Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #278

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in To Duck or Not To Duck (1943). This cartoon is directed by Chuck Jones. At this time many of Chuck's cartoons had been slower paced and less comedy oriented, than the other Looney Tunes directors' films. While this cartoon is nowhere near as fast paced as Chuck's later films, it definitely moves faster and has more comedy compared to what he did in the past. Elmer's dog Larimore gets some of the best laughs in the film. It is also worth noting that Daffy had not become a born loser at this time yet. We will not see Elmer shooting Daffy's bill off in this cartoon. 

Now for the Max Fleischer Color Classic, Little Dutch Mill (1934). This short film features some of those incredible 3D backgrounds that appeared in Fleischer films at this time. These were created using actual miniature model sets for which animation cels were often placed in front of. The effect is still visually amazing today. This cartoon is especially a real visual treat.  

Now it is time for a silent classic, Felix Gets Broadcasted (1923). While visually this film may feel like a moving comic strip, the story and gags are very fun and creative. 

Next is Never Should Have Told You (1937), one of the Fleischer Screen songs cartoons. This film features the character Wiffle Piffle, who appeared in a few Betty Boop cartoons as well. The title song was written by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, who also wrote The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, which is best known as the theme music for the Looney Tunes series. My country music loving friends might like to know that Cliff Friend co-wrote (with Irving Mills) Lovesick Blues, which would become one of Hank Williams Sr.'s signature songs. 

Now it is time for a commercial break.

Next comes a unique Mickey Mouse short, Minnie's Yoo-Hoo (1930). The title song was written by Carl Stalling (who would later become the main composer for the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons) for an earlier Mickey cartoon entitled Mickey's Follies (1929). This was the first original song from the Disney studio, and it would become the theme song for the series with an instrumental version beginning every Mickey cartoon. In 1929, the same year as Mickey's Follies was released, the song would receive sheet music. Singer Len Maurice would record the song in 1930. This short presents a sing-along version of the song. The version heard here includes a second verse, that was not heard in Mickey's Follies but did appear on the song sheet that was published later the same year that it first appeared inn that cartoon. This short was made for The Mickey Mouse Clubs that appeared around the country. These were created by theatre owners and were gatherings of movie loving kids who were fans of Mickey Mouse. Walt loved this idea and while he did not start it he did all he could to expand it across the country. He also made this short so that club members could sing along during their meetings. There is very little new animation here. There is reuse of animation of Mickey and friends performing the song at the beginning that comes from Mickey's Follies. The animation of the curtain opening and closing was lifted from Fiddling Around (1930). The only original animation for this film is Mickey's address to the audience and the whole group of animals doing the "Yoo-Hoo" at the end. 

You can listen to Len Maurice's version of the song below. 

Now for the Mighty Mouse cartoon, Anti-Cats (1950). 

Next is classic World War 2 themed Merrie Melodies cartoon, The Fifth-Column Mouse (1943). This film differs from most of the World War Two propaganda cartoons of this era as there is no sign of Nazis, Hitler or Japanese soldiers. The cartoon is more of an allegory, albeit not a subtle one. While the political overtones may go over a modern kid's head (if the child is not familiar with World War 2 history) there is no doubt that movie audiences knew exactly what this cartoon was referring to upon its release. The music in this film is delightful, and I especially love the rendition of Blues in the Night.

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

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

 Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-other-disney-cartoons-minnies-yoo-hoo/

https://www.fleischerstudios.com/ray3.html

 

 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #257

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with a Christmas classic, Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952). Like many of the post-1930's Mickey Mouse short films, Mickey is not really the star of this cartoon. Instead, the movie centers around Pluto and Chip and Dale. Though Chip and Dale are mostly recognized for fighting with Donald Duck, they did make their film debut as antagonists for Pluto in Private Pluto (1943). This movie features a great cast of animators including, George Kreisl, Fred Moore, Bill Justice, Volus Jones, Blaine Gibson and Dan MacManus. Dan MacManus animates the opening scene of the cartoon. Fred Moore is recognized as one of the greatest Mickey animators of all time and he gets to show that off here as he animates Mickey chopping down the tree, Mickey decorating the tree, Mickey with the Christmas gifts, Mickey's reactions to Pluto's antics, Mickey holding the chipmunks and him and Pluto looking out the window. Bill Justice and Volus Jones animate much of the Chipmunks. Justice also animates the cameo of Minnie, Donald and Goofy at the end. George Kreisl animates much of Pluto's antics. Blaine Gibson animates very little in this movie with the tree lights going off and on. This cartoon was directed by Jack Hannah, who directed the majority of the Chip and Dale shorts. 

