reviewId
int64
363k
588k
userId
int64
33.9k
15.9M
itemId
int64
1
1.42M
rating
float64
1
10
title
stringlengths
1
10.9k
content
stringlengths
81
11.6k
579,913
583,640
79,126
10
An excellent , touching Oscar-winning animated short
In 1979 , the United Nations and its program UNICEF started a fund-raising campaign that designated the year as , " The Year of the Child " . That campaign is referenced by this short at the very beginning . The short went on to win the Academy Award and is an incredibly moving look at one child's journey . The title r...
578,812
583,640
22,883
10
An absolute gem and delightful to watch
This is quite possibly the crown jewel in the long and illustrious career of an extremely troubled and very funny man . Fields has a field day sending up a style of melodrama popular at the time . At one and the same time , this is atypical of Fields ' work generally , but still has his fingerprints all over it as well...
579,386
583,640
42,871
10
Truly a classic short .
This is one of Chuck Jones's masterpieces , an incredible blend of music ( mainly opera ) and animation . The new lyrics written to the very old and familiar music are priceless , as is the scene where Elmer at first thinks he's starting to grow hair . One of the best cartoons Warner Brothers ever produced . Well worth...
578,884
583,640
36,238
10
A Tex Avery Christmas ! ! !
This cartoon , which I think is one of Tex Avery's best , features as its protagonist a little pig who seems to be a take-off on Red SKelton's Mean Widdle KId character-the voice , mannerisms and even on or two of SKelton's catch-phrases are present in this cartoon . The Wolf doesn't stand a chance ! Junior isn't very ...
579,260
583,640
449,619
10
Deservedly won an Oscar last year , much as Ryan won the year before
This short is a combination of animation , still photos and what look like home movies in trying to create an imaginary conversation between a father and his son . Like Ryan , which was an animated look at the life and troubles of animator Ryan Larkin's life , this short looks at very real people and situations and , l...
578,779
583,640
152,989
10
The last theatrically produced Magoo and it's a fitting conclusion for UPA !
This short is the last one produced for movie theater release , both in the Magoo series as well as the last made by the studio . Magoo goes out in perfect form and style . The plot revolves around a television program and a most unusual burglary . The standard Magoo sight gags and a most entertaining finale to the run...
578,880
583,640
22,899
10
Even after almost 70 years , it's an incredible piece of art !
This won the very first Academy Award given for animated short and even after close to 69 years , it is still a marvel to behold . It quite justifiably won its praise at the time and is one of Disney's high points . Everything about this is excellent : story , music , characterization , plot , layout , visuals-everythi...
578,919
583,640
280,580
10
Oscar-nominated documentary filmed in an Actor's Fund retirement home that is fascinating to watch .
This documentary , an Oscar nominee this year , takes a look at the lives of some of the residents of an Actor's Fund home and is a glimpse into the lives of people who worked in the theater and film business-in front of and / or behind the stage or camera . No household names ( although I had heard of Dalton Dearborn ...
579,956
583,640
36,244
10
Haunting story of a " mob mentaity " and what happens when people lose control
This is one the best westerns and better films I have ever seen and features a very fine , almost understated , performance by Henry Fonda and excellent work by a host of familiar faces , most notably early work by Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn . Fans of movies from the 1930s and 1940s will recognize lots of character...
579,133
583,640
34,097
10
Bravo ! Bravo ! ! Encore ! Encore ! !
This cartoon short SHOULD have won the Oscar instead of Lend A Paw ! An absolutely perfect blending of music and action throughout , well-executed at every turn . Incredibly funny with no dialogue-sight gags only and the running gags are great ! Wonderful marriage of beautiful music and antic lunacy with a drop dead en...
579,947
583,640
45,000
10
Wile E . ' s luck is no better with Bugs Bunny than it is with Roadrunners
Wile E . Coyote just can't catch a break . One of several encounters with Bugs Bunny goes as badly for him as his attempts at catching the Roadrunner do . I feel for his life and accident insurers ! It's a pity they only made 5 or 6 of these , because it's a good combination . Wile E . is a good foil for Bugs and most ...
579,605
583,640
81,361
10
The best of the more recent additions to the older works
Although they've mostly worked , the cartoons done in the 1970's and after usually aren't quite as good as the older stuff ( probably because budgets and cost won't allow the same freedom ) . This one and a few others are the exception . I put this one above the two most notable others ( The Duxorsist and Duck Dodgers ...
