Shuffle Off To Buffalo

[cpdavison]

Anyone wanting to watch / download a quicktime version of this 1933 Looney Tunes short need but to click HERE (http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/08/media-musical-timing-rediscovered.html). This is in addition to the timing sheets and screen shots posted there as well. Courtesy of the ASIFA Animation Archives.

[J Lee]

Pretty decent H-I short, reportedly directed by Friz Freleng (which, given John K's disparaging comments about Friz, makes it funny the short was posted to illustrate his views on the lack of timing animation to music in today's cartoons). But as is the case with most of the early Merrie Melodies, the quality of the cartoon is pretty much bonded to the quality of the song the director, writers and animators were having to plug at that particular time -- the more memorable the song, the better the short.

[Sogturtle]

Pretty decent H-I short, reportedly directed by Friz Freleng (which, given John K's disparaging comments about Friz, makes it funny the short was posted to illustrate his views on the lack of timing animation to music in today's cartoons). But as is the case with most of the early Merrie Melodies, the quality of the cartoon is pretty much bonded to the quality of the song the director, writers and animators were having to plug at that particular time -- the more memorable the song, the better the short.

Craig and John and all~

You know I really like "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" a great-great deal, and as such I truly hoped that the bar-sheets (courtesy of Mark Kausler) would tell us WHO animated what throughout this wonderful little cartoon... Soooo I was extremely disappointed to find that it was indeed just the timing bar-sheets denoting how many beats for each scene and movement. Not a single animator listed (that I could find) and not even listing who the REAL director was!!!

Of course (despite what Steve Worth wrote) it was Friz Freleng that directed the cartoon, as it was Friz himself who revealed that he was its director!!! The presence of the Hebrew script in the one scene is a dead-giveaway that it was made by Friz (who of course was Jewish) and then that is capped by the little Jewish baby boy... It was observed by others years later that Freleng still used a bar-sheet for his timing... Soooo if anybody has one of Friz's later bar-sheets then we can compare the handwriting to the "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" writing and settle once and for all that this cartoon was indeed fully-directed by Freleng.

[cpdavison]

Yeah, Tim, of course what's been posted is only one piece of the overall puzzle that is "Shuffle Off To Buffalo!" No doubt there are many other things involved like, oh, I don't know, the actual story boards and animator breakdowns (as you've mentioned).

Given the use of musical manuscript paper and musical notation, I wonder if this document was used to write the score around the action or to synchronize the action to the music? Hmmm. I'll leave it to the "big boys" hash it out.

I'm looking forward to Mark's "Steamboat Willie" material, that's for sure.

Oh, and being from Buffalo, it was always a kick whenever this one aired on Popeye's Playhouse! :D

[Frank]

Craig and John and all~

You know I really like "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" a great-great deal, and as such I truly hoped that the bar-sheets (courtesy of Mark Kausler) would tell us WHO animated what throughout this wonderful little cartoon... Soooo I was extremely disappointed to find that it was indeed just the timing bar-sheets denoting how many beats for each scene and movement. Not a single animator listed (that I could find) and not even listing who the REAL director was!!!

Of course (despite what Steve Worth wrote) it was Friz Freleng that directed the cartoon, as it was Friz himself who revealed that he was its director!!! The presence of the Hebrew script in the one scene is a dead-giveaway that it was made by Friz (who of course was Jewish) and then that is capped by the little Jewish baby boy... It was observed by others years later that Freleng still used a bar-sheet for his timing... Soooo if anybody has one of Friz's later bar-sheets then we can compare the handwriting to the "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" writing and settle once and for all that this cartoon was indeed fully-directed by Freleng.

I have a feeling that Freleng directed other cartoons during the early H-I era. His touch is fairly evident in quite a number of H-I cartoons in the early 1930s. Was Freleng responsible for the story material in many other Harman Ising cartoons?

[Mark J]

I like the note written in Yiddish, Miriam asking for a "kinder", and the baby stamped with a Kashruth mark on his backside. Definitely Freleng.

[Marty26]

Not a bad little cartoon overall. I wish the babies sounded more like babies and not adult males/females. But, of course, back in 1933 the simple concept of babies singing, dancing and talking like adults was enough to make audiences laugh. And yeah, some of the jokes are definitely vintage Freleng (such as the writing in Yiddish - which is also very Clampett).

[Sogturtle]

I have a feeling that Freleng directed other cartoons during the early H-I era. His touch is fairly evident in quite a number of H-I cartoons in the early 1930s. Was Freleng responsible for the story material in many other Harman Ising cartoons?

Frank~

Much belated answer... Yesssss, Freleng did direct on a number of other H-I Warner toons. It is known that he definitely did help on stories and gags, and as I've mentioned before, he did draw the animation layouts for Rudy Ising. As such he was an ENORMOUS part of every H-I cartoon, and this extended without a doubt to the Van Beuren cartoons they made as well. :bosko::honey:

The ACTUAL H-I Warner cartoons Friz ADMITTED to directing or helping direct were these...

Ride Him Bosko (co-directed with Hugh Harman)
Bosko In Dutch (solo)
Bosko In Person (co-directed with Hugh Harman)
Shuffle Off To Buffalo (solo)
Beau Bosko (co-directed with Hugh Harman)
Bosko's Picture Show (co-directed with Hugh Harman)

However I should add that Hugh Harman remarked that sometimes he would just get bored part way through a film and would then turn over direction to someone else. Though he was speaking of their MGM cartoons it just figures that that applied to their Warner cartoons as well. And with that in mind then there are almost certainly cases of "Harman" cartoons that were actually partly done by Hugh and then Friz would take over...:bosko: