Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #284

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with the Terry Toons short, Paint Pot Symphony (1949). The three main characters here previously appeared in the Terry Toons cartoon, A Truckload of Trouble (1949)

Now for the Scrappy cartoon, Scrappy's Toy Shop (1934). About working at the Mintz Studio (which made this film) animator Dick Huemer stated, "There was no such thing as a director per se at the Mintz studio ... not like at the Disney studio, that is. When I came to the Disney foundry, I found a whole new setup prevailing. There, a director was a director - and nothing else. He (and I, when I later became one) had an assistant director even. And two layout men. And a private secretary. What luxury! And, oh yes, a director never touched pencil to animation paper. The stories were concocted by the story department, which never did anything else but that. How different at Mintz's. Me and [Sid] Marcus and [Art] Davis were all of the above - plus being the head animators. Each of us was our own director, once the storyline had been roughly agreed upon. Gags were added as we animated. Only thing we didn't do was paint the backgrounds. It never occurred to any of us to claim the title of Herr Director - at least not in my time there. The same went for Manny Gould and Ben Harrison on Krazy Kat." These short films are much less polished than what was being made at the Disney studio but the feeling of making it up as the filmmakers went along only added to the charm.  

Next is Herman and Katnip in Mice Capades (1952). This was the first cartoon of Herman and Katnip's own cartoon series. However, the two had appeared in the Noveltoons series before this. 

Next comes  one of the most atmospheric Mickey Mouse cartoons, The Mad Doctor (1933). Differing from earlier Mickey cartoons, this film is not a pure comedy. Rather this cartoon mixes in elements of horror and suspense. The horror elements were too present for some. Because it was deemed too scary, it was actually banned from some theatres and completely banned in the UK. Much of this sense of atmosphere comes from the wonderful background art by Mique Nelson. Nelson was a brilliant background artist, who worked on many of the best Silly Symphonies as well as such Disney features as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Pinocchio (1940). The director of this cartoon was Dave Hand. Dave Hand directed such classic Disney cartoons as Building a Building (1933), The Flying Mouse (1934), Who Killed Cock Robin (1935), Pluto's Judgement Day (1935), Mickey's Polo Team (1936), Thru the Mirror (1936), The Country Cousin (1936) and Magician Mickey (1937). He also served as the supervising director on two of the Disney studios most popular animated features, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi (1942). A working title for this film was The Mysterious Castle. This cartoon reached movie theaters on January 20, 1933. At the same time this film was in theaters, Mickey Mouse was having another adventure in a spooky castle. The Mickey Mouse daily newspaper comic strip was currently running a storyline entitled Blaggard Castle. Blaggard Castle is often considered by Disney fans to be one of the best storylines of the comic strip. This cartoon's spooky themed storyline revolves around a recent popularity of horror films. A couple years earlier Universal released Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). This caused a while slew of horror movies to hit theaters including Paramount's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Warner Brothers' Doctor X (1932), MGM's Freaks (1932) and many more as well as all the Universal monster films to follow. As such this Mickey Mouse cartoon was simply inspired by a trend of the time.  Shockingly this cartoon's copyright was never renewed and actually fell into the public domain. This film along with The Sprit of '43 (1943) and Minnie's Yoo Hoo (1930) is one of the very few Disney shorts (not including the Alice Comedies) to fall into public domain. Video game fans will be familiar with elements of this cartoon. The second level of the game Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse was based off this cartoon, and the Mad Doctor himself became a major character in both Epic Mickey games. The following is a review from Motion Picture Review (which was published by The Women's University Club of Los Angles), "Mickey is not to be outdone by the present rage for horror films - and goes to the rescue of his dog in the clutches of a 'mad doctor' in heroic and sensational fashion. It is perhaps too nightmarish for children; the fad for thrills goes to great lengths even in cartoons." 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

 Next we join Sylvester and Tweety in Tweet Zoo (1957). Director Friz Freleng once said about Tweety, "I made him look more like a charming baby, with a bigger head and big blue eyes. He's a canary because we say he's a canary … He doesn't look like a canary. We didn't have time to develop characters. When you see Yosemite Sam, you know he's a villain, when you see Tweety, the audience is sympathetic." 