579,032
583,640
36,268
10
Excellent look at Nazi plans for conquest and control of the world
This documentary was nominated for an Academy Award and looks at the intentions of the Nazis in future globl domination had they successfully prosecuted WWII . Fascinating ( and more than a bit chilling ) look at just how detailed the plans were for the systematic looting of funds and resources on a global scale for th...
579,801
583,640
36,279
10
The unmistakable rhythms of Dr . Seuss are part of the charms of this exceptional short !
For several of the shorts in this series , Theodore Geisel ( aka Dr . Seuss ) scripted and the speech patterns here reflect his quite familiar cadence . It's great ! Private Snafu really screws up royally here , which was the point , as the series was meant to show soldiers what not to do and what the consequences coul...
578,999
583,640
38,114
10
An Oscar winning one-reel short from an extended series of shorts done by MGM
Back when going to the movies was practically an all-day affair , studios made short subjects and most studios had regular series of shorts that followed a basic framework and usually had the same narrator , writers , etc . One of the best and most successful was The Passing Parade , which took its stories from real li...
578,942
583,640
38,143
10
Tex Avery at the top of his form !
This cartoon is just great ! Lots of sight gags , a fair number of topical gags framed on the war and life on the home front and the most entetaining fairy godmother to come down the pike in quite a while . Another " fairytale " cartoon by Avery that is ribald and lecherous and pokes fun at everything , including itsel...
579,794
583,640
25,213
10
Anything can happen in a cartoon !
This is a marvelous cartoon blending some live action footage with animation with incredible results . These days , animation is all too often no more than an excuse for marketing tie-ins or is one long commercial altogether . With some exceptions ( Animaniacs is one of the good ones ) , the truly off-the-wall zaniness...
579,520
583,640
58,211
10
By following these safe ( well , maybe not safe ) and easy guidelines , you , too can avoid friendship !
This short , nominated for an Academy Award , is one of four in a series of " self-help " cartoons done by Rembrandt Films . Arthur Treacher narrates all four and is perfect for the job ! I suspect it's safe to say that if the advice here is followed , friendship is not something that will trouble you for terribly long...
578,777
583,640
38,087
10
One good short deserves an even better remake .
Dangerous Dan McFoo , a short that Tex Avery directed at Warner Brothers , is re-made here some six years later , when Tex was at MGM . This cartoon is a bit crisper , with better timing , although both are quite good and both unmistakably Tex Avery cartoons . The Robert W . Service poem that serves as the starting poi...
579,014
583,640
44,821
10
A classic Disney short !
This short is one of the more successful Disney produced in the 1950s . Nominated for an Oscar in 1951 , it has one of the more memorable one-shot characters Disney created in Lambert . Some of the visual gags , particularly toward the end of the cartoon are hilarious ! Toward the end of the 1940s , Disney slipped behi...
579,129
583,640
190,287
10
So help me , I don't know why , but I enjoy this carton ! ! !
Normally , I am not overly fond of terminally cute cartoons or country music . This cartoon is guilty on both counts . With all that going on , I should really run screaming from this one , but I don't . Maybe it's just sufficiently bizarre below the surface to be good , or maybe I'm getting sentimental in my dotage . ...
579,741
583,640
23,027
10
One of the Marx Brothers ' best !
What the Marx Brothers do to higher education in this film is roaringly funny , from the opening song " Whatever It Is , I'm Against It " to the end , possibly the most bizarre American Football " game " not played in the XFL ! Groucho was at or near his best and it's probably the best ( and most significant ) role Zep...
579,744
583,640
49,473
10
An excellent combination of live-action footage and animation that holds up very well
This documentary was nominated for an Oscar and it's easy to see why . Even 45 years later , it is quite an impressive piece of work . Why it isn't in-print is a mystery that only Disney can explain . Good use of live footage and animation in tandem . This used to run as part of " Vault Disney " every few months or so ...
579,768
583,640
351,167
10
Visually a treat , extraordinary CGI !
While having just the barest of a discernable storyline and no plot to speak of ( at least not one that I could find ) , this matters not a whit in my eyes . This is a treat for the eyes , first and foremost , an absolutely breathtaking piece of work . This blows the " crowd " scenes in Gladiator away , though that is ...
579,343
583,640
44,868
10
One of Tex Avery's Best
Let me first state that I think that Tex Avery is to the animated short what Walt Disney was to the feature-length animated film . So many of the conventions of animated shorts were either started by Avery or so effectively used by him that he gave us the cartoon format that we know and , hopefully , love . And Magical...
579,783
583,640
150,663
10
I love this cartoon , but then , I would-I worked for an accountant !
This short does nothing terribly dramatic . No ground-breaking animation , or special voice work . It will not cure the common cold or achieve great breakthroughs in technology or world peace . But it is a rather charming look at a somewhat eccentric couple and their attempts to budget . I consider it one of my favorit...
579,689
583,640
84,701
10
An absolutely beautiful and wonderful short
This short , nominated for an Academy Award , is just incredible ! The animtion , music , story-everything - is as close to perfect as possible . Funny , warm , tender , joyous and bittersweet at various points , it's in-print , deserves to be and is without a doubt one of the finest animated shorts I have seen in my l...
579,261
583,640
469,078
10
A very sweet and poetic cartoon which is also unmistakably a Bill Plympton cartoon
How this one missed being nominated for an Oscar , I'll never figure out . Possibly the committee didn't think it was a Bill Plympton because it is , at its heart , a love story . Who knows ? In any case , I found it delightful and charming . Because I want to discuss some of the details , this is a spoiler warning : M...
579,887
583,640
141,869
10
One of the better early Fleischer Studios sound shorts-which is quite a compliment !
In the 1930s , it was Fleischer Studios which was the most competitive studio to Disney . In fact , the argument can be made that in the very early 1930s ( 1930-31 ) that they were better . This short is an excellent example of what the studio was doing at the time . Because I want to discuss this in some detail , this...
579,949
583,640
49,510
10
An Oscar winner and an excellent example of how good use can be made of limited animation
This short , produced by UPA in 1956 , won an Oscar , beating out two other UPA productions to do so . UPA used very limited animation and compensated for the limitations in movement with good scripts , careful selection of voices and by making the best use of animation by making it count . The premise of this short is...
579,302
583,640
49,033
10
Absolutely hilarious !
This is one of the funniest Bugs shorts they ever did . Oddly enough , for an intensely visual cartoon , the funniest bits are mostly verbal in nature . This has some incredibly funny dialogue , particularly Bugs echoing a portion of Elmer's opening harangue calling on Bugs to show himself . Bugs's take on the line and...
579,015
583,640
20,640
10
The one Marx Brothers film that MIGHT be better than Duck Soup
This is the one film the Marx Brothers made that someone might be able to covince me is better than Duck Soup-maybe . Excellent script , about as believable a plot as they ever had and just an overall Gem of a movie . It also provided the song with which Groucho was most identified in later years - " Hooray For Captain...
579,335
583,640
247,500
10
Haunting and intriguing .
This is a very effective and compelling short that looks a perception , in this case perception through the eyes of children . Using very basic and deceptively simple hand-drawn animation ( incorporating some very entertaining visual tricks along the way ) this tells , in effect , two stories : the story the children s...
578,810
583,640
106,446
10
Quite possibly the most unfortunately-timed mid-life crisis ever !
This short justly won the Academy Award and is probably one of the two short produced by the National Film Board of Canada ( the other is The Cat Came Back ) that most people would have seen than any other work done under their umbrella . Excellent and hilariously funny , particularly Bob's semi-meltdown under circumst...
578,769
583,640
38,253
10
Masterful use of the character of Droopy and the running gag .
As the creator of the character , it's understandable that Tex Avery would be best able to utilize him to best effect . Most of the Droopy shorts made after Tex left MGM don't really use the character as effectively , giving him too much dialogue or making him to soft-hearted and without an edge to him . Droopy has tee...
579,620
583,640
42,555
10
There is one line I simply have to quote from this little delight ! You are warned !
This is a delightful cartoon , with hilarious dialogue moreso than visual gags . The squaredance scene alone is worth the price of admission , but my absolute favorite line , one that just busts me up every time . Bugs says to one of the Martins , " And who might you be ? " to which his response is , " I might be Teddy...
579,325
583,640
29,422
10
Early Porky cartoon directed by Tex Avery
This cartoon features Porky , who is mistaken for a heavyweight wrestler . There are great sight gags in here ( naturally-this is a Tex Avery ) and some of the best come when everybody in the ring plays " choo-choo " ! This short is a great deal of fun and is well worth hunting up . Originally black and white , it has ...