Now for our good friend Mighty Mouse in When Mousehood was in Flower (1953). In this short film, Mighty Mouse helps a pretty young mouse when an evil cat tries to get her to marry him. As one can tell from the title, this familiar story takes place back in the days of knights and castles. Like many Mighty Mouse cartoons of this era, this short is presented in an operetta style. To me this style suited these period pictures, even better than the modern-day ones. This cartoon was directed by Connie Rasinski.

Next comes the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, House Cleaning Time (1929). 

Santa's Surprise (1947) is an especially delightful Christmas cartoon from Famous Studios. This cartoon is best remembered as the first cartoon to feature the character of Little Audrey. Little Audrey was an original character for the studio and also a replacement for Little Lulu, who the studio had made a series of cartoons within the past. Little Lulu was not created by the studio but was the star of a comic strip by Marjorie Henderson Buell. When Paramount decided not to renew the license for Famous Studios to use that character, Little Audrey was created. The character was designed by veteran Disney animator Bill Tytla (possibly my favorite Disney animator), who was now a director at Famous. This short's lead animator was Myron Waldman, who specialized in cute animation (often shining his best in the studio's Casper series). Myron would later remember this cartoon as one he was especially happy with.

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now we join Heckle and Jeckle in The Lion Hunt (1949). This short film was directed by Eddie Donnelly. Producer Paul Terry said about Eddie Donnely, "Eddie Donnelly was a very hard worker. I remember we used to wash the cels and use them over again in [the 1930's], and Ed even used to that at night so he could make a little extra money. [He Started] at Fables, and he got to be a very good director. He was on par with Connie Rasinski, and Connie was the best." 

Next is Mickey Mouse in Mickey’s Christmas Crisis (2000). This cartoon would later be used on the House of Mouse episode, Clarabelle's Christmas List (2002). 

It is now silent movie time with Felix Lends a Hand (1922). 

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

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

https://afilmla.blogspot.com/

 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #256

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with a classic Disney short, Old MacDonald Duck (1941). This cartoon was directed by Jack King, a fine director who directed many delightful Donald Duck cartoons at this time. As expected of a Disney cartoon from this era, this short film boasts some very fine character animation that fully shows, how much great talent was at the Disney studio during this time period. A brief scene from this short was used in the Disney feature film, The Reluctant Dragon (1941) when a live action Robert Benchley is getting a look at how cartoons are made. This cartoon would make its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that would air on October 1, 1957. The following is an exhibitor's review from Motion Picture Herald. "OLD MacDONALD DUCK: Walt Disney cartoons - It doesn't take a good reel to have the audience applaud Disney. The mere title of "Don Duck" - and heaven help the stoic. The usual dilemmas - the repetitious finale. Sir Duck is prostrated by a beastly insect, the paying audience is prostrated with the much needed delight. Running time, 8 minutes. - Gene Rothgeb, Haven Theatre, New Haven, Ind. General Patronage." 

Next comes the Terry Toons short, Felix the Fox (1948). This short film benefits from one of the best Groucho Marx impressions I have heard in a cartoon as well as a very effective twist ending. 

Now for the Van Beuren cartoon, A Cat-Fish Romance (1932).

Now we join Porky Pig in Porky's Phoney Express (1938). This cartoon was directed by Cal Dalton and Cal Howard, both of whom received their first director's credit with this film. A review in The Motion Picture Daily stated, "Here is another Porky cartoon replete with the usual clever animation and serio-comic effects that make it an easy item to sell to a wide audience." A review in the Motion Picture Herald referred to the movie as "An amusing and clever cartoon takeoff on the hard riding heroics of 'Wells Fargo.'" 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for Felix the Cat in Felix Monkeys with Magic (1924). 

Now for the Mickey Mouse Works short, Pinball Mickey (2002). This short was used in the House of Mouse episode, Pete's One-Man Show (2002). This is just a really charming and fun cartoon and one of my favorite Mickey Mouse Works shorts. 

Next is Little Roquefort in Cat Happy (1950). This marked the first appearance of the character. Here the character is voiced by Dayton Allen, and this was the only time Allen voiced the character. In fact, in many of his future cartoons, Little Roquefort would be a pantomime character. In the future cartoons where Little Roquefort would have a voice, he would be voiced by Tom Morrison. The storyline of this film is very similar to that of the Tom and Jerry short, Part Time Pal (1947). 

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. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used


Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin.

