Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #166

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

Despite Taz's extreme popularity with Looney Tunes fans today, he only appeared in 5 of the original short films. My favorite of these cartoons is Ducking the Devil (1957). This movie marks the only time during the golden age of Looney Tunes that Taz was paired against Daffy Duck. In the other four films, Taz had worked against Bugs Bunny. This movie like the other Taz cartoons is directed by Robert McKimson. 

Next Little Lulu tries to break into the movies, despite her cartoons already playing in movie theaters, in Lulu on Hollywood (1944). The storyline of this cartoon however is very appropriate as Little Lulu had been a star of cartoons that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post before Hollywood called on her to be a movie star. Not everyone was impressed with her animated screen antics though as is evidenced by a review of this cartoon in The Showman's Trade Review, which stated, "This promising little cartoon character is suffering from faulty scripting. In her mischievous nature rests on her popular following, but on the screen her antics are falling short of their protentional laugh punch." Still the range of emotions in her acting, during the screen test scene always puts a smile on my face. 

Motion Picture Herald, 1943

Next comes an early Merrie Melody cartoon that I really love, You're Too Careless with Your Kisses (1932). Like many of the Merrie Melodies of this time this short film very much resembles Disney's early Silly Symphonies. However this cartoon does not come off as a pale imitation of Disney but as a fun little movie that is very charming. There are some really clever gags here (such as one involving a couch) and the villain is a lot of fun. The themes of drunkenness and infidelity remind one that these cartoons were not made only for children but all movie audiences.   

Next comes an early Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon, Playful Pan (1930). One thing that separates Disney from other cartoon studios of the time is that they would sometimes completely throw away work that the filmmakers weren't happy with to make them work better. This costs time and money, something other studios held too dear to do such a thing. Though animation began on October 24, 1930, in early November of the same year. the film's opening scenes were completely redone. This redone animation lasts from the opening to when the tree is sawed in half with lightning. Because of this, the opening scenes of this short film were the last ones animated. Speaking of animators this cartoon features an all star cast of Disney animators. The beautiful opening is animated by Tom Palmer, a great animator who was also briefly a director for Warner Brothers. The scenes involving the daisies dancing, the fire attacking the tree and the squirrels were all animated by Les Clark. Les Clark is a true Disney legend and would become one of Walt's Nine Old Men and is often recognized as one of Mickey Mouse's best animators. Future Donald Duck director Jack King animates the great scene where Pan causes the flames to follow him. The flames actually jumping into the water was animated by Norm Ferguson, another Disney legend who played a huge role in developing Pluto's personality. Wilfred Jackson (who would become one of the best Silly Symphonies directors) animated the worms dancing. Johnny Cannon, who animated on many of Disney's best films from the 1930's would animate the scenes with the birds in the fire. Dave Hand, who would be the supervising director for the Disney features, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942), animated the trees and clouds dancing. Ben Sharpsteen, who would be the supervising director for the Disney features Pinocchio (1940) and Dumbo (1941) animates the lightning and the flames leaving the trees. Frenchy De Tremaudan, another great animator who worked on a lot of Disney's best shorts at this time, animates the animals squirting water. Dick Lundy, who animated Donald's first tantrum and would become a director of some great Woody Woodpecker cartoons at Walt Lantz studio, animates the animals running and the raccoon alerting Pan. Jack Cutting, who would later direct a couple of Silly Symphonies animates the fox whose tail is on fire. 

National Board of Review Magazine, 1931

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now we join The Pink Panther in Tickled Pink (1968). 

Up next is one of The Van Beuren Studio's Aesop's Sound Fables cartoons, Good Old Schooldays (1930). Notice two mice in this movie who look a lot like Mickey and Minnie. In 1931, Walt Disney would sue the Van Beuren Studio for making cartoons with characters too much like Mickey and Minnie for his comfort. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with our friend Goofy in Father's Weekend (1953). By the 1950's Goofy had turned from Mickey's silly friend to an everyman, who had to endure the little problems in life that pretty much every moviegoer could relate to. Much of this change occurred under the direction of Jack Kinney. I feel that too often Jack Kinney is overlooked when the great cartoon directors are listed. However his hilarious short films for Disney, perfectly show why he deserves to be listed with other greats like Tex Avery or Chuck Jones. This movie is a perfect example of his true gift with comedic cartoons and it never fails to make me laugh. 

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



Resources Used

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

The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin

https://mediahistoryproject.org/