Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #141

 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 Bugs Bunny films, The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942). One of the things you will notice first about this cartoon is how the characters are drawn. Bugs will often go off model in a way you would never see in a later short (around 1944 this would come to an end). Elmer is also in his heavier set design. Bob Clampett had redesigned the character for his cartoon Wabbit Twouble (1941) and that design would stick for four more cartoons (including this one). The design was based off of Elmer's voice artist, Arthur Q. Bryan. Yet there is so much to enjoy about this cartoon that you won't care how the characters look. Director Friz Freleng is known for how perfectly he could time a gag and this is incredibly evident. There are also plenty of incredibly clever gags from writer Michael Maltese (who would go on to form a writer/director partnership with director Chuck Jones that would result in some of the funniest and most famous cartoons of all time). Many of these gags would take cartoon logic to ridiculous and hilarious extremes. A review in The Film Daily called this short, "Tremendously hilarious." A review in The Exhibitor stated, "This has many humorous moments, even if not ranking with the best of the B.B. series. However with that title and his popularity, this offers an opportunity." The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "Wabbit Who Came to Supper: Merrie Melodies Cartoons- Good. This series is taking off fast. They are asking when we are having our next 'carrot eating rabbit.' - A.H. Goldson, Plaza Theatre, Chicago, Ill." 

Next we join the Pink Panther in Pink on the Cob (1969).

Next comes one of DePatie-Freleng's Dogfather cartoons, The Goose That Laid a Golden Egg (1974). By this time cartoons made for movie theaters were fading as TV was taking over the cartoon game. DePatie-Freleng was one of the few cartoon studios left that was keeping the animated short film alive. The Dogfather series were some of the cartoons that the studio was making for theatres at this time. This film is a remake of the Daffy Duck cartoon Golden Yeggs (1950), even reusing the exact same ending gag. It should no surprise that this film was written by Friz Freleng as he directed that earlier short. 

Up next is one of Walt Disney's silent Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons, Africa Before Dark (1928). This film came out before Walt would start to solidify the bodies of his cartoon characters and stop using many of the impossible gags you see here. The short also moves at a fast speed offering gag after gag and many of them being very funny. Some of the gags from this film would later turn up in the Mickey Mouse comic strip (those strips would appear in newspapers January 29, 30 and 31st of 1930). These gags reused involve Oswald's encounter with a lion and an owl. The gag involving the flying elephant resembles a similar joke involving Pluto in the later Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Moose Hunt (1931). The gag of Oswald detaching his face was borrowed from one of Walt's earlier films, the Alice Comedy, Alice Gets Stung (1925). 

Now for a commercial break. 

Next comes the Terry-Toons cartoon, The Newcomer (1938). This film was directed by Mannie Davis. 

 

Sponsor, 1957

 

Next comes an especially great Silly Symphony from Disney, The Country Cousin (1936). Like many Disney films of this time this short is especially notable for its great animation. Some of the best Disney animators worked on this cartoon. Probally the one who has been singled out the most has been Art Babbitt for his excellent animation of the drunken mouse. This is appropriate because this animation is a highlight of the film. Still there is much more great animation to be found. In fact Cy Young's animation of the traffic montage was so good that the studio reused it later in the Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Delayed Date (1947).  The opening animation of the country mouse leaving for the city was by Milt Schaffer. Johnny Cannon animates the two mice meeting as well as the country mouse finding his way into a light socket and the film's ending. Marvin Woodward animates the scene with the mouse trap. Les Clark (a future member of Walt's nine old men and expert Mickey Mouse animator) gets to shine with his animation of of the mice on the table and the country mouse after eating hot mustard. Future Donald Duck director, Jack Hannah doesn't have much to animate in this film. He only animates the plates falling on the floor. Paul Allen animates the two mice parachuting and some of the action with the cat. This cartoon won the Academy Award for best animated short film. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with an episode of TV's Calvin and the Colonel. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin.

Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town! by Jerry Beck

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search For the Lost Disney Cartoons by David A. Bossert