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #255

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Felix the Cat in Bold King Cole (1936). The Van Beuren cartoon studio never enjoyed the success of Disney, Warner Brothers, Walter Lantz or the Fleischer Brothers. One of the main reasons for this was that they lacked strong starring characters that would stay in the minds of movie goers. To try to get some of the success other cartoon studios had, studio boss Amadee J. Van Bueren in 1934 decided to hire Burt Gillett away from Disney and have Gillett supervise all the studio's output. Gillett had been the director of Disney's The Three Little Pigs (1933), the most popular cartoon of the era. Gillett clashed with many of the old hand, who felt a certain amount of resentment towards him. In 1936 Gillett decided to purchase the rights to two popular properties in order to give the studio stronger starring characters (something they were still lacking). One of these was Fontaine Fox's comic strip Toonerville Trolly and the other was Felix the Cat, who had been a major animated cartoon star during the silent era. Three new cartoons were made with Felix, of which I feel Bold King Cole is the strongest. This film has a wonderful sense of atmosphere and a delightfully clever story. However, purchasing these properties all proved to be for naught. The Disney studio left their previous distributor United Artists and found a new distributor in RKO. Unfortunately for Van Beuren RKO was also the distributor of the Van Beuren cartoons. With the Disney cartoons RKO had no further use for the Van Beuren ones and this would mark the end of the Van Beuren studio. 

Next comes the Terry Toons short, Pick-necking (1933). 

Now for the Mickey Mouse Works cartoon, Mickey's Mix-Up (2000). This cartoon would later air as part of the House of Mouse episode, The Mouse Who Came to Dinner (2001). The short really benefits from a very strong ending gag.

Next is the Terry Toons short, Swooning the Swooners (1945). This film was written by John Foster. As well as writing plenty of Terry Toons cartoons, Foster also directed plenty of them. Studio head 
Paul Terry would sate about John Foster, "John Foster was the best, the most brilliant. They say if you can take a little out of this and a little out of that it's called research. But if you take a big bite out of one thing, that's plagiarism and you're a thief. So, we used to have a saying, John Foster and I, 'Never steal more than you can carry.'"  Director Connie Rasinski began working on Terry Toons shorts in the 1930's and would continue to do so through the 1960's. About Rasinski Terry stated, "He came to work when it was Terry, Moser and Coffman. An old friend of mine named Litchfeild, who was a painter, passed away, and his wife sent this kid over to get a job, and I gave him a job. And that's Connie. Connie, who came to work for me as a kid, developed rapidly and he was with me for practically all his life. He was fat and everything he drew was chubby and round and well fed."

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for an old Stop Motion short that is not creepy at all, Dolly Daisy in Hearts and Flowers (1930). Also, the poor kid who just gets run over by two cars. There are no words that can describe just what you are about to watch here. 

Next comes Porky Pig in Porky's Prize Pony (1941). In this cartoon, Porky sings We're in The Money with modified lyrics. This song was written by Al Dublin and Harry Warren for the movie, Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). Since that was a Warner Brothers movie, this song appears in many classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. 

Now for the Walter Lantz produced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon, Kings Up (1934). One of the animators on this film is future legendary cartoon director, Tex Avery (credited as Fred Avery). Tex Avery later remembered how he came to work at Walter Lantz studio and found himself as an animator. "I met a fella who knew a girl who was head of the inking and painting at Walter Lantz's, so I inked and painted for a while. . .. Then I worked up into inbetweens, then about that time Disney raided the whole West Coast for talent. And the three quarters of us who were left knew nothing of animation. We had just been inbetweening." Taking this into account, despite the flaws, it is impressive how much of the animation actually works. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in The Art Museum (1988). This is one of the short Simpsons cartoons for The Tracey Ullman Show, before the cartoon family got their 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

Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin.

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Mickey%27s_Mix-Up

 

   

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #254

 Hello, my friends and welcome back for a spooky edition of Saturday Morning Cartoons. 

Today's spooky cartoon selection begins with The Haunted House (1929). Despite its spooky setting, this film was released closer to Christmas, premiering in movie theaters on December 2, 1929. Still the spooky setting is very effective, and this sense of atmosphere makes it one of my favorite early Mickeys. Though legendary animator and pioneering Disney director, Ub Iwerks had by this time mostly been dedicating himself to the Silly Symphony shorts rather than the Mickey Mouse, you can see some of his work here. However, this is in reused footage from the famous first Silly Symphony, The Skelton Dance (1929), which was released earlier the same year. This film did run into trouble with the state censors though not for any of the creepy parts. Instead, they objected to gags involving a chamber pot and an outhouse.

Now for the Pink Panther in Pink Plasma (1975). This short was directed by Art Leonardi, who had been an animator for Friz Freleng's unit at Warner Brothers (Friz of course was one of the producers of the Pink Panther cartoons). He would later become a director for the TV series, Tiny Toons Adventures. The writer for this cartoon was one of Friz's favorite writers John Dunn.

Next comes a classic Norman McCabe directed Daffy Duck cartoon. Though he only directed three Daffy cartoons, Norman McCabe more than proved himself as a perfect match for this character. Though his Daffy was still wild and crazy, Norman's cartoons gave him a more fully formed personality than previous directors did. Besides just the personality these films were extremely high energy cartoons that were extremely fun. Norman McCabe would continue working with the Looney Tunes characters well past the golden age of Looney Tunes, as he would be a timing director for the TV shows, Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1991), Taz-Mania (1991-1995) and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1995-1996). So, enjoy Impatient Patient (1942). 

