Better late than never · 1:12am Jul 29th, 2012
Music land -1935
Imagine your classic lovers from opposing royal families tale with musical instruments, and that’s basically the idea behind Music Land. With absolutely no dialogue and little more than nine and half minutes, it still manages to tell a very basic and complete story that’s very charming. I say basic because even though we instantly know there’s a problem between the Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz (ruled a saxophone caricature of Paul Whitman, known as the “The King of Jazz" at the time) once we see the map, there’s no reason given for this beyond the fact they are different types of music (I admit this probably made more sense for audience’s of the time; jazz and classical music was something you usually liked only one or the other at the time and jazz especially from African-American artists was considered inappropriate in certain circles). That and the characters really don’t have a personality, but otherwise this is to me one of a number of enjoyable and inventive cartoons that the Disney studio was making at the time.
Porky’s Pig Feat - 1943
There are a number of things that annoy me. One of them is when TV networks decide that kids will not watch things in black & white and so add color (very poorly I should add) to them. This cartoon is one of those victims, so if one has seen it before but in color, that is why. Ignoring that, this is still an excellent cartoon and one of the first where Daffy is passionate. Like a lot of Looney Tunes at this time, the story is very simple in terms of conflict but the gags are better than usually here with animation that helps (the part were Porky turns Daffy’s neck is always makes me laugh if only for Porky’s expression). There isn’t a lot to say really beyond the fact that it’s worth seeing once if not again.
Fresh Airedale - 1945
During a cartoon screening at Washington University in St. Louis, animation historian and critic Michael Barrier described this as the most cynical cartoon ever. That’s probably why when I first saw it in high school I disliked it. However, I’ve come with a new appreciation for it (I can thank Mike for that). One needs to watch this cartoon realizing that Looney Tunes do not mean funny gags and wackiness (wackiness is if anything an antithesis to the Looney Tunes) but that the best of them (Fresh Airedale is certainly one of the best) mean subtle characterization that derives humor from things that we can recognize in the real world. We all know someone like Shep and while we might sympathize with the cat, second time viewings will tell us that he’s no less self-absorbed than Shep is (this is true even at the beginning, watch his facial expressions). I will admit not everyone will like this the first time (again it is cynical and there is the ending) or even the second time, but those who do will enjoy one the most underrated Looney Tunes ever made. As a side note, the dog called Champ was originally supposed to Fala, FDR’s pet but the president died before the release, so Fala became champ and Washington D.C. became Philadelphia. Also the version I linked to has some war references removed from the original release (about battleships and ration books).
Rabbit Fire - 1951
Most people have seen or least remember part of this one. This cartoon was the first of the “hunter’s trilogy” and for my money it’s the best. Not only are the gags funnier than in the other two but the dynamic and contrast between Bugs and Daffy is at the highest. This is most clearly represented in the “Duck Season, Rabbit Season” gag where the really humor derives not from Daffy getting tricked but instead the huge difference in competence between Bugs and Daffy. Bugs is capable of manipulating the boob character (Elmer) and Daffy is too incompetent to do even that. That’s why the gag is funny here and not funny elsewhere like in Putting Your Hoof Down, which is cringe worthy because there is no character in the salespony to work against and Pinkie lacks Bugs’ subtlety (amongst numerous other things). And yet there’s plenty more to enjoy in this cartoon beyond the gags and characters, the animation is wonderful even with all the dialogue (too much dialogue in a cartoon is a bad thing because it often slows things down), and Carl Stalling’s score is particular good here. In short this almost nothing to complain about here.
