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579,480 | 583,640 | 59,664 | 7 | This is probably about as good as the last Warner Brothers cartoons got . | In the last two or three years , the majority of the Warner Brothers cartoons were simply there . There was nothing spectacularly good or bad about most of them . The music was almost uniformly horrid , backgrounds were average at best , animation was limited , but some had decent gags . The Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons fared the best , probably because they had no dialog and thus didn't have an additional mediocre element to remind the viewer just how good the earlier work was . The concept also seemed to adapt itself more readily to the economic realities of limited animation , with the static nature of things sometimes actually helping the gags . Not a triumph , but watchable . Not too bad . For completeists . |
578,851 | 583,640 | 30,999 | 7 | Interesting variation on the " books / magazines come to life " plot line-this one uses travel brochures | There were a good number of shorts which used the conceit of having characters in books or magazines ( sometimes on items in a grocery store ) come to life and interact with each other . This is a rather novel variant , in that it uses travel brochures . As I want to discuss some details , there will be spoilers below : The beginning is a series of quick sight gags , generally with some kind of appropriate musical connection which fit the gag , most of them at least mildly amusing , the standout being " When Yuba Plays the Rhumba On the Tuba " . The middle portion consists of a takeoff on the title , re-wording the song it was taken from as " Food's An Education In Itself " , where we see two characters filling their plates from various brochures where puns make a connection to food possible ( " Turkey " , for example ) while a trio sing to accompany the animation . The last part is strictly a crime / chase sub-plot , involving the Thief of Baghdad stealing from the Kimberly Diamond Mines , only to be chased from brochure to brochure and finally caught , dragged along until he winds up seated behind the " Lone Stranger " . As they ride off , the Thief points out that he isn't " alone " anymore . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,800 | 583,640 | 23,408 | 7 | Bimbo and a prototype pre-Betty Boop in this one | Forget that this is on a compilation of Betty Boop shorts-this is a Bimbo cartoon and the female character bears just a slight resemblance to Betty . Most likely this is a phase of her evolution , very early in the character's develpment . An okay cartoon , but nothing special . WOrth watching . |
578,921 | 583,640 | 52,056 | 7 | Decent cartoon , typical Disney , but nothing exceptional | This longish short was nominated for an Oscar . Decent enough and a fairly good adaptation of the tall tale , but fairly routine Disney and with nothing especially memorable or exceptional about it in any area . Worth watching , this runs infrequently as filler on the Disney Channel during " Vault Disney in the wee hours of the morning . |
579,745 | 583,640 | 39,093 | 8 | Foghorn Leghorn's first appearance-and his only shot at an Oscar | This cartoon , nominated for an Oscar , was actually a Henery Hawk cartoon . But Foghorn Leghorn-a takeoff on a radio character of the 1930s-1940s-steals the show and launched himself to fame and fortune , while Henery saw his career fizzle . The Foggy in this is the Foggy everyone knows today . Very little change from the first appearance to the familiar figure , unlike Bugs , Daffy , Porky , Elmer or most of the others . Well worth watching . |
578,785 | 583,640 | 33,041 | 8 | Somehow , I doubt that the Bard would recognize this one ! | Picture a production of Romeo and Juliet with none of Shakespeare's dialogue and sung ( badly ) and you can get a slight idea what goes on here . The lyrics that Olive sings to Bluto are worth the price of admission alone ! A Shakespearian without a sense of humor will be gnawing the baseboards , but I like this one , personally . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,582 | 583,640 | 36,922 | 8 | Worth watching for " The General Jumped At Dawn " ! | This movie in and of itself is only a curio piece , During the war ( WWII ) , there was a Hollywood Canteen staffed by celebrities for military personnel and this film grew out of that effort . What is worth watching are the musical numbers , particularly one fairly early in the movie , called , " The General Jumped at Dawn " by a group called , " The Golden Gate Quartet " . They're excellent and this is the only place I've ever seen or heard of them . I don't know what happened to them . but for me , they are the highlight of the movie ! Not a great movie , but worth your time nonetheless . |
578,850 | 583,640 | 30,605 | 8 | Hilarious short starring Porky as a fireman battling more than a fire | This is an extremely funny short most effectively done in black and white and directed by Frank Tashlin . Because I want to cover some of the gags in this , here's a spoiler warning : Porky and company are called out to fight a fire at a boarding house for performers . While the fire is a problem , Porky has at least as much trouble with one of his fellow firemen , a slow moving , slow talking dog whose ideas on firefighting are eccentric , to say the least ! The gags come fairly fast and furious here , mostly having to do with fighting the fire , such as Porky running toward the fire with a water bucket , only to have the fire take the bucket away from him and throw the water on Porky . Among those in the boarding house who come out are an old man with his leg in a cast who says he's okay , but that they need to save Grandpa ! He then jumps and uses his beard as a parachute and an acrobatic troupe which jumps out of the building and land in formation . As for the dog , he has his own theme music which fits his movements and he causes no end of trouble . He goes up to a window where a woman is screaming for help and , when she tells him to " put me on the street " , he picks her up , holds her out and then drops her ! He also plays a trick on Porky involving a fire hydrant and a seltzer bottle . There's a really nice montage of repeated action toward the end which showcases a lot of the funniest gags . The ending is very good , so I won't spoil it here . This short is available on Looney Tunes , Volume 4 and is well worth viewing . Recommended . |
579,889 | 583,640 | 33,081 | 8 | Manic short which starts out very well , with an uneven middle and a great ending ! | This is a black and white Porky cartoon where Porky is basically an extra , with the dominant characters being a lazy cat and a demented fish . Because I want to discuss some of the details , this is a spoiler warning : The first couple of minutes of this is great , with Porky deciding to go fishing and then asking his sleepy and lazy cat to guess what they will be having for dinner . The cat then imitates several animals , including a very funny chicken , only to have Porky top him by pantomiming a fish ! Imagine , if you will , a cartoon pig pantomiming a fish . To say that the cat greets this news with enthusiasm would be an understatement . He's bouncing around the room and ends up kissing a mouse , who doesn't take it very well ( to say the least ) . Unfortunately , the next bit kind of stops the momentum by having a " counting fish " gag that isn't all that funny . Out fishing the next morning , they meet a fish who is the lunatic prince of all fishdom . He basically dominates most of the rest of the short , giving both Porky and Sour Puss no end of heckling and abuse and periodically looking directly at the screen as if addressing the audience and making some hilarious remark , as the more manic versions of Bugs and Daffy would do , early on in their existence . The ending is very funny and I won't really spoil it except to note that the very end finishes with a parody of Lew Lehr , a comic who would have been very familiar to audiences at the time , but isn't a household name at this point . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,900 | 583,640 | 101,270 | 8 | Good animation coupled with a sometimes entertaining , occasionally tedious , story | This short was nominated for an Academy Award and is well worth watching , though it was probably about a minute too long or thereabouts . It's often amusing , but drags in spots . Interesting idea with excellent animation , but uneven and tedious at times . Recommended . |
579,697 | 583,640 | 80,351 | 8 | A very good short that has the seeds for two great ones planted within its fertile soil ( SPOILERS ) | All Nothing was Frédérîc Back's first Academy Award nominee and is a very good short which might be more highly regarded if Back had not gone on to make both The Man Who Planted Trees and The Mighty River , the early genesis of which can be seen in All Nothing , as well as Crac ! , one of two Academy Award winners for Back ( the other being Man Who Planted Trees ) . Thus , three great animated shorts make a highly intelligent and thought provoking short disappear somewhat into the background . In print and available on A Tribute To Frédéric Back I cannot talk at all about the short itself without getting into specifics and I want to discuss it for various reasons , so the comment from the next paragraph on will contain spoilers . This is all subjective and other viewers may not see it the same , but I was fascinated by the fact that the short shows a creator who , in effect , incorporates evolution into the design for the planet . There are many examples of this , such as birds changing into other species of birds and other animals changing form and appearance , but the most profound use is on the humans , who go through stages-first form to aquatic , then to hairy primates , then avian life and finally to man . Interestingly , in the latter stages , man is also seen as grumbling , complaining and obnoxious . Man then becomes the extreme predator , to the creator's dismay and later anger . Man the predator then kills the creator and proceeds to do whatever he likes to the planet and other life on it without thought or consideration . At the end , man is no more satisfied and is just as empty and unhappy as before , until a final reconciliation occurs , Most recommended . |
578,928 | 583,640 | 47,863 | 8 | Excellent Bugs , Daffy and Elmer teaming | This cartoon is one of the better ones using all three that Warner Brothers did-almost as good as the hunting trilogy . The scene where Daffy and Bugs await their fate at the hands of Elmer is priceless ! Daffy is his typical insufferable self and the ending is perfect for both Bugs and Daffy . This airs fairly often on Cartoon Network . Recommended |
579,564 | 583,640 | 409,799 | 8 | Entertaining , if not earthshaking | This was the " weakest " of the five nominees for the Live-Action Short category bestowed by AMPAS , which means it was only very good in a field of excellent shorts . Because I want to discuss the short in a little detail , there will be spoilers : The basic premise is that people who work on the clock at a supermarket during the late shift all have different ways to make the time seem to go by more quickly , ranging from just not looking at the clock through simply goofing off to the most extreme , which is pretending that you've cause time and all movement but your own to come to a full stop . Along the way , we meet a female checkout clerk , the overbearing and absolutely tedious supervisor who keeps trying to impress her ( in vain ) , two arrested development cases , who are 22 going on 12 and the narrator , who is the one who makes time pass by acting like he's stopped it cold . Oh yeah-he also likes to sketch the female shoppers ( at least the prettier ones ) in the nude . His narration is generally entertaining and often funny . It's an entertaining short which may actually make a better feature , as it feels a tad constrained by its brevity . All in all , a good short and well worth watching . This short is available on a compilation DVD containing eight of ten nominees for the two Academy Awards Shorts categories ( two of the Animated Short nominees aren't included ) and it's a very good DVD indeed . Recommended . |
