Super Mario Brothers Wonder (2023)

 

A wonderful 2D Mario game.

After the great Super Mario Odyssey, it was hard to image where the video game franchise could possibly go for a follow up. Somehow it was followed up by a game that was just as good, if not better. 

The basic story of this Mario game is very simple. Bowser gets a hold of a magical wonder flower, that turns him into a powerful fortress. Mario and his friends (old and new), team up together to stop the evil Bowser. 

There is so much fun to have with this game. Most every Mario 2D platformer has been a lot of fun (even if some are even better than others), yet this manages to stand as one of the best. The main complaint about other fairly recent 2D Mario games was their familiarity. As much fun as The New Super Mario Bros. games were, there is nothing in them that was new to the franchise. This game however is full of creativity. The levels themselves are imaginatively designed and tons of fun. Nearly every level also has a Wonder Flower which when touched changes the level or gameplay in some way. Each of these ways are incredibly creative and keep most every level feeling fresh and new. There are also badges you can collect. Like in the Paper Mario games, each of these badges gives you a different ability. However, you can only choose one badge to wear at a time. Adding this to a Mario platformer is a great idea and adds a bit of fun strategy to the game. There are also some new power ups (including one that makes you an elephant) that are very creative yet feel right at home with the classic powerups. Beyond the new additions here, this game also has lots of good old-fashioned platforming. 

One thing that doesn't work here however are the Search Party levels. Advertised as puzzle levels, they really are anything but. In each of these levels there are hidden tokens around a small stage, and you have to find them all. This would be a great idea, if this game actually provided puzzles for you to solve to find each token. This is not the case here. You just jump around randomly until by chance you find something. This is not fun and can honestly get rather annoying. Luckily there are only four of these levels. The boss battles can also get repetitive as you simply fight Bowser Jr. over and over in similar fights. However, Mario fans have grown to accept things like this. 

A modern Mario classic. 

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (2026)

 

A delightfully charming video game. 

After having been around for decades, it is amazing that the Mario franchise can still do something new. Yet this new Yoshi spin-off game is something completely new. I have never played a platformer that has felt like this before. Rather than your typical straightforward platforming stages, this is a game that encourages you to explore these levels and the learn about the creatures in them. The premise is that you are helping an anthropomorphic encyclopedia learn all it can about various creatures in its pages. Each creature has its own stage and the point of each of these stages is to learn all you can about these creatures. As someone who simply loves exploring the world around him, a video game that encourages you to explore the video game world in the same way is automatically appealing to me. To simply move at your own pace as you move around this world creates a very charming and relaxing game to play. I found this game a perfect way to unwind after a workday myself. The game even lets you use your own creativity giving you the opportunity to name the creatures you meet. 

It of course helps that the world you explore is delightful. The artwork is fantastic and many of the environments and creatures are very creative and fun.   

With its often very easy difficulty, this game is heavily aimed at younger Nintendo players. I have no problem with this and feel this is a perfect game to make for kids. After all it is always a wonderful idea to encourage creativity, exploration and curiosity when making something aimed at kids. Heck even most grown-ups could use more of each of these. 

The only problem I have with this game is with the mixture of often very easy difficulty and its short length, you finish the game, before you know it. 

A delight for kids and kids at heart. 

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/

 

Movie Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Everything you would want from a Mario movie. 

This is not a deep or especially groundbreaking movie, but it is a whole lot of fun and that is exactly what the Mario franchise is all about. I had a smile on my face from start to finish.

The story is quite simple but fits the Mario franchise perfectly. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad all team up to save the kidnapped Princess Rosalina. The story would fit perfectly as the storyline of a Mario game and that is the charm of it. This simple story allows for many delightful set pieces. These set pieces perfectly capture the feel of a Mario game on the big screen. There is such an attention to detail for every environment that the burst with life the same way that the worlds of the games have stayed with us for decades. This is probably Illumination's most visually pleasing film. The storyline itself unfolds at a fast pace and keeps you constantly engaged.   

Like most Illumination films, this one is full of gags from start to finish. What surprised me was just how funny so many of these gags were. I laughed out loud a lot more than I did at the first movie. 

