Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #202

 Hello my friends and welcome back for another selection of classic cartoons.

Today's cartoon selection begins with a wonderful Christmas themed Donald Duck cartoon, Toy Tinkers (1949). This movie is a personal favorite of mine and in my opinion is the best of the cartoons were Donald faces off against Chip and Dale. The film has some wonderful cartoony gags that could have come from a Looney Tunes cartoon of the same time, and I love that. The telephone gag is especially wonderful. I have always loved the really cartoony side of Disney and movies like this that show off that side have a special place in my heart. This cartoon would make its TV debut on a 1958 Christmas episode of Walt Disney Presents. That version starts with some new animation featuring Chip and Dale telling Jiminy Cricket how they celebrate Christmas. 

Variety, 1943



Next comes one of the Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoons, Hoppy Days (1961). All of these films were directed by Robert McKimson and followed the same basic formula of Sylvester mistaking the baby kangaroo for a giant mouse. There were 13 of these films and this was the next to last one. 

Now for a delightful Betty Boop cartoon, PArade of the Wooden Soldiers (1934). The following are some exhibitor's reviews from the Motion Picture Herald, "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers: Betty Boop: A clever short subject and fine for children. - C.A. Pratt, Texas Theatre, Smithville, Texas. Small Town Patronage." " PARADE OF WOODEN SOLDIERS: Betty Boop Cartoons — One of the best Betty Boop cartoons. The musical score by Rubinoff is splendid. Running time, nine minutes. -A.B. Jeffries, New Piedmont Theatre, Piedmont, Mo. Rural and small town patronage." 

Up next is Christmas Night (1933). This cartoon comes from the delightfully underrated cartoon series, Van Bueren's Little King cartoons. These films are full of the type of surreal cartoony gags that 
I simply love and this movie is one of my favorites in the series. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for a classic Mickey Mouse film, Mickey's Rival (1936). The titular character is a mouse named Mortimer. Those of you who know your Disney history will know, that Mortimer was a name that was considered for Mickey. This was Mortimer's first appearance though he bared more than a little resemblance to Mr. Slicker a character that appeared in the Micky Mouse comic strip. Though Mickey's Rival was his only appearance in a theatrically released short film, it was not his only appearance in animation. He became a reoccurring character in the television shows, Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000) and House of Mouse (2001-2003). He also has a role in the direct to video feature film, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and has appeared briefly in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006-2016) and Mickey and the Roadster Races (2017-present). Outside of animation he has been used very often in the Disney comic strips and began to appear in them around the same time he made his debut in movie theaters. Mortimer's design is said to be based off of Walt Disney and those who have seen pictures of a young Walt, will find this easy to believe. The ending to Mickey's Rival has Mickey and Minnie simply shaking hands. However it was originally planned for Mickey to have a buzzer on his hand to play a Mortimer type prank on Minnie. Though this would have been out of character for Mickey at this time it would have fit perfectly in with the Mickey Mouse of the late 1920's. A review in The Motion Picture Herald stated "The subject is less complex than many of the recent Disney fabrications but wholly entertaining." The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "Mickey's Rival: Mickey Mouse - We find that the bad characters often frighten our small children and they go out into the foyer until it is passed over. - Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada, General Patronage." The following is another exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "Mickey's Rival: Mickey Mouse—Played this the second time as it is one of the best of the Mickeys. — C. L. Niles, Niles Theatre, Anamosa, Iowa. General patronage." A review in The Motion Picture Daily stated, "Clever animation and fast-moving, but there have been better Mickey's. For instance 'Alpine Climbers.'" The following is from a 1936 issue of The Film Daily, "United Artists' latest Walt Disney release, 'Mickey's Rival', introducing Mortimer Mouse, will open at the Radio City Music Hall with 'Swing Time' on Thursday, and at the Rivoii Theater with 'The Last of the Mohicans.'"

