Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #266

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Little Lulu in Musica-Lulu (1947). I love the sheer imagination in the latter part of this cartoon and the musical number is a lot of fun as well. 

Next comes Donald Duck and Pluto in The Eyes Have It (1945). This short film marked the last time Pluto appeared in a Donald Duck cartoon. Pluto had previously appeared in the Donald Duck cartoons, Beach Picnic (1939), Donald's Dog Laundry (1940), Put-Put Troubles (1940) and Window Cleaners (1940). This cartoon would make its TV debut on the episode of the Disneyland TV show, Donald's Award (1957). 

Next comes one of my favorite cartoons from director Norm McCabe, Daffy's Southern Exposure (1942). I absolutely love the way this film treats Daffy. He is very much in his early wild and crazy mode. But at the same time there is a bit more to him than just being crazy. He is also the type of duck who is always simply looking for a good time and will ignore the warnings of others if they try to get in the way of him having fun. Still even when getting his comeuppance, he never learns any sort of lesson and remains the same duck he was the beginning of the cartoon. This is a fun characterization for Daffy, especially as he is still fun of the pure energy that makes the early Daffy so popular. This is just as much of a fully formed character as the one we would see in the later Chuck Jones classics of the 1950's. The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "DAFFY'S SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: Cartoon- Good black and white cartoon. Enjoyed by people that saw it.—Conrad H. Tapia, Chief Theatre, Casa Grande, Ariz."

Now we join our good friend Gandy Goose in G-Man Jitters (1939). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now it is silent film time with The Breath of a Nation (1919). This short film was directed by Geogory LaCava. LaCava would later go on to be a live action director. Some of his live action films include So's Your Old Man (1926) starring W.C. Feilds, The Age of Consent (1932), She Married Her Boss (1935), My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), Fifth Avenue Girl (1939) and Primrose Path (1940).

Next up is a very early Mickey Mouse cartoon, the fourth one in fact, The Barn Dance (1929). Unlike the previous three Mickeys (Plane Crazy (1928), The Galloping Gaucho (1928) and Steamboat Willie (1928)), Walt Disney was not able to supervise the animation very closely. This was because at this time Walt was in New York, while his main animator Ub Iwerks was in California. Though Walt asked Ub to cut corners in the animation, because of a strict deadline, when he received the first of the animation on October 22nd of 1928, he was not happy and wrote Ub a page of criticisms of the animation. However watching this film now, it is actually a very entertaining cartoon, and it is hard to see anything actually wrong with the animation. However, Walt was working to achieve a level of perfection in his cartoons and this one as good as it is, did not meet that requirement in his mind. The gag involving the stretching of Minnie's leg was the type of joke that would soon fade from these cartoons, as Walt would treat the body more solidly in future outings.

Now for the Pink Panther in Salmon Pink (1975). 

Let us close by singing one we all know. 

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

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age by Michael Barrier

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

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by David Gerstein and J.B. Kaufman

https://mediahistoryproject.org/