Now for the Walter Lantz produced cartoon, Nellie, The Indian Chief's Daughter (1938). This is part of a brief running series of Nellie cartoons made by the Lantz studio. 

Now for the Terry Toons short, The Kitten Sitter (1947).

Let us close with a song. 

Thank you 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 Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein. 

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck.

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/terrytoons-paint-pot-symphony-1949-and-the-new-decade/

 

Movie Review: Disclosure Day

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Steven Speilberg fully in his element. ''

Spielberg returns to one of his most successful themes here, that of humans meeting extra-terrestrials. It may be hard to think of how in today's day and age, anyone (even Spielberg) could create something new or original out of such a premise but Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp (writer on the Spielberg films, Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)) do just that. Instead of focusing on the aliens themselves, this film is more concerned with the humans. In fact, we only see the aliens briefly here and mostly in "archival footage," rather than the present day. What this movie really looks into is how people would react if conclusive proof that aliens were rea suddenly came to light. With so many conspiracy theories of the government hiding information about aliens from us, this is a fascinating concept to truly explore. It raises truly great and thought-provoking questions as to how such information would affect our entire understanding of the world. I especially loved how this movie looked at whether or not people's belief in God would be challenged by such a discovery. Taking a look at human nature, this film avoids the pure pessimism that would overtake the movie in the hands of many filmmakers. Rather this is a movie that is willing to see both the good and bad in people. The movie also explores the idea of whether the truth should be told regardless of possible consequences, a question that has no easy answer.

Being directed by Spielberg this movie also of course features top-notch filmmaking throughout. The action scenes are truly wonderful here, full of the great excitement and fun that only the director of the Indiana Jones movies could bring us. The larger-than-life scenes of fantasy storytelling are also incredible here. They capture some of the same sense of joy, wonder and awe that we had when we first watched E.T. Even with some obvious and unconvincing CGI, these scenes feel like a return to the Spielberg that helped so many of us fall in love with movies. Of course, John Williams' (who has worked on most of the great director's masterpieces) musical score helps bring this sense of magic as well. 

The characters may not always be incredibly complex, but they do their jobs quite well. The main characters are not only likable, but they are also relatable to the point where we find ourselves very this sci-fi fantasy through their eyes, making it all the more real. Great performances by Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor help a great deal in this department.  

A must see for fans of classic Spielberg.      

Movie Trailer: Gatto

 

Movie Trailer: Heart of the Beast

 

Movie Trailer: Moana

 

Movie Review: Power Ballad

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A pretty good dramedy. 

In this movie, a former boy band member who is struggling to create a solo career (Nick Jonas) spends a night jamming with a wedding band singer (Paul Rudd). The wedding band singer sings a chorus of a song that he wrote himself. Months later, the former boyband singer records that song and doesn't give any songwriting credit to the wedding singer. When the song becomes a massive hit, it causes the wedding singer to go on a downward spiral. 

With a movie about songwriting, naturally the songs are very important to if the movie works. While the songs here may not be as incredible as they are sometimes treated, they are quite good. They are very nice and pleasant to listen to and while the lyrics may lack much depth, they aren't bad. I can picture How to Write a Song Without You becoming a hit song and people singing along to it. Though I actually admit I prefer the other songs the former boy band singer wrote himself (and which didn't become hits). However, I often find my favorite songs on albums to be the album tracks, so this probably says more about me. The songs themselves are co-written by Gary Clark and the film's director (and co-writer) John Carney. The duo had previously written songs for Carney's previous film, Sing Street (2016). Incidentally, Clark had been a member of the 1980's pop band, Danny Wilson, and Danny Wilson is the name of the boyband singer here. 

The movie does a great job of exploring the two main male characters. There is quite a bit of depth to them, and Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas give truly great performances. Though these characters often do the wrong thing, we relate to them and understand what makes them do it. This keeps a strong emotional connection to these characters throughout the film. 

Unfortunately, the other characters are very underdeveloped. We know pretty much nothing about the other members of the wedding band or the wedding band singer's wife and daughter. This becomes a major problem as the film goes on. It becomes clear that much of the heart of this movie is supposed to come from the love he has for his daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter receives little screen time and in the screen time she has we barely learn anything about her. Because of this, the emotion that is supposed to comes from the scenes revolving around this relationship often simply isn't felt by the audience.   