Now comes the Terry Toons cartoon, Pandora (1934). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for Felix the Cat in Skulls and Sculls (1930). 

Now for something completely different here is a completely serious cartoon short of the 1950's, The Tell-Tale Heart (1953). This film is not surprisingly from the UPA studio. The UPA studio at this time sought to move away from the violent slapstick of Warner Brothers or MGM cartoons, or the more realistic "illusion of life" featured in many Disney cartoons. They often experimented with what could be done with the color and design in animated films. These films often experimented with flat backgrounds, purposely limited animation and abstract color schemes that reflect the emotion of a scene rather than what something would really look like. As is true of all cartoon studios that do a lot of experimenting, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Tell-Tale Heart is one of the most successful and one of the most extreme experiments. Most American audiences at this time had never seen an animated short quite like this and many would never see something like this again. When a 1954 article in Home Movies talking about the Cannes Film Festival got to Disney's Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953) winning a prize, the writer had this to say, "It is unpardonable however that Disney should so openly and fully steal the style of the cartoon developed by the most excellent groups of artists, Steven Bosustow's UPA. It was no secret this was the case among those as the festival as UPA is well known and well respected in France. It is a shame that UPA recent and excellent 3D cartoon, The Tell-Tale Heart could not be shown at the festival, for it most certainly won the prize awarded to Disney." This cartoon is placed at 24 in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. 

Next comes Woody Woodpecker in Spook-a-Nanny (1964). This is the only original cartoon made for TV's Woody Woodpecker Show. For the most part the cartoons on this show consisted of the theatrical short films from the Walter Lantz studio. However, this cartoon has become a Halloween tradition for many cartoon fans (including me). The title song is ridiculously catchy. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment, The Raven (1990). This cartoon comes from the first of The Simpsons' many Halloween specials. The first Treehouse of Horror was released during season two and with the show in its 37th season, it has continued to do one of these Halloween specials every season since. This still ranks as one of my favorite Treehouse of Horror segments. 

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 the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin


Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein 

The 50 Greatest Cartoons edited by Jerry Beck

  

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #251

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

The Skelton Dance (1929) was the first of Disney's Silly Symphonies and one of the best. The idea for the series came from musical director Carl Stalling (who would later work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies). The Silly Symphonies were designed to revolve around music. Walt Disney loved the idea and felt that a second series would allow him to experiment more and not be tied down by the formula of a Mickey Mouse cartoon. The idea for the first film also is believed to have come from Stalling. Stalling would tell historian Michael Barrier about the genesis of the movie stating, "He thought I meant illustrated songs, but I didn’t have that in mind at all. The Skeleton Dance goes way back to my kid days. When I was eight or ten years old, I saw an ad in The American Boy magazine of a dancing skeleton, and I got my dad to give me a quarter so I could send for it. It turned out to be a pasteboard cut-out of a loose-jointed skeleton, slung over a six-foot cord under the arm pits. It would ‘dance’ when kids pulled and jerked at each end of the string. Ever since I was a kid, I had wanted to see real skeletons dancing and had always enjoyed seeing skeleton dancing acts in vaudeville.” Though Carl Stalling would use an excerpt from Edvard Grieg’s March of the Dwarfs, most of the music was an original by Stalling. The animation for the movie was completed in six weeks. The majority of the animation was done by Ub Iwerks, the Disney studio's main animator at the time. He animated some of the earliest Mickey films entirety by himself. On this film he was assisted by Wilfred Jackson and Les Clark. It is not known for sure what Les Clark animated as some sources state he animated the opening scene and others (including his own) state he animated one skeleton playing another's ribs as a xylophone. Wilfred Jackson most likely animated the scene where the rooster crowing (which was reused in The Cat's Nightmare (1931)). When Walt tried to sell this film, it did not go as smoothly as he excepted. Walt's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, would later speak about this, “Father wasn’t easily discouraged. He took The Skeleton Dance to a friend who ran the United Artists Theater in Los Angeles and asked him to look at it. ‘We’re looking at some other things this morning,’ the man said, ‘and I’ll have my assistant look at it. You go with him’. Father sat beside the assistant while the film was run. It was just before the first morning show; a few customers had drifted in and it was obvious they liked The Skeleton Dance but the assistant didn’t listen to them. ‘Can’t recommend it,’ he said. ‘Too gruesome’. Father got a hold of another friend and asked him if he could put him in touch with Fred Miller who managed the Carthay Circle, one of the biggest and most important theaters in town. Father’s friend sent him to a salesman on Film Row. ‘Maybe he can get him to look at your skeleton film’. Father found the salesman in a pool hall shooting a little Kelly (a game played on a standard pool table with sixteen pool balls where each player draws one of fifteen numbered markers called peas or pills at random from a shake bottle which assigns to them the correspondingly numbered pool ball, kept secret from their opponents, but which they must pocket in order to win the game). ‘Leave your picture here, Disney,’ the Kelly player said. ‘I’ll look at it. If I like it, I’ll get in touch with you’. It sounded like a stall but he actually did look at the film. When he looked he said, ‘I think Fred will like this. I’ll take it over to him myself’. As a result, Miller showed The Skeleton Dance with a feature picture he was running. It went over big. Father clipped the local press notices and mailed them to Powers with a note: ‘If you can get this to Roxy (the nickname of Broadway showman Samuel L. Rothafel who ran New York’s prestigious Roxy Theater), he’ll go for it the way Miller did. Powers got a print to Roxy and Roxy liked it. He ran it in his huge New York theater.” This movie premiered at the Carthay Circle on June 10, 1929 alongside F.W. Murnau's feature film, 4 Devils (1929). The Carthay Circle is where later Disney features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940) would make their Hollywood premiers. 