Next comes a delightful Christmas treat from Famous Studios with Hector's Hectic Life (1948). This movie was directed by former Disney animator, Bill Tytla (probably my favorite Disney animator). Tytla had worked on some of Disney's finest feature films including Snow White (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941) and his animation was often a highlight even in these masterpieces. Though the Famous Studios cartoons he directed might not be as highly praised as his animation for Disney, these films often showed him as a very capable director. This movie is a good example of this. 

Next comes The Pink Panther in Sherlock Pink (1976).

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

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

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

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

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 #191

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Donald Duck in Bee at the Beach (1950). This short film pits Donald Duck against Spike the bee. Though Spike is a rather forgotten Disney character, this film is not the only time him and Donald went up against each other. Staring with Inferior Decorator (1948) and ending with Let's Stick Together (1952), the two made a series of 7 shorts centered around the two fighting. Bee at the Beach would make its TV debut on the Walt Disney Presents episode, This is Your Life, Donald Duck (1960).

Next comes 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 the Bugs Bunny short, Bugs and Thugs (1954). This short would later be edited into the feature-length compilation film, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981). 

Next comes the 6th Hoot Kloot film, Stirrups and Hiccups (1973). This short film is a play on the story of Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde. 

Next is Willie Whopper in Insultin' the Sultan (1934).  Willie Whopper was the second starring character to come out of Ub Iwerks' own cartoon studio. The first character is Flip the Frog, who did not prove to be that popular and had to be replaced. Unfortunately, Willie did not catch on with audiences either and his movie career only lasted 13 short films. Before leaving to make cartoons for his own studio, Ub had worked at Disney playing an incredibly important role in the Disney shorts of the 1920's and early 30's. He even played a large role in the creation of Mickey Mouse. After his own studio work did not pan out, he returned to Disney where he would do special effects work on many of the Disney's best feature films. The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "Insultin' the Sultan: Willie Whopper - This is a good cartoon comedy that pleased all who saw it. Willie is not so popular here, but with better story material he will improve and the patrons will be pleased. Running Time, 9 minutes. - J.J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N.C. General Patronage." 

It is time for a commercial break. 

Next is Cubby Bear in The Nut Factory (1933). This is one of my favorite Cubby Bear films.

 
Now for the second Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon, There's Good Boos To-night (1948). Though many of the Casper cartoons aimed for sentiment, few of them were as effective as this short film. The film's ending is surprisingly quite touching. 

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After the success of The Pink Panther (1964) and A Shot in the Dark (1964), Mirisch Films was interested in a third Inspector Clouseau movie. Unfortunately, director Blake Edwards and star Peter Sellers both declined. The studio still wished to make another film and cast Alan Arkin as Inspector Clouseau and put Bud Yorkin in the director's chair. The result was Inspector Clouseau (1968) and was definitely one of the weakest Pink Panther feature films. One of the few highlights was the opening credits sequence, which was as with the previous movies is essentially a cartoon short. This sequence featured The Inspector. This character starred in a wonderful series of theatrical cartoon shorts from 1965 to 1969 for the DePatie-Freleng studio and was based off of the character of Clouseau. The DePatie-Freleng studio (which had also done the opening credits sequences for the previous two Inspector Clouseau films) is credited with creating and designing this sequence, while TVC London is credited with animating it. Fortunately for fans of these movies, Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers would later return to the Pink Panther franchise with The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). 

Today's cartoon selection ends with one of the best post golden age Looney Tunes cartoons, Little Go Beep (2000).

Resources Used

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

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

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

https://lantern.mediahist.org/

 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #184

 Good morning my friends and welcome back for another selection of classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with a wonderful Friz Freleng directed cartoon, D' Fightin' Ones (1961). This short film is a wonderful parody of the Stanley Kramer movie The Defiant Ones (1958). In that movie a white man and a black man who are chained together escape from prison. Despite the white man being a racist and the two having a strong hatred for each other the two must work together to survive. In this cartoon we have instead of a white man and a black man, we have Sylvester the cat and a big dog chained together. This idea in itself its very funny, but the cartoon is still wonderful even for those who don't know what it is parodying.  