For a dramedy, this movie also is never that funny. Some of the humor made me smile or chuckle but I never once really laughed, while watching this. 

While I won't give anything away, the ending is fantastic, hitting all the right emotional notes. 

Movie Review: Scary Movie

 

Movie Review: B-

While it may not fully live up to the hilarity of the first Scary Movie (which is still a wonderful comedy), this is still a very enjoyable comedy.

With this sixth entry into this franchise (just one behind Scream, which the first movie was a parody of), the Wayans Brothers, who starred in and wrote the first two films, return here as both stars and writers. 

This film is just what you have come to expect from this franchise. There is simply one joke after another with no time to rest between them. These jokes are dumb, crude, violent and self-referential. With the sheer number of jokes from start to finish, it is only natural that not every joke hits. However more of them hit then don't. There are many moments here that made me laugh out loud. Some of the horror movie parodies are truly hilarious. The Weapons parody was especially hilarious. There is also some very funny slapstick humor here. All the scenes in the hospital are top notch slapstick. However, there are still gags that simply fall flat. Some of these gags go on for much too long. The church scene starts off kind of funny but loses steam as it goes on along. By the end, what started off as a funny scene simply stops being funny long before it ends. There are also times when this movie tries too hard to be politically incorrect or offensive. These gags are rarely funny and simply seem to be just there for shock value (the ICE gag is admittedly funny though, as is one "offensive" murder scene). Considering this franchise was always more concerned with making fun of horror movie tropes and being quite crude rather than actually being offensive, this feels especially unnecessary. 

The ending really didn't work for me here. It is not only not funny, but it seems simply like the Wayans Brothers venting, making it too bitter and mean spirited for this type of comedy. The storyline can also be a bit of mess (some scenes really make no sense in hindsight), but no one is watching this for the story, so that is a minor flaw. 

The first entry is still the best film in the franchise (I am also a fan of the second and third entries) but even if it can't fully live up to that movie, this is still a fun comedy.  

Movie Trailer: The Cat in the Hat

 

Movie Trailer: The Dog Stars

 

Movie Review: Backrooms

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

An eerie and atmospheric horror film. 

In this movie, a man discovers a series of backrooms behind a wall in his furniture store. 

For the first two-thirds or so of the movie, it plays like an old school horror movie. There is barely any blood or gore and though we get the feeling that something is watching our main character, we are not allowed to see what is actually watching him. Here we see horror filmmaking at its best. Rather than relying on cheap jump scares or gore, this film focuses on creating a sense of atmosphere and dread. Exploring some almost universal fears (confined spaces, being alone and what you can't see), this movie manages to be scarier than many horror films that tend to focus on jump scares or disturbing images. If you were to head home by yourself after this movie, you might just find yourself looking over your shoulder, every time you hear a noise. 

In the last act. this film completely changes into something more philosophical and cerebral. The tonal change doesn't completely work as it can feel very abrupt, almost like we entered into a completely different movie. This act starts by examining something that we heard the main character talk about very early on. To suddenly make this the focus after it had been seemingly suddenly dropped and moved on from makes the tonal change even more abrupt. Yet the themes discussed and brought up in this final act are very intelligent and thought provoking. Unlike many horror films, this will not only leave you with a sense of dread but also a lot of food for thought. And the more thought you give to this final act, the more intriguing and smarter it becomes. The ending will especially leave you with a lot on your mind. However, I must admit that this final act has some pacing problems and can feel longer than it needs to. There is also the fault that when we actually see the “monster,” it simply looks more silly than scary. 

While far from perfect, this is a legitimately scary and thought-provoking horror film.     

 

Movie Trailer: Ice Age: Boiling Point

 

Movie Trailer: Supergirl

 

Video Link: The Brutal Perfectionist Who Taught Peter Pan to Fly - West of Neverland

 

3 Essential Blu-ray Sets

 

If you are as into classic slapstick comedy as I am, here are three very recent Blu-ray sets that you simply must have. 