The characters are still the wonderful characters we have loved all these decades, and it is a blast to spend time with them. Getting more Luigi than in the first movie was a pure delight. This movie introduces Yoshi and Fox McCloud to the world of Mario films, and both steal every scene they are in. Both also fit perfectly well into the story and never feel shoehorned in. Bowser Jr. is also an excellent villain. He feels like a surprisingly huge threat to our heroes, and his relationship and idolization of his father make his character feel like a real kid. 

A pure delight to any true Nintendo fan (like me).  

Super Mario Brothers Super Show Coming to ME-TV Toons

 

I hope you are ready to get hooked on the brothers. The Super Mario Brothers Super Show is coming to ME-TV Toons starting on March 30th, just a couple days before The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters. 

This show featured a mixture of live action and animated segments. The live action segments featured wrestler "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi. These segments took on a sitcom like format featuring the brothers in their day job as plumbers. Along the way they would meet such guest stars as Donna Douglas (pretty much reprising her role from The Beverly Hillbillies), Cassandra Peterson (AKA Elvira), Ernie Hudson, Magic Johnson, Cyndi Lauper, Maurice LaMarche (as Inspector Gadget), Danica McKellar, Sgt. Slaughter, Vanna White, Moon Zappa and more. The animated segments included cartoons based off the Mario Brothers video games and the Legend of Zelda video games. Both the live action and animated segments are full of a certain corny 1980's charm that will still appeal to Nintendo fans of all ages. 

This show ran from September 4 to December 1, 1989 and would be followed by two sequel shows, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990) and Super Mario World (1991). It also received a bizarre spin off show titled King Koopa's Kool Kartoons (1989).

The show will air on the channel weekdays at 8am (7am central). 

Movie Trailer: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

 

Movie Trailer: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Mario Tennis (2000)

 

I am again speaking with more than a tint of nostalgia, but this is my personal favorite of the Mario sports games. If I only have a tiny bit of time to play a video game, this is often the one I will play. 

This is a very straight forward sports game. It does not bother much with a storyline, rather simply letting you get directly into the gameplay. However, when the game play is this much fun, I don't care at all.  What is amazing is that the typical match is a straightforward tennis match with no Mario style gimmicks. There are no items and no obstacles in these regular matches, just simple tennis. The gameplay and controls are simple, easy to get used to and a lot of fun. This allows you to simply focus on the matches themselves rather than any gimmicks. The matches provide you with a good challenge but one that is never overwhelming hard. Though there are no gimmicks, there are a few fun little changes you can make to switch up the gameplay. One of these is you have an option between singles and doubles, both of which are a lot of fun. Another is that different characters (my favorite character to play as is Donkey Kong Jr.) have different skill sets. Some characters hit the ball harder than others, some move around the course quicker, and some are better capable of trick shots. This makes even what character you play as a part of your strategy. Also, different courses have different elements to them. Some courts cause the ball to bounce more than others for instance. 

This game also has various alternative ways to play which feature the Mario style gimmicks that are not included in the main game play. Personally, I find these alternative ways to play, not as fun as the main gameplay. 

The opening animation to this game is also a lot of fun and features a lot of good cartoony humor. 

This is honestly one of my most played video games. 

Movie Trailer: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Mario Kart 64 (1996)

 

There may be a tinge of nostalgia speaking here but this is still my favorite Mario Kart game and my second favorite cart racing game (after Diddy Kong Racing of course). 

As much as I enjoyed Super Mario Kart, this follow up is an improvement in every way. With the N64 being capable of 3-D graphics, the developers took full advantage. These tracks look amazing. While the graphics may have dated, the track designs have not. These designs look larger than life with environments that are extremely memorable and atmospheric. This is enhanced by not having any two tracks that look alike. Each one has their own unique environment and feel as you hop from country roads to big cities to icy slopes to dangerous castles. Not only do these tracks look different from each other but some truly have their own unique challenges. In Yoshi Valley, there are numerous different paths to take and the game does not tell you who is in what spot until the final lap is complete.  Toad's Turnpike has you drive down a busy highway heading in the wrong direction. While you are trying to beat the other racers you are also trying to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic. The most diffcult course is Banshee Boardwalk, where the track is very dark and contains lots of places you could fall off. You have to drive carefully while still trying to win the race. All of this creates a cart racing game that always feels fresh no matter how many times you play it. In my opinion none of the future Mario Kart games ever matched this one, when it comes to course design. These are the most creative, fun and memorable courses made for any Mario Kart game.  