Next we join Gandy Goose and Sourpuss in Sham Battle Shenanigans (1942). This was the first of a series of cartoons made during World War 2 which put Gandy and Sourpuss in the army. They were not the only cartoon characters to be drafted into the army for a series of cartoons during World War 2. Disney's Donald Duck (despite wearing a sailor suit in civilian life) also joined the army. The following is a review from The Film Daily, "Done in Technicolor, this Terry-Toon confection is a sweet source of laughter - loud and plentiful. The action has to do with the mishaps that befall a cat and duck during war maneuvers. Being thoroughly inexperienced soldiers, the two get themselves into a lot of silly situations, out of which they manage to work themselves in an extremely funny manner. Some of the incidents are good for howls." Enjoy the cartoon and remember to have some Dunker's Donuts while watching it. 



 

Director's Jack Kinney's Goofy cartoons are the closest the Disney studio came to Tex Avery's MGM cartoons. These short films are fast paced gag filled satires that take full advantage of the cartoon medium. They are also some of my personal favorite cartoon shorts. A great example of why these films are so great can be seen in this next cartoon, Tomorrow We Diet (1951). 

Now it is time to join our flapper friend Betty Boop in one of her early appearances, Kitty From Kansas City (1931). This short film was released a year before Betty got her own series, so it is part of the Fleischer Brothers' Screen Songs series. This is the series where movie goers would follow the bouncing ball and sing along with popular songs. In many of these films there would be a popular singer of the time performing the song. Here that singer is the crooner Rudy Vallee, who had recorded the title song in 1930 and had a hit with it. The same year as this movie, Rudy would appear in Betty Co-ed (1931), another Fleischer screen song cartoon. Paramount Around the World magazine would state "Speaking of Screen Songs, 'Kitty from Kansas City,' in which Rudy Vallee appears in person, is easily the best short that this radio and stage celebrity has ever made." Of course, Paramount may have been more than a little biased here.

Motion Picture Herald, 1931

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for an episode of The New Three Stooges featuring the voices of the real Stooges who also appear in the opening and closing live action segments. The live action segments would often be repeated even when the cartoon was new. Curly Joe DeRita felt that this hurt the show. He thought that people would see a live action segment they had seen before and assume the show was a rerun and change the channel not knowing the cartoon was new. 

Now for a silent movie starring Felix the Cat, Felix Revolts (1923). 

Last but certainly not least comes an all time classic, The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942). This is one of Chuck Jones' most daring (and arguably one of his best) films. The stylized design and animation were unlike most anything being done at this time and look forward to what UPA would become known for in the 1950's. Many have cited Chuck Jones as a very strong influence on UPA and with a cartoon like this who could argue? It is worth noting that the credited animator on this film is Robert Cannon, who would become an important director for UPA (he directed Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950) there). Much of this film's charm came from background artist, Gene Fleury and layout artist John McGrew. These were two very experimental artists and Chuck gave them plenty of room to experiment. They are a huge part of why Chuck's cartoons for this era really stand out. If you are a fan of Disney's Goofy cartoons, you will probably recognize the narrator, John McLeisch (who narrated most of the Goofy "how to..." shorts). The film's writer Ted Pierce does the voice of Tom. However the scene stealer of the voice actors is Mel Blanc as he seems to be having a blast voicing the villainous Dan Backslide (coward, bully, cad and thief). Visually Dan Backslide is a caricature of Warner's animator, Ken Harris. This film appropriately appears in Jerry Beck's book, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes. 

