Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for more classic cartoons.
During World War 2, Disney made quite a few cartoons with Donald Duck in military uniform. Yet Mickey Mouse was rarely seen in such. A rare exception to this is Out of the Firing Pan Into the Firing Line (1942), yet even in this film his appearance is a brief cameo (the real stars were Pluto and Minnie). This was not your average Disney short, but rather a cartoon with a message. This message was to tell movie-goers on the home front to save fat for the war effort when they were cooking. This film was the result of a negotiation between Kay Kamen (a promoter who had played a major role in merchandising Mickey Mouse) and the War Production Board. The War Production Broad asked for this three minute film to be completed in thirty days, but the studio knowing that they couldn't get the film to Disney quality in that short of a time got the time extended to sixty days (still a short time to make a cartoon). Walt made sure that this film would be of the highest quality putting some of his best men on it. The director was Jack King who was directing some truly excellent Donald Duck cartoons at this time. Two of Walt's nine old men animated on this short John Lounsbery and Les Clark. John Lounsbery animated much of Pluto's action, including the opening scene, Pluto being excited over the grease and him arriving at the shop. Les Clark (one of the studio's best Mickey Mouse animators) and Marvin Woodward animate almost all of Minnie's scenes. Les Clark animates Minnie with the skillet and her watching Pluto fetching the can. Marvin Woodward animated Minnie frying the eggs and offering grease to Pluto. Future Donald Duck director, Jack Hannah only animated one brief scene, in which Minnie puts fat in the ice box. Just as important as any of the character animators is effect animator Josh Meador. One of his scenes, an underwater scene in which we see an enemy submarine sinking was given special attention. Unit Manager Jack Dunham stated this scene “should be given preference over all other scenes in this production.”
Up next is the first Roland and Ratfink cartoon, Hawks and Doves (1968).
Next is one of Hanna-Barbera's Laurel and Hardy cartoons. Since both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had passed away by this time, they obviously couldn't not voice their characters. Doing the voice of Stan Laurel here is Larry Harmon (Bozo the Clown) and Oliver Hardy is voiced by Jim MacGeorge. Jim MacGeorge played Stan Laurel in the Get Smart episode, House of Max (1970). Here is the first of these Laurel and Hardy cartoons, Can't Keep a Secret Agent (1966).
Next is the first star of Looney Tunes, Bosko in Yodeling Yokels (1931). Anyone familiar with the Mickey Mouse cartoons of this time will notice that there is not much difference between Bosko and his girlfriend Honey and Mickey and Minnie. This is no coincidence. Heading the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies at this time were Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, who had worked with Walt Disney during the silent era. Some of the animators had also come from working with Walt including Friz Freleng (who would later become one of the great Looney Tunes directors). Friz commented on these similarities stating, :We all came from the same school and that was with Walt Disney from Kansas City. So there was like thinking and I suppose that's why the characters sometimes looked alike. We were inspired by the Aesop's Fables type of characters that Paul Terry had been doing ... later on of course that changed."
Here are some educational TV PSAs from 1991, starring Bugs Bunny.
Up next is Mr. Magoo's film debut, Ragtime Bear (1949). The UPA studio wanted to get away from funny animals and use human characters as their stars. Yet Columbia (their distributor) had little interest in that, feeling they should stick to the funny animals that dominated much of cartoons at this time. Columbia reluctantly accepted Ragtime Bear because it did have a funny animal in it and that the animal was the titular character. Of course after Mr. Magoo became popular Columbia never argued about a human being the star of the cartoons. Mr. Magoo as a character benefited heavily from the voice talents of Jim Backus. Jerry Hausner (voice of Magoo's nephew Waldo) commented on recording this first cartoon, "We went into the studio with two pages of dialogue. We read all of the speeches that had been written down, Then [John] Hubley did something that no other animated cartoon director had ever done in my presence . He said 'Let's do it again and ad-lib around the subject. Throw in any wild thoughts you might have.' We did another version of it. Backus began to go crazy and have a good time … He invented a lot of things and brought to the cartoons a wonderful and fresh approach." This cartoon would be reissued to theaters in 1959.
Now for a great Pink Panther short, GI Pink (1968).
Today's cartoon selection ends with a World War 2 era Popeye short, Blunder Below (1942). A review in Showman's Trade review stated, "This is an excellent and timely release in the Popeye series." A review in the Film Daily simply called the cartoon "Fair." I love how all the other men in the Navy look like Superman from the same studio's Superman cartoons.
Resources Used
https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-firing-line-1942/
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin.
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