The controls (while not as perfect as in later games) are a lot easier to control than in Super Mario Kart. Though they are not perfect, they very rarely get in the way of the player's enjoyment. The musical scores are fantastic and have stayed with me since childhood (I was still in single digits when this game came out). To this day I can not understand anyone who doesn't like the Rainbow Road theme music.

Speaking of childhood memories, I have great memories of playing the multiplay battle mode with my dad. 

This is a masterpiece. 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #246

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Sylvester and Tweety in Tweet and Lovely (1959). This is one of my favorite Sylvester and Tweety films. Voice actor Mel Blanc would later write, "Sylvester has always been a favorite of mine. He's always been the easiest character for me to play. When I was showing the first model sheet for Sylvester with his floppy jaws and generally disheveled appearance, I said to Friz Freleng, 'A big sloppy cat should have a big shthloppy voice. He should spray even more than Daffy.' While recording Sylvester cartoons my scripts would get so covered in sylvia I'd repeatedly have to wipe them clean. I used to suggest to actress June Foray, who voiced Tweety's vigilant owner Granny that she wear a raincoat to the sessions." 

Next is the Fleischer Screen Song cartoon, My Baby Just Cares for Me (1931). The title song was written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn. The two had written such songs together as Carolina in the Morning, My Buddy, My Man from Caroline, Love Me or Leave Me, Makin' Whoopee and Yes Sir, That's My Baby. The song was written for the movie, Whoopee! (1930) starring Eddie Cantor. Sorry that this short is missing a small part of it. 

Now for Heckle and Jeckle in Log Rollers (1953). 

Next is the Mickey Mouseworks cartoon, Mickey’s Remedy (1999). This short would later be used in the House of Mouse episode, Snow Day (2002). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Up next comes an early example of Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoons with The Bird Store (1932). This short film is similar to many of the Silly Symphonies of the time period. The movie starts out with simply a bunch of cute little gags involving a bird store and then a villain enters and many of the characters team up to stop this villain. The cartoon is directed by Wilfred Jackson, who would later co-direct such Disney features as Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955). The film also features an all-star cast of Disney animators. David Hand, who would later be the supervising director for such Disney features as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942), animates the opening scene. Future Donald Duck director, Jack King animated the lovebirds, the canaries being excited and the baby being returned to its parents. Frenchy de Tremaudan, who worked as an uncredited animator on many of Disney best short films, animates the bird sharpening its beak and the parrot with the cash register. Johnny Cannon animated the jalopy birds and the canaries pecking at the cat. Clyde Geronimi, who would be a co-director on Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955) and the supervising director for Sleeping Beauty (1959), animates the horn birds and the cat in the cage. Norm Ferguson, whose animation would later help define the character of Pluto, animates the parrot with both the mirror and the typewriter. Future Woody Woodpecker and Barney Bear director Dick Lundy animates the whooping birds and the cat stalking the canaries. Future Hanna-Barbera director, Rudy Zamora animates the Marx Birds. Future Looney Tunes and Van Beuren director, Tom Palmer animates the baby canary taking on a singing lesson. Albert Hunter animates the birds watching with excitement. Master Mickey Mouse animator, Les Clark animates the baby canary running from the cat and the scene with the dogs. Ben Sharpsteen, who would later be the supervising director for such Disney features as Pinnochio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), heads a whole crew of animators including Chuck Couch, Marvin Woodward, Hardie Gramatky, Harry Reeves and Dick Williams. 

Now for a silent Aesop's Film Fables short, Two of a Trade (1922). This short film features our friend Farmer Alfalfa.