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 100 Greatest Looney Tunes edited by Jerry Beck

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

  

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #164

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

Today's cartoon selection starts with a delightful early Mickey Mouse movie, The Gorilla Mystery (1930). This short film was somewhat spoofing the 1925 play The Gorilla which also involved a dark house and a sinister gorilla. This play had been made into a silent feature film, The Gorilla (1927). The same year as this cartoon was released a talkie remake, The Gorilla (1930). A more comedic approach to this story was the later Ritz Brothers feature, The Gorilla (1939). The gorilla used in this Mickey cartoon (according to studio documentation) is the same one who would appear in the future Mickey Mouse shorts, Mickey's Mechanical Man (1933) and The Pet Store (1933). This movie benefits from some great atmospheric touches that show just how advanced the Disney studio was even at this point. Those of you who have seen the Mickey Mouse short film, Get a Horse (2013), should note that that Mickey's shout of "Minnie" in this cartoon was reused in that film. Mickey's cry of "Bring her back Mr. Ingagi" is a reference to the movie, Ingagi (1930), which also featured an evil gorilla.

Next we join Sylvester and Hippety Hopper in Lighthouse Mouse (1955). This duo had made a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, all featuring the same basic plot where Sylvester would mistake baby kangaroo Hippety for a giant mouse. Each cartoon in this series would be directed by Robert McKimson. McKimson had directed the second most classic cartoons with Sylvester (with Friz Freleng directing the most). 

Next comes one of my favorite Terrytoons made during the era when Gene Deitch was heading the studio, The Juggler of Our Lady (1958). Gene Deitch was not someone who one would except to ever head the Terrytoons Studio. For one, he had a completely different style of filmmaking. Secondly, he was not a fan of Terrytoons. Even today the studio is known for creating cheap and quickly made films. While some of them are quite entertaining, none of them ever desired to be art. Deitch took advantage of now being in charge of this studio by getting rid of nearly all the characters the studio had created (most famously Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle) and making the type of films he wanted to make. About taking over the studio Deitch stated, "It was the dream challenge of every red-blooded American boy animator, a chance to remake the world's worst cartoon studio into the best." For this movie Deitch wanted to make a film based off of R. O. Blechman's story, The Juggler of Our Lady. It took a while for Blechman to agree to this movie being made. Deitch later remembered, "I was literally on the phone with Bob every night for nearly a year before he finally relented. I assured him over and over again, that we would be absolutely true to his story and faithful to his graphic style. My ace card was Al Kouzel, one of the finest artists who ever worked with me. I knew that I could rely on Al to perfectly get Bob Blechman's images unscathed onto the big screen." Al Kouzel would be the only animator as well as the director of this movie. 

Van Beuren's Rainbow Parade cartoon like Disney's Silly Symphonies rarely had reoccurring characters. However also like the Silly Symphonies there were a few exceptions one of these was the character of Molly Moo Cow. When Joseph Barbera later wrote about his time at Van Beuren, he would have little nice to say about this character. "With a staff of about 150, the organizational chaos at Van Bueren was a serious problem, but the worse fault was exemplified by the very idea of Molly Moo Cow herself. This was the best character they could come up with? I mean what can you do with a cow? It isn't intelligent. It certainly isn't beautiful - except to a farmer or a bull. It is sedentary rather than lively and even with rubber legs it doesn't move in interesting ways or in a way that allows much range or variety of action. As animated characters go, cows do not work." I may not be a farmer or a bull but I think cows can be really beautiful. 

Now it is time for a commercial break.