579,698
583,640
107,574
10
In many ways , this is a companion piece to The Man Who Planted Trees .
With all due respect to The Wrong Trousers , The Mighty River should have either shared the Academy Award or won it outright . I'm very fond of and impressed by the Wallace and Grommit short , but The Mighty River , like its subject ( the St . Lawrence River ) is magnificent . It bears a great many similarities to The ...
579,005
583,640
236,447
10
Excellent documentary that is engaging and thought-provoking-Warning Potential SPOILER comments
This is an exceptionally well-done and thoughtful documentary on the aftermath of apartheid in South Africa and the rather different " war crimes " tribunel approach they took in South Africa . While I was disappointed that they didn't touch on black-on-black attacks ( anyone who's ever seen the end result of " the nec...
579,690
583,640
84,764
10
This must be watched-words do not do it justice !
The year 1982 saw three shorts nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short . All were excellent and could easily have won . It was the misfortune of The Great Cognito and The Snowman that they were in direct competition with this short . This is so intricately done and so fascinating in its conception and execut...
579,914
583,640
81,040
10
A fly's-eye view of the world
This short , an Oscar winner , is an exceptionally detailed effort that can be a bit unsettling at first ( particularly for anyone who has problems with depth-perception ) , but is a fascinatingly drawn and meticulously constructed animation and is a must-see if you like animation . Fortunately , it is currently in-pri...
579,739
583,640
44,685
10
I could not disagree more with the Maltin review ! ! !
Whoever reviewed this film for Maltin's Guide ( I wish they'd indicate who the reviewer is by initials or something . It'd make the book more useful ) does not share my tastes . I personally don't care that it bears no relation to Andersen's life . They admit it up front . Judge a film by itself , not on it's supposed ...
579,939
583,640
49,328
10
I love the Humphrey the Bear shorts !
I just love this series of shorts ! I have no idea why , but I think they're marvelous . Humphrey usually winds up the loser in whatever is going on and the expressions on his face are hilarious . The animation is quite good for 1950s animation and Humphrey and Ranger Woodlore are well developed as characters . Too bad...
579,960
583,640
29,339
10
The attention to detail is breathtaking !
The folks at Disney won an Oscar for this astonishing piece of work and deservedly so ! It's got to be one of the most meticulously done animations I have seen in my life ! The detail work is inspired and it's apparent that a great deal of time , effort and creativity was given to this gem . While it isn't available co...
579,705
583,640
106,428
10
Fascinating look at blindness and possibly at perceptions .
This short , nominated for both the BAFTA and the Academy Awards ( deservedly so ) is an excellently executed take on the world of a blind man . The animation , use of color and black and white and sound to create mood is great . Often what one imagines is far more unusual and / or frightening than reality . When you c...
579,906
583,640
22,610
10
The most unusual penny arcade ever !
This is an unusual arcade to say the least ! Interestingly enough , the Fleischers also did a Popeye centering around penny arcades some years later that is considerably different in style and mood from this one . The Betty Boop series as a whole had a much different feel from the Popeye series , which is understandabl...
579,717
583,640
94,364
10
A remarkable piece of animation by Bill Plympton
This short , nominated for an Academy Award , is visually exceptional and conceptually wonderful . From what I've seen of his work , it's also one of the most conventionally " normal " pieces he's done ! It's a kick to watch . Plympton is an acquired taste and I seem to have done so . If you like good animation that me...
579,033
583,640
49,380
10
Clever , almost cute , cartoon that is almost a textbook example of UPA's work
This short , one of the three UPA shorts nominated for an Academy Award ( a clean sweep for UPA that year ) , is almost the prototypical short for UPA : Limited animation combined with a clever , interesting idea that is fleshed out with a good script that uses the strengths of the animation style to best advantage for...
579,367
583,640
220,676
10
For Richard Condie , this is a " normal " short .
If most directors did a cartoon like this , it would probably be the oddest thing they ever did . But for Richard Condie , this is a comparatively normal short ( " comparatively " being the operative word-Condie does nothing " normal " ) whereas everything else I've ever seen is stranger than this within sixty seconds ...
579,336
583,640
46,973
10
Not one of Claude's better days , I'd imagine .
This is my favorite of the shorts starring Marc Anthony , though one of the others , Cat Feud , is a better cartoon . Claude Cat is thoroughly unlikeable in this one . He's deceitful , disgraceful and devious and those are his good qualities ! Marc Anthony ( clearly a dog's equivalent to Prince Valiant ) wins out for t...
