Hello my friends and welcome back for another selection of classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with a later Pink Panther short, Pet Pink Pebbles (1978). To say this film is a remake of Rocky Pink (1976) is an understatement. It is the same cartoon only with a new sequence (taking place in a park) added. Still Rocky Pink was a good cartoon and so is this film.
For anyone interested in movie history, many of the Disney cartoons of the 1920's are essential watching. The reason for this is that many of them are directed by Walt himself. All of us know Walt Disney as a producer, a studio head, a TV personality and one of the movies' greatest ambassadors, however in these short films we get to see him in the director's chair. Next we have one of the cartoons he directed, El Terrible Toreador (1929). This movie marked the second Silly Symphony cartoon and the first one directed by Walt. As with many early Disney films, this cartoon features many gags that go against the rules put in place in the later Disney cartoons. For instance the later films would not allow body parts to detach or stretch to impossible lengths. Yet in this movie, both of those are common sights. There are also some somewhat risque gags that wouldn't fit with Disney's later squeaky clean image. Despite this only being the second Silly Symphony, the series already boasts an incredible cast of animators. Ub Iwerks (Walt's right hand man and one of the main influences on the early Disney style) animates the bullfighting scenes and supervised the work of the other animators. Burt Gillet (who would go on to direct many great Mickey Mouse cartoons as well as The Three Little Pigs (1933)) animates the meeting of Carmen and Don Jose. Wilfred Jackson (who would direct some of the best Silly Symphonies and be one of the directors of features like Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady And the Tramp (1955)) animates Carmen's dance. Les Clark (one of the best Mickey animators and one of Walt's nine old men) animates a close-up of Don Jose. Jack King (who would direct some excellent Donald Duck cartoons) animates Escamillo confronting Don Jose. Ben Sharpsteen (who would be the supervising director for Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941)) animates the introduction to the bullfighting scene.
Boxoffice, 1961
Next comes an excellent Daffy Duck cartoon, A Coy Decoy (1941). This movie was part of a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies in the 1930's and 1940's that featured books coming to life at night. The first of these was I Like Mountain Music (1933) and the last was Book Revue (1946, also starring Daffy Duck). This movie features the early Daffy Duck meaning he is not yet the greedy and attention seeking duck he would be later. He is just simply crazy which works perfectly with this crazy short. As much as I love the later Daffy, I have a special fondness for this early crazy duck. A review in The Motion Picture Daily states, "The net result is moderate amusement." The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "COY DECOY, A: Looney Tunes Cartoons—A dandy black and white cartoon.—C. L. Niles, Niles Theatre, Anamosa, Iowa, General Patronage."
Jan Švankmajer is one of the greatest masters of stop motion animation and one of Czechoslovakia's finest filmmakers. He is a self described surrealists and his films (feature and short) have pushed the boundaries of what animation can be. Many of these films are open to many interpretations and require the viewer to do much of the work. One of his best movies is the short, Dimensions of Dialogue (1982).
Now for a commercial break.
Big Bad Sinbad (1952) is an interesting cheater cartoon. This is because it only uses clips from one previous cartoon. The previous film is Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor (1936). That short ran more than twice as long as the normal Popeye cartoon. With this short being more of a regular length, this movie plays as a shorter version of the earlier film with a new opening and closing. One change that appeared in the Popeye films between the two cartoons is that Popeye's outfit changed from black to white. Because of the reused footage though this movie is the rare 1950's Popeye cartoon with Popeye wearing his old outfit.
Motion Picture Herald, 1935
Let us close by singing one we all know.
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 the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
The most interesting thing about "Big Bad Sinbad" is that, even back in his earlier garb, he simply isn't the same Popeye. It's easy to blame the white sailor suit for the gradual softening of Popeye's "personaliky," but in this case clothes didn't unmake the man. In the other Popeye cheaters that use the 1930s two-reelers, the older footage is referenced as movies, inferring that Popeye's original black bosun's blouse and captain's hat were merely a costume.
ReplyDeleteIn "Popeye Makes a Movie," which uses "Ali Baba" footage, the artists had the same problem matching Olive and Wimpy (his first appearance in a Popeye cartoon in a decade, given a Hitler mustache for some reason) with their former selves.
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