Next is the last black and white Silly Symphony, Bugs in Love (1932). This is a rather typical Silly Symphony of its time, following the well-established formula of animated characters having a grand time to music until the villain of the piece appears and tries to wreck their fun. As you can guess by the title this film's story involves various bugs. Bugs were a common site in the early Silly Symphonies and the newspaper comic strip. In fact, the newspaper comic strip featured a complete remake of this cartoon. The Silly Symphonies were a series that at this time was constantly improving and audiences and exhibitors quickly took note of this improvement. For evidence here is an exhibitors review from 1934 (two years after the film's original release), "BUGS IN LOVE: Silly Symphonies—An old Silly Symphony. Not as good as the new ones. Running time, one reel.—A. B. Jefferis, New Piedmont Theatre, Piedmont, Mo. Small Town Patronage." Of course the Silly Symphonies were quite appropriately one of the most popular cartoon series of the time. The following is an exhibitors review from The Motion Picture Herald, "BUGS IN LOVE: Another great Silly Symphony. Give it extra billing.—Charles Niles, Niles Theatre, Anamosa, Iowa." Not everybody was so impressed with the series though as shown through the following exhibitors review from The Motion Picture Herald, "BUGS IN LOVE: Silly Symphony—This is just an- other Walt Disney cartoon comedy. Nothing good about it; just ordinary and is only fair entertainment. We have only played one good comedy of this series and every time we hope the next one will be better. Disappointed in these. Running time, nine minutes. - J. J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N.C., General Patronage." 

Up next is The Inspector in Bear De Guerre (1968). This film is a rare time, when we see the Inspector when he is not on duty. Here he is simply taking a hunting trip. Unfortunately for him he seems to be just as incompetent at hunting as he is at his police work. 

Today's cartoon selection ends with Betty Boop in A Language All My Own (1935). While this may not be as wild and crazy as many other Betty Boop cartoons, it has a certain sweet charm that I find irresistible. Though there still are a few surreal gags that you except from these films (I especially love the on involving the statue of liberty). By the way Betty is singing actual Japanese in this movie.   

 

Motion Picture Herald, 1932

Resources Used

Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation by Amid Amidi

My Life in Toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century by Joseph Barbera

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 

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

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #163

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with a classic Bugs Bunny short, 8 Ball Bunny (1950). This movie marks the second and final classic cartoon short to feature Playboy Penguin, who had previously appeared with Bugs in Frigid Hare (1949). Both of these cartoons were directed by Chuck Jones. Old movie buffs will delight at a running gag that is a reference to John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). This running gag has a caricature of Humphry Bogart (voiced by Dave Barry) asking Bugs, " Say, pardon me but, could you help out a fellow American who's down on his luck?" The real Bogart asked this question multiple times in John Huston's classic feature film. 

Up next comes Willie Whopper in Jungle Jitters (1934). The following are some exhibitors' reviews from The Motion Picture Herald. "Jungle Jitters: Willie Whopper - This is a good cartoon comedy that pleased all who saw it. This is one of the best of this series of Willie, and if all were as good as this one, this would be one of the best shorts on the market. Running Time 9 Minutes, J.J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N.C. General Patronage." " JUNGLE JITTERS: Willie Whopper—Another Willie Whopper. Running Time, One Reel, - J. Glenn Caldwell, Princess Theatre, Aurora, Mo. Small Town Patronage." "JUNGLE JITTERS: Willie Whopper— This is a very poor cartoon. Running time one reel. J.A. Verchot, Opera House, Abbeville, S.C. Small Town Patronage." "WILLIE WHOPPER: Just ordinary cartoons that our patrons are tiring of. - A.E. Christian, Wayne Theatre, Monticello, Ky. Small Town Patronage."

The Film Daily, 1933

Now we join the Pink Panther in Pink-Come Tax (1968). 

Up next is Mickey Mouse in his second western movie The Catus Kid (1930). This cartoon marks the first time Marcellite Garner voices Minnie. She would continue to voice Minnie throughout the decade and into the begining of the next decade. Her last time voicing Minnie would be for Out of the Frying Pan and into the Firing Line (1942). There is also some reused animation for an earlier Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short, Sagebursh Sadie (1928). This animation involves a gag involving a lasso. This movie also marks the first time a Disney cartoon had the dialogue and sound effects prerecorded. 

Now for a commercial break. 

Up next is Sylvester and Tweety in Muzzle Tough (1954). 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." Despite Friz's comments Tweety does have some pretty funny lines in this film. 

Next is Green Lantern in the first of his TV cartoons for Filmation, Evil is As Evil Does (1967).

