Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #199

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote in Compressed Hare (1961). This movie marked the fourth time Bugs and Wile E. would be pitted against each other. Unlike in the Roadrunner cartoons, in these films, Wile E. talks quite a bit. There would be only one more theatrical cartoon pairing the two characters, Hare-Breadth Hurry (1963). However in Hare-Breadth Hurry, Wile E. would not speak. 

Next comes Popeye the Sailor in It's the Natural Thing to Do (1939). This movie has an incredibly clever plot. Popeye, Bluto and Olive get a letter from their "fans" asking them to cut and the rough stuff. With this the trio tries hard to get along but soon find themselves unable to break the monopoly of not fighting. The title song was a hit song at this time and had been used in the Bing Crosby feature film, Double or Nothing (1937). Strangely enough a review in The Showmen's Trade Review stated, "Caught during a full house, this cartoon didn't elicit much laughter from the audience. Nevertheless, it should suffice." The same issue gave advice on how theatre owners could advertise this film, "Tie-up with store selling the Popeye labeled merchandise. Use a compo-board cutout of the cartoon character in the lobby. In a newspaper contest on 'the natural thing to do,' you might list some etiquette rules, true and false, offering prizes to those who label them correctly." 

Now for Mickey Mouse in Mickey's Mellerdramer (1933). This is a film full of wonderful animation and artwork. Watching this cartoon makes one realize was Disney was so revered at this time period. This is just a very handsome cartoon and when you look at who worked on this movie, it becomes very obvious why. This movie features an all star cast of animators. Paul Fennell animated the hat gag towards the start of the cartoon. Ham Luske animated the hen sitting down towards the start and the hen applauding. Les Clark, one of Walt's Nine Old Men and still hailed as one of the finest Mickey animators of all time, animates Minnie in her dressing room.  Frenchy de Trémaudan, a truly wonderful animator whose work appears on many of the best Disney shorts from this period, animates Clarabella Cow in her dressing room. Chuck Couch animates the firecracker gag. Eddie Donelly animates Horace Horsecollar in his dressing room, Horace making the galloping sound and Horace coming on stage and bowing. Bill Roberts, who would later be a sequence director on such Disney feature films as Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944), and Johnny Cannon share the animation duties of the audience reacting to what is happening on stage. Gerry Geronimi, who would later be one of the directors of such Disney feature films as Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and 101 Dalmatians (1961), animates Horace whipping Mickey and Horace getting hit by the vegetables. Tom Palmer, who would direct some cartoons for Warner Brothers and Van Beuren, animates Goofy and his card. Fred Moore, another master Mickey Mouse animator and legendary Disney feature animator known for his work with the Dwarfs in Snow White (1937), Lampwick in Pinocchio and the mermaids in Peter Pan animates Clarabella on the ice, Horace and the dogs and Mickey letting the curtain down. Ben Sharpsteen, later supervising director for Pinocchio and Dumbo (1941), animates Horace against the wind, Mickey and the cat falling onto the stage and the cat on Clarabella's head. Roy Williams, later the big mooseketeer on TV's The Mickey Mouse Club, animates Mickey making the thunder effect. Harry Reeves animates Mickey and the cat in the tuba, the tuba player blowing them out of his horn and Goofy with the lightning. Ed Love, later a member of Tex Avery's unit at MGM, animates the dogs annoying the musicians and chasing our heroes. The fade out gag is animated by both Tom Palmer and Gerry Geronimi. The idea of Mickey and friends putting on a stage play of Uncle Tom's Cabin and some of the gags used here had been used in the Mickey Mouse comic strip in 1932, the year before this cartoon was released. Though the blackface gags may make this cartoon a product of its time, there is still a lot to enjoy in this movie.

Up next is Andy Panda in Under the Spreading Blacksmith Shop (1942). This movie marks the last appearance of Andy's father in a theatrical cartoon short. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes Betty Boop in Judge for a Day (1935). This movie has everything I love about Betty Boop cartoons from the 1930's as it is equal parts cute and sadistic. The following is an exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, "Judge For A Day: Betty Boop Cartoons - Just a fair one reeler, not much to laugh at. Running time one reel. -Rudolf Duba, Royal Theatre, Kimball, S.D. Small Town Patronage." I disagree very much with that assessment. 

Motion Picture Daily, 1938

Now we join our old friend Scrappy in The Black Sheep (1933). 

In the 1970's the DePatie-Freleng studios was keeping the ear theatrical cartoon shorts going after most cartoon studios have abandoned these types of films. One of the series of short films they made during this time was The Blue Racer staring a fast-moving snake. Here is one of those movies, Blue Racer Blues (1972). 

Today's cartoon selection ends with The Simpsons in on of their shorts for The Tracy Ullman Show, The Bart Simpson Show (1988). This short marks the first appearance of Itchy and Scratchy. 

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. 

Movie Review: Black Panther Wakanda Forever

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent Marvel film.

This is a Marvel film that for the majority of the movie does not focus on a customed hero. If there is a filmmaker to make such a movie it is Ryan Coogler (who not only directed but also co-wrote the film). Those familar with his Creed films or even the first Black Panther movie, will know that where he really shines as a filmmaker is with deeply human stories and that is just what he delivers here. This movie focuses on T'Challa's (the original Black Panther) sister Shuri. After the death of her brother (after a beautiful scene paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (who played the original Black Panther)), she finds herself in grief and hiding herself from everyone else working in her laboratory on various inventions. From her she goes on a very moving character arc that is both sadly beautiful and uplifting at the same time. Her character always comes off as real and sympathetic, but at the same time she is deeply flawed and isn't always dealing with her grief in the healthiest of ways. Yet these flaws only make her feel more human and relatable to us. Adding to this is both a wonderful performance by Letitia Wright and the fact that Ryan Coogler is not afraid to slow down and take his time to tell this story. We take time with these characters and what they are going through. We can't rush through scenes dealing with the emotions these characters are feeling or else the believability will be lost. Instead, we are given the time to let all of these emotions sink in. Yet the film never drags or feels too slow. Even though this is a more serious Marvel movie, it still features some of the great humor everybody associates with the MCU. This is not as humor driven as many Marvel films. However even if there are less comedic moments, the ones that are here are really funny. This is also a superhero movie, where you don't always know what is going to happen next, which is very appreciated. This is especially true when it comes to Namor. This character was advertised as this movie's villain, but he is a more complex character than that. Fans of the comic book character will be very pleased at how well this character is used in this movie. 

