Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #271

 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 Lulu Gets the Birdie (1944). The following is a review from The Showmen's Trade Review magazine, "The third of the Lulu series stacks up well with the first two and makes clever use of Technicolor when Lulu's cat upsets different colored paint all over the place. This episode comes about because Lulu is trying to do away with the little birdie who told on her. A noticeable change in this number is that Lulu appears to be a sweeter child than heretofore - a change not altogether good for audience appeal. Let's have that schemer again. This series is for all audiences and holds to a high standard. 

Next comes one of my favorite Terry Toons cartoons, Post War Inventions (1945). This short film features our good friends Gandy Goose and Sourpuss. While the premise of the film may be dated, the humor and the imagination are still wonderful today.  

Ferdinand the Bull (1938) began production as a Silly Symphony short but in the end the Disney studio released it as a Special. Unlike many Disney cartoons of the time which were either original stories or based off stories that dated quite a way back, this film was based off a contemporary story. The book had been published in 1936 and though there was controversy for its pacifist themes, it became a real best seller, even outselling Gone with the Wind. Walt bought the rights to the book in October 1937. Albert Hay Malotte, who wrote the score for this cartoon, would co-write a song called Fernand the Bull with Larry Morey. Though this song does not appear in the film it was used to promote the cartoon. The matador seen in this cartoon is a caricature of Walt Disney himself. The scene in which the matador enters was animated by Ward Kimball, who included himself as the little man carrying the sword. Animation for this cartoon would be reused by Disney in a wartime training film, Stop the Tank (1942), the Goofy cartoon, For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953) and the feature length, Fun and Fancy Free (1947). The following is an article in Boxoffice Magazine (Dated January 7th, 1939). "Sioux Falls, S.D. Manager Joe Floyd of the Granada covered nearly all the angles for the RKO-Disney short, 'Ferdinand the Bull' the subject rated a holdover. A 14-foot cutout of Ferdinand was used in the lobby illuminated by two Klieg lights. Another large cutout was anchored a sound truck which blasted announcements and played the show's records. Four illuminated billboards were used with two thirds of the space given over to the Disney picture. Window displays were especially made by Floyd and there were 12 in select locations. A feature of the advertising was a teaser campaign: newspaper space was in editorial columns were large throughout the run. There were extra announcements on the radio and records of 'Ferdinand the Bull' were broadcast several times through station KELO, which reaches about 150,000 persons." 

Now for the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, The Old Hokum Bucket (1931). Like all of these films, this short is quite primitive compared to what Disney was doing at the same time, but the creativity and Gene Rodemich's music make it well worth watching. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now it is silent movie time with one of Walt Disney's Alice Comedies, Alice the Fire Fighter (1926). The Alice Comedies were a series of short films which combined a live action little girl with an animated world. This series also marked the first series of films by Walt Disney to use reoccurring characters. Here Alice is played by Margie Gay, the third child actress to play the character. 

Now it is time for some Saturday Morning Minions. 

Next comes a classic Norman McCabe directed Daffy Duck cartoon. Though he only directed three Daffy cartoons, Norman McCabe more than proved himself as a perfect match for this character. Though his Daffy was still wild and crazy, Norman's cartoons gave him a more fully formed personality than previous directors did. Besides just the personality these films were extremely high energy cartoons that were extremely fun. Norman McCabe would continue working with the Looney Tunes characters well past the golden age of Looney Tunes, as he would be a timing director for the TV shows, Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1991), Taz-Mania (1991-1995) and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1995-1996). So, enjoy Impatient Patient (1942). 

Let us close by singing a song 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 Used

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

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/