Don't you worry, never fear. Robin Hood will soon be here.

I've been busy with school finishing up soon, not to mention trying to read my way through Background Pony, so I don't have any fanfiction reviews to post. I did get off my butt and update the bar on my user page that lists all the cartoons I've recommended, just to make things more easier for anyone. But yeah, I don't really have much today, besides some cartoons. I'll make it up big time with my next post (when it comes). And would I ever lie? No seriously, would I do such a thing?

Anyway, cartoons.

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Bye Bye Bluebeard – 1949 – Warner Bros.- Davis

This cartoon was the last directed by the Davis when he had his own unit before it was shut down (he would direct one more cartoon for Warner’s in the 60’s). Falling theater attendance, long delays at Technicolor due to probably to a number things such as increasing number of color films (color footage had to be processed by the Technicolor company), and the rerelease of old cartoons (this is where the Blue Ribbons come from) meant that Warner Bros didn’t feel justified in keeping a fourth unit. That decision happened around 1947, way before this cartoon’s release date (if you want proof of the backlog).

As for the cartoon, because it features Sid Marcus instead of Bill Scott and/or Lloyd Turner as the writer, the cartoon is a little different. It’s blacker than most of Davis’s other cartoons without being necessarily funnier. As Porky hears that the killer Bluebeard has escaped, the mouse in his house tries to use that fact to his advantage, unaware that the real Russian wolf is closer than either one thinks.

This Land is Mine – 2012 – Paley

Most of my interest in animation is from the animated films of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. There are of course people who make animated films these days that I take interest in, Bill Plympton and Michael Sporn, come to instantly mind, as does possibly my favorite animated filmmaker of the current age (now that Brad Bird has moved to live action), Nina Paley (certainly the best flash animator there is).

There isn’t a plot to this film, but there is a story: the history of the so-called Holy Lands. Showing how the ownership of Palestine has constantly changed hands over the centuries, and by setting it to the Pat Boone song of the same name, the irony is only increased tenfold. And such irony is incredibly useful here thanks also to Paley’s designs, the rather gruesome aspects of the film (bodies just keep on piling) actually become subdued to the point of being a negligible. All this leads up to the end where the real owner of the lands is revealed that one will a bang out of.

This is probably going to be the most political of films I’ll post (Hell-Bent doesn’t really count because parts of it are really topical). Not to mention it’s a limited one. The animation does get really stiff at times (paper dolls with joints), and even though I like this film, I enjoy it for the same reasons over and over again when I watch it (unlike a number of other films that I take pleasure in).

If you really want to see Paley’s talent, let me recommend her feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, for my money the best animated feature of the last decade that isn’t the Incredibles. It’s a semi-autobiographical account that mixes Paley’s life with the Ramayana, with quite a lot of wit.

The Skeleton Dance – 1929 –Disney – Disney/Iwerks

Carl Stalling suggested an idea to Walt Disney about creating as a companion to the Mickey Mouse cartoons, a series of musical novelties (unlike the mouse series, there would be no recurring characters; the same as the Fleischer's Screen Songs), the first being about a group of skeletons that wake up at night in a graveyard. Originally titled “The Spook Dance,” the film would become the first of seventy five in the Silly Symphony series, the cartoons that probably more so than any other, pushed the boundaries of what had been done in animation (remember, Walt and co. had to be the giants that everyone stands on).

The early Silly Symphonies are definitely different than what happened later; the enjoyment comes as much from their limitations and soundtrack as from their quirkiness. The Skeleton Dance is no exception. Ub Iwerks animated almost all of the film himself (Les Clark also did parts of it, his first assignment as an animator) in about four weeks, and his animation actually works well here. Because the music (most of it being original, although you can definitely hear parts of Edvard Grieg’s “March of the Dwarfs”) and action are so well synchronized, many things that would normally be problematic such as the use of repeats (notice how each skeleton is basically a copy of the other), cycles (an action that uses the same drawings over and over repeated over and over such as a walk), and rather machine like movement to the skeletons actually becomes delightful (I especially enjoy watching the skeleton leap at the screen and the camera passes through its ribcage). Gags are there but they are limited in their effectiveness (there is a bit of cruelness to them such as when two cats fight each other by pulling on their noses), but they are also simply besides the point because of the strangeness of the film. You might be thinking I’m trying to make this cartoon sound better than it is, and to be honest, I probably think it’s better than it really is, but that doesn’t take away my enjoyment. There are times when really mechanical animation actually makes a film better, as here. No matter what anyone says, and even though it does have its limits, I find “The Skeleton Dance” to be a great deal of fun.

For more on the Skeleton Dance’s history, such as how it was recorded and the inspiration for the film, let me recommend the 1969 interview (actually interviews) with Carl Stalling on Michael Barrier’s website.

Rabbit Hood – 1949 – Warner Bros. – Jones

If feels like forever since I’ve posted a Bugs Bunny cartoon that is worth one’s time, but now I’ve finally got one, and fortunately, it’s one of the best. In merry old England (because sullen young England is a hipster), Bugs Bunny runs afoul of the Sheriff of Nottingham after trying to take one of the king’s carrots. From there, the rabbit tries get the pesky lawman with various means such as his loyalty to the king (“Got lot’s of stamina”) and endures the annoyance of the running gag of Little John and his claims that “Robin Hood will soon be here.”

It’s definitely one of the best, not only does contain a lot of memorable gags and lines of dialogue, but it also features some great animation such as when Bugs announces the arrival of the king the second time, and the Sheriff’s reaction to it all. In addition, it has one of the most unusual endings ever in a Looney Tune.