Up next is the Fleischer Brothers Screen Songs cartoon, You Try Somebody Else (1932). This short film features an early appearance by Betty Boop. This song was written in 1931 by B.G. De Silva and Lew Brown and has lyrics by Ray Henderson. The song had been recorded by the likes of Kate Smith, Rudy Vallee, Ted Black, Guy Lombardo and Connie Boswell. The trio of songwriters also wrote The Best Things in Life Are Free. 

Now for the Terry Toons cartoon, Beaver Trouble (1951).

Now for the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, The Mill Pond (1929). This short film features our good friend Farmer Alfalfa. The animation and use of sound may feel crude compared to what Disney was doing at this time, but the cartoon has a kind of unpolished charm because of this. I also love how even if this is a sound cartoon, words for the sound effects as well as the characters giggling appears on the screen like this is still a silent cartoon. Musical notes even come out of the musical instruments. 



 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes the Coyote and Roadrunner in Coyote Falls (2010). This short film played in theaters with the feature film, Cats and Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010). In theaters, this film played in 3-D, making it the first Warner Brothers cartoon in 3-D since Lumber Jack Rabbit (1953). This is the first of 6 theatrically released Looney Tunes cartoons directed by Matthew O'Callaghan. Matthew O'Callaghan also directed the feature films, Curious George (2006) and Open Season 2 (2008) as well as the Disney TV special Sport Goofy in Soccermania (1987). He also created the animated TV series The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Next comes Felix the Cat in Pedigreedy (1927). 

Next is a late Fleischer Studios Popeye short, I'll Never Crow Again (1941). The year after the release of this cartoon Max and Dave Fleischer would find themselves no longer making cartoons for Paramount and many of their employees continuing to make Popeye and Superman shorts for Paramount without them. Many critics of the Popeye series claim that all the cartoons simply feature Popeye and Bluto fighting over Olive. However, this short does not follow this formula in the slightest. The song that Popeye and Olive sing at the beginning of this cartoon is from the first of Fleischer Studio's two feature films, Gulliver's Travels (1939). A review in The Motion Picture Daily called this cartoon, "Good for a few laughs." A review in Showman's Trade Review stated, "While this is not the usual type of Popeye cartoon, the novelty is not sufficient enough to raise it out of the 'fair' class." The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "I'LL NEVER CROW AGAIN: Popeye the Sailor— Popeye Cartoons are always enjoyed, but this was not as good as average. Running time, 7 minutes. —J. M. Thomsen, Center Theatre, Marlette, Mich. Rural patronage."

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in The Closet (1988). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own TV series.

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-spooky-story-of-the-skeleton-dance/

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier

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

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #245

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Dragon Around (1954), a Disney short that pits Donald Duck against Chip and Dale. This short film made its TV debut on an episode of The Mouse Factory entitled Man at Work (1972). 

Next is Sylvester and Tweety in Catty Cornered (1953). In this cartoon Tweety is kidnapped by gangster Rocky. Rocky was a character who was only used by director Friz Freleng. He had earlier been the villain in the Daffy Duck cartoon, Golden Yeggs (1950). Most cartoon fans associate Rocky with his dumb partner in crime Mugsy. However, this cartoon was made before the character was created. Mugsy first appeared in Bugs and Thugs (1954). This short would later be edited into the feature-length compilation film, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981). 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." 

Up next is the Fleischer Screen Song cartoon, Alexander's Ragtime Band (1931). The title song was written in 1911 by the great Irving Berlin and was first recorded the same year by Collins & Harlan. Other artists to have recorded the song include Boswell Sisters, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, The Andrew Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. 