579,938 | 583,640 | 47,867 | 8 | A battle of wits between Donald Duck and Humphrey-both woefully unarmed ! | This short is a battle of wits . To be more accurate , it's a battle of half-wits and largely comes out a draw , though Humphrey could technically be called the bigger loser . As neither would ever be mistaken for a member of MENSA , their schemes and machinations don't go as planned . Delightful cartoon that's well worth seeking out , it plays periodically on The Ink and Paint Club . Recommended . |
579,871 | 583,640 | 26,257 | 8 | Every time I watch this , I think of Busby Berkley and Astaire and Rogers . | This cartoon is part of the Color Classics series that Fleischer Studios did when they decided to try and out-Disney Disney , with varied degrees of success . This one owes as much to the lush musicals of the early 1930s as it does to any animated studios and has the typically grand visual effects that were one of the Fleischers best assets . Here , even when trying to be sweet and sugary , there's a little dart or two just to keep things from getting too saccharine . Good effort and one of the better Color Classics . I just wish they'd been more inclined to stick to their own strengths-the odd and wonderfully idiosyncratic shorts they did so well . In print on the Somewhere In Dreamland DVD set . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,664 | 583,640 | 21,964 | 8 | Good cartoon , but don't expect to see it without doing some serious searching . | This short is one of eleven that likely won't be seen on television any time soon , if ever again . An innocuous little thing , cute in spots and with some good animation , it also has elements that make it unpalatable to some in the present day culture that has developed a mindset that no one should ever get their feelings hurt . Which , in the case of this short , is really unfortunae , because there is a scene with dancing skeletons which , though a bit derivative , is almost as enjoyable as the short it's emulated , The Skeleton Dance . An engaging cartoon and well worth the time and effort to locate . Most highly recomended . |
579,159 | 583,640 | 153,920 | 8 | Enjoyable , if unexceptional , Woody Woodpecker short | This is a reasonably decent cartoon , entertaining and fairly funny , but nothing special , with Woody trying to mooch a meal and fairly predictable consequences ensue . Worth watching , but don't go to great lengths for this one alone . Recommended . |
579,813 | 583,640 | 23,854 | 8 | An early Mickey Mouse mini-musical | This cartoon has the feel of an old-time melodrama in some respects and has one of the least-interesting Disney villains in Pete . The Mickey in the early cartoons is more prone to mischief and is more frenetic , bearing more resemblance to Krazy Kat than to the mouse that most know and love today . The cartoons were more slapstick early on and Mickey evolved over time . Well worth seeing , it runs on the Disney Channel when the spirit moves them . I wish the shorts would come into print in a substantial way . |
578,991 | 583,640 | 43,951 | 8 | My sympathies are entirely on the side of the raccoon in this one . | Amusing , if slight and fairly predictable short from Disney that has Mickey and Pluto hunting a raccoon presumably for some reason undiscernable here . This raccoon , who likely would much rather be indulging in the raccoon equivalent of pipe , slippers and Ye Olde Saturday Evening Post in an easy chair before a cozy fire rather than running to preserve life and / or liberty , gets the best of Mickey and Pluto ( particularly Pluto ) and the hunt ends more favorably for the pursued than for pursuers and there was much rejoicing . Good enough to look out for . Recommended . |
579,239 | 583,640 | 99,171 | 8 | Good , but nothing terribly exceptional . | Though this is a good , enjoyable cartoon , they did much better ones later on , like Carrotblanca . This is almost like the first Star Trek feature , which would have been welcomed with open arms and glee no matter what , just for existing . This is really a patchwork of old bits with some nice touches , but nothing special . Reminds me a bit of the hunting trilogy in spots and the ending is priceless . Available and certainly well worth watching just for the novelty and the good bits . Recommended . |
578,809 | 583,640 | 102,997 | 8 | A short where the story is almost more important than the animation | This short , nominated for an Academy Award , is a story first and foremost , for all that there's no notable dialogue . The animation is relatively simple and straightforward ( although the detail of the backgrounds is quite good ) and the events unfold as the short goes on . I'm still not quite sure what to make of the ending and find the short a trifle unsettling , but it's well worth watching . Produced by the National Film Board of Canada , it used to run on the Cartoon Network periodically on O Canada . Recommended . |
579,415 | 583,640 | 23,819 | 8 | Early Popeye short | This is an early Popeye short , if i'm not mistaken , the first official Popeye cartoon ( his first appearance was in a Betty Boop with the title , " Popeye the Sailor " ) and the seams show a bit here . The basic concepts are started here and it's an enjoyable cartoon , but nothing special . Worth watching . Recommended . |
579,515 | 583,640 | 45,610 | 8 | The first appearance of Speedy Gonzales , in a markedly different form than the one most people know and recognize | This short is the first short where Speedy Gonzales made an appearance , though he doesn't look much like the version most familiar to the average viewer . This is Speedy , Version 1 . 0 . The redesign is an improvement over the original depiction . Because I want to discuss the cartoon in some detail , this is a spoiler warning : Even though this is Speedy's first appearance , the cartoon is actually centered around an old device used in Warner Brothers shorts ( and MGM shorts , once Tex Avery switched studios ) in that it has two cats modeled after the characters Lennie and George , from Of Mice and Men . Here , they're called Bennie and George . The two are trying to catch mice for dinner and Bennie is asking George if he can help catch the mice . George no doubt will regret agreeing to let Bennie " help " him when the evening is over , as the kind of " help ' Bennie gives can land its " beneficiary " in either the emergency room or the morgue-possibly both in very short order . George asks Bennie if he likes Mexican food , to which Bennie replies , " It gives me the heartburn and I love it ! " , so they head over to a docked ship from Mexico to seek out mice-and meet Speedy , " the fastest mouse in all Mexico " . The rest o9f the short is basically George trying time and time again to come up with a successful plan to catch Speedy and Bennie doing things which very nearly result in George's funeral . Bennie drops a heavy crate of anvils on him , douses him in " petrol " instead of water after a series of dynamite explosions leave him singed ( the results of this are rather grim and obvious ) and also clobbers him over the head . Then Speedy , apparently tired of being a spectator and letting Lennie have all the fun of giving George's insurance adjuster an ulcer , decides to get in on the act and re-routes a pipe so that the dynamite they are trying to use to blow Speedy sky high ends up behind them and they are blown sky high instead . George loses interest in Mexican food at that point . Speedy's presence is just motivation in this cartoon , but he later became the star of his own series of shorts , like Foghorn Leghorn did when he stole the show in Walky Talky Hawky , which started out as a Henery Hawk short . The animators must have seen something in the mouse and took him back to the drawing-board-literally ! This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth seeing . The Collection , like the three previous ones , is excellent . Recommended . |
579,500 | 583,640 | 63,229 | 8 | The Pink Panther becomes a sheepherder in Texas ! | This is a fairly funny short with some excellent sight gags and a pretty funny ending . I want to describe some of the gags , so let this serve as a spoiler warning : This cartoon has the Pink Panther as a sheepherder ( literally-he has exactly ONE sheep , though it is a most hungry sheep , as is shown early on when it strips all the ground in its path completely bare of grass ) who finds himself in " Cattle County Texas " . Texas cattlemen view sheep about the same as millionaires view the tax man . The cattleman in this short is a redheaded version of the little guy with a very short fuse . The Pink Panther tries to set himself up in sheep herding and tries to raise a fence , but the rancher drives the posts ( and the Panther ) into the ground with a mallet . The little sheep ( who is something of a crybaby ) generally either eats or whines to the Panther over something the cattleman or one of his steers have done , though he does get angry once and uses some fence wire like a slingshot , with a steer as ammo and the cattleman as the target . It's hilariously executed . The cattleman is neither very bright nor very fortunate , He dams off a watering hole , only to do something incredibly stupid and release the water himself . He clearly isn't the brightest penny in the cash register . He finally does something NO real Texan would even consider-he sends for help from GASP Arizona ! He tells them that the sheepherder is pink . So , naturally , he gets a bucket of pink paint dumped on his head just in time to get blasted by his help . The ending is absolutely wonderful ! I won't spoil it here ! This short is on the Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is most certainly worth getting . The entire Collection is worth getting . Recommended . |
578,927 | 583,640 | 91,369 | 8 | Enjoyable , fun film that has a special plce in my heart | Warm and dark at the same time ( no mean feat , that ) , this is a very well-done production and Jim Henson and his company acquit themselves well here . David Bowie does a good job in his role as does Jennifer Connelly . But the main reason that the film is special to me is , my niece ( then 9 or 10 ) , upon finding out that I had Labyrinth on tape , thought that I was the greatest thing since sliced bread ! I was the best uncle in the world at that moment and that's a most wonderful thing , let me tell you ! Good , entertaining movie and recommended . |
579,775 | 583,640 | 153,998 | 8 | Popeye wins the war in the Pacific ! | This short was the first short released by Paramount Famous Studios and was one of several done by the studio showing Popeye engaged directly against the enemy , most often the Japanese . While Warner Brothers , Disney and , to a lesser extent , other studios , did shorts often depicting Germans as foils , the majority of Famous Studios efforts focused on the Japanese . Given Pearl Harbor and Popeye's naval ties , this is quite understandable . This is an average short . Seein ' Red , White an ' Blue and Spinach For Britain have aged better . But it's still worth watching . Recommended . |
579,707 | 583,640 | 41,978 | 8 | Donald and Chip n ' Dale " celebrate " Christmas together | This is actually a very good short . All too often both Donald and Chip n ' Dale get on my nerves after a very short period of time and , paired together , they're like fingernails on a chalkboard . This one works for some unfathomable reason . Good story , I guess . Nominated for an Academy Award and is a very good cartoon . Well worth looking for . Recommended . |
579,482 | 583,640 | 26,145 | 8 | Trash and treasure , like beauty , are dependent on which eye is looking at the time . | This quite charming Disney short depicts a group of discarded and generally damaged toys give spirit and a new lease on-well , not " life " , per se-a new found functionality to do what every toy wants-find a child to join in the vital task of playing . One toy decides that the scrap heap is no place for a toy and gets the others to work changing their lot . Most enjoyable , even if you can see the ending a mile away . Typical Disney quality across the board and great fun on several levels . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,353 | 583,640 | 91,152 | 8 | Good ( but not great ) animated short | This short won an Academy Award . Not having seen either of the other nominees , I can't say whether it should have , but it is a head-scratcher . The animation is good and it's an enjoyable short , but it isn't terribly special . It may well be suffering by comparison to the shorts that it accompanies on The World's Greatest Animation . The short is a good one , but it really isn't one of the greats . Still well worth seeing . |
