Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #18

Hello my friends and happy Saturday Morning. Once again it is time to look at some classic cartoons. 

We start our cartoons off with one of Disney's classic Silly Symphony cartoons and one of the most important ones. This cartoon, Babes in the Woods (1932) was Disney's first real fairytale adaption. Walt had done some films in the silent era that transported fairy tales to modern day for broad comedy, but that was not the same thing. According to JB Kaufman and Russell Merritt's indispensable book Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series this cartoon possibly marks the first Silly Symphony for legendary animator Art Babbitt, who here animates a dwarf sticking his tongue out at the witch and her chasing him immediately after. Also animating here is one of the future Nine Old Men, Les Clark who animates the early scenes of the dwarfs in their village. The look of this film is certainly simplistic when compared with later Symphonies, but it is delightful on its own merits. However that simple-ness  is completely understandable as they had been very few Disney cartoons starring human characters before this one.                     The film was directed by Burt Gillett, who the very next year would direct the most famous Silly Symphony The Three Little Pigs (1933). 

Next comes one of the strangest, funniest, most creative and all around best Felix the Cat cartoons. To say this is one of the best Felix the Cat cartoons is to say it is one of the best cartoons of the silent era. So enjoy, Comicalamities (1928). By the way the title of this cartoon would later be reused as an episode title for The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat (1995-1997) TV series.




Next comes the one of the great Warner Brothers cartoons featuring a little African boy named Inki. These films were all directed by Chuck Jones and were enhanced by the presence of one of his most other worldly characters, the Minah Bird. He posses almost superhuman powers yet always looks unassuming walking around slowly to the tune of Mendelson's Fingal's Cave Overture, Op. 26. Around this time Chuck had not yet begun his own style of directing, so while the characters and humor are unique the pacing and look of the film still feels like a Disney cartoon from the era. According to Chuck Jones when he made his first Inki cartoon (The Little Lion Hunter (1939)), producer Leon Schlesinger hated it. However it ended up going over well with audiences, so Leon would tell Chuck to make another one saying that he changed his mind about the first film. The third cartoon in the series is possibly my favorite and here is that film. So enjoy Inki and the Minah Bird (1943).




Now is one of my favorite of the Fleischer Brothers silent Out of the Inkwell cartoons. The best of these cartoons hold their own with any of the great fully live action comedy shorts being made during the silent era. Still this film does mix animation and live action well before Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The live action animator Koko the clown is combating with is producer Max Fleischer himself, who has proven in these films to be quite a good silent comedian in his own right. So enjoy  

Invisible Ink (1921).








     







We end with a short from The New Three Stooges (1965-1966) TV show. The Stooges themselves provide their own voices and appear in the live action wrap around segments. So enjoy The Three Nuts.



Thanks for joining me, come back next week for more classic cartoons. Until then peace, love and cartoons.

-Michael J. Ruhland