Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #241

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

Though many of us today associate Looney Tunes with characters like Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, the first staring Looney Tune character was Bosko, a little boy who shared much in common with Mickey Mouse. This character was created by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, who were former Disney animators and later major directors for MGM's cartoon output. When they left in 1933, they would take the rights of this character with them, which led Warner Brothers to have to create new characters. Today's cartoon selection begins with very first Looney Tunes cartoon ever, Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930). The credited animator of this film is Friz Freleng (credited as Isadore Freleng), who would later become one of series' main directors as well as the creator of Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester and (not for Looney Tunes) Pink Panther.  

Up next is the Fleischer Screen Song cartoon, You Came to My Rescue (1937). The title song was written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger for the feature length movie, The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), which had an all-star cast including Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Ray Milland, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Leopold Stokowski. Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger also wrote Bob Hope's signature song, Thanks for the Memory, which was introduced in the feature film, The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938).

Now for the classic Terry Toons short, The Elephant Mouse (1951). In this cartoon a cat mistakes a baby elephant for a big mouse, similar to the way Slyvester would mistake a baby kangaroo for a big mouse. 

When Gene Dietch took over the Terry Toons studio in 1956, the studio's output changed drastically. One cartoon that really shows this is The Bone Ranger (1957). The idea of a dog chasing after a bone was one that could have easily been done by the old studio; however, they would have done it completely differently. They would have made a simple slapstick gag fest. However, this cartoon seems more concerned with the character and the animation of the lead character, than really making one laugh. The slapstick impact of even tried and true gags appears muted here and never calls attention to itself. There is even a surprising bit of sentimentality in this film. The background art is also completely different from anything the old Terry Toons would have done. Those cartoons would have used a standard cartoon background that would hardly call attention to itself. However, this film has a very stylized and very eye-catching background that plays a large role in the effectiveness of this cartoon. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now it is silent movie time with Koko Hops Off (1927). 

Next, we join Pluto in Wonder Dog (1950). This short film would not make its TV debut until episode of 60 of the 1981 show, Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald. The other cartoons in this episode were Lonesome Ghosts (1937) and Donald's Lucky Day (1939). The cartoon also aired on the Disney TV special From Disney, with Love (1984), which aired on Valentines Day and featured multiple romantic themed cartoons as well as clips from Disney features. 

Casper the Friendly Ghost was created by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo. The character was created with the intention of staring him in a 1939 children's book. However there was little interest in this idea. During World War 2, Oriolo sold the rights to the book to Famous Studios, the animation studio which was making the Popeye cartoons at this time. The studio originally viewed this as a one shot cartoon, but Sam Buchwald liked the idea and by 1950, Casper cartoons would officially become a series. Animator Myron Waldman worked on the majority of the Casper films would later state, "The boys at the studio used to kid me when we were doing the Caspers; they'd call them the 'ooh-ahh' pictures, but I always felt those pictures would last much longer than a picture that was just based on gags, because nobody can remember the gags. When they go to see it again, or talk about it, I think they like a story - kids especially."  Up next is the first Casper cartoon and one that was also an adaption of the book. So, enjoy The Friendly Ghost (1945). 

Next is The Simpsons in Maggie in Peril (Chapter One) (1989). This short was made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own TV series. Be sure to toon in next week to see what happens next. I know you will be in suspense. 

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 American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Wonder_Dog