Unfortunately, even with how great this movie works emotionally; the action scenes leave something to be desired. These scenes are never as exciting as they should be. They are not paced well and unlike the best action superhero action scenes, they do not feel like they are building up to anything bigger. It is strange to say that the action scenes are the weakest part of a superhero movie, but that is definitely true here. The CGI in this film is also often too obvious and you can usually tell what is real and what is CGI. This is something that also hurt the action scenes, especially the climatic one.

This is an excellent and very moving superhero film. Not even its flaws can take away how wonderful so much of this movie can be.  

The New Super Friends: The Demons of Exxor (1978)

 

A really fun little episode. 

In this episode the evil villain Lord Darkon is trying to take over Exxor, the home planet of the Wonder Twins. He plans to do this by unleashing a monster created out of the citizens' fears. Without being able to contact the rest of our heroes, the Wonder Twins decide to take care of matters themselves. However they quickly get kidnapped by Lord Darkon. When the rest of our heroes find out about this, they set out to save the Wonder Twins. 

This episode may be incredibly dated by today's standards, but it is just the kind of corny superhero fun that I love. The villain has a really cool design and a delightful cartoon villain voice. He may be really one-note personality wise but that just kind of adds to the corny fun. His power to bring to life people's deepest fears is a really creative and fun power. The design of the spaceship and of the planet of Exxor are simply wonderful and give a great atmospheric feel to this space adventure. Seeing the Wonder Twins home planet was also a lot of fun. There also some nice little story touches here too. I like that the Wonder Twins actually put up a decent fight before being captured, rather than just falling directly into the villain's hands. This episode also does a great job of making use of each of the Super Friends' powers and abilities.   

Unfortunately this episode features quite a bit of Gleek, which should be excepted from a Wonder Twins centered episode, but still it is not appreciated. I can't help but find this character a bit annoying. He is one of the weakest of the Hanna-Barbera animal comedic sidekicks. Plus I don't think such a character is needed in a show that is already quite corny. 

Despite Gleek, this is a fun episode. True modern super hero fans may find it very dated, but to me that is just what makes it charming. 

Movie Trailer: John Wick: Chapter 4

Movie Trailer: Pinocchio

Movie Trailer: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Movie Review: The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A wonderful documentary about Tanya Tucker's wonderful 2019 While I'm Livin' album.

If you are a country music fan like I am then no one needs to tell you who Tanya Tucker is. Her singing songs like Delta Dawn, What's Your Daddy's Name and Texas (When I Die) will forever live int he fans of those who truly love country music and for good reason. Since she is such a country music great, it is strange to think that there was a gap of 10 years between While I'm Livin' and her previous album My Turn. While I'm Lvin' was also her first album of original music since 2002's Tanya. This movie helps us see not only why this was the case (the deaths of her parents left her devastated and emotionally drained) but also gives us a wonderfully personal look at the making of the album. The majority of this movie is made up of her in the studio making the album. For anyone who loves country music as much as I do, this footage is incredibly valuable and a pure treat. When don't only get to see Tanya as a wonderful singer but see her as a person, up close and personal. The moments with her talking about her career, her feelings about the album and life as a superstar from a young age (she began her music career at the age of 11) make it feel like we are personally spending time with her ourselves and by the end of the film, we feel somehow feel an even greater appreciation for her not only as an artist but as a human being as well. 

Much of this film deals with Tanya's relationship with Brandi Carlile. Brandi is not only a great singer and songwriter in her own right but a massive Tanya fan and co-producer of this album (the other producer was Shooter Jennings (who also appears in this film), son of country music legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter as well as a wonderful singer with a good career of his own). The deep friendship that develops between these two is incredibly sweet and quite touching. By the end of the film Brandi is not only in love with Tanya's music but truly cares about and adores her as a person. There are times when she becomes an excited and starstruck fangirl and these scenes are simply wonderful. They also make us so happy that she not only gets to work with Tanya but become a friend. This is a dream come true for her and we get to share a little bit of her excitement with her. Tanya also learns to deeply care for Brandi. It is also wonderful to see how both of them are truly there for the other, whenever that friend is worried or in need. This leads to some really touching moments. The moments with these two talking to each other are simply wonderful. 

Now for the most obvious praise for this movie. The music is fantastic. Not only is Tanya Tucker a true country music great but While I'm Livin' is a fantastic album (if you are a country music fan and haven't heard it, you really should seek it out). The performances of these songs and some of her biggest hits from the past (as well a song or two from Brandi) are country music at its finest. 

My only real complaint is the scenes that recount important parts of Tanya's career. These scenes not only feel like a more typical documentary but give only the simplistic look at these parts of her career. They will give any new information or insight that those who are already country music fans don't know. They can also seem to interrupt the wonderful studio scenes, lacking any great transition to them. However with the small amount of the runtime these scenes take up this is hardly a major complaint.

If you, like me, are a major country music fan, then this movie is a must see.