Now for Hoot Kloot in Big Beef at the O.K. Corral (1974). In this short film, Hoot Kloot faces off against the outlaw Billy the Kidder. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Closeted (1988). This was a short 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 Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman 

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Mickey%27s_Remedy

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #241

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

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

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

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

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

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

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

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

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

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

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

Resources Used

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

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

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #237

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with one of Chuck Jones' great Bugs Bunny cartoons, Wackiki Wabbit (1943). The two castaways who try to eat Bugs in this cartoon, were caricatured to look like and were voiced by Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies writers, Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce. Many of Chuck's cartoons of this time had great experimentation with background art, and that is certainly true here. The following are some exhibitor's reviews from the Motion Picture Herald. "Wackiki Wabbit: Merrie Melodies Cartoons: A 'Bugs Bunny' short that shows signs of getting him back into his once high place. If they like Bugs, they'll like this one. - W. Varrick Nevins, Ill, Alfred Co-op Theatre, Alfred, N.Y." "Wackiki Wabbit: Merrie Melodies Cartoon— This is one of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons of the season and it went over big here. - Thomas Di Lorenzo, New Paltz Theatre, New Platz, N.Y." 

Next is a classic Fleischer Screen Songs cartoon, I Can't Escape From You (1936).

Now we join Honey Halfwitch in Trick or Cheat (1966). This short film features nearly all of the supporting characters from this series. It is also directed by Howard Post, who created the character of Honey Halfwitch.  Post is better known for his comic work rather than his animation work. He created the comic strip The Dropouts and DC Comics character Anthro. He had also worked for Harvey Comics on various Casper comic books and on the Heathcliff and Care Bears comics for Marvel as well as being an editor on Looney Tunes Magazine and Tiny Toons Magazine for DC. The Honey Halfwitch films are a series of thirteen theatrically released cartoon shorts. 

Next is The New Three Stooges cartoon, Behind the 8 Ball Express (1965). The three stooges voiced themselves in this series of made for TV shorts. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next is The Trail of Donald Duck (1948). This marked the last Donald Duck short directed by Jack King. Jack King was one of Donald's best directors (if not his best), having begun directing the duck in the mid 1930's. Before that he was briefly a director of some of the black and white Looney Tunes shorts and before that he had worked at Disney as an animator. Dan MacManus, who gets a story credit here is much more prolific as an effects animator, having worked in this capacity on many Disney features and shorts from 1935 to his retirement in 1973. Some of his story sketches for this film can be seen in J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein's book on Donald Duck. This film would make its TV debut on an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club that aired December 12, 1956. 

Now we join Felix the Cat in Frolics at the Circus (1920). 

Next is the Terry Toons short, The Happy Cobblers (1952). 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Babysitting Maggie (1987). This is one of the shorts featuring the animated family that aired on The Tracey Ullman Show before they 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

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/

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

  

Super Mario Kart (1992)

 

Though flawed, Super Mario Kart was a strong start to this spin-off series of games. 

I am sure most anyone reading this has a basic familiarity with Mario Kart. However, if you don't this is a kart racing game where you can play as a Nintendo character and race across a series of cartoon-y racetracks and using various cartoon-y items such as turtle (or koopa) shells, mushrooms (which may you go faster) and banana peels (to make other racers slip) to help you win. you compete in cups (tournaments featuring five courses each). 

While later games in these series are more advanced when it comes to the graphics and mechanics, this first game is still a lot of fun to play. The very concept of kart racing in these very cartoon-y courses and as your favorite Nintendo characters is still a heck of a lot of fun.

Yet this game does have a unique feel among the Mario Kart games. There is a greater emphasis here on the actual driving. There is a rare chance that you might lose a race because you were hit by an item. However there is a much great chance that you might lose a race because you missed a turn. On the courses which have grass (or something similar) off the track, if you go off the track you are severely slowed down. Before you get yourself back on the track, you may have several other racers pass you. On the courses when you can fall off the track a Lakitu will pick you up and put you back on. However, he will take long enough that several racers will pass you before you are put back on the track. This can be especially frustrating on the ghost valley courses and, on these courses, I have lost several races after being in first place for the majority of the race. There is also the great challenge of if you finish after fourth place, you have to start that race again. You are given a few tries and if you run out of tries then you get a game over. This feature (which was not revived for any of the later games) both makes the game more difficult in some ways and easier in some others. If you have one course that you are especially bad at (the ghost valley courses for me), it can sometimes make it, so you aren't even able to complete the cup. On the other hand, if you simply have one bad race, it will not affect your overall end score the way it would in later games. I kind of which Nintendo had kept this feature around as for me it actually increases the fun of the game.  

