Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #187

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Porky Pig in Rover's Rival (1937). This was the first Looney Tune to use The Merry Go-Round Broke Down as the theme song. It would remain the Looney Tunes theme song long afterwards. This was also the first cartoon to end with Porky popping out of the drum and saying, "That's All Folks." The film was directed by Bob Clampett, whose black and white Porky cartoons helped solidify him as the character we all know today. Clampett wasn't the only legendary animation director who worked on this short film. One of the animators was Chuck Jones, who really gets to show off his skill in this movie. He gets to deliver some excellent character animation including such scenes as Rover leaving the kennel towards the start, the little pup fetching the dynamite and then bring it back after Porky throws it away and Rover's shock after reading what dynamite is. Bobe Cannon, who would direct some fantastic films for UPA animates the little pup blowing Rover to the ground. 

Next we join Popeye in A Haul in One (1956). This film is a bit of a remake of an earlier Popeye cartoon, Let's Get Moving (1936). 

Now we join Little Roquefort in Musical Madness (1951). Many of the Little Roquefort films were quite similar to MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoons and that is especially obvious here. If you replaced Roquefort and the cat with Tom and Jerry, this cartoon (with the exception of the animation budget) would be indistinguishable from a Hanna-Barbera Tom and Jerry short. Little Roquefort is one of many characters Terrytoons Studio was trying out around this time that never hit the big time. Though producer Paul Terry had once frowned on reoccurring characters, preferring one-off cartoons. However after the success of Terrytoons Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle, he warmed up to the idea and many reoccurring characters were created during this time period. While the films featuring these characters are really fun, what is often missing is that these characters lacked the distinct personalities that made cartoon characters at Warner Brothers, Disney, Famous Studios and MGM (or even Terrytoons' own Heckle and Jeckle) so loved by moviegoers. 

Up next comes the second Hoot Kloot film, Apache on the Country Seat (1973). Hoot Kloot starred in 17 short films all released to theaters in 1973 and 1974. 

 
Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next is the Ant and the Aardvark in Mumbo Jumbo (1970). Between 1969 and 1971 the Ant and the Aardvark starred in 17 short films all made for and originally released in movie theaters. In 1971 these films would find their way to TV on The New Pink Panther Show. For TV a laugh track was added to the cartoons and there were new bumpers featuring the characters interacting with the Pink Panther. What you are about to watch is the TV version of this film as well as one of the bumpers. 

Up next comes a silent movie starring Felix the Cat, Feline Follies (1919). This was in fact Felix's first film. Though only Pat Sullivan gets credit on the silent Felix the cat cartoons, a man named Otto Messmer played a major role in the character's creation. Messmer later recalled, "The studio being busy, Sullivan asked me to do one in my spare time, at home. I did a quick one showing a black cat being outwitted by a mouse. I used plenty of picture gags. Paramount liked it and singed it up for their Paramount Screen Magazine. It made a hit with the public. I wrote and animated it alone with studio assistants. It grew in popularity, and as the demand became more urgent, Sullivan took on more animators, at various times, to help." Despite Messmer's recollections, this was not the storyline of the first Felix film. While some mice appear in this movie, they did not play a major role or really interact with Felix. In this cartoon Felix is not yet called Felix but instead Master Tom. 

Fiddling Around (1930) is a strange early Mickey Mouse cartoon. This movie features no other characters besides Mickey and features him as a classical violinist, putting on a concert and while there are gags, the music (Braham's Rhapsody) is presented in a somewhat straight manner. Interestingly this film would be followed by a much more typical Mickey cartoon revolving around classical music, The Banyard Concert (1930). Fiddling Around often gets presented today under its working title Just Mickey, however the movie was released and copyrighted under the title, Fiddling Around. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with Daffy Duck in Duck Dodgers in Attack of the Drones (2004). This cartoon has a strong Futurama look and feel to it and there is a reason for that. It was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore, both of whom had worked on that show. This feel is only increased by Dr. Zoidberg having a cameo in it. Besides Futurama Rich Moore may be familar to animation fans for directing the feature length films, Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Zootopia (2016) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). This short was originally made to air in movie theaters but after the feature length Looney Tunes Back in Action did not do as well in the theaters as hoped for, it did not get the theatrical release it should have. 

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

Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin

https://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2012/08/180-rovers-rival-1937.html