Laurel and Hardy Year Three: The Newly Restored 1929 Silents

I am definitely late to the party with recommending this Blu-ray set, yet I would be amiss if I didn't recommend this wonderful set. With this third set in this series all of the existing silent films of classic comedy team Laurel and Hardy are now available on Blu-ray. As the title suggests this set consists of every silent film (and some talkies) from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's third year as a team, 1929. These films look better than they ever had before and cinephiles who have seen them a million times will be amazed how good they look. Yet, this set has much more to offer than these films alone. The special features on this set are outstanding. The commentaries by Richard W. Bann and Randy Skerdvedt are so incredibly informative that you may want to take notes while watching them. Alternative versions of the films are another highlight. I loved watching the silent versions of Unaccustomed as We Are and Berthmarks (the team's first talkies). As some of you may know not all theaters were equipped for sound in 1929 and because of this, silent versions of were made of some talkies so they could play in silent movie theaters as well. Seeing these, especially for someone who has seen both Unaccustomed as We Are and Berthmarks as many times as I have, is a pure delight and historically fascinating. Also included is a dubbed version of the silent short Double Whoopee made by Chuck McCann for TV in the 1970's, a very informative booklet and a look at shooting locations. If you are a fan of silent comedy and don't own this yet buy it as soon as you can. 

Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 2

The greatest cartoons of all time are back with another Blu-ray (which came out this March). Like the previous volume, this set is broken up into two discs. The first is of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that haven't been on Blu-ray, DVD or VHS before. Some of these are such gems that it is hard to believe that they haven't gotten such a release before. The second disc is made up of cartoons that haven't been released on Blu-ray before but have been released on other forms of physical media. There are so many true classics here that help remind us just how brilliant the classic Warner Brothers cartoons could be. As someone who wants to own everything Looney Tunes on physical media this is a godsend. 

Looney Tunes Cartoons: The Complete Series 

Running from 2019 to 2024, this series of new Looney Tunes cartoons came out on the streaming service HBO Max. I didn't watch much of these cartoons when they came out, but with my desire to own everything Looney Tunes, I needed to get it when it came to physical media. Available in both Blu-ray and DVD, this is a very fun set. While these cartoons may not reach the full heights of the 1930's-1960's cartoons, they are quite enjoyable. I especially enjoy the return of the wild and crazy Bob Clampett-esque Daffy. While there may be too much of an overreliance on gross out gags and some cartoons may fall flat, the majority of cartoons are well timed, well animated, well voiced and understand the characters. If you are a Looney Tunes fan like I am, I definitely recommend this Blu-ray. 

Cowboy Church #270

  Hello my friends and welcome back to another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with a wonderful version of the classic hymn, How Great Thou Art. In the book, Happy Trails: Our Life Story, Roy tells of a story that had to do with this song. "I'll tell you about one time we nearly got into a real war with the promoters: at the World Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden in 1952. During the first rehearsal I started to practice 'How Great Thou Art,' a religious song I wanted to make the centerpiece of our musical act. There's a line in that song that goes, 'Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee...' Someone in the front office heard the rehearsal and came to me that night to tell me I wasn't allowed to mention Christ at the rodeo. 'It might work for the kids in Houston, Texas' he told me, 'But this is New York. You can't preach to kids here.' I told him I wasn't preaching but that the Savior was a part of the song and I fully intended to sing that song in New York or anywhere else we performed. They suggested that I could change the words of the song so it didn't mention Him. I'm not one for grandstand plays but I told those fellas that if I couldn't sing 'How Great thou Art' just how it was written, Dale and I would pack up and leave town. The song stayed in the show. That year we did forty-three performances over twenty-six days and broke all Madison Square Garden attendance records."

This is followed by Ralph Stanley with Old Ship Of Zion. This comes from his 2011 gospel album, Almost Home. 

Afterwards is Jim and Jessie with Who Did Jesus Did. This comes from their 1966 gospel album, Sing Unto Him a New Song. 

Next is Chris Tomlin and Thomas Rhett with God Who Listens. This comes from Chris Tomlin's 2020 album, Chris Tomlin and Friends. This album featured the Christian singer performing various songs with popular country singers. 

Then comes Emmylou Harris with Who Will Sing for Me. This comes from her 1987 acoustic gospel album, Angel Band.  