579,072 | 583,640 | 33,152 | 8 | Visually stunning , but the script is just so-so | The visuals on this movie are just gorgeous and so are the special effects , with well-earned Academy Awards to show for it , but the script is at best average , the romantic leads give new meaning to the term , " lightweight " and most of the performances are lifeless . Sabu is okay in the title role and Conrad Veidt is wonderfully chewing the scenery , but Rex Ingram steals the movie as far as acting goes . Park your brain on neutral , ignore the " plot " and just enjoy the beautiful sets , visuals and effects . Worth your time . |
579,587 | 583,640 | 30,465 | 8 | Another Disney entrant in the " celebrity caricature " style of cartoon | Back in the 1930s and 1940s , various animation departments ( chief among them being Warner Brothers ) made cartoons that used caricatures of well-known celebrities ( movies stars , principally ) as characters . This is the best of Disney's efforts and was nominated for an Oscar . The main problem with this cartoon is that , unless you not only remember your nursey rhymes , but are reasonaby up on movie stars and movies of the 1930s , you miss quite a bit of the humor . Still holds up reasonably well after more than 60 years . Recommended to any movie buffs and / or someone reading Mother Goose for whatever reason . |
579,884 | 583,640 | 45,786 | 8 | Bugs Bunny joins the Army . | This is a very funny short which plays on a series of coincidences and misunderstandings to put Bugs Bunny in position to be inducted into the United States Army . Because I want to discuss some details , this is a spoiler warning : The short opens with an induction notice being delivered to one " B . Bonny " , only the notice winds up in Bugs Bunny's hole in the ground and he mistakenly assumes it's for him . Thus , we now go off to the physical . The physical is hilarious , with reactions ranging from the nonchalant " So they're inducting rabbits " through nervous laughter to incredulous shock , as when Bugs takes the eye exam and reads the whole chart , fine print included . Bugs obviously passes the physical , because we next see him in boot camp for basic training . His Sargeant looks and sounds like the construction worker Bugs did battle with in a couple of other shorts and he fares about as well here as he did there . Bugs first causes headaches in general for the Sargeant and then gets him into hot water with a Colonel who clearly didn't care much for the Sargeant even before all the problems with Bugs develop . Bugs bowls the colonel over during drill , bathes in the colonels helmet , dresses chickens for the Officer's mess ( he dresses them in tuxedos ) and hammers a nail into the wall using a live shell ! With each passing incident , the Sargeant loses a little more rank , until he's a private . It's at this point that the former Sargeant realizes that Bugs is a rabbit , as it slowly dawns on him that Bugs really isn't " just like all the other guys " . Watching the fog start to lift on the erstwhile Sargeant's comprehension is great ! A compromise of sorts gives Bugs a job at a munitions plant , with a finale that I won't spoil here . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,584 | 583,640 | 186,508 | 8 | Good documentary , great music , if a bit too long and somewhat creative subtitles on occasion . | This is a very well done documentary , showcasing some fine Cuban singers and musicians and is worthwhile for bringing them a wider audience if nothing else . It probably should have been about ten minutes or so shorter as it tends to drag in spots and a working knowledge of Spanish is helpful , as the subtitles altered some of the more colorful language used by some of the performers . But , oh that music ! Thanks to Ry Cooder , Wim Wenders and all members , past and present , of the Buena Vista Social Club ! ! ! |
578,807 | 583,640 | 240,912 | 8 | I found several moments quite telling in this documentary | Let me state at the outset that I come to this film with a different viewpoint than most people . I can understand , to a degree , what it is to be an " other " , as I am disabled ( I have Cerebral Palsy and I use crutches ) , though the advocates of the concept of a " deaf culture " would probably say that the two situations aren't at all analogous , as their world view largely rests on the presumption that deafness isn't a " disability " , but rather provides a sense of community to them . I beg to differ with that position , as they are limited by the inability to hear , whether they like that truth or not . While there is a modicum of accuracy in the proposition that it is the hearing who create some of those limitations , it must also be understood that the world will be designed to the specifications of the majority and the majority can hear . The whole conceit of there being a " deaf culture " in the first place is simply a shield against acknowledging that their deafness is a hindrance to them in a world managed , by and large , for those who can hear . What's happened is that an artificial and insular bubble has been created so that those who created it can pretend that they aren't disadvantaged or limited at all . This documentary is very instructive on this premise , as I will show in my comments below . As I have to use the documentary to illustrate my point , there will be spoilers : Throughout this documentary , the advocates of the importance of maintaining " deaf culture " maintain a hostility towards anyone seeking to do or say anything which they perceive as being in any way an indication that deafness is not a desirable characteristic . The father whose daughter is at the center of one of the two debates openly says that he was happy when he found out his daughter was deaf , because she was just like him . He is opposed to the CI procedure almost every moment from the beginning and he seems more resigned than accepting when his wife says she thinks their daughter should have the operation . When the final decision not to have his daughter undergo the CI procedure is made , he takes the step of moving to a largely deaf community which is truly a kind of enclave , an escape from a hearing world he'd rather shun than deal with . I find it most fascinating that when Heather says she wants the procedure , whenever she's asked why , she has any number of reasons . As things progress and her parents clearly and vehemently argue against their daughter getting the implant , you can see the reaction of her parents is not lost on their daughter . There's a conversation between the mother ( who was at first interested in the procedure , but starts turning against the idea when she learns that her daughter will be encouraged to drop using sign in favor of using speech-the mother then worries that she'll drop out of the " deaf culture " in doing so ) and her daughter where the daughter says , after her mother asks her for her feelings on having an implant , that she doesn't want one . When asked for reasons , the daughter gives none , just restates that she doesn't want one . Having gotten the answer she wanted , the mother doesn't press , instead suggesting that it was her decision , after all , at which point the daughter looks at her and makes it clear that she understood that her parents had made the decision ( which , of course , they did ) and the mother infers that it was a mutual decision . All through this , those deaf people who are unhappy with any suggestion that the CI procedure could be a positive thing react as though it was a personal affront , as if the person making the suggestion didn't think that they were " good enough " . One woman , a grandmother to the baby whose parents opted to have a CI done , openly laments being made fun of by a once deaf and now hearing grandchild . Can anyone tell me that a person can make that kind of a statement and still claim with a straight face ( and be believable ) that they only have the child's best interests at heart ? Let me also state , for the record , that I don't know if I would opt for the CI procedure for myself , though for different reasons-it's a major invasive procedure and I'd have to weigh the risks independently . I probably wouldn't be making a comment on this had it not been glaringly obvious that most of the adults behaved more like children than the children did . The parents of the two children who were the focus of the debate are , after all , the parents and have the right ( but also the obligation ) to make the decisions respectively , but I would have been far more sympathetic to the parents of Heather when they were complaining that everyone was trying to gang up on them for their decision not to go with an implant for their daughter ( the scene with the mother bursting into tears near the end ) had they and the other proponents of " deaf culture " not been ganging up on the parents who opted to have the CI procedure for their son . They expected to be accorded a respect for their decision which did not see fit to extend and they were far more vehement in their comments to the other parents in opposition than the other couple was to them . Any courtesy you demand for yourself you should immediately give to others without any hesitation or qualification . Thought-provoking and generally excellent documentary and well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,264 | 583,640 | 30,512 | 8 | Frank Tashlin later became a director of live-action feature films and his sensibilities show through in a number of his animated shorts , including this one | This short is one of Frank Tashlin's better efforts as a director , though not his absolute best . This ( and many other shorts ) show that Tashlin approached animated shorts with the eye and sensibility of a director of live-action features , which he generally did , because that's what he ultimately aimed to be and later became-a director of live-action features . Because I want to discuss some details of this short , there will be minor spoilers : This short succeeds as an animated short , but has the " look " of having been shot like a live-action feature . The director used a lot of the conventions of both animation and of feature film . It's a beautifully laid out piece of work , with two separate setups which later have montages of the scenes to speed up the action-first , early on , we see squirrels gathering and storing nuts in a number of short and very effective vignettes , which are then superimposed in a small section , one after another , in a montage to indicate lots of activity without using up a great deal of the short's running time and then , later in the cartoon , we see the main character , a young squirrel given more towards gambling , rather than working hard , as a means to gather nuts for the winter , who is being systematically fleeced in a series of games like roulette and craps , which play through once at normal speed and then are depicted rapidly in a montage . The basic story is fairly straightforward-it's summer and the squirrels are busy gathering and storing nuts in preparation for the coming of winter . One young enterprising fellow sees no percentage in working , when he can just win the nuts of other squirrels with a pair of dice . His father does not share his viewpoint and is less than pleased with his son's attitude . No amount of persuasion or punishment can get through to the young squirrel . At the onset of winter , the father sends his son to get the family's stash of nuts from the bank , with orders to go there and return home immediately . Junior decides to engage in some games of chance with a stranger he meets on the way home . He , of course , loses everything but the sense of taste in his mouth and trudges sadly home to answer to his father , whom he tries to fool with absolutely the worst cover story ever committed to celluloid . The end of the short is wonderful , so I won't spoil it here . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,765 | 583,640 | 35,120 | 8 | What a difference 60 + years make ! | This is a documentary short done by Disney for the Department of the Treasury to encourage people to pay their taxes early . This was nominated for a Academy Award for Documentary and though it is somewhat dated , it is a fascinating look back in time . Consider Donald's income level , for one thing . The amount he owes in taxes is another eye-opener . Even though this is about a serious subject , the standard Disney flourishes are very much in evidence throughout . This is on the Disney Treasures On The Front Lines , an extraordinary collection of work produced by the Disney studios to aid in the war effort . Some of this was commissioned by the government and some of the material was produced as entertainment , but with a war-related theme . An exceptional set , well worth getting . New Spirit is recommended , but On The Front Lines is most highly recommended . |