579,365
583,640
36,015
10
Excellent short by a little-known director
This is an excellent cartoon and is one of a handful directed by Norman McCabe , who is not nearly as well known as other Warner Brothers directors , chiefly because he didn't direct for terribly long . Claude Hopper is a very engaging character similar to Disney's Goofy because he was voiced by Pinto Colvig and all of...
579,644
583,640
96,273
10
Deservingly won the Academy Award !
This is an incredible short in many ways ! The computer graphics are great and the storyline is very well-developed and executed brilliantly . This is a most innocently destructive toddler-in other words , a typical baby . As anyone who has spent time in the company of a toddler knows , they are a force of nature not u...
579,815
583,640
31,455
10
The best of the myriad different film versions of a most excellent novel
The best of the many versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame , for my money , is this one , although Lon Chaney's is a close second . Despite a Hollywood tendancy to change the novel's ending so as not to depress the cash customers ( although , pray tell , if you're going to change the ending , why does no one ever see...
579,003
583,640
47,001
10
Makes Walter Mitty look like an under-achiever !
Nominated for an Oscar , this cartoon is a takeoff on Walter Mity , with a small boy named Ralph Phillips surpassing Mitty in inventiveness . Thoroughly engaging and extremely hilarious , the situations Ralph imagines are wonderful and so off-beat ( particularly his bout with mathematics ! ) that the cartoon can be wat...
579,370
583,640
203,310
10
This is an incredibly strange and unusual cartoon , even for a Richard Condie !
Richard Condie , under the umbrella of the National Film Board of Canada , does some fairly odd and wonderful work . This one is pretty strange even for Condie ! I am seldom at a loss for words , but trying to describe this one and do it justice is difficult . This airs somewhat frequently on O Canada on the Cartoon Ne...
579,793
583,640
22,704
10
Betty saves her " Boop oop a doop " in this one .
They don't come with much more innuendo or double entendre than this one from 1932 . Funny , definitely risque , with Koko as the support here , as well as a most despicable ringmaster , who does just about everything but chase Betty around a desk in this one . Well developed characterizations , especially among the ci...
579,351
583,640
88,725
10
A reminder of how good animation can be
This short justifiably won the Academy Award for Animated Short . At turns sad and funny , sweet and cruel and with a marvelous ending , it offers proof that the animated short is still being done well and is still a viable art form . Available on The World's Greatest Animation , anyone who takes animation to their hea...
579,378
583,640
35,954
10
Funny , but it helps if you know who Jerry Collona was .
This cartoon ( deservedly nominated for an Oscar ) features a parody of the great Jerry Collona , a radio and motion picture comedian . The title is a play on one of his signature bits ( " Greetings , gate ! Let's osculate ! ) that were his trademarks . Collona was parodied several times by the guys at Termite Terrace ...
579,973
583,640
179,011
10
Beautiful piece of work with amazing detail .
This won the Academy Award for Animated Short and it's easy to see why , even in a fairly strong field of nominees . The technical aspects alone would justify the award . It's a visually arresting cartoon . I've seen much less attention to detail in " set decoration " in feature-length live-action films ! But the visua...
579,630
583,640
96,450
10
An unexpected jewel found by chance
I bought The Spike and Mike Festival of Animation , Vol . 1 for other shorts that were on the cassette . I got better than I thought , as there were several shorts on there that would have been worth getting the tape in and of themselves , including this one . I can't say a great deal about it directly , save that Pete...
579,640
583,640
73,312
10
One of Woody Allen's most entertaining and amusing comedies
Woody Allen films fall into different categories-his early films verge on slapstick while still being bitingly satirical ( Sleeper , Bananas , Play It Again , Sam , among others ) while his later works generally fall into one of two categories : contemporary social satire or nostalgic period pieces , generally set in t...
579,555
583,640
107,688
10
Textbook example proving the old adage , " The grass is always greener in someone else's yard . "
This film , while far from Burton's masterpiece , is a delightful musical that in the end shows that , sometimes , we have things far better than we think we do and the other side of the fence sometimes looks better just because it's different , but that doesn't make necessarily wise to pursue someone else's dream beca...
579,907
583,640
22,667
10
I'd vote for her any day !