Afterwards is Blind Willie Johnson with his 1929 recording of Let Your Light Shine on Me. This is one of the earliest known recordings of this song (for which the songwriter is unknown), though country gospel singer Ernest Phipps recorded it earlier. Other artists to record this song include Leadbelly, Lonnie Donegan, Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band, The Seekers and Paul McCartney. Bob Dylan has played the song in concert, but it has never appeared on any of his albums. 

Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Power in the Blood. Though it may be simple doctrine that we have heard since Sunday school, I hope we never forget how much power there truly is in the blood of Jesus. No matter what temptations and struggles we may face in life, Jesus' blood spilled on Calvary's cross has overcome all of it. With man something may be impossible but with God all things are possible. 

Now for the 14th episode of The Lone Ranger TV show. 

Now for a message from Billy Graham.

Psalm 78

A maskil of Asaph.

1 My people, hear my teaching;

    listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a parable;

    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 things we have heard and known,

    things our ancestors have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their descendants;

    we will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,

    his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob

    and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

    to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,

    even the children yet to be born,

    and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God

    and would not forget his deeds

    but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their ancestors—

    a stubborn and rebellious generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,

    turned back on the day of battle;

10 they did not keep God’s covenant

    and refused to live by his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,

    the wonders he had shown them.

12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors

    in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

13 He divided the sea and led them through;

    he made the water stand up like a wall.

14 He guided them with the cloud by day

    and with light from the fire all night.

15 He split the rocks in the wilderness

    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag

    and made water flow down like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against him,

    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.

18 They willfully put God to the test

    by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God;

    they said, “Can God really

    spread a table in the wilderness?

20 True, he struck the rock,

    and water gushed out,

    streams flowed abundantly,

but can he also give us bread?

    Can he supply meat for his people?”

21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;

    his fire broke out against Jacob,

    and his wrath rose against Israel,

22 for they did not believe in God

    or trust in his deliverance.

23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above

    and opened the doors of the heavens;

24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,

    he gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Human beings ate the bread of angels;

    he sent them all the food they could eat.

26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens

    and by his power made the south wind blow.

27 He rained meat down on them like dust,

    birds like sand on the seashore.

28 He made them come down inside their camp,

    all around their tents.

29 They ate till they were gorged—

    he had given them what they craved.

30 But before they turned from what they craved,

    even while the food was still in their mouths,

31 God’s anger rose against them;

    he put to death the sturdiest among them,

    cutting down the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;

    in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

33 So he ended their days in futility

    and their years in terror.

34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;

    they eagerly turned to him again.

35 They remembered that God was their Rock,

    that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,

    lying to him with their tongues;

37 their hearts were not loyal to him,

    they were not faithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he was merciful;

    he forgave their iniquities

    and did not destroy them.

Time after time he restrained his anger

    and did not stir up his full wrath.

39 He remembered that they were but flesh,

    a passing breeze that does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

    and grieved him in the wasteland!

41 Again and again they put God to the test;

    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember his power—

    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

43 the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,

    his wonders in the region of Zoan.

44 He turned their river into blood;

    they could not drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,

    and frogs that devastated them.

46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

    their produce to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail

    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,

    their livestock to bolts of lightning.

49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,

    his wrath, indignation and hostility—

    a band of destroying angels.

50 He prepared a path for his anger;

    he did not spare them from death

    but gave them over to the plague.

51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,

    the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

52 But he brought his people out like a flock;

    he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;

    but the sea engulfed their enemies.

54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,

    to the hill country his right hand had taken.

55 He drove out nations before them

    and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;

    he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

56 But they put God to the test

    and rebelled against the Most High;

    they did not keep his statutes.

57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,

    as unreliable as a faulty bow.

58 They angered him with their high places;

    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

59 When God heard them, he was furious;

    he rejected Israel completely.

60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,

    the tent he had set up among humans.

61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity,

    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

62 He gave his people over to the sword;

    he was furious with his inheritance.

63 Fire consumed their young men,

    and their young women had no wedding songs;

64 their priests were put to the sword,

    and their widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

    as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.

66 He beat back his enemies;

    he put them to everlasting shame.

67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,

    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,

    Mount Zion, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,

    like the earth that he established forever.

70 He chose David his servant

    and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him

    to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,

    of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;

    with skillful hands he led them.

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #283

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Mighty Mouse in The Sky is Falling (1947). Directed by Mannie Davis, this cartoon is a take-off on the classic story of Chicken Little. 