578,839 | 583,640 | 21,824 | 8 | Fun and frolic during wartime | Warfare is not going to get Bosko or Honey down , nosiree ! The title is a play on the film title Dawn Patrol and Warner Brothers made another short 33 years later with the same title . Both are decent , but they started to flesh out the Bosko character at about this point in the series , so this one is better than most , if a bit inane . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
578,783 | 583,640 | 35,146 | 8 | I feel sorry for Olive at times in this one . | Usually , Olive irritates me no end . But in this one , there are times when I feel sorry for her , because Popeye and Bluto see her more as a prize to be won in their continual battle with one another , rather than as someone worth having around for her own sake . Excellent animation and good sight gags here . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,866 | 583,640 | 45,710 | 8 | One of a trio , all of which were very good | There is an absolutely beautiful line that floors me every time I hear it in this short which I want to discuss , so here there be a spoiler or two : This is the last of three cartoons with Elmer , Bugs and Daffy that were similar in theme and attitude . The best of the three was , at least for me , Rabbit Fire . But Rabbit Seasoning and this one were also quite good . Strangely enough , verbal jokes hold their own in the three with very funny sight gags and , even stranger for a cartoon featuring Bugs as well , Daffy has some of the funniest stuff . But that doesn't save him from his karma . Daffy has an incredibly funny line toward the end of the short , after he's been shot at point-blank range yet again by Elmer which sums up the rage and frustration which arise from all the misfortune that dogs him throughout the short . I have to quote it here : " Shoot me again ! I love it ! I love the smell of burnt feathers-and gunpowder-and cordite ! " Clearly , Daffy snapped there and had reached the end of his rope . Very good cartoons , almost uniformly . Recommended . This short is available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Vol . 3 and is well worth the purchase price all by itself , though the rest of the set is marvelous . |
579,680 | 583,640 | 141,005 | 8 | Amusing short , definitely geared more towards kids , but has its moments | This short was nominated for an Academy Award and is actually fairly good , with an amusing premise about a cat who leads a much more interesting and involved life than his humans realize . While not the best short I've seen , entertaining enough with quite a few good moments and young children will be quite entertained . Good animation . Recommended . |
579,059 | 583,640 | 28,389 | 8 | This is an absolutely beautiful cartoon from a visual standpoint | This cartoon is short on plot , but is a visually stunning piece of work . There will be very , very minor spoilers : This short has a " story " that's incredibly slight-gnomes underground are responsible for the return of spring each year , yet must contend with a winter not yet ready to withdraw . Both the gnomes and the storm have their own songs . That's pretty much the plot , such as it is . But this cartoon isn't about the plot-it's about the color and animation . The visuals are exceptional . Back in 1936 , such bright color was still something of a novelty and there's some incredibly inspired work here . My favorite moments of the short surround the movement of the liquefied colors through pipes . At more than one point , there are a series of pipes aligned in a row , from the shortest to the tallest and the colors move through the pipes and the musical track makes it seem as though the row is a pipe organ . The visuals of the battle between the emerging greenery and the winter storm which refuses to leave quietly are exceedingly well executed . These types of shorts were things which Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising are noted for , but they probably also helped lead to their ultimate departure from MGM , because this cartoon probably went over budget and MGM finally decided that they could control costs better if the animation department were managed by someone a little more conscious of cost than Harman and Ising were . This is truly a beautiful cartoon and is well worth seeing . It's available on the DVD Attack of the ' 30s Characters . Recommended , particularly if you like good animation . |
579,304 | 583,640 | 63,073 | 8 | Good later Warner Brothers short | This cartoon is a fairly good and most enjoyable example of the cartoons produced by Warner Brothers after 1966 . While they don't come up to the level of the work done in the 1930s-1950s , they have a certain charm to them and a few are fairly good . Merlin isn't my favorite character from these later shorts ( I like Cool Cat more ) , but he does have his moments . Worth watching . Recommended . |
579,469 | 583,640 | 281,850 | 8 | Entertaining take on one of those urban legends floating around . | This is well made , a tad ghoulish and darkly humorous , even if it does have what the late writer Damon Knight called an " idiot plot " , which means that everyone in it has to be an idiot in order for the plot to work . Good cast , though really only two of them have much to do-the driver ( finalist for the Village Idiot of the Year Award ) and the little girl serving as catalyst for events . Everyone else is going for a Darwin Award and are spear-carriers otherwise . Decidedly adult in nature , this reminded me for all the world of Special Delivery , a cartoon done by Allison Snowden for the NFBC-different plot , to be sure , but the same mordant wit . Well worth watching , it's been shown on the Sundance Channel on one of their recent Shorts Program compilations . Recommended . |
579,089 | 583,640 | 158,371 | 8 | The type of film Woody Allen does very well | In my opinion , there is more than one type of Woody Allen film . There is the antic lunacy of films like Bananas and Sleeper , the serio-comic " serious " film with " meaning " , like Annie Hall , Husbands and Wives and Deconstructing Harry and then there are what I think are Woody Allen's " love notes " , if you'll bear with the expression , films like The Purple Rose of Cairo , Bullets Over Broadway and Sweet and Lowdown , films as a general rule that are period pieces ( generally the ' 30's or thereabouts ) that are basically mash notes from Allen to something Allen particularly cares about , such as jazz in Sweet and Lowdown ( specifically jazz guitar and Django Reinhardt ) . The score is great , which is typical for a Woody Allen film . Allen does these little films vey well and they are almost always worth watching . Sean Penn plays a self-centered , egotistical creep with talent . I will leave any further interpretations regarding the preceding statement to the Gentle Reader . Why he was nominated for an Oscar escapes me . Samantha Morton , on the other hand , gives a sweet , if almost one-note , performance , which basically sums up the movie : worth the time and effort to watch , but a one-note film . If you like this side of Woody ( and I do ) , this is worth seeing . |
579,559 | 583,640 | 28,365 | 8 | Very cute , beautifully drawn and animated and a lot of fun to watch ! | This cartoon , with a very basic and not very significant plot , is loads of fun and very nice to look at . Because I do want to touch on the short to some degree , there are mild spoilers : The title basically says it all-the protagonists are the Three Blind Mouseketeers and they are " all for one and one for all " when it comes to finding cheese . Captain Katt ( think of " Pegleg " Pete done up as a cat ) has sworn that , tonight , he's finally going to trap and destroy the Three Blind Mouseketeers , so he sets traps everywhere , hides inside a split barrel-and promptly falls asleep . The Mouseketeers , in the meantime , through fortuitous circumstances , manage to repeatedly slip through and around the traps with nary a scratch on them , many of the gags being excellently timed animation , frequently timed to the beat . There's one particularly nice bit of animation , where one of the mice becomes isolated from the others and Captain Katt is coming toward him when he starts yelling to his comrades as though he's surrounded by an army , which in a sense , he is-he's standing in front of a great many pieces of reflective glass , each of which has a tiny mouse dressed astonishingly like him and brandishing a sword . Captain Katt is overwhelmed and turns to run . Add in a large quantity of exploding corks from bottles and Captain Katt is once again routed by the Three Blind Mouseketeers . This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD release and it and the set are recommended . |
579,331 | 583,640 | 227,745 | 8 | A comment of notable length would take longer to read than would watching the short ! | This is a brief ( perhaps a a minute or so ) short produced by the National Film Board of Canada and consists of animation timed to the musical soundtrack . Extremely bright and colorful , this is quite engaging visually . This type of short is part of the dessert cart-sort of like cotton candy , in this case : sweet , tasty and a pleasure while you have it before you . Nothing profound here , just a pretty little bit . Hey , whoever said everything had to be profound anyway ? I liked it very much , thank you . Well worth tracking down . Recommended . |
579,737 | 583,640 | 38,978 | 8 | Good , but not great , cartoon from Disney | This cartoon was nominated for an Oscar and , for the life of me , I don't understand why . It's an enjoyable short , but I don't see it s particularly noteworthy , apart from being one of the earliest Chip ' n Dale cartoons ( if not the first ) and I've always thought that Warner Brothers ' The Goofy Gophers were better characters . Oh , well . To each their own . Well worth watching . Runs periodically on the Ink and Paint Club on the Disney Channel . |
579,514 | 583,640 | 52,304 | 8 | A very good Speedy Gonzales short , with Speedy facing a rather stupid bird | This is a fairly early Speedy and a fairly novel one , in that Speedy's nemesis is a rather slow-witted bird named Senor Vulturo . As I plan on discussing some details , this is a spoiler warning : The short opens with a large crowd of mice celebrating Cinco de Mayo , which is one of two Mexican Independence Days . The main attraction at the festivities is Speedy Gonzales , playing a game of " Peeng Pong " against himself . Incidentally , if you understand Spanish , you may find one or two of Speedy's comments during the match humorous . You might want to watch the crowd scene , as at least one little mouse is going in the opposite direction of the rest of the crowd in watching the match . As the mice are enjoying themselves , Senor Vulturo sees the crowd and exclaims , " Mouseburgers ! " and decides it's time for supper . As he dives on the crowd , the mice panic and scatter , leaving Speedy to wonder what the fuss is about . The other mice tell him and they see the bird swooping in on one hapless mouse . Speedy races to the rescue , saves the mouse and the bird see , instead of the mouse in his talon , a firecracker in a sombrero , which explodes . Speedy returns , taunts the bird , who then calls Speedy a " Cucaracha ! " and tries to swat and then to catch him with no success and great personal injury . The bird then has a run-in with Speedy and a train and then a run-in with a hand-car . There are just some days when it doesn't pay for a predator to get out of bed . Speedy tricks the bird into following him by promising to take him to find a slower mouse , but all that happens is that the bird flies into a wall and literally cracks his skull . He then decides to get Speedy by using a toy and some nitroglycerin to blow Speedy up . Speedy turns the tables on him and the bird surrenders . The ending is hilarious , particularly the last line , so I won't spoil it here . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,303 | 583,640 | 32,769 | 8 | Standard Olive Oyl Plot # 1-good cartoon , though | This is a standard cartoon featuring Olive Oyl , of the most frequent variety-Olive dumps Popeye , typically for Bluto in one of many guises . Popeye , instead of celebrating his freedom , sets to win her back in defiance of all logic and common sense . He and Bluto fight , with Bluto holding his own or even winning until it's spinach time , whereupon Bluto becomes a punching speed bag for Popeye and Olive comes back to him-until the next time ! Oh well , that's life . Good cartoon with nice animation . Worth watching . Recommended . |
