Hello, my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection starts with the first Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Chuck Jones, Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939). Today many cartoon fans associate Chuck with being one of the main people who changed Daffy from his early high energy crazy self into a more vain, jealous and greedy character. This film however features Daffy in his early crazy high energy mode. A review in The Motion Picture Herald even stated, "The gags and situations are appropriately matched to the zany personality of the duck." Another review in The Motion Picture Daily stated, "Leon Schlesinger delivers good color cartoon work in this "Merrie Melody," but the striving for whimsy hits only in spots." The following is an exhibitors' review also from The Motion Picture Herald, "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur: Merrie Melodies—Very few laughs in this one. Not up to standard of most cartoons in this series. Running time seven minutes. - Don Bloxham, Place Theatre, Exira, Iowa, General and rural patronage."
Now we join our friend Honey Halfwitch in Throne for a Loss (1966). Honey starred in thirteen theatrical shorts from 1965 to 1967. This marks the eighth of these films and the second to be directed by Shamus Culhane.
Next is Mighty Mouse in The Racket Buster (1949). This short film is directed by Mannie Davis, who directed over 200 cartoons (mostly Terry Toons and Aesop's Fables cartoons). His career stretched from the 1920's through the early 1960's.
Now for Donald Duck in Spare the Rod (1954). This movie was released to theaters on January 15, 1954 and was the first Donald Duck short of that year. This cartoon made its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland TV show entitled, Donald's Weekend (1958).
Now it is time for a commercial break.
The Old Mill (1937) is far from your typical Silly Symphony cartoon. This short film has no storyline to speak of nor has it any gags. This is instead a mood film, that is much more concerned with creating a sense of atmosphere than telling a story. As such it stands as one of the most powerful and unique short films Disney ever made. The basic idea for this movie had been on the minds of the Disney filmmakers for quite a while. In 1931 an idea for a film called The Old Mill Stream had been proposed. This story was elaborated further in 1934, though at that time the story was planned to be more comedic. This film introduced Disney's famed multiplane camera. This camera would create a three-dimensional effect by moving various pieces of artwork past each other at varying speeds. This would of course play a major role in Disney's later feature length animated films. To help the animators and layout artists Ferdinand Horvath would create a large model of the mill. This cartoon won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and the studio received a special Oscar for the multiplane camera. More recently it received the 14th spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. It is interesting to note that such an unusual movie was the first Disney film that was distributed by RKO.
Now for a silent short film from French director Émile Cohl, The Puppet's Nightmare (1908). Émile Cohl is best known for having directed Fantasmagorie (1908), which has often been credited as being the earliest animated film.
Now for the Fleischer Screen Songs short, That Old Gang Of Mine (1931).
Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Maggie's Brain (1987). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the family got its own TV show.
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
The 50 Greatest Cartoons edited by Jerry Beck
Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
Donald Duck: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein
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