Now to close with a song. 

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://mediahistoryproject.org/

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #136

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

Today's selection begins with The Grocery Boy (1932) starring Mickey Mouse. This is a sweet simple little cartoon of the type that the Disney studio excelled at. The movie is helped by some truly excellent character animation and a great cast of animators. David Hand (who would be the supervising director for Snow White (1937) and Bambi) animates the film's opening. Tom Palmer animates Mickey and Minnie on the phone, a long sequence that begins with Mickey and Pluto entering the house and ends with Minnie kissing a bump on Mickey's head and the closing moment. Ben Sharpsteen (who would be the supervising director for Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia (1940)) animates Pluto pulling at the table as well as the statue falling on Mickey. Rudy Zamora animates Mickey and Pluto running to Minnie's house. Future Donald Duck director, Jack King animates Minnie stirring and Mickey shelling the peas. Les Clark (one of Walt's Nine Old Men and one of the studio's top Mickey animators) animates Mickey getting the stuffing out of the turkey. A review in Variety stated, "Nothing outstanding in this one, but a good example of the Disney product." The climatic ending of this cartoon would later be adapted for the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip.

Next comes Porky Pig in Meet John Doughboy (1941). This is very much a movie of its time. At this time the U.S.A. had yet to enter World War 2, yet it was very much excepted that we would join. Because of this a peace time draft was initiated. American films (often very patriotic) dealing with the draft became increasingly popular. Though this is technically a Porky Pig cartoon, Porky has little to do and simply serves to introduce the picture. This was something that director Bob Clampett was doing often around this point. Porky was still very much the star of Looney Tunes but Bob seemed disinterested in making cartoons revolving around the character at this time instead wanting to focus on other characters or make spot gag cartoons. Therefore using Porky in tiny inconsequential roles was the ideal way to make the cartoons he wanted while still using the series' star character.

While I personally strongly dislike many of the Filmation Studio's comedy cartoons (what they did to Tom and Jerry and Droopy is incredibly awful), I really like their superhero cartoons. True they are corny as all get out, but I have a special fondness for really corny superhero stories. Here is the first episode of the studio's TV cartoons starring The Flash, The Chemo-Creature (1967). Worried about bad guys taking over. Don't worry The Flash will be there in a flash.

Stephan Bosustow, cartoon producer and one of the founders of the UPA studio (home of Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing) had a strong interest in creating an animated feature film based on the work of writer James Thurber. However he could not get the funding for this, so he asked UPA director William T. Hurtz to adapt one of Thurber's stories as an animated short film. Hurtz took this idea very seriously and studied nearly every drawing Thurber made. The result was A Unicorn in the Garden (1953). Bosustow was reportedly disappointed with the end result. Because of this he refused to submit the movie for consideration for an Academy Award and changed plans for the studio's first feature to one starring Mr. Magoo. Cartoon fans certainly aren't disappointed by the result. This movie is not only beloved by cartoon fans but received the 48th spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons.

Now it is time for a commercial break.

Next comes a great Fleischer Brother's Talkartoon, The Grand Uproar (1930). This movie has everything you could want out of a Fleischer cartoon, lots of weird bizarre gags that are filled with the creativity that makes their Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons so beloved. If the mice characters look a bit like Mickey and Minnie, it should be noted that nearly every studio was doing this at this time.

Next comes The Inspector in Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux (1966).

Now let us end with a song.

-Mchael J. Ruhland Resources Used The 50 Greatest Cartoons edited 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

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #114

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Welcome back for another round of classic cartoons. 

Today's selection begins with Sylvester and Tweety in Tweet Dreams (1959). This cartoon is what is often referred to as a cheater. This means that it uses clips from earlier cartoons. The cartoons which have clips used here include Sandy Claws (1954), Tweety's Circus (1955), A Street Cat Named Sylvester (1953), Gift Wrapped (1952) and Too Hop to Handle (1956). Another cheater cartoon, Freudy Cat (1964) uses a similar premise where Sylvester visits a psychist. I have always loved the ending joke of this film. 

