Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #28

Hello my friends. It is Saturday morning and you know what that means. It is time for more classic cartoons.

We start with one of the last black and white Looney Tunes. This is a fantastic Daffy Duck World War 2 themed short. This film is directed by Frank Tashlin. While directing these cartoons Frank had his mind on wanting to direct live action features (which he later did). Because of this his cartoons are the most cinematic of all the Looney Tunes. This is definitely shown here in a montage that is as well done as anything you would see in a serious war picture. This film is also filled with not only great slapstick but some of the sharpest satire of any of the World War 2 Looney Tunes. So enjoy, Scrap Happy Daffy (1943). 

Next comes another black and white Looney Tune from the 1940's. This one is called Notes To You (1941) and stars Porky Pig and an unnamed cat. This cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng and written by Michael Maltese. The two would later team up again to create a remake, Black Alley Oproar (1948, that cartoon would feature Tedd Pierce co-writing with Michael Maltese). That film would star Elmer Fudd and Slyvestor. While the remake is even better, Notes to You is still a delightful cartoon and I hope you enjoy.




Next comes one of the many great Popeye cartoons from the Fleischer Brothers. As I have stated before on this blog, despite the sterotype, not every Popeye cartoon had the same story. This is one of those that did not follow the Popeye and Bluto fighting over Olive. This cartoon actually features little to no fighting. That does not mean it is lacking in humor however. This cartoon features one of my favorite breaking the fourth wall gags. So enjoy, A Date To Skate (1938).

 

With the squeaky clean image of Goofy many people have today, many people would be shocked to hear about a Goofy cartoon that revolves around him trying to quit smoking. However Goofy cartoons were not always squeaky clean. In fact in the 1940's and 50's Goofy cartoons were the most adult oriented shorts the studio was putting out. That is probably also why they were some of the funniest. Many of these cartoons had a very Robert Benchley style of humor and that can certainly be seen in our last cartoon for today, No Smoking (1951).




Thank you for joining me, come back next week for more animated treasures.

-Michael J. Ruhland