The visuals on this game are definitely dated. The graphics have a very flat look and though they looked great for their time, they feel very dated today. I also felt that there was a lack of variety in these courses, and each cup has courses that are incredible similar to courses we see in the other cups. There are a couple of visual features in this game that I love though. If you are playing single player, you receive a split screen. The top focuses on you as you're racing. The bottom features a map of the course that allows you to see where each racer is. I can't tell you how many times this has come in handy, while I have been playing this game. Another visual treat in this game is that each character receives a different animation for when you win as them. These is a treat and makes you want to win as each character to see the animation that follows. 

If you are playing multiplayer the battle courses are tons of fun. These course simply are unlike the racecourses, a free for all item battle. I do wish this game a single play option to battle against computers for when you are by yourself though. 

This is a dated but still fun video game.   

  

Pokémon Stadium (1999)

 

As a 90's kid, Pokémon was a major part of my childhood, so naturally I spent hours playing this N64 game growing up. Replaying it in my 30's, the game is still quite fun, though its flaws are also quite evident. 

This game skips the storyline and RPG elements of the mainline Pokémon games. Instead, here you can delve yourself directly into the battles by choosing six Pokémon from the 151 of this time and battle against various trainers and gym leaders. There are multiple options of how you can play this game. You can do quick one on one battles, you can compete in tournaments, you can battle your way through gym leaders, you can plug in one of your game boy games and play that game on the big TV screen or you can play a series of minigames.  

The lack of the story and RPG elements are both this game's greatest strength and its biggest flaw. It makes for a fun quick way to play some Pokémon, if you don't want to dedicate the time that you would need to for one of the mainline games. Though you are no longer raising or capturing Pokémon, there is still quite a bit of strategy to navigating the battles. These are trying to choose a variety of Pokémon in your line-up of six that will be able to stand against the widest variety of Pokémon and knowing what the right moves will be to use at what times. This strategy makes the battles fast paced and a lot of fun. However, at the same time the lack of raising and capturing Pokémon as well as any real storyline can make this game feel repetitive after a while. As such this game is a lot of fun, if you play it in short enough spurts. 

The minigames are similar to the main games in this way. These minigames are very simple and many of them are quite similar to one another. Yet each of these minigames is fun in their own right and as a kid, I played these minigames just as much as I had the battles, possibly even more. Again though, today these minigames are a lot of fun in short enough spurts but get too repetitive if you play them for too long of a period of time. 

This is a game that I love playing every once in a while, but if I play it too much I can easily get bored by the repetitiveness. 

-Michael J. Ruhland    

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #227

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

Since Easter is tomorrow, what better way to start this post than with an Easter cartoon. Today's first film is a Silly Symphony called Funny Little Bunnies (1934). This cartoon does not feature much of an actual story beyond the idea of bunnies getting ready for Easter. However, people at the time did not seem to mind this at all. The following is a review from The Film Daily, "This is a likely entry for the best short of 1934. While it may appear that its vogue would be more or less limited to the Easter season because its purely imaginative substance deals with the manufacture and decoration of Easter eggs and bunnies by a colorful rabbit crew, the splendor and variety of coloring and the highly diverting action lift it far above any seasonal appeal. Musical accompaniment is pleasing." The following is a review from The Motion Picture Herald, "Unusually clever, highly entertaining, especially for the youngsters but potentially equally enjoyable for adults, this number of the Walt Disney Silly Symphonies pictures in the inimitable Disney cartoon fashion the manner in which the bunnies, in their woodland workshop, carve out Easter statues of themselves, paint the Easter eggs, with various colors obtained from the end of the rainbow. In this spring season despite the fact that Easter has passed, the subject is highly appropriate and cannot fail to meet with the favor of the entire audience, anytime, anywhere." The cartoon also won the gold medal for "Best Animated Film" at the Venice film festival in 1934. Still as is always the case not everyone was impressed. An exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald was not very positive stating about Walt Disney, "He'll never make another 'Three Little Pigs.' In 1935 this movie was part of a four-week run of Disney cartoons. Here is The Film Daily talking about that, "Starting April 4, Walt Disney productions, released through United Artists, are being featured on the Trans-Lux Theater program for four consecutive weeks. Opening with 'The Tortoise and the Hare,' the next three programs feature the following Disney productions: 'Mickey's Man Friday,' 'Funny Little Bunnies,' and 'The Band Concert,' Disney's first Mickey Mouse subject in Technicolor." One thing I love about the color Symphonies is that they never take color for granted but instead always make sure it is used to full effect. That is definitely true of this cartoon. This movie was reissued to theaters on April 7, 1950.

Up next is a Columbia Color Rhapsody, Mother Hen's Holiday (1937). 

Now we join Mighty Mouse in The Champion of Justice (1944)

Next comes an animated short film with an emphasis on the short. This is a cartoon, whose title should tell you exactly what to expect. This is Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969). No one can say it doesn't live up to that title. What simply is a one joke film has made people laugh for decades and will continue to do so. Film student Marv Newland made this film when he couldn't get the right shot of a sunrise for a live action short, he was making. This film was made in only the last two weeks of his school semester, but it is better remembered than any other film made in that class. This film would receive the 38th spot in Jerry Beck's The 50 Greatest Cartoons.

Now for a commercial break. 

Now for one of the best post-Walt short films from Disney, It's Tough to be a Bird (1969). This short was the brainchild of Ward Kimball, one of the most brilliant and individualistic artists at the Disney studio. Some of the films he headed in his later years at the studio barely feel like Disney films at all. That is definitely true of this short, which rather than the typical Disney "illusion of life" embraces its own artifice, often employing various different art styles. Ward wanted the lead character to appear obviously hand drawn. Animator Burny Mattinson would remember Ward stating, "I don't want you guys cleaning this stuff up, just keep it rough. Just tie loose ends together and that's all but keep it very rough 'cause we're gonna Xerox it and I just want it as simple as possible." This film had an animal rights message to it and did not offer a very positive picture of humanity. Not everyone at the Disney studio was happy about this. Ward recalled that he felt "an unspoken air of resentment because you're attacking an institution, man, and his idealness and goodness. That's Disney. And you can't even in a subtle, subconscious way make fun of that." Ward did make one concession when it came to this though. He took out a sequence involving seagulls stuck in an oil spill (inspired by a real tragedy that happened near Santa Monica). Ward was told to take this out because the Gulf oil company was sponsoring the Disney TV show. However, when the film won an Academy Award, Ward stated in his acceptance speech, "I also want to extend my condolences to the unfortunate seagulls in Santa Barbara (when there had recently been the largest oil spill on record)" Though this short was originally intended as a segment on the Disney TV show, Card Walker (executive vice president of operations) liked the short so much that he decided to release it to movie theaters instead. It would first play with the live action Disney feature-length comedy, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969).  

From 1976 to 1982 Warner Brothers made a series of 16 TV specials featuring the Looney Tunes characters. Some of these specials were brand new half hour stories, others featured clips for or whole classic cartoon shorts and still others featured a set of brand-new cartoons. Daffy Duck's Easter Special (1980) featured three brand new cartoons with bridging sequences inspired by Duck Amuck (1953). Here is one of the new cartoons from that special, The Chocolate Chase (1980). This short is very much in the mold of the mid to late 1960's cartoons which pitted Daffy Duck against Speedy Gonzales. 

It is now silent movie time with Bobby Bumps Helps Out a Book Agent (1916). I apologize that the video pauses a few times. 

Now it is time for a few Quick Shticks. 