579,613 | 583,640 | 59,043 | 8 | Slightly uneven , but unsettling film exploring the dimensions of madness | This film is really a two-character effort . Terrance Stamp and Samantha Eggar ( who was nominated for an Oscar ) dominate the film , with the other parts little more than walk-ons . Stamp carries his performance a bit too far over the top at times , but Eggar is spot-on in hers . William Wyler's direction ( also nominated for an Oscar ) is mostly tight and focused , but he should haved reined Stamp in a bit more . Still a very good film . Recommended . |
579,063 | 583,640 | 149,805 | 8 | A funny , if ' one-note ' ( sorry , I couldn't resist that one ! ) short starring Krazy Kat and a revolt of the musical instruments | This short stars with one gag and basically plays off it for the length of the cartoon . It's a cute premise and the sight gags make it appealing . Because I want to discuss the short in some detail , this is a spoiler warning : Krazy Kat is playing a viola ( and doing so badly ) as the short opens . He's playing so poorly that all the musical instruments behind him razz him about his playing and his viola finally stops his playing . Krazy and the viola start fencing with a couple of bows and Krazy eventually wins and tosses the viola out the window and then kicks the other instruments out as well . This brings about a musical declaration of war between Krazy and the instruments . A large section of the cartoon is now taken up with the raising of an army of instruments to go do battle with Krazy . We see many of the typical scenes of farewell found in war movies , with a father saxophone kissing mother saxophone and junior saxophone goodbye , a grown cello grabbing a bow and heading off , stopping just long enough to tell a smaller cello it couldn't come along , two clarinets kissing in farewell and so on . The battle is a bit of an anticlimax , with little of it especially interesting . Krazy's house is largely destroyed , but he emerges " victorious " when the instruments get drunk and start playing " How Dry I Am " . Good cartoon with some funny moments , it's available on the DVD Attack of the ' 30s Characters . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
578,792 | 583,640 | 19,777 | 8 | Very good , but not great Marx Brothers | This film can really be viewed as a feature-length screentest for the Marx Brothers . It actually has the feel of a stage play thats been filmed for movie release more than anything else . While there are some good scenes and some fairly funny bits throughout , Its reall not in the same weight class as , say , Duck Soup or Night at the Opera . It'sa good , entertaining film . But average Marx brothers is better than some performers ' best and this is better than average . Recommended If you like the Marx Brothers |
579,954 | 583,640 | 41,593 | 8 | Two Parodies for the price of one ! | In this one , Tex Avery pkes continued fun at his old friends , Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf , but adds a slight twist-he parodies the tale of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse and of course , in true Avery fashion , stands everything on its ear . Tex also proves an old adage-beauty is in the eye of the beholder . All the old Tex Avery signatures are here-eye bulges , double-takes and sight gags galore . Bring the spouse , the kiddies , old Uncle Erasmus , Grampa and the hermit under the floor boards . Great fun will be had by all ! Recommended . |
579,711 | 583,640 | 56,700 | 8 | Visually stunning , with George Pal's wonderful stop-motion animation , but could have used a better script and performance in the lead role . | As with almost any George Pal production , this is visually an eye-catcher and has some wonderful stop-motion animation , as you would expect from Pal . Entertaining at times , the film drags horribly in spots and could have used a better script , which is a bit surprising , as Charles Beaumont was involved . The fact that Laurence Harvey , normally excellent , seems to have phoned in his performance doesn't help matters . Still well worth watching , it just could have been much better . Recommended for the visual aspects and fairy-tale recreations . |
579,171 | 583,640 | 147,872 | 8 | A Gandy Goose cartoon which has a number of caricatures and is surprisingly good | I'm not a big fan of the character Gandy Goose . He's okay , but the character is very limited and most of the shorts I've seen don't do a whole lot for me . But I very much liked this short . Since I want to talk about this one a bit , this is a spoiler warning : Gandy Goose is patterned after Ed Wynn , a very talented and funny comic well known at the time . Gandy wants to be an actor and has finally received an acting " kit " in the mail . He runs to show it off for a rooster named Rudy . He first puts on something which looks like a wrestler's mask and scares the daylights out of Rudy . He then impersonates , in quick succession , Groucho Marx , Jimmy Durante and Gary Cooper , before Rudy throws him out . Shortly thereafter , another rooster arrives and Gandy goes to warn Rudy , who rushes out , only to be beaten and humiliated by the other rooster . Gandy then does a marginal impression of James Cagney and gets punched by the other rooster . Rudy then gets the " bright " idea of having Gandy disguise himself like a fox , come in and terrify the hens and let Rudy beat him , so he can be the big rooster again , unaware the other rooster is listening in to the plot . Gandy agrees and goes off to practice-only to run into a real fox . Gandy doesn't realize of course , that he's speaking to a real fox and tells him the whole plot . The fox , probably the most entertaining character in the short , compliments Gandy on his " performance " and then proceeds to beat him up , under the guise of giving him pointers . He then goes off to the farm . Rudy sees the fox and mistakes him for Gandy and tells him to get started , so the fox starts trying to catch hens and put them in a sack . Rudy goes out to save the day , gets thoroughly thrashed by the real fox and leaves , which is noted by the new rooster , who also mistakes the real fox for Gandy ( none of these critters , except for the fox , seems all that sharp ) and hits the fox in his snout . The fox's reaction to this and a subsequent blow is absolutely perfect . While all this is going on , Gandy wanders up and asks the new rooster where he can find " Mr . Rudy " , after which it dawns on the new rooster that he's tangling with a real fox and he suddenly remembers an urgent appointment elsewhere . The fox runs after him , no doubt to issue a dinner invitation . Rudy comes back , sees Gandy , decks him in disgust and becomes the barnyard hero again . Gandy is left with the closing line . Good short worth tracking down and watching at least once . Recommended . |
579,491 | 583,640 | 63,417 | 8 | Uneven , but enjoyable and worth watching | This one is hard to describe , Two ballet dancers perform a piece while various visual effect are added to augment the performance . Some of the effects are stunning , while others are very jarring and don't quite work . Intriguing idea that works most of the time . If you've seen " A Chairy Tale " or " Neighbours " and enjoyed them , you'll like this . But it is unusual and somewhat off-kilter at times . Recommended for those who like the unusual or special photographic effects . Bear in mind that it is over 30 years old . |
579,170 | 583,640 | 30,376 | 8 | Nice little cartoon . | This is a nice little cartoon . It isn't a ground-breaking piece of animation to catch the eye and impress , it's just an entertaining short and that's good enough for me . Because I want to discuss some details , this is a spoiler warning : Little Pancho wants to be a bullfighter more than anything else , but no one else believes he'll ever make it in the arena . His mother tells him it will never happen and that he's just wasting time dreaming , while all the little girls are swooning over a poster of the bullfighter-who looks a lot like Clark Gable ! Pancho tells them that he's even better and they laugh at him . Pancho tries to sneak in through the door on " Amateur Tryouts " , but is told they need men , not " shrimps " . He sits out in a wagon while the fights go on in the arena . The bull is making short work of the men and tosses one out of the arena , right into Pancho's wagon . Pancho vaults into the arena to land right on the bill's head , knocking him out . Pancho receives the cheers of the crowd and bends over to pick something up-just as the bull comes to and charges ! The bull collides with a wall and is out cold again . Little Pancho is now a bullfighter and a hero . The cartoon ends with Pancho enjoying the fruits of victory , as does his mama . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Vol . 4 and is well worth getting . Recommended . |
579,996 | 583,640 | 30,388 | 8 | Ah , ye olde melodramas ! | This short is a takeoff on the old melodramas , where the hero is forthright and true , stalwart and brave , with the IQ of a grape , the heroine bats her eyes and sighs either lovingly or sorrowfully , depending on the scene and the villain is truly despicable and hissable . This is an excellent cartoon for its time . Just don't watch it and also watch The Dover Boys as well , or Love and Curses will pale in comparison . Well worth looking for . Recommended , especially for the ending . |
578,794 | 583,640 | 50,419 | 8 | Audrey Hepburn , Fred Astaire and music by the Gershwins-what more can you ask for ? | This is an entertaining , enjoyable movie . Good , but not great , it has audrey Hepburn sigh , Fred Astaire and some wonderful songs by the Gershwins . A touch predictable in spots , but a charmer nonetheless and well worth seeing . Decent script if a somewhat implausible plot and beautiful scenery are also a plus . Did I mention Audrey ? |
579,501 | 583,640 | 63,453 | 8 | A very entertaining short , but one thing puzzles me-why are they moving the rock ? | This is a very good short , where the gags mostly revolve around the attempts of the Pink Panther and the little guy who regularly shows up in these shorts to move a very large rock . I have know idea why they're moving the rock . I suppose the answer to that is " Because it's there " . I want to give some details in this comment , so there are spoilers here : This short opens with the Pink Panther and the little guy moving a very large rectangular rock when the Pink Panther has the idea that it would move faster and easier if it were round . Things move quickly-until they hit an incline , when they start moving much more quickly . The little guy winds up in the valley between two slopes . The astute observer no doubt realizes just how unfortunate this position is for him . A suggestion to any future cartoon characters finding themselves in similar circumstances-try moving laterally ! Along the way , the two try using vines to pull the block along , using logs to roll a rectangular block along and putting wheels on an axle ( this last results in a very " Flintstones " type of moment in one scene , which is very funny ) . While many of the gags are predictable , the timing on the gags is good enough for most of them to still be quite amusing . The ending gag is clever and a bit of a surprise initially . A nice touch . The short comes full circle , ending as it began-with the Pink Panther and the little guy trying to move a rock . This short is on the Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is well worth watching , as is the collection as a whole . Recommended . |
