Got that fever, cartoon fever · 4:09pm Jul 21st, 2012
Well, I'm going to do this even if I get no responses (it's fun for me to write cartoons anyway), so here are four more cartoons as promised.
Three Little Wolves - 1936
Because of the success of The Three Little Pigs, Walt Disney made three cartoons more with the pigs and the wolf. None of them were as successful, hence Disney’s saying, “You can’t top pigs with pigs.” This is the best those sequels (or squee-els) by far because the action is focused in one area of the story unlike the rest and the gags are funnier. It does have a few problems, none of the little wolves are developed, there is still no difference between the two foolish pigs (they’re quite a bit less sympathetic in this one compared to the original), and as with each successive cartoon in this series, the stick in Practical Pig’s rear has been pushed even further in (what made him great in the original is that he could be playful and serious). But it’s still an enjoyable cartoon and certainly one of the funnier cartoons of its time period.
Hell’s Bells - 1929
Okay I’ll be honest, this is a hard cartoon to make a particularly strong case for. Not because it has flaws but because it’s super simple. There’s no plot, no real characters, only a few gags set around the theme (hell) and music. However, there are a couple of reasons why I happen to like this cartoon. One is because of the music; much of it is from Charles Gounod’s Funeral March of a Mariontette, which I always enjoy listening to and the action matches the beat very well. Two it’s quirky like a lot of early Silly Symphonies and other cartoons of this time. They represent a stage of innocence before Disney started to move his cartoons towards more logical groundings in story and animation and everyone else followed his example (sometimes half-heartedly but often not as well). Really, I just find it to be a lot of fun to watch and maybe others will as well.
Gerald McBoing-Boing - 1950
For better or for worse (I lean towards for worse), UPA had the greatest impact on American animation during the Golden Age of any studio besides Disney. They emphasized a style more concerned with design than with animation (which is why they flattened it) and shunned a lot of things from other studios (violent gags being one of them). Although they were well-praised in their day by critics (this is partly why a lot of other studios followed their example), now a days they have been mostly forgotten and outside a few die-hard aficionados, most who do remember them will admit that only the really early stuff is an good. And this cartoon (and the Oscar it won) is what led to that change in animation. If you were to make a list of the ten most important cartoons in American animation, this would be one of them and luckily it’s one of UPA’s good cartoons. The plot is simple; Gerald is born unable to speak words, only sound effects, and this causes problems for him. For most part it’s a cute fantasy story (it originated with Dr. Seuss) with a couple chuckles (this isn’t Looney Tune after all) and designs that are nice to look at. It does have the problem of having little conflict (I’ve read that the sequence where Gerald’s father is shaving was add despite protests from the director Bob Cannon, who hated conflict in both his films and his life), although there is still more than a lot of later UPA cartoons. Still, it’s worth looking at one the landmarks of American animation.
Hillbilly Hare - 1950
Robert McKimson is one of those people who was often considered a better animator than a director. Sure he did direct some good cartoons, but he was on a tier below his fellow Warner directors. This cartoon however, is an exception because it stands head and heels over so many others. The plot is basic Bugs Bunny (expect Bugs has to deal with two dunces instead of one). While Bugs is a little more unlikable than he usual is from this time period, he’s still the same great character as always and the two antagonists provide a number of belly laugh. What cartoon is remembered for is it’s ending, where Bugs tricks the two hillbillies into performing a very violent square dance number were every thing, the music, the gags, the animation (the animator Phil Monore said that he got the studio into square dancing and certainly that played a useful role in the creation of this cartoon), and more work beautiful together that it will always bring down the house. It may not be my favorite cartoon (I mark it down as number four) but it is my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon.