This is a wonderful mix of satire and the strangeness that could be found in the best of the early Fleischer shorts , particularly Betty Boop cartoons . A knowledge of 1930s politics helps with some of the jokes , but it's funny even if you don't know who Herbert Hoover or FDR were . These shorts are exceptionally fine...
579,026
583,640
179,025
10
This PBS series got me hooked on animation !
This series ran for three seasons on PBS and , like the overwhelming majority of the shows produced for that network , was of excellent quality and had to have been assembled by people who had a love for the subject matter . The shorts that ran on the series ran the gamut from deathly serious ones like Sisyphus ( a Hun...
579,821
583,640
84,868
10
I would love to have been a spider on the ceiling when they screened this for upper management at Disney !
Every time I watch this short , it reminds me of a cross between the old Ralph Phillips cartoons that Warner Brothers did and the comic strip The Far Side . I suspect that management at Disney were a bit unsettled by this one when they first saw the finished work . Here there be spoilers : Vincent Malloy is a boy with ...
579,097
583,640
64,504
10
Why isn't this available on VHS or DVD ?
This is one of Disney's better efforts ( which is quite a compliment ! ) This shows up occasionally on The Ink and Paint Club , but I think that Disney ( and the public ) would be well-served if this and some of their other shorts were released in a compilation . This is an excellent example of combining animation with...
579,262
583,640
48,985
10
An absolutely hilarious short from beginning to end , with a funny premise
This is one of my favorite Bugs Bunny shorts , which deftly illustrates one of Chuck Jones's rules for his Bugs cartoons , which was that Bugs should never go after anyone for no good reason-he has to be the aggrieved party first in some way and merely evening the score with a bad guy . Because I want to discuss some o...
579,347
583,640
96,438
10
One of the best , if not the best , animated features of all time
I absolutely love animation ( not to be confused with anime ) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit ? is my favorite . With Disney and Warner Brothers characters appearing in the same film for the first time , and Betty Boop weighing in as well , that would be enough . But there is also a new cast of animateds in addition-Roger ...
579,791
583,640
22,758
10
The most unusual chess match since Through the Looking Glass
This short is one of the most eccentric cartoons the Fleischer Brothers ever did ! It opens with two men at a chess board , apparently playing a match and then turns its focus onto the pieces for the most bizarre game of chess played since Lewis Carroll penned Through the Looking Glass ! Very odd , even for a Betty Boo...
579,290
583,640
47,097
10
Heavier than usual on funny dialogue , but still lots of sight gags . ( Possible spoilers )
I had to do a comment on this cartoon , ma'am-it's the law of the West ! Besides , today I celebrate the seventh anniversary of my moving into my current little cubbyhole I call home and it's appropriate for the day . Tex Avery had several different wolf characters-the urbane yet lecherous wolf ( or just plain lecherou...
579,352
583,640
88,805
10
Yet another masterpiece from the inimitable Richard Condie
This short was nominated for an Academy Award , losing to Anna and Bella . Not since Doctor Strangelove has nuclear war been so hilarious ! Condie takes a situation and turns it on its ear and then gives it a spin for good measure . Visual gags abound in Condie's work and I always see something I missed before every ti...
578,887
583,640
40,218
10
A Tex Avery masterpiece !
This is truly one of the greatest animated shorts Avery ever did and one of the best of all time . Virtually every corny sight gag Avery could think of was shoehorned in here . The moon was far more loony here than Armstrong , Aldrin or any of the other astronauts found on their visits and the cat here finds the truth ...
579,258
583,640
281,010
10
Marvelous documentary about Ladysmith Black Mambazo , its music and the strength of the human heart and spirit .
This documentary , nominated for an Oscar , tells the story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo , the South African singing group that gained much acclaim worldwide after Paul Simon incorporated their sound and music on his " Graceland " album . At the time , what Simon did was controversial , as it was viewed by opponents of a...
579,096
583,640
71,337
10
A very worthy example of Claymation
This cartoon , an Academy Award winner for Animated Short , is one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking cartoons I've seen in my life . I wish that it was available on VHS ( or even DVD ) . Will Vinton ( who gave us the California Raisins ) co-directed and this is one of at least three shorts of his that was n...
579,122
583,640
26,706
10
Exceptional sight gags in a technically well-executed short that's also funny !
