Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #130

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday Morning once again it is time for some classic cartoons.

With the fourth of July tomorrow, today's cartoon selection begins with a cartoon that takes place on Independence Day. This is Parotitic Popeye (1957). This cartoon comes from the last year of the theatrically released Popeye shorts and despite its holiday theme it was released to theaters on May 10th. This cartoon features Popeye's nephews, who were in many ways the Fleischer and Famous Studios version of Donald Duck's nephews. Like the ducks, their parents were kept a mystery and they often got the better of their uncle. Unlike the ducks though, the number of nephews changed from four to three to two here in their last appearance. What happened to the other nephews is one of cartoonland's greatest mysteries.

Continuing the 4th of July theme, next are some TV PSAs from the 1980's about the U.S. Constitution staring the Looney Tunes characters.

In 1997 animation legend Chuck Jones wrote a children's book starring Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny titled Daffy Duck for President. When Warner Brothers decided to follow the feature film, Looney Tunes Back in Action (2003) with a series of new animated Looney Tunes shorts for movie theaters, one of these shorts was a cartoon based off this book. Daffy Duck For President (2004) never got the theatrical release it should have as Looney Tunes Back in Action proved a disappointment at the box office. However this is a truly delightful cartoon. It was dedicated to Chuck who had passed away in 2002.

Now we go back just a few years to the silent era for one of the first great animated cartoon series, Earl Hurd's Bobby Bumps cartoons. Here is a Holiday appropriate entry with Bobby Bumps Fourth (1917).

Motion Picture World, 1920 Now let us all sing along.

In December of 1941 the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morganthau contacted Walt Disney about making a short film encouraging Americans to pay their taxes. The story goes that Walt was surprised by this request believing that all American citizens paid their taxes on time. Disney writers Joe Grant and Dick Huemer wrote a story involving Donald Duck as an average tax payer. When an aide was surprised that Disney didn't create a new character to represent the average tax payer, but Walt felt that Donald was a natural choice. He argued that this was the same as when a Hollywood studio would use one of their biggest live action stars to promote the war effort. Donald was the Disney studio's biggest star at the time (as well as a character everyone loved and saw themselves in) and to have him push the war effort was vital to the project. The cartoon was titled The New Spirit (1942) and was a major success. The Treasury Department stated that about sixty million Americans saw this cartoon and a poll showed that 37% of these Americans stated that this positively influenced them when it came to paying taxes. In 1943 the Treasury Department approached Walt about making another one of these shorts. This resulted in The Spirit of '43 (1943).

Motion Picture Herald, 1942

Motion Picture Daily, 1943 Today's cartoon selection ends with Yankee Doodle Pink (1978). The ending to this short is especially educational.

Thanks for joining me come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. -Michael J. Ruhland Resources Used https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/ducks-and-taxes-the-story-of-the-new-spirit/ Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin.