Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with The Pink Panther in Pink Sphinx (1968). This short film was directed by Hawley Pratt, who had been a layout artist on many of Friz Freleng's (the Freleng in DePatie-Freleng (the studio that made these films)) cartoons for Warner Brothers. Pratt was directing quite a few Pink Panther shorts and other films for DePatie-Freleng at this time.
Next we join Little Lulu in Loose in a Caboose (1947). To read more about the great looking print here, read Steve Stanchfield's latest article on Cartoon Research.
The following is from an issue of Paramount Around the World (dated April, 1938), "BETTY BOOP IS DEAD! SALLY SWING IS SUCCESSOR!! It is with a sense of deep regret that we record the passing of Miss Betty Boop, the amiable, pulchritudinous, neckless young lady who has served Paramount so loyally for so many years. Miss Boop passed on suddenly but not before she was able to name her successor. Miss Sally Swing is the new Paramount cartoon eyeful. We present her above - front, side and reverse, as well as in the purely geometrical form that she is known to animators. Sally is presumed to be about 16 years of age. She is the epitome of modern youth, full of life, pep and the magic something which so sustains young people in the face of fearful odds. She is devoted to swing, is lithe and lissome, and, in parlance of Hollywood's scriptures is the ideal jitterbug. Her first cartoon appearance is scheduled for approximately two months from now." The following is from a 1938 issue of Motion Picture Daily, "Betty Boop, the Max Fleischer cartoon character which attained great popularity in its eight years of existence, will be missing from the Paramount short subject list next season. In Betty's place there will be a new cartoon character, Sally Swing, who is designed to be a modernized, stream-lined version of her predecessor, Paramount will distribute 12 of the cartoons featuring the new character." This not true as Sally's cartoon career would end as soon as it began, and she would never have her own series. However, Betty's career was soon to end. 1939 would mark her last theatrical cartoon short. So here is Sally's attempt to break into the movies, Sally Swing (1938).
Up next is the first pairing of Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales, It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the House (1965). The two would be paired together in 25 more cartoons.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Next comes Mickey, Donald and Goofy in Moving Day (1936). Like many of the Mickey, Donald and Goofy shorts, this cartoon has each character working together from the same goal but having separate set pieces for each one. While Donald and Goofy really get to shine in their set pieces, Mickey has little to do in this movie. After his character had been toned down from his earlier more mischievous self (due in part to parents wanting him to be more of a role model for kids), he became less of a comic character and more of a straight man. Because of this his cartoons around this era had most of the comedy coming from characters like Donald, Goofy and Pluto. He was originally going to have a bit more to do in this film as there was a planned set piece in which he would fight with an ironing board. However, this scene was dropped. Mickey's scenes in this picture are heavily animated by Paul Allen and Marvin Woodward. One of the highlights of this film is the entire sequence with Goofy and the piano. This scene was expertly animated by Art Babbitt. Woolie Reitherman (who would go on to direct The Sword and the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967) and Robin Hood (1973), among others) animated very little of this movie. He animated Pete finding out what was going on and barging in as well as him yelling, "Hey come back." This cartoon also marks the first color appearance of Mickey's nemesis Pete.
While on a Disney not let us enjoy one of Walt Disney's silent Alice Comedies, Alice the Jailbird (1925). While earlier Alice comedies had fully live action openings and closings (that highly resembled Hal Roach's Our Gang films) by this time the shorts had dropped that and immediately started in the cartoon world. The only live action character in this movie is Alice herself. Here she is played by Margie Gay, who took over the role from Virgina Davis.
Now let us end with a song.
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
http://afilmla.blogspot.com/search/label/Shorts_UA?updated-max=2008-11-18T21:00:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=8&by-date=false
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimite History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein.
Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
https://mediahistoryproject.org/
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