Today's cartoon selection begins with an often-overlooked Looney Tunes short, Gopher Goofy (1942). Despite the title this cartoon does not feature the Looney Tunes characters, The Goofy Gophers. In fact, it predates them as their film debut wouldn't be until 1947. This film is directed by Norman McCabe. He is one of the least talked about Looney Tunes directors, but he is one, I am especially fond of. One reason his Looney Tunes are less talked about is because many of us did not grow up watching them. These cartoons are all in black and white and many of them are very topical of World War 2 era America. Despite only directing Looney Tunes for a short time, he would return to the Looney Tunes universe well after the golden age as a timing director on such TV shows as Tiny Toons Adventures, Taz-Mania and The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries.
Up next comes a very action-packed Mickey Mouse short, Shanghaied (1934). The spirit of this cartoon is perfectly described in the first sentence of a review from The Motion Picture Daily, "This is a Mickey Mouse 'thriller' which will keep youngsters on the edge of their seats and monopolize the attention of their elders." This action-adventure type of plot is more in keeping with Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip than most of the other animated cartoons around this time. Norm Ferguson (with help from two assistants) animates a large portion of this film. This portion starts with the revel of Mickey and Minnie tied up in Pete's cabin and ends with Mickey running after the stove crashes into Pete. Dick Lundy animates the opening scene with the crew singing.
Now it is time from an early Terry-Toon, Jazz Mad (1931). This cartoon is a semi-remake of the Paul Terry directed Aesop's Fables short, Dinner Time (1928). While at this time cartoon studios like Disney and Warner Brothers were taking fully advantage of their cartoons now being talkies, this film and other Terry-Toons of this era tend to feel more like silent cartoons. In fact, if you watch this without sound, I couldn't blame you for thinking that this was a silent film. Though even the soundtrack can sound like a soundtrack later added to a silent cartoon (though it was there the whole time).
In the later years of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales were often pitted against one another. While these were hardly the best films of either series, they are entertaining in their own weird way. Here is one of those cartoons, Feather Finger (1966).
Now it is time for a commercial break.
And now for a Garfield Quickie.
Next up is an early black and white Silly Symphony, The Cat's Nightmare (1931). You may notice the video below titles the cartoon, The Cat's Out. J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt's excellent book on the Silly Symphonies explains this, "Modern sources have sometimes identified this film as The Cat's Out. This was the working title and survives today in an original vault print. However the finished film was copyrighted and released as The Cat's Nightmare." Interestingly this movie played on The Mickey Mouse Club under both names (The Cat's Out on January 23, 1956 and The Cat's Nightmare on February 27, 1956). Whatever the name this is a darn good cartoon. It contains all of the atmosphere that enhances so many of the early Symphonies (especially the ones with a spooky theme). It may not quite be The Skelton Dance (1929), but it is a good film in its own right. Speaking of The Skelton Dance the animation of a rooster crowing (by Wilfred Jackson) is reused from that more famous Symphony. A review in The Film Daily states, "Right up to the high standard of this popular animated cartoon series." The following is a review from the Motion Picture Herald, "A clever piece of cartoon work, typical Silly Symphony number. The theme is as the titles suggests, and the animators have taken full advantage of its laugh making possibilities." However a review in Motion Picture Reviews warns us, "A Halloween spooky atmosphere is so well done that it might frighten a sensitive child."
Now let us end with a song.
Resources Used
http://afilmla.blogspot.com/
https://mediahistoryproject.org/
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by David Gerstein and J.B. Kaufman
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