Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #218

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with our old friend Gandy Goose in The Chipper Chipmunk (1948). This short is a rare film in which Gandy never speaks. The cat with him resembles his regular partner Sourpuss but he is heavier, and his head is a different shape.  

Last week on this blog I shared the UPA cartoon, Christopher Crumpet (1953). That cartoon spawned a sequel film, and I have that cartoon for you this week. So up next is Christopher Crumpet's Playmate (1955). 

Now for a short that the Fleischer Studio made in cooperation with Olds Motor Works, In My Merry Oldsmobile (1931). This film is part of the Screen Songs series. These short films combine regular cartoon action with a follow the bouncing ball (a device that was originated at the studio) sing-along. So, get ready to sing-along and enjoy the cartoon.  

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 it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for a silent Aesop's Film Fables short, The Man Who Laughed (1922). 

Before Pluto received his own cartoon series, he made a couple short films without Mickey that were released as Silly Symphonies. These were Just Dogs (1932) and Mother Pluto (1936). Up next is the first of these, Just Dogs. In this movie, the animation of Pluto is mostly split between two animators, Norm Ferguson and Tom Palmer. However, Les Clark animates a brief scene were Pluto and the little pup hide in a barrel and Dick Lundy animates them digging up the bone. The pup Pluto costars with did not appear in any other animated cartoons, but Floyd Gottfredson would use him in the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip. A song used early on in this movie is Guy Massey's The Prisoners' Song. This song was prominently used in the Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Chain Gang (1930), which many people believe is the first appearance of Pluto. A review in Motion Picture Reviews stated, "Amusing for Children but not up to the usual Disney standard." A review in The Film Daily disagreed stating, "Right up to the standard of the Walt Disney shops [sic]" The following are two exhibitor's reviews from The Motion Picture Herald, "JUST DOGS: Silly Symphony—This is a fairly good cartoon comedy but still no better than some of the others. United Artists should produce better cartoons or cut the price of these cartoons. Here's hoping to get better cartoons in the future from United Artists. Running time 9 minutes. -J.J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, N.C. General Patronage." " JUST DOGS: Silly Symphony—Didn't think that this was any too good. - Mayme P. Musselman, Princess Theatre, Lincoln, Kansas, Small Town Patronage." Working titles for this movie were The Dog Pound and The Dog Symphony. 

Next comes the Van Buren cartoon, Toonerville Picnic (1936). This is the third and final Van Bueren cartoon based off of Fontaine Fox's classic comic strip Toonerville Folks. Before these cartoons the strip had been the basis for a series of silent live-action comedy shorts featuring Mickey Rooney. 

Now let us close with a song. 

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

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

https://lantern.mediahist.org/