Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
As many of my cartoon fans know there are two types of Betty Boop cartoons. There are the pre-code cartoons and the post-code cartoons. The pre-code cartoons are known for their racy humor, bizarre situations and wild and crazy gags. The post code cartoons toned down all of these but that is not to say they do not have their charms. The best post-code Betty films are often the ones that feature Grampy. Grampy was a genuinely likable and charming character who gave these cartoons some of their cleverest and funny gags. Today's cartoon selection begins with one of the best Grampy cartoons, Grampy's Indoor Outing (1936). The following are a couple of exhibitors reviews from the Motion Picture Herald. "GRAMPY'S INDOOR OUTING: Betty Boop Car- toons—Fair. Betty Boop doesn't mean a thing here. Running time, eight minutes.—P. G. Held, Strand Theatre, Griswold, Iowa. Neighborhood patronage." "GRAMPY'S INDOOR OUTING: Betty Boop Car- toons—Betty Boop carton which was exceptionally clever. - Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada. General Patronage." This cartoon will give you good ideas for fun activities to do while we are in lockdown.
For cartoon fans it doesn't get much better than Tex Avery's MGM shorts. Next is one of those, Doggone Tired (1949).
Now for a fable from Aesop and Son.
In the early 1930's under Hugh Harmon and Rudolph Ising, the Looney Tunes cartoons had a main character in the happy go lucky Bosko, while the Merrie Melodies did not center on one character. While most of these films did not feature a reoccurring character there were a few characters that appeared in multiple (but not many) Merrie Melodies. One of these characters was the all out vaudeville like entertainer, Goopy Geer. Goopy only appeared in three Merrie Melodies (though he would later appear in the Tiny Toons Adventures episode, Two-Tone Town (1992)). Here is his first and best appearance in a Merrie Melodie, a cartoon appropriately called Goopy Geer (1932). This cartoon features some reused animation from the first Merrie Melodie, Lady Play Your Mandolin (1931).
I know you were in suspense so here is the next episode of Ruff and Reddy. Come back next week to see what happens to our heroes next.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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