Just about every studio has seen the visual possibilities inherent in doing cartoons involving firemen and fires . This is one of the early ones and it works exceedingly well . While I don't know that they started here , a number of the standard gags are here and they work to perfection . Disney was basically firing on...
579,602
583,640
42,270
10
In my opinion , the best Daffy-Porky teaming
This cartoon is one of the funnier ones WB made and it worked better than most of the others that Daffy and Porky made together , with the Duck Dodgers cartoons and one or two others right up with it as far as humor . Porky holds his own quite well with Daffy , who tends to be a bit overbearing . I really would like to...
579,127
583,640
29,161
10
Disney's terrific trio !
This is a visual treat from start to finish , with some great jokes as well ! Look quite closely at the " ghost catching " equipment and you may wonder just how it is that they expect to catch ghosts with most of it-create some , perhaps , but catch ? Highly unlikely , it seems to me . Mickey , Donald and Goofy are thr...
579,929
583,640
53,909
10
Excellent use of classical music and a very amusing concept
This short , nominated for an Oscar , is one of Chuck Jones's best . You'll never hear The Blue Danube in the same way again . Extremely creative joining of animation and music . One slight correction of another comment on this short : I know I saw this short on television prior to 1977 , because I saw it for the first...
579,615
583,640
48,292
10
A masterpiece and in my opinion the best short Tex Avery ever made !
Tex Avery was the best director of cartoon shorts , certainly in the Golden Age and probably ever . In my opinion , The Legend of Rockabye Point is his best short in a long , distinguished career . t's nominally a Chilly Willy cartoon , but the primary focus is not Chilly , but a polar bear named Charlie and a bulldog ...
579,971
583,640
29,151
10
Beautifully crafted short all the more remarkable for the studio that did such exceptional work here .
Charles Mintz saw gold in them there cartoons and thus jettisoned Walt Disney and the contractual relationship they had to start in-house production and make ( he thought ) even more for himself . But Mintz had a gourmand's palate without the imagination or financial willingness to feed such tastes . Columbia was rarel...
579,476
583,640
26,748
10
Excellent and quite novel use of music in this short .
Watching this short , I as struck by several points : first , that the " voices " of the various characters were the notes played by the instrument in question . Second , they actually " converse " in musical phrases with each other ( surely by design , rather than by accident ) throughout the cartoon . Third , Jazz an...
579,688
583,640
84,023
10
This short fires visuals at the viewer rapidly from the beginning
This short , nominated for an Academy Award , is a marvelous example of just how far one can take stop-motion Claymation . The visuals come at you quite fast and furious over what is a very brief cartoon and it's one of Will Vinton's best efforts . Fortunately , it's available ( along with quite a few other shorts ) on...
579,235
583,640
123,860
10
Marvelous , quite mad and twisted ! More , please !
Although I shudder to think what this says about me , I love this short ! In my own defense , let me also state that I loved The Man Who Planted Trees ( what that apparent dichotomy says , who knows ? Who cares ? ) and I'm a prince of a fellow currently in frog mode . But I digress . A poor rabbit finds himself trapped...
579,641
583,640
99,696
10
A wry and telling commentary on mankind and it's history .
This short , nominated for the Academy Award , is a sardonic look at history and effectively makes a few points about the ultimate realities and who the victors really are . Very well done and well worth the effort to get . Fortunately in print currently . Most highly recommended .
579,918
583,640
75,273
10
An exceptional short prduced by the National Film Board of Canada
This short , nominated for an Academy Award , ( I'm surprised it lost , though I've never seen the winner , as far as I know ) is a funny , sad , sweet look at life through the eyes of a child growing up in Canada . An excellent adaptation ( by the author ) of a story by Mordecai Richter and yet another feather in the ...
579,323
583,640
42,330
10
Sight gags all through this one and very funny ones too
This short , as is usually the case with a Droopy directed by Tex Avery , is heavy with sight gags ( the ones with another director , particularly by Dick Lundy , were more driven by dialogue than Avery's were ) , although dialogue is more in evidence here than is normal in a Tex Avery short . Generally speaking , in a...
579,355
583,640
15,864
10
One of the all-time classics !
If anyone doubts that Charlie Chaplin was one of the funniest comedians ever or that silent films did not require acting ability , t you a commend this film , as well as City Lights . Modern Times isn't , strictly speaking , a silent film , although Chaplin had no dialogue there . The Gold Rush , while not Chaplin's be...
579,297
583,640
42,358
10
Typical Avery , with the germ of an idea used more fully in a later short .
