartoon appropriately titled The Two-Headed Giant (1939).
Next comes Betty Boop in Ha-Ha-Ha (1934). This short film also features Koko the Clown, the star of the Fleischer Studio's silent Out of the Inkwell films. This is not the only similarity between this film and the Out of the Inkwell shorts. This cartoon also mixes animation and live action in a very similar way to those shorts.
Next is the Terry Toons short, Foiling the Fox (1950).
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Up next is The Fleischer Screen song cartoon, I Wished on the Moon (1935). The title song was written by Ralph Rainger (music) and Dorothy Parker (lyrics). The same year this cartoon was released Bing Crosby and the Dorsey Brothers orchestra recorded this song and it placed at number two in the charts staying on the charts for seven weeks. The song would enjoy even more popularity when Bing would sing it in the feature film, The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935). Here the song is performed by Abe Lyman and his Californians. Cartoon fans may know that Abe Lyman also worked on the musical scores of some early Merrie Melodies cartoons, such as One More Time (1931) and Smile Darn Ya Smile (1931). Most importantly though this cartoon marks the first appearance of Wiffle Piffle.
Today's cartoon selection continues with another Friz Freleng classic, Daffy the Commando (1943). The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "Daffy the Commando: Looney Tunes Cartoon - This is Daffy's best. By the way where has Vitaphone being keeping Daffy Duck? This is the first I played in a long while. -Ralph Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va."
Donald and Pluto (1936) is naturally a cartoon that stars Donald Duck and Pluto. Mickey Mouse is nowhere to be found. However, it was released a Mickey Mouse cartoon as a Mickey Mouse cartoon. This is because at this time, Donald Duck and Pluto didn't have their own series. It wouldn't be long before that was rectified though.
Now to 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
Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney by J. B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt.
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
Run Time: 17 minutes. Studio: Biograph. Director: D.W. Grifith. Writer: Edward Bell. Cast: Alfred Paget, Herny B. Walthall, Harry Carey, Lionel Barrymore, John T. Dillion, Kate Bruce, Bobby Harron. Cinematographer: Billy Blitzer.
Though D.W. Griffith is often best known for his epics like Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), which were massive in both scale and length, I often think that the director's best work is the short films that he made for Biograph.
In this short western film, three outlaws are escaping from a posse by heading into the desert. Here they run across a baby who is about to be eaten by a mountain lion. They rescue the baby and protect it as they continue to travel through the desert.
This film shows Griffith and his team at the height of their filmmaking powers. For a short film, there is a lot of story fit into the runtime. However, The Sheriff's Baby never feels rushed and is never difficult to follow. Rather it is gripping for start to finish. The ending is actually quite moving as the buildup to it is perfect. The technical aspects are top notch here. The use of cutting between scenes is quite impressive for its time and holds up perfectly today. Griffith's films are course greatly remembered today for their pioneering use of cross-cutting and this is a great example of why. The cutting between the posse and the outlaws early on, creates some action scenes that still exciting today. Yet this excellent technical filmmaking is never there simply to show off. Rather every aspect of the technical filmmaking is in compete service to the story. Causal viewers may not notice or think about the great use of crosscutting here, but they will definitely feel it. A cast of Griffith regulars are also at the top of their game here. There is very little of the type of overacting that one might associate with films of the early 1910's. This is a too often overlooked gem in Griffith's filmography.
Movie lovers will easily recognize similarities between this film and the story Three Godfathers. Three Godfathers had five official movie adaptions (the most famous being the John Ford/John Wayne 1948 adaption). This story was written by prolific author Peter B. Kyne had first appeared as a short story in The Saturday Evening Post in November of 1912. In 1913 the story would be turned into a novel. Though records from Biograph report that The Sheriff's Baby has an original story by Edward Bell (he received payment for his story on December 16, 1912), the similarities are too clear to ignore. It is definitely plausible that The Saturday Evening Post version was at least an inspiration for this film.
For anyone who wishes to watch this delightful film, it is available as a bonus feature on the Film Preservation Society's Blu-ray set for the William S. Hart feature film, Wolf Lowry (1917).