Next comes The Blue Racer in Wham and Eggs (1973). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next is the Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Chain Gang (1930). This film is said to be the introduction of Pluto, but this Pluto bears little resemblance (outside of how he visually looks) to the character we know today. He is not Mickey's dog or even his friend here. In this movie two identical looking bloodhounds are chasing Mickey. Neither of the bloodhounds are differentiated in anyway, so it is hard to say which one would go on to a long film career and which one would fade into obscurity. It is worth noting that a scene involving them would be animated by Norm Ferguson, whose later animation of Pluto is often credited with helping give the dog his personality. Animation from this scene would later be reused in four cartoons featuring Pluto. Ferguson would also animate the opening scene of the picture. The first appearance of these dogs was animated by future Woody Woodpecker and Barney Bear director, Dick Lundy (he also animated their little dance). Les Clark, who would later go on to be considered one of Mickey's best animators, doesn't animate the mouse much here. Instead, he animates the guard yelling, the dogs howling to the musical number, the guards with the machine guns and the pig getting shot. Future supervising director of Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), Ben Sharpsteen animated the prisoners with the picks and the scene with the horses and the wagon. Future Donald Duck director Jack King animated the pig trying to smash the rock, the cat playing the cow's tail like a musical instrument and the guard yelling for help. Tom Palmer animates Mickey trying to break the rock, Mickey being pulled back by the ball and chain when he tries to run and the final shot of the picture. Johnny Cannon animates the guard sleeping, the cat dancing, the whistles blowing and Mickey running downhill. Future supervising director for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942) animates the cow playing the pick like a piccolo, Mickey playing a rock like a musical instrument and Mickey falling through the roof of the prison. 

Now for Felix the Cat in Jungle Bungles (1928). The following is a review from The Film Daily. "Felix the cat gets an idea to shoot motion pictures of the animals in the jungle wilds and sets forth on his adventure. This results in some of the cleverest cartoon work that this series has recently produced. One stunt in particular is worthy of special mention. Felix is pursued by savages. He develops his film, and projects it against a large rock, showing the wild animals rushing towards the savages, who flee in terror leaving Felix safe."  

Now for the Terry Toons cartoon, Hep Mother Hubbard (1956). This short film was directed by Connie Rasinski. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in The Funeral (1987). This short was made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own TV series. 

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

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein 

http://afilmla.blogspot.com/search/label/Shorts_Columbia?updated-max=2009-04-25T21:00:00-07:00&max-results=20&start=10&by-date=false

https://lantern.mediahist.org/

 

  

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #240

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

Today's cartoon selection starts with a true Disney classic, Mickey's Circus (1936). Though this movie features major stars like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Walt Disney himself had a fondness for a supporting character in this cartoon. That character was the littlest of the seals. Walt loved this character and because of that he suggested gags for the seal and even wished to revive him in later cartoons. The character would appear in only one more film and that would be over a decade later. That cartoon was Mickey and the Seal (1948). Mickey and the Seal would also give the character a name, Salty. The following is from a review from the Film Daily, "There are serval barrelsful of laughs in this Technicolor Mickey Mouse cartoon from Walt Disney's workshop. The very ridiculousness of the antics of Donald Duck, Mickey and the trained seals bring laughs whether one wants to laugh or not." The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald. "MICKEY'S CIRCUS: Mickey Mouse— Average Mickey Mouse, not as good as several previous ones but still good. - John A. Mulligan, Broadway Theatre, Schuylerville, N.Y. General Patronage." 

Now for one of the best Casper the friendly ghost cartoons, Ghost of Honor (1957). This short film tells the story of how Casper became a cartoon star.

Up next is the Fleischer Screen Songs cartoon, My Gal Sal (1930). The title song was written by Paul Dresser (born April 22, 1857, passed away January 30, 1906), brother of novelist Theodore Dreiser. Having performed in minstrel shows, medicine shows and vaudeville, he was a popular singer, composer and actor of his day. He had even been compared to Stephen Foster. His biggest hit was the 1897 song, On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away. Unfortunately, around the turn of the century, his music fell out of style and in 1905 his music publishing company would declare bankruptcy. 

Next is Hoot Kloot in Gold Sturck (1974). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes 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 for Felix the cat in The Cold Rush (1925). 

