I hope these delays don't become a pattern. · 1:19pm Sep 13th, 2012
Sorry for the delay, school eats up my time. As a heads up, I’m not going to be posting till next week Friday at earliest.
Fuddy Duddy Buddy -1951
I’ve talked twice about UPA by talking about two of there more notable films. Now comes one about their most noticeable character, Mr. Magoo. Magoo is a strange fellow in American cartoons; not only was he a human character but he was also more off-putting than a lot of other stars. When he first appeared, Magoo was not just nearsighted but also narrow-minded; he was a crotchety old man who would get bad at almost anything and was determined to have things his way. Later on, he was softened and his poor sight began the main source of his humor. This cartoon contains a bit of both sides of the character. Here Magoo desire to play tennis causes him to mistake a walrus for his partner. It's the not best cartoon with the character, but it still gets the job done being entertaining.
Toby Tortoise Returns – 1936
Cartoons of the 1930’s aren’t very funny (compared to those that would come to in the forties). Whether it be slow timing, lack of imaginative gags, a tendency to draw attention to acting, plain lack of talent, etc. there are not a lot of good things about them in terms of comedy. So, when one does show up, it can be a bit of surprise. This cartoon is one of those surprises. Featuring a boxing fight between Toby Tortoise and Max Hare (depending on how you look at it, Max is the earliest incarnation of Bugs Bunny), this Disney cartoon is atypical for its time.
While still slow in a number of parts, it starts to pick up once the second round begins with a couple of gags that actually very funny.
By the way, I can’t be the only one who finds Max flirting with those little girl bunnies to be a little creepy. I mean geez; they look like they’re in elementary school.
Mexican Joyride – 1947
Everyone and their grandmother probably knows about “Bully for Bugs”, where Bugs fights a bull in Mexico. However, this cartoon features Daffy doing the same thing, and for my money it’s more entertaining. For one, the gags feel a lot less confined and more like a natural part of the cartoon (one of these is a another early version of “Duck Season, Rabbit Season”). Plus, Daffy is in his passionate stage and he’s a far more enduring character than what he would later become.
Rhapsody in Rivets – 1941
I enjoy a lot of classical music. And cartoons definitely used a lot of classical music for their scores. One of the most common was Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, which was first used in the Mickey Mouse cartoon <i>The Oprey House</i> and was used in cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and Woody Woodpecker. This cartoon is, for my money, the best one that centers on that piece. Friz Freleng skill with musical timing is evident here and the gags set to the music are incredibly imaginative. Even the character’s actions owe themselves to the music that appears natural (a sleeping character missing his cue in the beginning). Overall, it's a fun and enjoyable cartoon (and certainly better than much of Fantasia).
Hey, just to let you know, you posted this same blog entry twice. You might want to delete one of them. Good selection as always. I've never heard of Mr Magoo before so it's interesting to see a totally new character, even if the cartoon was only 'entertaining' to me. All the others were great, though, especially 'Mexican Joyride'.