Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #201

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Sylvester the Cat in Tree For Two (1952). This short film introduced the two dogs, Spike and Chester. They would only appear in two classic theatrical shorts (the other being Dr. Jekyll's Hyde (1954)), but the popularity of these movies has made the characters make cameos in many post-golden age Looney Tunes projects. This short would later be edited into the feature film, Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) and be remade as The Dogfather (1974), the first short in The Dogfather series of short films. 

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 with, in 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 we join Mighty Mouse in Goons from the Moon (1951). I love that since this movie was made for Terrytoons, the town in it is called, Terrytown. 

Disney cartoons have long been associated with sentimentality and cuteness. Yet this wasn't always the case. The early black and white Mickey Mouse films were mostly pretty much the opposite. They focused purely on the gags and jokes and with keeping the comic momentum going. A perfect example of this is Mickey's Orphans (1931). This movie has all the makings for a sentimental cartoon. It takes place at Christmas time and the involves Mickey adopting a bunch of orphans. Yet all of this is play strictly for laughs and some of the kids can be a little sadistic. A review in the Motion Picture Herald stated "The youngsters will get a real kick out of this short, and the oldsters will extract a bit of enjoyment." A review in The Film Daily gave the same sentiment stating "It will delight all children and get many a laugh from their elders." An issue of The Film Daily (Dated February 7, 1932) stated "In addition to El Brendel in person this week's show at the Roxy is a special treat for the kids. The presentation includes four scenes based on 'Mickey's Orphans,' the Mickey Mouse cartoon that was held over for three weeks at this house. The characters of Mickey and Minnie are portrayed by the Arnaut Brothers, popular pantomimists. Patricia Bowman, Fred Waring's orchestra in a novelty entitled 'Dancing Melodies,' and the Roxyettes also are part of the proceedings. In the Mickey scenes, the Roxyettes and ballet group are made up to represent kittens, musical notes and animated furnishings in Minnie's boudoir." This movie was reissued to theatres in 1934. 


    

Now it is time for a commercial break.

Now we join our good friend Pooch the Pup in Nature's Workshop (1933). The last few moments of this movie are completely insane and I love them.

If you have trouble reading the page below click on it and use your touch screen to zoom in. The page has an extra little bonus for fans of Universal Monster movies. 

Universal Weekly, 1933

Up next Donald Duck once again battles Chip and Dale in Chips Ahoy (1956). Unlike other Chip and Dale, shorts, this cartoon was directed by Jack Kinney instead of Jack Hannah. While it is not as crazy as some of Kinney's other films, this cartoon still features all the delightful slapstick you could want. This movie predates the cookies with the same name. 

Now for Bugs Bunny in Prince Violent (1961). This film would later be renamed, Prince Varmint for TV airings, because I guess seeing the word violent written out would make kids want to be violent. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in Simpson Xmas (1988). This was one of the Simpsons shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show before the family got their own TV series. 

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

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #61

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

Today’s selection starts off with a short film from Russian director Fyodor Khitruck called Story of One Crime (1961). This movie was the first directed by Khitruck (who had spent 25 years as an animator) and differed from earlier society animation by having a more stylized look. This film gained some controversy on its release by being critical of Soviet society. However the movie proved very popular and finally helped animators in Soviet Russia to gain more artistic freedom.

The Max Fleischer Color Classic cartoons are mostly a response to Disney’s Silly Symphonies. As such many of these films feel more like a Silly Symphony than a Fleischer cartoon. There were however exceptions that had a personality all their own. One of the best of these was A Car-Tune Portrait (1937). A review in the Motion Picture Herald called this, "A swiftly-paced animated cartoon effectively photographed in Technicolor." An exhibitor's review (also in the Motion Picture Herald stated, "One I kept away from. Why I don't know but its good and if you haven't played it pick it up." Another stated "This is as a good a short as has been made by any producer. Play it in a top spot."  

Motion Picture Herald, 1935

Next comes a delightful Pooch the Pup cartoon from the Walter Lantz studio, The Crowd Snores (1932). I love early 1930's rubber hose animation and this film is full of it. In fact there as many rubber hose gags as can possibly fit into a 7 minute cartoon. Every object is alive and made of extra stretchy rubber. An exhibitor's review in The Motion Picture Herald stated "These are always good." This shows that though forgotten today, Pooch had some popularity back in his day. Watching this film it is not hard to figure out why.

Following is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring the series' first starring character Bosko. The film is Bosko's Dog Race (1932). Though these early Bosko cartoon may not greatly resemble later Looney Tunes, they are very entertaining in their own right. A review in the Motion Picture Herald stated "Not unusual, this animated cartoon is nevertheless entertaining." An exhibitor's review (also in The Motion Picture Herald) stated, "Extra good cartoon for kids as well as adults enjoyed it."






Next is a fun Terrytoons cartoon, Just a Little Bull (1940). An exhibitor's review in The Motion Picture Herald stated, "A dandy short. None better."

 

In the later years of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales were often pitted against one another. While these were hardly the best films of either series, they are entertaining in their own weird way. Here is one of those cartoons, Feather Finger (1966).




Ending today’s cartoon selection is a classic Donald Duck cartoon Trombone Trouble (1944).

Thank you for joining me and come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then peace, love and cartoons.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Pooch the Pup Keeps Oswald the Rabbit Company

Hello my friends. I assume many of you who read my blog are like me, fans of early 1930's cartoons. They have a style all their own that is completely separate from anything that came before or anything since. Even in their crudest incarnations there was imagination and sheer embracing of being a cartoon, that I simply love about these films. Some of my first introductions to this period of cartoon history were the Walter Lantz cartoons and I still have a fondness for those films today. This following page from a 1933 issue of Universal Weekly celebrates the Walter Lantz Studio's two main cartoon stars Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Pooch the Pup. If you have trouble reading the page click on it and use your touch screen to zoom in.




-Michael J. Ruhland