Up next comes the Walter Lantz produced cartoon, Mouse Trapped (1959). This short film stars the two mice Hickory and Dickory as well as the cat Doc. Originally planned as a trio, Doc would have a longer career than his rodent co-stars. The trio would appear in only three theatrical cartoons (of which this is the second). However, Doc would go on to star in six cartoons without Hickory and Dickory. Three of those six cartoons would team him with a dog named Champ. 

Now we join our good friend Scrappy in Scrappy's Television (1934). It is fascinating to see this depiction of television, well before TV would becoming the household staple it would later become. 

Next comes Donald Duck in Donald's Gold Mine (1942). This short film made its theatrical debut on  July 24, 1942. It would make its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired on October 15, 1956. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next we join Sylvester and Tweety in The Jet Cage (1962). Though this film gives Milt Franklin credit for the music, much of the music was done by William Lava. This is because Milt Franklin died of a heart attack before finishing the musical score and had to be replaced by William Lava. About the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, director Friz Freleng stated, "Tweety doesn't do anything. He can't even put a hat on because his arms are too short. And he's got such a bug head. The comedy comes out of Sylvester and his determination, his stubbornness to get the bird no matter what happens to him. Still everybody says 'Oh I love that Tweety.' Audiences are funny. They never love the characters that really get the laughs."

Now for The New 3 Stooges cartoon, Three Jacks and a Beanstalk (1965). The Stooges voice themselves in this TV cartoon. 

Now for one of the rare instances of very dark satire in one of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, Who Killed Cock Robbin? (1935). This film shows cartoon birds at the mercy of an unjust legal system. Satire, dark humor, celebrity caricatures and slapstick abound. The most significant of the celebrity caricatures is Jenny Wren, a caricature of Mae West. Most of her animation here is handled fantastically by Ham Luske and her voice comes from Martha Wentworth who does a really good impression. This character would later appear in the Silly Symphony Toby Tortoise Returns (1936). Two of Walt's future Nine Old Men animate on this film, Eric Larson and Clyde Geronimi. Eric animates the scene where Cock Robbin falls and the cops rushing in. Clyde animates the scenes involving the blackbirds and the cops, Legs Sparrow with the cops and then going into the witness box, and the cops' raiding the area. For the year of 1935 the National Board of Review named this as one of the Ten Best American Films (not just cartoons but films as a whole). According to JB Kaufman and Russell Merrit's excellent book, Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series, the idea for making this film had been around the Disney studio as early as October 1933 but work truly began in March 1934. Wilfred Jackson was originally going to be the cartoon's director, but he was replaced with Ben Sharpsteen, who was replaced with Dave Hand, who actually directed the cartoon. Dave Hand would later be the supervising director for the Disney feature films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942). My fellow Alfred Hitchcock fans will recognize that a clip from this cartoon was later used in Hitch's classic movie, Sabotage (1936). The following is a review from The Film Daily, "Ye olde master, Walt Disney, has produced another cartoon which makes a swell approach to the entertainment values he provided in 'Three Little Pigs.' It's class A stuff, effectively done in color. A mysterious shadowy figure 'kills' the fabled Cock Robbin, who, by the by, is the sweetie of a May Western type of bird. Then come the Keystonian cops, also birds, and later the trial. Finally, a birdy version of Dan Cupid admits to having shot Robin, but May brings him to with a Big Kiss. Catchy music helps enliven the proceedings." The following is from a 1935 issue of Modern Screen Magazine and was a letter sent in by a reader. "A short time ago I took my five-year-old son with me to a local theatre. When a colored cartoon was shown, he was immensely pleased, as were several other children near us. The cartoon was 'Who Killed Cock Robin?' I may be wrong but I'm under the impression that those pictures are primarily to amuse children. If that is true than it failed. I heard several half-grown boys snickering as 'Jenny Wren' a parody of Mae West, with a high bust, wiggling hips and a sexy voice, flirted with the judge and later indulged in a kiss with Cock Robin. The smaller children merely looked puzzled and disappointed with the whole thing. Please have more cartoons like 'The Three Little Pigs,' 'Water Babies,' etc., unless of course, I'm wrong and those comedies are for grown-ups and not for little children. - Mrs. E. DeLamater, Charleston, S.C."   

