Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Woody Woodpecker in The Coo Coo Bird (1947). This movie is one of the many cartoons to deal with the idea of the main character just trying to get some sleep. As such it does quite a good job and gets some good gags out of this basic premise. This short film was directed by Dick Lundy, who had formerly been a Disney animator. At Disney he worked on many of the studios best Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Silly Symphonies shorts of the 1930's and early 40's and he even worked on the beloved feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He even directed a few wonderful Donald Duck cartoons. In the 1950's he would direct some of the Barney Bear cartoons for MGM and even receive director's credit on the Droopy cartoon, Caballero Droopy (1952). This makes him the only director besides Tex Avery or Michael Lah to receive director's credit on a classic Droopy short.
Next comes the Fleischer Takartoon short, Teacher's Pest (1931). The credited animators for this movie are Grim Natwick and Seymour Kneitel. Grim Natwick would be instrumental in the creation of the character of Betty Boop for the same studio and work on the title character in the Disney feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Seymour Kneitel was one of the major animators at Fleischer Studios and would remain a major force when the studio became Famous Studios. At Famous Studios he would direct many of the Popeye and Little Lulu cartoons among many others. I love that in this cartoon, Bimbo's pets are named Max and Dave, like the first names of the Fleischer Brothers.
Motion Picture Herald, 1931
Next we join Tweety and Slyvester in Tweety and Lovely (1959). About the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, director Friz Freleng stated, "Tweety doesn't do anything. He can't even put a hat on because his arms are too short. And he's got such a bug head. The comedy comes out of Sylvester and his determination, his stubbornness to get the bird no matter what happens to him. Still everybody says 'Oh I love that Tweety.' Audiences are funny. They never love the characters that really get the laughs."
Next comes Disney's Goofy in Baggage Buster (1941). This cartoon is really a showcase for great character animation. One of the animators on this film is Art Babbitt. Babbitt would discuss the character of Goofy in great detail. "Think of the Goof, as a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible good Samaritan, a half-wit and a hick. He is loose jointed and gangly but not rubbery. He can move fast if he has to, but would rather avoid any overexertion, so he takes what seems the easiest way. He is a philosopher of the barber shop variety. No matter what happens he accepts it as being for the best of at least amusing... He very seldom if ever reaches his objective or completes what he has started." Talking about how the character movies Babbitt would state, " His posture is nil. His back arches the wrong way and his little stomach protrudes. His head, stomach and knees lead his body. His neck is quite long and scrawny. His knees sag and his feet are large and flat. He walks on his heels and his toes turn up. His shoulders are narrow and slope rapidly, giving the upper part of his body a thinness and making his arms seem long and heavy, though actually not drawn that way. His hands are very sensitive and expressive and though his gestures are broad, they should still reflect the gentleman. His shoes and feet are not the traditional cartoon dough feet. His arches collapsed long ago and his shoes should have very definite character." It is this extra effort and the animators' complete understanding of their characters that made Disney cartoons of this time truly special.
Now for a commercial break.
Now for a classic silent movie, Bobby Bumps And The Ostrich Egg (1920).
Motion Picture News, 1920
Next is Mighty Mouse in The Jail Break (1946).
The Simple Things (1953) was the last cartoon of the original Mickey Mouse series of theatrically released shorts. Part of the reason for this was the fact that by the 1950's short subjects were no longer making much money. This was especially a problem for a cartoon producer like Walt Disney. Walt Disney spent a lot of money on short subjects and would not cut down costs to the level that many other cartoon producers had. He refused to put out what he considered an inferior product for finical reasons. As such the amount of animated short subjects the studio was making began to heavily decrease in the 1950's. Another factor into this was Mickey himself. Mickey Mouse was often looked on as a bit of a role model for kids. However this did not fit his early screen image in which he would often do mischievous things that parents would not want heir kids doing. With this the Disney studio was made to calm Mickey down and take out this part of his personality. However with this he became a harder character to make funny. As such characters that weren't as restricted such as Donald Duck and Goofy would become more popular than the once biggest star in cartoons, Mickey Mouse. Still Mickey's career remained extremely successful after these short subjects ended. He would go on to be the master of ceremonies at Walt's new venture, a little thing called Disneyland, and he would have a hit TV show with The Mickey Mouse Club. A working title for The Simple Things was Gull Crazy. This was a reference to the 1943 Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland MGM feature, Girl Crazy.
Now to end with a song.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another selection of animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck
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