579,557 | 583,640 | 39,395 | 8 | Reasonably enjoyable , somewhat predictable cartoon | There's nothing really special or unique about this cartoon , save the fact that the fox wants the duck's down for his pillow instead of duck for dinner ( I wonder , if pork is the other white meat , is duck the other dark meat ? But I digress . ) . The opening sight gag with the fox's pillow is excellent , the rest amusing , if better done in other cartoons . Still a most enjoyable cartoon and well worth seeing . |
578,875 | 583,640 | 32,340 | 8 | Tex Avery takes on the circus ! | This short is a mixed bag , some bits working , others not working . There are inside jokes referencing animators , including a caricature of Bob Clampett in a bit that is hilarious if you know who Clampett is and so-so if you don't ( Clampett was still primarily part of Avery's animation team , later becoming one of the best directors at the Warner Brothers animation studio ) . The closing gag will strike some as tasteless , but I think it's typical and vintage Tex Avery . Well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,217 | 583,640 | 126,029 | 8 | Not perfect , but quite good and hilarious quite often . | This most assuredly is not a perfect film , but it is a marvelous send-up of the fairy-tale genre and the script is great . This has romance , humor , a talking donkey , no car chases and makes fun of The Mouse . What more could you ask for ? Movie spoofs and karaoke ? It has those too . Most harrowing performance by gingerbread ? You betcha ! The voicework is spot on and even Eddie Murphy is enjoyable . Great fun is had by all ( except Michael Eisner-I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in Eisner's office the morning after this copped the Oscar for Animated Feature ) . Very entertaining and well worth your time . Most recommended . |
579,192 | 583,640 | 21,687 | 8 | This short has exceptionally good visuals and is quite good in the main | Bosko shorts generally have very good animation and there are some very nice visual sequences . I want to talk about some specifics here , so there are spoilers : This is the second war-oriented Bosko ( after the earlier Dumb Patrol ) , both using World War I as the setting . While Bosko was an aviator in the first one and it was a good deal lighter in tone and mood , Bosko is an infantryman in the trenches in this one and some of the gags are actually a bit like " gallows " humor-characters get shot and collapse in comically exaggerated manners , weapons are hit and " die " just like the other characters . This being a Bosko short , he and other characters play music at odd times and in unusual ways . There are some very dark and somewhat serious animated bits here , mixed in with the comedic absurdities throughout the short . Bosko has a running bit with his helmet whenever he tries to get out of a trench . Some of the typical gags found regularly in Bosko shorts are here , of course-Bosko is eating from a can when we first see him , in the same exaggerated style the animators tended to use , for instance . There's also a gag involving a pair of long johns and the back flap in this one . That said , there are some stylistic flourishes here that aren't standard in a Bosko and this is a fairly good short which holds up well after roughly 75 years . Well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,841 | 583,640 | 63,437 | 8 | Androcles and the Lion , anyone ? | The plot of this one is similar in some respects to Androcles and the Lion-though far more humorous . As I intend to discuss this cartoon in a bit of detail , there will be spoilers : The primary character opposite the Pink Panther in a great many of these shorts is a little white guy with a mustache , said to be patterned on Friz Freleng , a noted animator / director and one of the producers of the series . He often takes on a role specific to the plot of the short . Here , for example , he is a playboy type . He pulls a nail out of the Pink Panther's foot and thus wins a friend . He rapidly becomes disenchanted with the PP's enthusiastic gratitude and tries to lose him-until he gets home and his wife and mother-in-law are waiting up-bearing a rolling-pin . Enter his new-found friend and now protector , the Pink Panther , who scares the daylights out of the wife and causes the mother-in-law to leave . The middle portion of the short is the little guy taking full advantage of his new " weapon " and his wife's efforts to get rid of the Pink Panther . Finally , in frustration , she nails up a note telling hubby that she's " going home to mother " and walks out . Our hero goes to see if she's leaving and winds up with a nail in his foot , which the wife pulls out , reversing the dynamic . She's now the beneficiary of gratitude and celebrates this by breaking bottles over her husband's head . Ah , the joys of karma ! This short is available on the Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is well worth checking out . Recommended . |
578,840 | 583,640 | 21,685 | 8 | Entertaining , unremarkable short featuring an all but forgotten character | Bosko is largely a forgotten character by most people , if they ever knew of him in the first place . The fact that the cartoons are rarely seen accounts for this and he is rarely seen in part because of a perception that black and white shorts are of little interest and in part because of a feeling that the character is stereotypical in nature and thus offensive . So shorts that are entertaining , if unspectacular , are effectively buried when they shouldn't be . Well worth seeking out . Recommended . |
579,503 | 583,640 | 63,435 | 8 | Beware of conveyor belts and guard dogs ! | This is a cute , though occasionally predictable , short with some great sight gags . There will be spoilers , so consider this a warning : The Pink Panther is forced , at gunpoint , into helping a burglar ( his frequent foil , the little guy with a substantial temper ) break into a building . This isn't the wisest move he could have made , as the Pink Panther causes him no end of troubles . By the end of the short , he's chased by a guard dog , picked up by an electro-magnet , squashed , squashed and blown up simultaneously and then finally blown up and basically shot through the wall at a police station . The Pink Panther even attempts to rob the burglar ( talk about ' the biter bit ' ) . It's entirely possible that the poor little guy is safer in jail than he is in close proximity to the Pink Panther ! This short is on the Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,899 | 583,640 | 103,251 | 8 | Good romance and Spader and Sarandon do have a certain chemistry on-screen | I will be frank : if Susan Sarandon had not been in this movie , I would not have watched . I will happily watch almost anything she appears in . James Spader's acting ability is marginal at best , but here , he does a very effective and surprisingly understated job and he and Sarandon do make sparks ( although Sarandon could make sparks all alone in a full-force hurricane ! ) as a couple in this . Very good romantic drama , despite the occasional mis-step . Recommended . |
579,191 | 583,640 | 21,690 | 8 | This short features one of the most annoying cartoon brats I've ever seen | This is a very good Bosko short , at least in the beginning . It kind of loses a bit of appeal in some respects ( for me , at least ) in the second half . I'll be discussing this in some detail , so you have been warned : This starts out , understandably enough , with Bosko running a soda fountain . He's busily making sodas and other concoctions for various customers . Early on , there's a very happy little mouse enjoying a soda and jumping up and down with undisguised glee ( that glee is later dampened when Bosko grabs the little mouse and uses his head and ears like an egg-beater ) . A dog , after eating a large stack of sandwiches , is picked up by Bosko and used as an accordion / concertina-like " instrument " ( proving once again that Bosko can get music out of virtually anything ) . There are some fairly good visual gags in the first part , when Bosko is at the soda shop . Unfortunately , the cartoon cuts to Honey teaching ( or trying to teach ) a little monster whose entire presence is like one large fingernail scraping slate ! He's a little cat who would make a few appearances ( thankfully a bit less annoying in most of them ) . He incessantly demands an " ice cream cone " in a voice that would shatter glass . Honey of course calls Bosko and asks him to bring an ice cream cone to appease the little brat , instead of sending the little creep back to his parents . Big mistake ! Bosko bring an ice cream cone and promptly winds up wearing it when the little creep shouts that he doesn't like vanilla and sends it back at Bosko and the chase is on . Bigger mistake ! Bosko has things happen to him that look incredibly painful , even for a cartoon character , including one scene which , as a male , is far too disconcerting for me to contemplate ! . Suffice it to say that the kid winds up making Bosko look very foolish in the end . Some very good animation sequences here and some very funny stuff , but the pint-sized Dillinger leaves a bad taste in my mouth . It's a very funny short nevertheless and most definitely worth watching . Recommended . |
579,350 | 583,640 | 89,643 | 8 | Good movie , if you are a James Garner fan , but just average otherwise | This movie is basically a showcase for James Garner . He was nominated ( deservedly ) for an Academy Award for his performance . Sally Field does well in her role and there is a chemistry between Field and Garner on-screen . The script is good , although a sub-plot with Brian Kerwin as Field's ex doesn't really work too well , there is a decent supporting cast , but it's really Garner's movie . There is a beautiful scene where Garner gives a ride to an older gent walking down the road that you have to see and is worth the price of admission alone ! Well worth watching and recommended to anyone who likes James Garner . |
578,873 | 583,640 | 30,446 | 8 | The cute mouse cartoon as done by Tex Avery | Tex Avery did a triptych of " cute little mouse " cartoons , but not to worry , gang , they have the Avery backspin , particularly this one . The three , Ain't We Got Fun , A Sunbonnet Blue and this one , were all quite recognizable as Avery shorts and the end gag on this one is prototypical Avery . This one has a fair amount of singing and is more cutesy than usual , but is definitely an Avery short , without a doubt ! Well worth looking for . Recommended . |
579,130 | 583,640 | 28,480 | 8 | Entertaining short , athough occasionally too cute for words . | Pete Smith was a master at making shorts-often comical , sometimes serious and usually acerbic and satirical in his running commentary . Some are brilliant , such as Audioscopicks . Some were intensely cute , like this one . They were invariably good and many were nominated for Oscars , as was this one . It's about a stray dog who needs to find himself a master . The narration becomes entirely too cute for my tastes at times , but all in all , this is still a very good piece of work by a man who was very good at his craft . |
579,922 | 583,640 | 54,674 | 8 | Good example of the Coyote-Roadrunner series | Nominated for an Academy Award , there is nothing especially novel or intriguing about this short . It's just a good example of the series as a whole . Wile E . spends the bulk of the cartoon trying to catch the Roadrunner and giving his insurance agent the ulcer to end all ulcers . It also serves as a warning not to buy anything from Acme unless you are desperate and / or a masochist . Cartoon Network runs this with some frequency . Recommended . |
