Hello my friends and welcome back for another round of classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with a black and white Looney Tune, Porky's Midnight Matinee (1941). This is an early effort from Chuck Jones and is typical of his output at the time. The pace is slower moving than any of Warner Brother's other cartoon directors. Though Chuck Jones would later be known for fast paced slapstick like the coyote and roadrunner cartoons at this point his timing was often deliberately slow. Chuck also tended to rely on pantomime around this time and it was common for him to use characters that didn't talk. The ant here does not speak at all and Porky even receives very little dialogue. The ant also is typical of the smaller size characters (Sniffles, Joe Glow the Firefly, Tom Thumb, The Book Worm) that Chuck seemed to favor at this time. The following is an Exhibitor's Review from the Motion Picture Herald.
Next we join Popeye in Greek Mirthology (1954).
Next comes a real classic, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953). Though this is a Disney cartoon, it does not visual resmeble what one excepts from a Disney film. The short has a stylized look that was clearly inspired by what the UPA (Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing Boing) was doing at the time. This movie was very much legendary Disney animator (and one of the infamous Nine Old Men ), Ward Kimball. Though C. August Nichols receives a co-director, he soon had little to do with this movie leaving all the creative decisions to Ward. Ward later remarked, "I was the one who did that picture all the way." As well as the high stylized look this short also uses limited animation. This is not limited animation used for budgetary reasons (like so many Saturday Morning Cartoons) but an artistic choice. Ward later commented on this decision stating, "you have to hold drawings. Watch and you'll see that sometimes the mouth just moves or an eye blinks. That is the difference between full animation and limited animation." Some at the Disney studio did not approve of the look or movement in this cartoon, with Ward even stating that for some it was "regarded as sacrilegious for Disney at the time." Iwao Takamoto for instance would state, "I believe that Ward in a sense took advantage of Walt's growing interest in live action during the early 1950's and that Walt was away from the studio more than he had been previous. This is how [Ward] was able to produce things that Walt would have never been in favor of, such as 'Toot Whistle, Plunk and Boom' which … was drawn in that stark, modern UPA style that Walt tended to disparage." However some were inspired by the short. Director Jack Hannah would even use similarly flat stylized designs in a few of his future cartoons. As this movie was almost finished. Walt Disney got a call from Darryl Zanuck (head of 20th Century Fox) who asked if they had any cartoons to go with his Cinemascope features. Walt said, "Well, I'll look around." Walt approached Ward Kimball about releasing this film in Cinemascope to which Ward replied, "We're almost finished with it but ok I'll go back and redesign some of the gags for the bigger screen." It turned out to be a much more complex and daunting task than this though. Kimball would state about these changes that they "would have to change the size of the celluloid sheet on which we make our drawings and paintings - from 12 1/2 by 15 1/2 inches to 12 1/2 by 31 inches." He also learned the difference between making a cartoon for Cinemascope. He would later state, "In Cinemascope cartoon characters move not the backgrounds. Because there is more space, the characters could move about without getting outside the visual angle … characters could no longer perform in one spot against a moving background but are moved through the scenes." Still Ward was able to meet the deadline. The movie was a huge success winning the Acedmy Award for Best Animated Short Subject. However since a live action Disney nature documentary short was also nominated for an award that night, Walt came up and accidentally thanked the "Naturalist photographers who have played such a great part in making the nature films." This short receives the number 29 spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Now it is time for a Garfield Quickie.
Next comes a delightful Pink Panther short, Pink Punch (1966). This movie was directed by Hawley Pratt, who had been a layout artist for producer (and co-creator of the panther) Friz Freleng, when Friz was directing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons.
Next comes a classic one shot Merrie Melodies cartoon, Have You Got Any Castles? (1938). This movie is part of a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts that revolved around objects coming to life in a book store over night. These cartoons began with Three's a Crowd (1933) and ended with Book Revue (1946). Have You Got Any Castles? is one of the finest of these films. This movie is directed by Frank Tashlin (who also directed another variant on this theme the same year, You're An Education (1938)), who deserves a place among the finest cartoon director of the 1930's and 40's (he would later direct live action features starring the likes of Bob Hope, Jayne Mansfield and Jerry Lewis). There is little in the way of story here, but plenty of gags, music and fun. The Swing For Sale musical number features reused animation from a Friz Freleng directed Merrie Melody Clean Pastures (1937). The following is a couple of exhibitor's reviews from the Motion Picture Herald. "HAVE YOU GOT ANY CASTLES: Merrie Melodies —A swell little cartoon in color. Another smash hit, very clever and it impressed me as it did the older people. Kiddish enough for the kiddies. Yet to understand it, it would get a real laugh from the older folks. Running time, seven minutes.—Pearce Parkhurst, State Theatre, Torrington, Conn. General patronage." "Have You Got Any Castles: Merrie Melodies - To sit down and watch these cartoons is like watching something happen in the line of a miracle. You can't beat them. This is a knockout. Running time, eight minutes. - George Khattar, Casino Theatre, Whitney Pier, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. General Patronage."
Next is a silent Mutt and Jeff cartoon, When Hell Freezes Over (1926).
Now let us close with a song.
Resources Used
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons by Jerry Beck Will Friedwald.
The 50 Greatest Cartoons Edited by Jerry Beck
The Life and Times of Ward Kimball: Maverick of Disney Animation by Todd James Pierce.
No comments:
Post a Comment