Next comes Disney's last Silly Symphony short, The Ugly Duckling (1939). The studio had already made this Hans Christian Anderson story into a Silly Symphony in 1931. However this version is more dramatic while the early version was more comedic. This wide different take on the source material fully justifies, the series returning to this story. Looking at this film, there is no doubt that the Silly Symphonies went out on a high note. The animation is fantastic even by Disney standards (animators include Eric Larson, Stan Quackenbush, Riley Thompson, Archie Robin, Milt Kahl and Paul Satterfeild). Comparing this to the earliest Symphonies shows how far Disney had come in the art of character animation. It is no wonder this won the "Best Cartoon" Oscar of 1939. Though originally playing in movie theatres this cartoon made a very early appearance on TV, when it played on an early variety show (May 1, 1940) celebrating the first anniversary of TV's first commercial appearance in New York. A review in Photoplay stated, "You'll choke with laughter and tears at the same time; gasp at the lovely color and settings. The Hans Christian Anderson story is followed closely except Disney improves on Anderson's very funny implication that the swan's egg in the duck's nest might lead Papa Duck to suspect his mate." A review in The Film Daily states. " Though the story only concerns the feathered folk this short is fused with real feels and pathos." 

                                                         Motion Picture Daily, 1940

Next comes a classic Fleischer Popeye cartoon, I Never Changes My Altitude (1937). When movie magazines listed this cartoon they changed the name to the grammatically correct, "I Never Change My Altitude." The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "I Never Change My Altitude: Popeye the Sailor - These Popeye cartoons are very good for the kids. This one did not go over with the adults. Running time , eight minutes, A.J. Inks, Crystal Theatre, Ligonier, Ind. Small Town Patronage." Another exhibitor's review for the Motion Picture Harald, disagreed with this stating, " I NEVER CHANGE MY ALTITUDE: Popeye the Sailor—A good Popeye. Adults will enjoy this as much as the kids. Running time, seven minutes.— A. E. Eliasen, Rialto Theatre, Paynesville, Minn. Rural and small town patronage." 

Up next is a classic Daffy and Porky teaming, The Ducksters (1950). This cartoon features Daffy hosting a very sadistic radio game show with Porky as the contestant. Daffy is as much of a clear cut villain here as he would be in the later cartoons when he is up against Speedy Gonzales. However he is so energetic and fun to watch here that even those who hate his later more villainess roles will have fun watching this cartoon. This film would be reissued to theatres on June 18, 1961. 

Next comes Cubby Bear in Croon Crazy (1933). The following is an exhibitor's review from Motion Picture Herald, "Croon Crazy: Cubby the Bear - Seldom is there a short nowadays that doesn't ring in the 'Come up and see me sometime' stuff. You wonder whether new expressions are not all washed up. Why not start something new. - Mrs. N. Monte Gill, Strand Theatre, Montpelier, Vt. General Patronage." 

Up next is a Color Rhapsody cartoon from Columbia, The Herring Murder Mystery (1943). This is the only theatrical short directed by Dun Roman, who worked as a writer on other Columbia cartoons and would later work on Jay Ward's television cartoons. A reviewer for The Exhibitor wrote, "Technicolor, drawing and animation are all good but it isn't particularly funny." 

 

/

Motion Picture Herald, 1934



Today's cartoon selection ends with an oddball Disney short, Football Now and Then (1953). This cartoon was directed by Jack Kinney and it features much of the same mixture of clever satire and great cartoon slapstick as his Goofy shorts. Yet this film is much stranger than any of his Goofy cartoons. Though even a lot of major Disney fans are not familiar with this, those who know this cartoon all seem to have a fondness for it. So I hope you enjoy one of the silliest cartoons to come out of the Disney studio. 

 

Thanks for joining me come back next week for another round of animated classics. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.