Let us close with a classic film from that cinema legend Señor Spielbergo. All I can say is boo-urns. 

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 Life and Times of Ward Kimball: Maverick of Disney Animation Todd James Pierce. 

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

The 50 Greatest Cartoons edited by Jerry Beck

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #225

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

Today's cartoon selection starts with a classic Mickey Mouse short film, The Steeple Chase (1933). This movie was originally planned as a musical, but there are no songs in the finished film. The horse Thunderbolt would inspire the Mickey Mouse comic strip character Tanglefoot. The following are a couple of exhibitor's reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "STEEPLE CHASE: Mickey Mouse— Another good cartoon from Mickey. You'll like it. - J.A. Verchot, Opera House, Abbeville, S.C. Small Town Patronage." "STEEPLE CHASE: Mickey Mouse— Let me repeat, the biggest thing in this cartoon is the rental. Running time, 10 minutes.  - A.H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwinsburg, Pa. Small Town and Rural Patronage." 

Next comes the Honey Halfwitch cartoon, From Nags to Witches (1966). This movie is directed by Howard Post, who also created the character. Post is better known for his comic work rather than his animation work. He created the comic strip The Dropouts and DC Comics character Anthro. He had also worked for Harvey Comics on various Casper comic books and on the Heathcliff and Care Bears comics for Marvel as well as being an editor on Looney Tunes Magazine and Tiny Toons Magazine for DC. The Honey Halfwitch films are a series of thirteen theatrically released cartoon shorts. This movie marks the 4th of these shorts. 

Now for the Terry Toons short, Shipyard Symphony (1943). Though this patriotic short was made for World War 2 America, it is still quite entertaining today due to some strong music and gags. This may actually be one of my favorite Terry Toons from this era. 

Next is Donald Duck in Honey Harvester (1949). This marks the second or third battle between Spike the bee and Donald Duck. The two had went up against each other in Inferior Decorator (1948) and a prototype for Spike bugged Donald in Window Cleaners (1940). Some of this film's story had come from an unfinished 1939 story outline entitled Donald's Roadside Market. This story outline also provided story material for the Donald Duck cartoons Donald's Garden (1942), Golden Eggs (1941) and Old MacDonald Duck (1941). This short film made its TV debut on an episode of the Disneyland TV show entitled The Donald Duck Story (1954). 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for Bugs Bunny in Super Rabbit (1943). The ending of this short film resulted in the U.S.M.C. acknowledging Bugs Bunny as an honorary marine with the title honorary Marine Master Sergeant Bugs Bunny. 

Next is Krazy Kat in The Awful Spook (1921). These silent cartoons from the Bray Studio have a much closer resemblance to the comic strip where the character originated than the later talkie Columbia cartoons. 

Now for The New Three Stooges cartoon, Lastest Gun in the West (1965). Like in all these cartoons, The Three Stooges are voiced by themselves. Curly Joe felt that the show was hurt by the fact that the live action intro and outro segments would be repeated, even when the cartoon was new. He felt this would lead people to see an opening they recognized and change the channel thinking it was a repeat.

Now to end with the greatest short film ever made. 

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.

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

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

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer and Greg Lenburg

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #224

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

Animation fans know director Friz Freleng as a master of timing and very few comedy cartoons have come close to the perfect comedy timing of his films. This can especially be seen in his cartoon, Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943). This in my mind is one of his funniest films and just a pure delight. Despite the title, this film does not have a parotitic theme or revolve around U.S. history. With the James Cagney feature, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) having come out the year before, this pun was probably just too good for the filmmakers to pass up.  Look for a portrait of Friz Freleng hanging in Porky's office. A review in The Motion Picture Daily calls this film a "Pleasant little subject." The following are Exhibitor's reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "YANKEE DOODLE DAFFY: Looney Tunes Cartoons—This studio's cartoons lately seem to be either exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. This is downright terrible. - W. Verricks Nevins, III, Alfred Co-op Theatre, Alfred N.Y." "YANKEE DOODLE DAFFY: Looney Tunes Cartoons—Good cartoon, but where does it get its name? - Ralph Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesdale, W. Va." "YANKEE DOODLE DAFFY: Looney Tunes Cartoons - Average color cartoon. - E.M. Freiburger, Paramount Theatre, Dewey, Okla." 