579,842 | 583,640 | 63,470 | 8 | Fascinating short with excellent visual design . | This short is a very effective and funny piece of work with some fascinating bits . I will be discussing details , so this is a spoiler warning : The Pink Panther comes upon a door with an eye and enters a realm of the odd and wonderful as a result . He comes upon a character who resembles " The Little White Guy " with a beard and dressed as a beatnik . The Pink Panther pulls down a book on " fire rituals " and hands it to the beatnik , who opens it with predictable results . Not being one to hold a grudge , the guy hands our hero a book on " The Love Lives of Panthers " . Much of the rest of the cartoon revolves around the Pink Panther's attempts to read this book . He and the book fall through a hole , only to have the book " injured " severely enough to necessitate " surgery " , which is done by the beatnik , with some assistance from our pink friend . A light bulb in a lamp burns out and the PP tries without success to replace it by using a machine marked " Lights " , from which he gets almost every kind of light except a light bulb . He finally gets one by having an " idea " occur to him and taking the resulting light bulb from above his head ! Off and on , various calamities befall the beatnik , courtesy of the star of the series , until the poor guy finally loses his temper and goes after him with a most unusual weapon . The ending of the short is a bit mixed , but the final shot is quite nice . This short is on the PInk Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is most definitely worth checking out . Recommended . |
579,308 | 583,640 | 60,995 | 8 | One of the better Speedy shorts from the 1960s | This short is a fairly good one from the late 1960s , wen they admittedly had dropped a bit in quality from the heyday of Warner Brothers . But even with rising costs and smaller budgets making limited animation necessary , with at best average musical scoring , they still turned out some reasonably good stuff . This is a good one that depends on Daffy basically being Daffy . Speedy makes the cartoon , though , at least for me . The ending is cute , if predictable . Worth watching . Recommended . |
579,205 | 583,640 | 43,642 | 8 | This short is a type that the animators called , " cheaters " . | This cartoon is what they call a " cheater " - it uses old footage from previously released shorts along with new footage used to frame the clips . Animation is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process . Studios contracted to produce a specific number of shorts in a specific time-frame , most often a year . As budgets got tighter and deadlines loomed , in order to work a bit longer on some shorts to do excellent work , Warner Brothers animators ( MGM did so as well ) started to do " cheaters " , which were quicker and cheaper than a fully new short , to stay on deadline and within the allotted budget for the year . The time and money saved on a cheater was used on other projects , to take a bit longer and do it right . Rather than cut corners on every project , like some studios did , they cut corners on a handful of shorts a year . This is one of the better cheaters . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,901 | 583,640 | 23,798 | 8 | A birthday party for Betty-Fleischer style | This is a cute , if second-tier , short that centers around a surprise party thrown for Betty by her friends . The usual sight gags , many rather bizarre and unusual , to say the least , run throughout the cartoon . Entertaining , if not really among the best of the period . Well worth watching . In print and available . Recommended . |
579,796 | 583,640 | 23,802 | 8 | Basically a one gag short , but it's a funny gag . | This cartoon revolves around the consequences of everything being sprayed with rubber and is therefore simply one long running gag . But Betty is Betty , the jokes that " bounce " ( sorry ) off the main premise are fairly good and a good time is had by all . In print and available . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,274 | 583,640 | 58,923 | 8 | Daffy really should know better by now . | This Daffy Vs . Speedy short works better than the norm because there's a logic behind the adversarial nature implicit in the nature of a chase cartoon . Daffy and Speedy doing battle makes sense here within the context of the short more than is often the case in these later cartoons . Here we see the mean and greedy Daffy . The greedy Daffy is funny , but sometimes the mean Daffy leeches the humor right out of things . A nice balance is struck here and the short works very well . Worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,156 | 583,640 | 63,262 | 8 | Be careful what you wish for , lest you get it ! | This short , nominated for an Oscar , follows Jack from humble biginnings to his " success " , outlining the steps along the way . The National Film Board of Canada produced this thoughtful and provoctive little short , which is moderately difficult to obtain , unless one is Canadian . In print through the NFBC itself , you can go to their website ( I don't recall the address at the moment ) to find ordering instructions . I found the site by searching for the National Film Board of Canada . Well worth the effort . Recommended . |
579,720 | 583,640 | 50,255 | 8 | Fascinating documentary about the history of a mining town during the Klondike Gold Rush | This short was nominated for an Academy Award for Live Action Short , one of two shorts produced by the National Film Board of Canada in the category . Using largely shots of still photography and a voice-over narration , it tells the story of Dawson City , a mining town during the Klondike Gold Rush . It's a fascinating look back at an era long gone and little remembered . Well worth tracking down . Turner Classic Movies ran this once as part of a celebration of the NFBC's 60th anniversary a few years back . Recommended . |
579,017 | 583,640 | 52,427 | 8 | Superb Special Effects , courtesy George Pal , but Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas almost steal the movie | This movie deservedly won the Oscar for its Special Effects . Russ Tamblyn was well-cast as tom . The romantic sub-plot is superfluous and Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers all but steal the movie as a bumbling pair of thieves . Funny enjoyable puffball of a movie . Well worth watching for the effects and Sellers and Thomas . |
579,963 | 583,640 | 23,783 | 8 | Bosko in the Foreign Legion | This is a very good Bosko short , with some very good sight gags and some hilarious segments . I want to discuss this short in some detail , so this is a spoiler warning : Most Bosko shorts tend to have a few really good gags in an otherwise dull and uneven cartoon . Quite often , there will be one notable section which works fairly well . This one , however , is fairly solid from start to finish , with memorably funny gags spread out through the whole of the short . It starts with a view of the sleeping quarters of a Foreign Legion outpost , with some nice sight gags . When reveille sounds , the mean Sargent comes in , to be serenaded with a child-like , sing-song rendition of " Good Morning To You " ! Bosko's uniform stands to before Bosko wakes up to the bugle's call and must wake Bosko itself . They ( Bosko and his uniform ) run out to stand inspection , where Bosko does his morning ablutions standing in ranks ! He's called forward and given the assignment to capture Ali Oop ( no mention is made of a dinosaur ) . The next part has Bosko riding a camel and gets the typical gags in any Foreign Legion cartoon-the oasis , other people comically riding camels , the snake charmer ( with a jazzy snake ) and so on . Bosko sees Honey just in time to be with her when Ali Oop storms the village ( naturally , as it speeds things up when you don't have to hunt for the bad guy ) and the battle sequence starts , with the jokes being sight gags related to people shooting at one another . I won't spoil those , because they have to be seen to be appreciated . The short ends with Bosko getting the girl and capturing Oop . The capture of Ali Oop is effective and funny . I hope this eventually see release on a future Looney Tunes Golden Collection . Most recommended . |
579,346 | 583,640 | 17,743 | 8 | Worth watching for the animal footage and scoring in the re-issue | This documentary was nominated for Artistic Quality of Production for the very first Academy Awards . The category appeared only once , apparently to give recognition to works with more critical than commercial success . Chang holds up very well and despite at times being too ridiculous for words is well worth viewing for the shots of animals in the wild and an enchanting musical score added in re-release . Brought to you by the same production team that did the original King Kong . |
579,043 | 583,640 | 151,568 | 8 | Great movie if you like Gilbert and Sullivan | Topsy Turvy is an excellent movie if you like Gilbert and Sullivan . I do , so I enjoyed it a great deal . Jim Broadbent steals the show with a wonderful performance as W . S . Gilbert . He should have been nominated for an Oscar . I suspect the reason he wasn't is because they couldn't decide if he belonged in Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor . In any case , his performance is better than Jude Law's in Ripley and head and shoulders above Sean Penn's in Sweet and Lowdown , so it doesn't matter which to put him in anyway . The performances of the musical numbers are good to excellent . Recommended if you like musicals , highly recommended if you like G & S . |
579,443 | 583,640 | 54,634 | 8 | Typical Disney sport-oriented cartoon | This cartoon , nominated for an Oscar , is one of the sports-oriented cartons Disney made featuring that graceful soul , Goofy . While this is a good cartoon and is well worth seeking out , there truly isn't anything exceptionally special about this cartoon . It is typical of the series-a narrator talks about the actions , and the consequences rising from those actions , of your " average man " ( Goofy ) while Goofy goes through sight gag after sight gag . This runs on The Ink and Paint Club periodically . Recommended . |
579,392 | 583,640 | 116,293 | 8 | A rara avis-a film with a dominant lead performance that also requires very strong work from an ensemble cast or it wouldn't work . | This is an unusual film , to say the least . Most films that require a stong group performance from an ensemble in order to work don't have one central part that basically has the film revolve around it so it doesn't collapse under it's own weight . Here , the supporting players have to do a good job or the movie rings false . But if Tilda Swinton doesn't do the best performance of her career , it collapses into an unwatchable , tedious mess . There are four or five supporting roles that , if they don't work ( even one of them ) then the film is a bust . If Tilda Swinton phones it in , the film collapses . Most movies don't have this large a dichotomy-they are either ensemble casts ( like The Big Chill or Glengarry Glen Ross ) or they have a dominant performance and perhaps one or two roles that need to work and everything else isn't crucial ( like , say , Philadelphia or The Verdict ) . For the most part , the film works , with one or two false steps . Recommended for the open-minded and venturesome . |
579,458 | 583,640 | 54,593 | 8 | Another parody taken from Of Mice and Men | This is one of the cartoons where we meet the Abominable Snowman , a parody of Lenny from Of Mice and Men , which became a staple joke at both Warner Brothers and MGM ( courtesy of Tex Avery for the latter studio ) and virtually every less than bright secondary character was modeled to some degree after Lenny . Daffy is his usual charming and affable self and much chaos follows . Good to see that it's available . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,425 | 583,640 | 85,936 | 8 | Good , if typical , Disney adaptatin of a classic tale | Nominated for an Academy Award , this is a good , though not great , adaptation of Dickens as seen through the lense of Disney . Better than average re-telling of A Christmas Carol , though the Disney hand is visible a bit heavily in spots . Enjoyable , if far from a masterpiece . Recommended . |
