Hello, my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with Heckle and Jeckle in Flying South (1947). Heckle and Jeckle always seemed to bring out the best in the Terry Toons staff. That is definitely true in this short film. This cartoon offers gag after gag and many of them are simply wonderful. What I also love about these shorts is how they embrace the fact that they are cartoons. There are so many gags here that feel like the filmmakers were having a wonderful time exploring just how much you could get away with in a cartoon.
For anyone interested in movie history, many of the Disney cartoons of the 1920's are essential watching. The reason for this is that many of them are directed by Walt himself. All of us know Walt Disney as a producer, a studio head, a TV personality and one of the movies' greatest ambassadors, however in these short films we get to see him in the director's chair. Next, we have one of the cartoons he directed, El Terrible Toreador (1929). This movie marked the second Silly Symphony cartoon and the first one directed by Walt. As with many early Disney films, this cartoon features many gags that go against the rules put in place in the later Disney cartoons. For instance, the later films would not allow body parts to detach or stretch to impossible lengths. Yet in this movie, both of those are common sights. There are also some somewhat risqué gags that wouldn't fit with Disney's later squeaky-clean image. Despite this only being the second Silly Symphony, the series already boasts an incredible cast of animators. Ub Iwerks (Walt's right-hand man and one of the main influences on the early Disney style) animates the bullfighting scenes and supervised the work of the other animators. Burt Gillet (who would go on to direct many great Mickey Mouse cartoons as well as The Three Little Pigs (1933)) animates the meeting of Carmen and Don Jose. Wilfred Jackson (who would direct some of the best Silly Symphonies and be one of the directors of features like Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady And the Tramp (1955)) animates Carmen's dance. Les Clark (one of the best Mickey animators and one of Walt's nine old men) animates a close-up of Don Jose. Jack King (who would direct some excellent Donald Duck cartoons) animates Escamillo confronting Don Jose. Ben Sharpsteen (who would be the supervising director for Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941)) animates the introduction to the bullfighting scene.
Next comes a classic early UPA cartoon, The Popcorn Story (1950). This cartoon was directed by Art Babbitt. Art Babbitt had previously worked at Disney and was for a while one of that studio's best animators. While working at Disney, his animation helped define the character of Goofy. His other work at Disney included a much-praised sequence with a drunk mouse in the Silly Symphony The Country Cousin (1936) as well as work on the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Geppetto in Pinocchio (1940). While later UPA cartoons could get a little bland, I have a huge fondness for the UPA shorts from around this era.
Now we join our old friend Krazy Kat in Krazy's Waterloo (1934). Though this series was based off George Herriman's classic newspaper comic strip the Krazy Kat character here bares scant resemblance to the one in the comics. For one thing in the comics, Krazy's gender is a mystery but in the cartoons the character is clearly male.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now it is time for some Saturday Morning Minions.
is Porky Pig's Feat (1943). This cartoon is directed by Frank Tashlin. Tashlin began directing cartoons for the Warner Bothers studio in 1936. However, in 1938, he would leave the studio to work at Disney. Soon he would leave Disney to direct cartoons at Columbia, where he would introduce the characters of the Fox and the Crow. Porky Pig's Feat was the first cartoon he directed after briefly returning to Warner Brothers as well as his first Daffy Duck cartoon. Tashlin would later become a live action director, directing such films as The Son of Paleface (1952), Artists and Models (1955), The Girl Can't Help It (1956) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter (1957). Porky Pig's Feat is a very fast paced and funny cartoon, that is an absolute delight. The following is what an exhibitor wrote about the cartoon to the Motion Picture Herald, "Porky Pig's Feat: Looney Tunes Cartoons - It's black and white but it's fast and furious and full of laughs. That's what counts. - W. Varrieck Nevins, III, Alfred Co-op Theater, Alfred N. Y." This cartoon is appropriately included in Jerry Beck's book The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes.
Up next is one of Walt Disney's silent Alice Comedies, Alice's Mysterious Mystery (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 let us close by opening our hymn books to sing an old hymn.
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
The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes edited by Jerry Beck.
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russel Merrit and J.B. Kaufman
https://mediahistoryproject.org/
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