Now for the classic UPA cartoon, Georgie and the Dragon (1951). This movie was directed by Robert "Bobe" Cannon, one of my favorite UPA directors. He had previously been an animator for both Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett's units at Warner Brothers and even Tex Avery at MGM. He even worked on the Disney feature film, Melody Time (1948). As a director he made some of the best UPA shorts including one of the studio's most famous films, Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950). 

 Next comes a short film from the husband-and-wife team of John and Faith Hubley, The Tender Game (1958). This duo brought us some of the most artistic and lovely animated short films of all time. The music on this film is by Ella Fitzgerald (the queen of jazz) and Oscar Peterson (a wonderful jazz pianist). 

Here is an animated insert that John and Faith Hubley made for Sesame Street. 

Now for the Fleischer Superman cartoon, The Eletric Earthquake (1942). For a studio that was best known for silly comedy cartoons like the Popeye and Betty Boop shorts, Fleischer Studios adapted itself extremely well to the action/adventure genre with these films. Even with the flux of superhero cartoons that have followed many still view these shorts as the gold standard when it comes to superhero animation. The makers of such shows as Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited have cited these short films are their primary influence. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

To this day some of the most popular cartoon shorts among Disney fans are the ones that used Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as a comedy team in the same vein as Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers or The Three Stooges. The first of these was Mickey's Service Station. This was also the only one that was in black and white instead of color. In fact there would be only one more Mickey Mouse cartoon in black and white, which would be Mickey's Kangaroo (released later the same year). A quick bit of writing from an issue of The Film Daily (dated March 14, 1935), lets us know where this cartoon premiered, as well as the feature it played with. "Walt Disney's newest Mickey Mouse cartoon, 'Mickey's Service Station' is to have its premiere at the Rivoli Theater tomorrow on the bill with Samuel Goldwyn's 'The Wedding Night' in which Gary Cooper and Anna Sten are co-starred "Here is what some theater owners had to say about this cartoon in The Motion Picture Herald. "Mickey's Service Station: Mickey Mouse- Good filler lots of laughs and excitement. Running time, 1 reel - Rudolph Duba. Royal Theater, Kimball S. D. Small town patronage" "Mickey's Service Station: Mickey Mouse- A dandy cartoon. Mickey Mouse means something at our box office.- J.W. Noah, New Liberty and Ideal Theaters, Ft. Worth, Texas. General patronage."

Now for the silent Out of the Inkwell short, The Cure (1924). 

Continuing today's selection of classic cartoons is Popeye The Sailor Meets Sinbad The Sailor (1936). This is the first of the three Popeye two-reel specials (plus the first color Popeye) and one of the most popular Popeye cartoons. Running at 17 minutes this is twice as long as the usual Popeye film, yet the filmmakers work this to their full advantage. It never feels too long, and the extra time lets the filmmakers put in a more atmospheric fantasy like feel to this cartoon. This would be the first Popeye nominated for an Academy Award and received the 17th spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. A review in The Film Daily called the cartoon "Top Notch." However not everybody was so impressed by this film as evidenced by the following Exhibitors reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor: Popeye the Sailor series - Good color but did not bring extra business like Paramount said it would. -Fisher & Bichler, Mattray Theatre, Strasburg, N.D." "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor: Popeye the Sailor special - Worth twice as much as regular Popeye but no more. I paid more and that makes me a dissatisfied customer. - W. H. Brenner, Cozy Theatre, Winchester, Ind. General Patronage." "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor: Popeye the Sailor cartoons - This much Balley-hooed two-reeler, all color, third dimensional cartoon failed to come up to the entertainment value of the single reel black and white Popeye series. - M.R. Harrington, Avalon Theatre, Clatskanie, Ore. - Small Town and rural patronage."

Let us end today's cartoon selection with a classic Simpsons clip from the episode, 22 Short Films About Springfield (1996). 

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

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

Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Brothers Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald 

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

https://lantern.mediahist.org/