Up next is the Disney short, Goofy Gymnastics (1949). I have mentioned many times here that I am a massive fan of the Goofy cartoons that Jack Kinney had directed for Disney. Kinney remains one of my favorite cartoon directors and I view him as being on the same level as Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. This short film made its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland TV show entitled The Goofy Sports Story (1956). It would later air on an episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color entitled In Shape with Von Drake (1964). 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Space Patrol (1987). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own series. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein 

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

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #238

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Tweety's first appearance in a cartoon, A Tale of Two Kitties (1942). Sharp eyed viewers may notice that Tweety is not yellow in this film, but pink. Since he was a newborn baby bird, it made sense for him not to have feathers. According to director Bob Clampett, he based the character off of a nude baby photo of himself. Tweety already has his famous line, "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat." According to animation historian Jerry Beck's book, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety, this line also originated with Bob Clampett when in the mid-1930's he wrote a letter to a friend on MGM stationary. Next to Leo the MGM lion, Clampett drew a small bird with a word balloon with "I think I taw a titty-tat." Instead of Sylvester Tweety is here pitted against two cats named Babbit and Catstello. As should be obvious by the names, these cats were a take-off on the infamous comedy team Abbott and Costello, who had just made their movie debut just a couple years earlier in One Night in the Tropics (1940). The voice of Catstello was provided by the man of a thousand voices, Mel Blanc (who also voiced Tweety) and Babbitt was voiced by writer Tedd Pierce. A reviewer in Showman's Trade Review was very impressed with these voices stating, "Either the famous comedy pair furnished the accompanying dialogue themselves, or the impersonators are the last word in perfection." Though they would not catch on the way Tweety did, these characters would reappear in other cartoons. Some of these cartoons would even feature the duo as mice instead of cats. They would even appear with Tweety much later in a 1998 episode of the TV show, Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. This cartoon was reissued to theaters in 1948, the year Abbott and Costello made their most popular movie, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).  

Next comes the Fleischer Screen Songs cartoon, Come Take a Trip in my Airship (1930). This was the second time, The Fleischer studio had made a cartoon centering around this song. They had earlier made a film that used an early sound on film process (Come Take a Trip in my Airship (1924)). The earlier film featured the Fleischer cartoon of KoKo the clown, who starred in many silent cartoons for the studio and would later become a supporting character in their Betty Boop cartoons. 

Now we join Honey Halfwitch in Brother Bat (1967). 

Up next is Farner Al Falfa's Bedtime Story (1932). The following is a review from the Motion Picture Herald. "Clever Cartoon. The Farmer goes to bed; the cat's go out for the night - and the mice come out to play as only the animated cartoon artists can make them play. Their tricks and stunts are cleverly drawn, amusing. This rates as among one of the better of the cartoon shorts - Running time, 6 minutes." 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next is an early Woody Woodpecker short, The Dizzy Acrobat (1943). In these earlier Woody films, the character is a bit cruder than fans of his later work are used to. But there is something about this sheer unabashed craziness that many cartoon fans (including myself) can't get enough of. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award; however, it lost to Disney's Der Fuehrer's Face (1943). The following is from an issue of Showman's Trade Review (dated June 5, 1943), "Walter Lantz Cartune Studios which releases through Universal, has just released 'The Dizzy Acrobat,' A Woody Woodpecker special. The cartune revolves around the circus, and Lantz had experts advising the animators so that the action and facts would be accurate.

It is now time for a silent Felix the Cat cartoon, Felix the Cat Ducks His Duty (1927). 

Next comes one of Disney's funniest cartoon shorts, Der Fuehrer's Face (1943). This film grew out of a Donald Duck short about paying your taxes during war time called The New Spirit (1942). There was going to be a scene (in a story treatment by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer) in that short that featured a radio announcer talking about the horrors of living in a totalitarian state. This was not used in that short, but the idea stayed in the heads of those working at the Disney studio. These ideas grew into a cartoon that would feature Donald Duck living in Nazi Germany. Jack Kinney, Disney's most comedic and satiric cartoon director being placed in the director's chair guaranteed that this short would be a comedic masterpiece as well as an effective piece of political commentary. The cartoon was originally going to be titled Donald Duck in Nutziland. However, it would be retitled Der Fuehrer's Face after the satirical and catchy song Oliver Wallace wrote for the cartoon. Disney studio staffer Jim Macdonald remembered Wallace improvising the song one day at Walt's request. Macdonald stated, "He did that in about ten minutes. That's spontaneity!" Before the cartoon even reached theaters Spike Jones and his City Slickers released a recording in late 1942 and had a massive hit with it. This film also benefits from some top-notch animation. John Sibley animated the hilariously cartoony marching band animation at the start. The real highlight of the cartoon is the great montage sequence which was animated by Les Clark and Hugh Fraser. This cartoon we earn Donald Duck, his one and only Oscar. It later received the 22nd spot in Jerry Beck's must-own book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with the Simpsons in Dinner Time (1987). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the animated family got their own TV series. 

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

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/

  

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #236

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

We begin with a classic Frank Tashlin Porky Pig cartoon, Porky's Railroad (1937). This is one of the many cartoons of this time that used the formula of Porky being placed in a different job. In fact, earlier the same year Tashlin had directed a very similar Porky Pig cartoon, called Porky's Building (1937). That film like this one featured Porky up against a rival for his job. This cartoon opens up using of Tashlin's favorite types of gags that of words appearing on the screen to introduce the action. Often times he would do this in the form of a "disclaimer", but here he simply introduces the two trains. Also notice the ship that Porky picks up is the SS Leon named after the cartoon's producer Leon Schlesinger.