This short is typical Avery , with lots of sight gags and a hilarious premise . But Avery plays around with a series of gags that take expressions of speech and depict them literally in visual gags , an idea he would use to base an entire short on later with Symphony in Slang . Cute cartoon , not terribly innovative , ...
579,704
583,640
110,547
10
Odd , energetic and engaging short with a perfect ending !
This has got to be one of the oddest cartoons I've seen in my life ! With little to no dialogue , the animation and background artwork have to carry this one and do so superbly . The action is engaging , if not almost hypnotic at times and there is a plot , though it takes a bit to catch on . The ending is simply perfe...
579,375
583,640
163,175
10
Excellent combining of live-action and animation
This cartoon effectively combines live-action footage with animation in a very funny but also thoughtful short . It explores desires and dissatisfaction on two very different sides of an atypical fence as an ambitious " toon " has a job interview with a bored and vaguely unhappy " human " and concludes with an entertai...
579,732
583,640
46,250
10
sigh Audrey Hepburn sigh ! ! !
I could just write my one line summary over and over again , but that would make for a rather dull comment , so I won't ( stop cheering in the balcony ! ) . In addition to the wonderful Ms . Hepburn , Gregory Peck does his typically superb job and Eddie Albert turns in a delightful ( but no doubt painful , for him ) pe...
579,083
583,640
52,139
10
One of the best pairings of Daffy and Porky and absolutely hilarious !
This short is an extremely funny teaming of Daffy with Porky as his " straight man " ( with Porky's antics the cause of a lot of the funniest bits ) . I have to talk about something specific in the short , so let this be my spoiler warning : Any cartoon where Porky Pig sings the first verse of " Barbara Allen " is one ...
579,600
583,640
73,068
10
Very aptly titled
Great is , quite simply , great ! A funny , warm , poignant look a real-life builder named Isambard Kingdom Brunel . I wish it was in-print . It's a masterwork . It deserves better than to languish in an obscurity it most definitely does not deserve .
579,393
583,640
31,227
10
First of many " travelogue " cartoons
Back when Tex Avery first did this cartoon , studios regularly produced short subjects in abundance . One of the most frequent and popular types was the " travelogue " which Avery so effectively nails here . The same droning voice-over and cutesy style used here without that big a stretch for parody's sake . Tex Avery ...
579,287
583,640
40,515
10
The enemy of my enemy is my friend .
Tom can't seem to catch a break-he not only has Jerry to chase ( difficult in and of itself , as witness his monumental failure rate ) , but a little yellow bird sticks his beak in matters at the most inopportune ( for Tom ) moments . An important object lesson is taught to the two allies at a point of seeming success ...
579,726
583,640
153,448
10
Why wasn't this nominated for an Academy Award ?
The failure of AMPAS to nominate this cartoon for an Oscar is unbelievable ! Granted , it was a good year for animated shorts and a good year particularly for UPA-Columbia , but this cartoon is simply delightful ! Written by James Thurber and animated in Thurber's artistic style , it is his world come to life ! If you ...
417,070
663,392
431,114
1
Seagal Gets Double Crossed !
Stephen Seagal plays the role of a dude who gets talked into driving an armored car for a bank hold up and drives into everything that comes across his path . However , the police seem to appear on the scene very quickly and Seagal smells a rat who gave the police advanced notice . The story gets into many twists and t...
417,556
663,392
295,254
1
Thought It Was Going to Be Better than This
Thought this just might be a great picture concerning a mystery murder involved with the Internet and was sadly disappointed as the film progressed to go down hill . Stephen Dorff , ( Detective Mike Reilly ) , " Alone in the Park " , was finally convinced that what he thought was the death of many young girls was a ill...
416,390
663,392
83,661
1
Poor Virgins
Always enjoy Horror films over the years , going back to Boris Karloff , Vincent Price and Bela Lugosi ; however , this film is a far cry from anything with horror through out this picture . James Earl Jones , ( Frye ) played the role of a tricky dude with a very hot sexy girl friend and plenty of secrets he performed ...
417,066
663,392
372,832
1
Complete Waste of Good Time
Like to view most of Michael Rooker's films , in this particular film he plays a real tough and ready for action Captain in the U . S . Army , and has a few gals and guys with him trying to find out just who is murdering all these people in a certain wooded area of the country . All of these civilians and some soldiers...