Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with one of my favorite early Mickey Mouse cartoons, The Karnival Kid (1929). This movie is famous for featuring Mickey Mouse's first spoken words. Though Mickey's earlier shorts had been sound pictures, they mostly revolved around music instead of dialogue. Though Walt Disney was excited about moving in this direction, his distributor, Pat Powers was not. Powers felt that an English speaking mouse would have less appeal in countries where English is not the common language. To be fair the mouse does not receive a great deal of dialogue in this movie. His first words are the immortal, "Hot Dogs! Hot Dogs!" (in a scene animated by future Donald Duck director, Jack King). The voice is not the familiar high pitch falsetto, but a more plain undistinguished voice. I do not know who provided this voice. Carl Stalling speak about the early voices of the mouse in a 1969 interview, “all the animators were taking a shot at it, those who wanted to.” Of course later on Walt himself would become the voice of Mickey. The cartoon features some men who would soon have a great input on Disney's animated films. Ben Sharpsteen (supervising director on the Disney features Pinocchio (1940) and Dumbo (1941)) animates the opening shots of the fairgrounds, the monkey playing all the instruments and the barker (a fore-runner of Kat-Nip from the Mickey Mouse comic strip) pulling Mickey's nose. Burt Gillet (who would direct the most popular Silly Symphony, Three Little Pigs (1933)) animates the scene with the merry-go-round, Mickey playing the hot dogs like musical instruments, the emergence of Minnie and Mickey tipping his ears to her ("The Big Mooseketeer" Roy Williams stated that this scene inspired the Mickey Mouse ears that all of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club wore). Les Clark (one of Walt's nine old men and one of the greatest Mickey Mouse animators) receives very little footage in the cartoon. He animates Mickey catching a runaway hot dog and giving it a spanking, Mickey briefly strumming the guitar and the final shot of the movie. Les Clark's ending was originally going to be longer with Mickey riding the bed like a horse. The legendary Ub Iwerks (who co-created Mickey with Walt) animates the two cats' duet. Despite the forward looking ideas in this cartoon borrowed a major gag from a previous Disney short. Mickey chasing and spanking the hot dog was originally done by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in All Wet (1927).
Next comes a Terry-Toon cartoon featuring Gandy Goose, Barnyard Baseball (1939). This movie would later be remade in color as Mexican Baseball (1947), which also featured our good friend Gandy. A review from The Exhibitor called this " an average entrant in a sub-average series." The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "BARNYARD BASEBALL: Terry-Toons—This car- toon is passable.—Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada. General patronage." Despite these reviews, I really enjoy this cartoon.
Next comes an excellent Pink Panther short, Little Beaux Pink (1968).
Up next is a real treat for any music fans reading this blog. This is the Betty Boop cartoon, I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You (1932). This cartoon features music by no less than the great Satchmo, Louis Armstrong and his orchestra. Not only do Louie and his band provide the music here, but they appear in live action, including a scene where Satchmo's live action face chases the animated Koko and Bimbo. Louis Armstrong was not the only jazz great to appear in a Betty Boop cartoon, as Cab Calloway appeared in three. The song that Louie sings here had also been recorded by Cab. Needless to say the music is the highlight of this movie, though there are still quite a few really good gags here. The following is a 1933 exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "BETTY BOOP CARTOONS: These cartoons are as popular as Mickey Mouse, and that's saying something. - A.B. Jeffries, New Piedmont Theatre, Piedmont, Mo. Rural and small town patronage."
Next comes a delightful spot gag Merrie Melodies cartoon, Sport Chumpions (1941). Directed by Friz Freleng, this movie is very much in the style of the spot gag Merrie Melodies directed by Tex Avery around this time. While it may not be as great as some of those masterpieces, it is very enjoyable in its own right. However not everyone at the time was impressed as can be seen by the following exhibitor's reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "Sport Chumpions: Merrie Melody - This is not up to the Merrie Melodies standard. There are very few laughs in this one and nothing makes sense. They've made better ones than this. Running time, 7 minutes. - Peter Kavel, Campau Theatre, Hamtramck, Mich., General Patronage." "SPORT CHUMPIONS: Merrie Melodies Cartoons - I didn't think much of this. Just something to fill out the program. Running Time, 7 minutes. - J.M. Thompson, Center Theatre, Marlette, Mich. Rural Patronage."
Here is a Coyote and Roadrunner segment from The Looney Tunes Show entitled, Silent But Deadly (2011).
Today's cartoon selection ends with a great one off Disney short, Pigs is Pigs (1954). This movie was directed by Jack Kinney (probably the funniest Disney director) and features design work closer to a UPA (Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing-Boing) than your average Disney fare. The cartoon remains a favorite of mine and I hope you will love it too.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mickey-mouse-in-the-karnival-kid-1928/
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by David Gerstein and J.B. Kaufman.
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