Now we join our friend Honey Halfwitch in The Defiant Giant (1966). In this cartoon Honey helps out a giant who is in trouble. This film also features Honey's friend Stanley the Sorcerer, who is a takeoff of W.C. Feilds.   

Next is the Terry Toons short, The Temperamental Lion (1940).

Now for Donald Duck in Crazy Over Daisy (1950). This short film places Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Chip and Dale in the gay 1890's and works as almost a companion piece to the Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Nifty Nineties (1941). Mickey and Minne even make a cameo dressed like they were in that film. This Donald Duck short had the working titles Built for Two and Date with Daisy. However, it would eventually be named after Oliver Wallace's song for the cartoon. This song would later become almost a theme song for Donald and the duck would whistle it in various cartoons to follow. This short film would make its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland anthology series entitled Where Do the Stories Come From? (1956). It is hard not to feel very sorry for Donald in this cartoon. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes a masterpiece of a cartoon, Minnie the Moocher (1932) starring the one and only Betty Boop. This cartoon is a pure example of what the Fleischer studio did better than anyone else. The film is full of incredibly creative, surreal and just plain weird gags that are executed to complete perfection. This cartoon is the first of three Bettys to feature jazz singer Cab Calloway (the other two being Snow White (1933) and the Old Man of the Mountain (1933)). In all three of these cartoons, the singer was not only used to sing his song, but his iconic dancing was captured by the dancer via rotoscope. A review in the Film Daily stated "This swell Max Fleischer musical cartoon is the best turned out so far with the cute pen and ink star, Betty Boop, who seems to get more sexy and alluring each time and her boyfriend Bimbo. The musical selection is supplied by Cab Calloway and his orchestra and what these boys can't do to the Minnie the Moocher number is not worth mentioning."

Now for silent movie time with Felix the cat in Felix Full O' Fight (1925). 

Barnyard Babies (1935) is a typical cutesy Happy Harmonies cartoon. With the focus being on cuteness and a lack of slapstick, it is hard to believe that this is from the same studio that would bring us Tom and Jerry the following decade. However, this film does have its charms. This is a given considering the talent that was involved. This included a top-notch cast of animators. Carl Urbano animates the opening scene, the introduction of the master of ceremonies, the start of the song number and the duck coming out of the cider drunk. Cal Dalton animates the mother duck putting her kids into the water, the second chorus of the song number, the duck going into the apple cider, the "fan" dance, the lady that's known as Lou and the drunk duckling on stage with the horse. Pete Burness animates the pigs eating, the sheep and the pig singing together, the pigs walking in front of the curtain, the worm going in the hole, the duck swallowing the spring and the drunk duckling interrupting the show. Gil Turner animates the cow and horse braying at each other, the animals being excited for the show to start and the old gray mare. Joe D’Igalo animates the sign being put up and everyone reading the sign. Frankie Smith animates the rooster reacting to the sign being put up and the babies taking their first bow as well as them bowing after the song number. Jim Palbin animates the rooster telling his wife about the sign and being disappointed that the baby won't come soon enough to take place in the baby contest, the rooster pacing and the climax. Bob Allen animates the rooster using the hot towel to warm up the egg, the pigs singing together. George Grandpre animates the animals entering the barn, the little cow's solo, the duckling trying to get a hold of the rope leading the chicken to spin out of control and the clock moving quickly. Tom McKimson (older brother of Looney Tunes director Robert McKimson) animates the little chick and the duck singing together, the duck falling out of his mother's arms and bouncing on the saw and the piano solo. Lee Blair (husband of famed Disney artist Mary Blair and an accomplished Disney artist himself) animates the horse riding the broomstick pony. Bob Stokes animates the little horse reciting. Lee Blair commented on the difference of working on an MGM cartoon to working on a Disney cartoon. He stated, “They didn’t work with big storyboards like they do at Disney’s. They worked pretty well straight ahead off of a detail sheet—a bar sheet. They called them ‘detail sheets.’” He would continue, “From those detail sheets, they would make a set of exposure sheets, and you would be handed them as a scene.” At MGM they often used live action comedies as reference. Lee would remember, “We used Charlie Chaplin a lot. We’d get old Charlie Chaplin films, and we had a hand-cranked projector; I had it alongside my animation board…We’d crank his walks and pratfalls and study those.” 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Closted (1988). This is one of the shorts made for The Tracey Ullman Show before the family got their own TV series. 

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

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

The 50 Greatest Cartoons edited by Jerry Beck

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animator-breakdown-barnyard-babies-1935/

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