Some Shorts That Are Overlooked

[jonmayo15]

I though that some classic cartoons are overlooked a lot so I thought I'd post a few and put in a few thoughts of my own about them.

Base Brawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1sMnIJXeUw

From 1948, Famous Studios. Directed by Seymour Kneitel

Famous Studios' Screen Songs aren't talked about a whole lot here. They're interesting in that they have some fantastic music and some really corny puns(the "High-ball" anyone?). Watching these Famous shorts from the 1940's makes me think about how badly these and other shorts need preservation. The color on these TV prints looks horrendous. I applaud all the people out there that go back to original theatrical prints to preserve these, but we need studios to give us these shorts on DVD.

Bars And Stripes Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJKnfMKkVQ

From 1939, Warner Bros. Directed by Ben Hardaway And Cal Dalton

1939 is often regarded as an off years for shorts from Warners, with the exception of Avery's Thugs With Dirty Mugs and a select few others. But I happen to have liked this short for a long time, but maybe that's just nostalgia. Everybody in this short just seems nuts and it's all insane, but there is a sense of realism in this short that makes it feel as if it really is taking place in a prison. Shorts from Warners during ths period really do a good job of creating a mood.

Just one more...
The Old Shell Game:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9m1wodF_ek (Sorry it's dubbed)

I have a beautiful original titles copy of this on VHS, that I'd love to get on YouTube but at the moment I don't have the software. This is an example of a cartoon that's formula was done three-thousand times by every cartoon studio, but it works. It's just a simple plot, and at Famous it turns out a bit more stupid than it would at a studio like Warners. The main virtue of these 40's cartoons are some really great animation, a virtue that gets lost when UPA influence becomes prominent in the 1950's.

That's it!

[Matt the Y]

Just one more...
The Old Shell Game:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9m1wodF_ek (Sorry it's dubbed)

I have a beautiful original titles copy of this on VHS, that I'd love to get on YouTube but at the moment I don't have the software. This is an example of a cartoon that's formula was done three-thousand times by every cartoon studio, but it works. It's just a simple plot, and at Famous it turns out a bit more stupid than it would at a studio like Warners. The main virtue of these 40's cartoons are some really great animation, a virtue that gets lost when UPA influence becomes prominent in the 1950's.


"The Old Shell Game" was pure inspired brilliance. The idea of a wolf trying to eat a tortoise in the first place seems a bit unorthodox (preying on a lamb as in other Famous cartoons is a bit more natural..... but a tortoise?!) and the cartoon is carried through in a wonderfully fast-paced, briskly-timed manner with each gag executed in the zany Tex Avery vein (some of the gags, especially the tortoise's final rescue from the wolf, actually had me going WTF?!..... but WTF?! in a good way unlike many of the hack Columbia cartoons that are not funny, just weird!).

This cartoon is proof that Famous, as Thad has often stated, is an overlooked-underrated studio. There are moments of inspiration once in a while at the studio if you just look long and hard enough through its' history. Actually, I think 1948 was a pretty good year for the studio with this and two of (IMHO) the all-time funniest Famous Popeye cartoons ("Popeye Meets Hercules" and "A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing") to be released that year.

[Matthew Hunter]

"Bars And Stripes Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJKnfMKkVQ

From 1939, Warner Bros. Directed by Ben Hardaway And Cal Dalton

1939 is often regarded as an off years for shorts from Warners, with the exception of Avery's Thugs With Dirty Mugs and a select few others. But I happen to have liked this short for a long time, but maybe that's just nostalgia. Everybody in this short just seems nuts and it's all insane, but there is a sense of realism in this short that makes it feel as if it really is taking place in a prison. Shorts from Warners during ths period really do a good job of creating a mood."

Hardaway and Dalton had a whole series of these "humanoid dogs in themed settings" cartoons. "Gold Rush Daze" and "Hobo Gadget Band" immediately come to mind. They weren't BAD, and I'll agree that "Bars and Stripes" is probably the best of them, but they were just "blah". The "plots" in them, such as they are, derive their humor entirely from the setting or situation, and the dog characters serve more as props than anything else. Try watching more than one in a row and you'll want to take a nap.

[captchucky]

"Bars And Stripes Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJKnfMKkVQ

From 1939, Warner Bros. Directed by Ben Hardaway And Cal Dalton

1939 is often regarded as an off years for shorts from Warners, with the exception of Avery's Thugs With Dirty Mugs and a select few others. But I happen to have liked this short for a long time, but maybe that's just nostalgia. Everybody in this short just seems nuts and it's all insane, but there is a sense of realism in this short that makes it feel as if it really is taking place in a prison. Shorts from Warners during ths period really do a good job of creating a mood."

Hardaway and Dalton had a whole series of these "humanoid dogs in themed settings" cartoons. "Gold Rush Daze" and "Hobo Gadget Band" immediately come to mind. They weren't BAD, and I'll agree that "Bars and Stripes" is probably the best of them, but they were just "blah". The "plots" in them, such as they are, derive their humor entirely from the setting or situation, and the dog characters serve more as props than anything else. Try watching more than one in a row and you'll want to take a nap.

I actualy enjoy all of these that you mentioned. I especially like "Hobo Gadget Band." I think it's the song that I enjoy most on that one!