Now to 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

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck

Donald Duck: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

 

Video Link: The Day Donald Duck Took Mickey’s Crown - West of Neverland

 

Movie Review: Tuner

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher's first fictional film is a wonderful thriller. 

In this movie, a piano tuner (Leo Woodall) with a hearing condition that makes him hear noises extra loud, discovers that this condition gives him a gift for opening safes. When a group of safe robbers discover his ability, they offer him a chance to make more money opening safes for them. At first, he isn't interested. However, when he needs the money to help his hospitalized friend (Dustin Hoffman), he feels he has no choice but to help them. 

This is a masterfully made thriller. The story starts off as a slice of life tale about piano tuners. Yet even these early scenes are very engaging due to strong characterizations, smart dialogue and some funny humor. The story slowly becomes more dramatic and tense. This build up makes it so that each suspense scene builds upon the last and becomes incredibly tense towards the end. It also makes it so that when each suspense scene comes, we are fully engrossed in the story making the tension all the more effective. 

One element that very much surprised me here was how strong the romance was. Often times the romantic scenes feel shoehorned into a movie like this. Luckily that is not the case here. The romance is actually kind of sweet and leads to some of the film's most emotionally effective scenes. 

This is not only a well-written film, but the technical filmmaking is also fantastic. For a movie that revolves around sound, the filmmakers know exactly how to use this for their advantage. There are many times that we are allowed to hear things the same way our main character does with certain sounds muffled or amplified at the right times. This puts us in the main character's shoes and has us experiencing everything with him. This use of sound is also perfectly to help create the suspense. One scene involves our main character opening a safe in a very noisy environment. Without this use of amplified and muffled sounds, this very tense scene would lose what makes it so effective. The movie also has one of the greatest uses of crosscutting I have seen in a current movie in quite a while. One scene cuts back and forth between a character playing piano and a tense situation for our main character. The timing of when these cuts as well as the emotional connection between what is happening in both places makes this a perfect example of suspense filmmaking. It also helps that the piano music we are hearing perfectly matches the emotions we should be feeling as an audience. 

While I won't give away the ending here, I will say it is perfect. It may not wrap up everything neatly, but it ends the film on its most emotionally powerful moment. This leaves you feeling the full weight of the movie's impact right when the end credits start to roll. Afterall the main goal of any work of cinema (from popcorn movies to arthouse cinema) is emotion and this is the main takeaway anyone should have from a movie.

A must watch.  

 

 

Movie Review: Masters of the Universe

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A really fun popcorn movie. 

This film knows exactly what it wants to be it doesn't pretend to be anything more than just a fun trip to the movies. With this the film provides exactly what audiences want to see. It is simply a lot of fun. The filmmakers know just how seriously to take the story. They know that He-Man lore can be quite goofy and have no problem joking about this (the origin of some of the characters' names is a brilliant piece of meta-humor), yet they never make the story so much of a joke that it has no emotional attachment. Much of the emotional connection comes from our main character Prince Adam. As a fish out of water in both the fantasy world of Eternia and on our world of Earth, we completely root for him. He is a perfect example of the type of movie underdog that audiences can't help but root for. When he succeeds, we want to cheer for him. When he fails, we want to see him stand back up again. With the audience already on its side, the action scenes are remarkably fun. They have a larger than life feel and are visual treats. The use of rock music on the soundtrack works perfectly here. I especially love the use of Queen's Princes of the Universe during the climatic action sequence (Queen's Brain May provides some guitar riffs for the score). The movie also works because of how great its worldbuilding is. From the prologue alone, you get a great feel for how this world works before the story even gets fully underway. Even if you have never seen anything He-Man related before, as you watch this movie you will find yourself completely immersed in this fantasy world. 

The humor can be a bit hit and miss here. Some of the jokes are laugh out loud funny, while others fall completely flat.  

This movie does suffer from some poor pacing with some sequences lasting longer than need be, while others feel rushed. The film also suffers from a fault of many movies based off a TV series. That is that there are too many characters and some feel like they are squeezed in without really adding much of anything. 

This will be a pure delight for He-Man fans and still fun for those who never have seen He-Man before.