579,285 | 583,640 | 32,967 | 8 | The best of a very short and not terribly effective series . | This was the best of a very short series of cartoons that was a misfired attempt playing on the Three Bears , with thoroughly unlikable characters , including Papa , a lazy , mean and obnoxious fellow , Mama , not much better than Papa and Baby , a cute cipher with no real personality to speak of and consequently most irritating . Production values are good and the story is good , with some funny moments , but MGM fared much better with the character of Barney Bear , with some endearing qualities mixed in with the gruffness . This series isn't anywhere near the same league as the considerably funnier Warner Brothers take on the same fairy tale and died quickly . This particular short has a good ending , but I've seen better ( and worse ) in my time . Average at best . Worth watching , but don't try too hard to find it unless you collect MGM cartoons . For completeists . |
579,141 | 583,640 | 50,176 | 8 | Bugs versus Taz , Round Two | This is the second encounter between Bugs Bunny and an obviously over-matched Taz . Bugs winds up in Tasmania and almost immediately becomes the object of Taz's gustatory interest ( Taz wants Bugs to come for dinner , but only as the main item on the menu ) and , understandably , our intrepid hero is reluctant to oblige . Taz has some good lines here , but he is clearly out of his weight class against Bugs . Bugs nails him in the end with a decidedly low blow , but when you're in danger of being remembered with fondness as a belch , you don't fight fair . Recommended . |
579,051 | 583,640 | 136,327 | 8 | An Out of the Inkwell short and quite well done | The character of Koko is likely recognized from his appearances in Betty Boop cartoons , if he's recognized at all . But he started out as a character in the Out Of the Inkwell series as a silent character ( actually , he " spoke " by word balloons , but the shorts were silent ) with a dog . These cartoons more or less followed a pattern-a live action sequence where either one or both of the Flieschers ( or occasionally some other person ) would bring Koko " out of the inkwell " ( i . e . , draw him , usually with a creative entrance ) and the bulk of the cartoon would have Koko and / or Fitz the dog acting and reacting to a specific set of circumstances . Here , Max draws his characters with heated ink , which is obviously not comfortable for them , as they spend the time mainly trying to cool off , with comic results , if little success . Intensely visual ( for obvious reasons ) and often surreal . Fascinating to watch . Well worth tracking down . Recommended . |
579,317 | 583,640 | 323,250 | 8 | A good example proving that reading the Owner's Manual first is often a good idea ! | This is a wonderful little bonus to Monsters , Inc . included by Pixar on VHS and DVD release . This is almost as funny as For The Birds and as rich in detail . While I like cel animation slightly more than CGI ( odd , because I have zero artistic ability and can't draw a straight line even with a ruler ) , Pixar's work enthralls me . Pixar succeeds because they understand that a story is necessary , or even the greatest animation ( or whatever ) crashes in a heap at the foot of the stairs and can't get back up . This point appears to elude entirely too many people of late , including the folks at Disney ( Pixar , it should be noted , is not part of Disney , but is a separate company that has a distribution deal with The Mouse . ) and it's not that hard to make sure you have a story first , though all too often it must seem that way in the film industry . I hope Pixar continues to do shorts , whether for R & D purposes or just because they want to do them , as they do a great job . Well worth watching . Recommended . |
579,421 | 583,640 | 120,594 | 8 | Very good movie highlighted by the acting performances | This movie is basically carried by the two leads ( particularly Asia Argent , daughter of Dario Argento ) and by Rupert Everett in a supporting role . The script is average and the plot a tad too obvious at times , but Argento catches fire on camera and does a very good job . If you like action-thrillers , by all means watch thi one . Recommended . |
578,864 | 583,640 | 23,717 | 8 | This is another Screen Song where the animation is almost treated as incidental . | As far as Screen Songs go , this one is fairly interesting and reasonably good . But I can't help feeling as though the cartoon was an afterthought . It's a decent job , but I suspect it would have been much better if it got the full treatment , instead of being an addition for time requirements . The animation and the song don't fit well together at all . Worth watching nonetheless . Ethel Merman is in fine form here and the cartoon portion is fun . In print and available . Recommended . |
579,266 | 583,640 | 41,655 | 8 | Good short with some excellent lines and I'm glad to see it in print ! | This is a short which I haven't seen in ages , as it was declared off-limits by Ted Turner when Turner acquired the rights to the shorts . While I can understand his trepidation , I'm grateful to finally see the short again , because it has one of the funniest scenes I remember from watching these close to 40 years ago . As I want to talk about the short in a bit of detail , this is a spoiler warning : The short starts with a scene which likely helped pull it from circulation for years-blacks working in the cotton fields , one of whom grabs Bugs's " cotton " tail and tosses him in the sack . We then watch Bugs make his way from field-sack to cotton bale bound for the Southern Star , a paddle-wheel on the Mississippi , bound for all sorts of ports , including " Cu-cka-mong-a " ( an old inside joke Mel Blanc has fun with in quite a few shorts ) . Bugs happens to observe what happens to stowaways on board and so " borrows " a gentleman's suit ( and presumably his ticket as well ) . This scene is hilarious . Bugs then winds up in a card game with Colonel Shuffle ( think Yosemite Sam with a Southern accent ) . Bugs puts up $100 , which buys one half of a white chip , Col . Shuffle deals and the scene fades out . The fade in shows Bugs with a mountain of chips and Shuffle with half a white chip . Bugs wins the hand , with both players cheating . Shuffle contrives to be insulted and challenges Bugs to a duel . A few very funny bits later , Shuffle winds up in the Mississippi River to start a running gag and the chase is on . In a short with some very funny bits , my personal favorite comes after Col . Shuffle has set his pants on fire in the ship's furnace . He races to a water dispenser which takes only pennies and turns to Bugs , asking in very courtly speech if he might have change for a " tenspot " , adding that " I would prefer a profusion of pennies ! " . Bugs slowly checks the bill over ( he bites it at one point ) and slowly begins counting change . When he reaches $1 . 21 , Shuffle grabs the change , thanks him , tells him he can keep the rest and buys a cup of water and finally puts himself out . Bugs disguises himself as a Southern belle and begins whacking Shuffle with an umbrella , with Shuffle apologizing abjectly ( and futilely ) until he discovers it's Bugs . Bugs as a belle persuades a Southern gentleman to kick Shuffle off into the river again . When the gentleman realizes the " belle " is a bunny , he exits jerkily , stage right , into the river himself . The closing line is perfect . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth seeing . Recommended . |
578,857 | 583,640 | 45,962 | 8 | Marc Anthony tries to make a " mouser " out of Pussyfoot-with limited success | This short stars the duo of Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot , an unlikely pairing of a bulldog and a kitten . Because I want to talk about some of the gags , this will be a spoiler warning : The people who give Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot a home are having a disagreement over whether or not Pussyfoot is carrying his own weight around the house , with the husband feeling that he should be ridding the house of mice . Marc Anthony , worried that his friend might lose his home , tries to make Pussyfoot a fierce and effective mouse-catcher . Unfortunately , what happens is that the mouse turns him into a draft animal , in harness and pulling a cart full of food back from the refrigerator . Other attempts to make Pussyfoot look good backfire as well and there are some hilarious sight gags in the middle portion of the short , including the sight of Marc Anthony as a ballerina ! After the mouse sends a ransom note as a " katnapper " and Marc Anthony gets walloped for shoving a wheel of cheese , piece by piece , into the mouse-hole , a solution comes to our hero . He gets a powerful magnifier , places it in front of the hole , sits Pussyfoot down in front of it and shapes his face into a ferocious expression . This sends the mice scurrying from the house and the day is saved . The final scene is priceless . This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection , Volume 4 and is well worth seeing . Recommended . |
579,784 | 583,640 | 147,032 | 8 | A different take on an old standard and a relatively novel approach for UPA as well . | UPA was , in many ways , different from the other studios in its approach . This cartoon is a relative rarity for them in its use of music . While UPA shorts did use scoring and music was part of the package , music wasn't as significant for them as it was for other studios like MGM , Disney or Warner Brothers . Apart from the Ham and Hattie series , which was basically two shorts in one and were songs that were animated , I can only think of two shorts by UPA where music was not only involved in the plot , but crucial to the success of the short : Rooty Toot Toot and this one . The animators even put a somewhat subtle spin on the song as well , by their animation and the implications included through character behavior . Not typically the idea one gets from the lyrics of the song , at least not an impression I ever got . Typically excellent animation and a marvelous short . Well worth hunting down . Recommended . |
579,257 | 583,640 | 83,722 | 8 | A better movie than many think , its primary weakness is the apparent disinterest of Malcolm McDowall in much of the movie . | This movie , while by no means a masterpiece , is actually a fairly decent movie that is seriously undercut by the fact that Malcolm McDowall seems to be totally bored by the whole thing and it comes through in his " performance " . Given that he has one of the lead roles , this is something of a problem . Kinski and O'Toole do excellent work and the cinematography and score are wonderful . Not a great movie but better than many people think . Worth watching . |
579,259 | 583,640 | 141,299 | 8 | Od , but interesting , sing-along short from Fleischer | This is an odd little entry from Fleischer in their Screen Song sing-along series . About half animation , half sing-along and a little hard to describe . Because I want to discuss some details , this is a spoiler warning : There really isn't all that much to this one . It starts out with mice taking buckets of water and splashing them on an elephant bathing behind a screen and just kind of goes on from there . Either mice are scrubbing other animals or the animals are washing themselves . There are two bits which I particularly like-one where a mouse is bathing cats using a tub and washboard , like a laundrywoman and a bit where a mouse , trying to get a sleeping dog to continue cranking a water-pump , pulls a pair of dice from his pocket and they morph into a bone ( a slang expression for dice is " bones " ) . After the cleaning finishes , a rather odd rabbit assembles the animals into an orchestra and then very exaggeratedly tells the audience that they will be playing the title tune and encourages the audience to sing along by following the " bouncing ball " . There follows the standard lyric display , though the last part features the rabbit in place of the ball and the words change as he steps on them . The animation is nice , though the song is rather melancholy and the singing is uninspired . Worth tracking down . |
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