J. B. Warner
10-16-2008, 09:15 PM
I know that cartoon-specific discussion is generally Marty's M.O., but I just wanted to get some discussion going about this cartoon - I watched it again recently, and I think it might be my favorite black-and-white Clampett short of the 1930s. It contains a lot of great examples of Clampett's frenetic energy (i.e. the animals' escape from the fur trapper, and Porky's gunfight against him) and rapid-fire timing that works really well (just about all the gags in the "Let's Rub Noses Like the Eskimos-es" number). There's also a lot of gags that succeed thanks to their lively, goofy animation - the scene where the two polar bears rub noses, and the male polar bear leaps up and yells "Wow!" before shuffling away sheepishly is really well done, and I doubt I'd laugh at it as much if the motion of the bear wasn't so exaggerated and looney. The same can be said for the gag where Porky sinks the trapper's boat, and it suddenly sprouts a human face and holds its breath before sinking completely. And even what little dialogue there is makes me laugh (particularly Mel Blanc's performance of "Singin' in the batht-eh, batht-eh, shower...").
I don't see folks discuss this cartoon much when they talk about Clampett's early work - it's an underrated gem, in my opinion. What do you think, folks?
I don't see folks discuss this cartoon much when they talk about Clampett's early work - it's an underrated gem, in my opinion. What do you think, folks?