Hello my friends. Happy Saturday morning and welcome back for another selection of classic cartoons.
Today’s cartoon selection begins with a great Pink Panther cartoon, Genie With the Light Pink Fur (1966). For the most part the best Pink Panther cartoons were the ones that avoided dialogue. This film is an exception as it uses the limited use of dialogue (provided by Ralph James) in a very clever way. You only hear dialogue when our pink hero opens the lamp. This idea is not only clever but allows the short to remain essentially a silent slapstick comedy despite the presence of some dialogue. In a way I find this reminiscent of the use of dialogue in Charlie Chaplin’s brilliant Modern Times (1936).
Now for a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon, 8 Ball Bunny (1950). This was the second of two films that teamed Bugs Bunny with a penguin, who would become known as Playboy Penguin (the first being Frigid Hare (1949), both these films were directed by Chuck Jones). This cartoon also features a caricature of Humphry Bogart, whose appearance here is a parody of his role in the John Huston movie, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). The voice of Bogey here is provided by Dave Barry, who also voiced Bogey in Slick Hare (1947) and voiced Elmer Fudd in Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958). He can be seen in live action in the movies, Some Like It Hot (1959) and Spinout (1966) among others.
Next comes the 8th Dogfather film, Watch the Birdie (1975). While by the 1970's most studios were no longer making cartoons for movie theaters, DePatie-Freleng was helping keep the animated short film alive with multiple series. One of these series were the Dogfather cartoons for the mid-1970's. These shorts were a take-off of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) with the titular character even sounding like Marlin Brando. 17 theatrical cartoon shorts were made of this series. This film is a remake of the Sylvester cartoon, Dr. Jerkyl's Hyde (1954).
Ivan Ivanov-Vano is one of the most beloved names in Russian animation. He directed a wide variety of films (both short and feature length) that range from children's fairytales to social commentary to art films. One of his loveliest films is the animated short, Seasons (1969).
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next comes the first of Walt Disney's Alice comedies, Alice's Wonderland (1923). Before this film was even close to done with production, Walt was already writing distributors stating, "We have just discovered something new and clever in animated cartoons!" He was speaking of the idea of having a live action character enter into an animated cartoon world. This was actually a reversal of what the Fleischer Brother were doing with their Out of the Inkwell films, were animated characters entered our live action world. For the live action little girl Walt hired four year old Virginia Davis. Walt had seen Virginia on an advertisement for Warneker's Bread. Virginia later spoke of this stating, "It was just a picture of me smiling and looking like 'Oh, yum, yum!' and eating this piece of Warneker's Bread with a lot of jam on it." At the time of making this film, Walt and his studio were struggling financially. While many producers would take this as a reason to make a cheap film, Walt plugged into the project with everything he had. This short was downright lavish compared to much of Walt's previous work and still looks great today. Unfortunately the film was not enough to save his company, but it did catch the attention of Margaret J. Winkler, who was also distributing the Felix the Cat and Out of the Inkwell cartoons. His studio went under and Walt moved to Hollywood without his crew. Yet he had this film and was able to secure a deal for 12 more Alice films with Winkler.
Exhibitor's Daily Review, 1927
Next is Flip the Frog in Funny Face (1932). The following are some exhibitor reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "Funny Face: Flip the Frog - Just another cartoon that pleased the children but not the adults. Flip has had some sorry cartoons this season and here's hoping he gets a better break next season. Running Time, 9 minutes. J.J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N.C., General Patronage." "Funny Face: Flip the Frog - Just that much more pen and ink wasted. Not so much for a cartoon. -Mayme P. Musselman, Princess Theatre, Lincoln, Kan. General Patronage." "Funny Face: Flip the Frog - Good cartoon. - Robert K. Yancey, Paradise Theatre, Cotter, Ark. Railroad and General Patronage."
Motion Picture Herald, 1931
Today's cartoon selection ends with Mr. Magoo in Fuddy Duddy Buddy (1951).
Production Design, 1952
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 in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney by J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt.
Animation Art Edited by Jerry Beck.
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