Hit or Miss: What's My Lion?

[Marty26]

I saw this cartoon just on in2TV yestarday, I thought I'd bring it up in this week's Hit Or Miss poll.

Overall, I have to vote "Miss." Rocky the lion was a promising character, but for some reason just wound up not being as funny as he could've been. Hal Smith does a horrible job as Elmer Fudd. And a lot of the jokes, especially the ending, aren't very smooth and just run too fast to really be funny.

Also of note is the fact that the cartoon has a more "oldschool" artstyle than probably any other 1960s WB short.

[Duck Dodgers]

I saw this cartoon just on in2TV yestarday, I thought I'd bring it up in this week's Hit Or Miss poll.

Overall, I have to vote "Miss." Rocky the lion was a promising character, but for some reason just wound up not being as funny as he could've been. Hal Smith does a horrible job as Elmer Fudd. And a lot of the jokes, especially the ending, aren't very smooth and just run too fast to really be funny.

Also of note is the fact that the cartoon has a more "oldschool" artstyle than probably any other 1960s WB short.

Your description alone shows how this cartoon can't be a hit. Besides, the plot is not even original but a remake of Donald's terrific "Rugged Bear".

[Matt the Y]

Your description alone shows how this cartoon can't be a hit. Besides, the plot is not even original but a remake of Donald's terrific "Rugged Bear".

Hardly a surprise considering both cartoons were actually written by the same writer, one Mr. David Detiege!

Can't say I consider this either a hit or a miss; somewhere in the middle. It is rather mediocre and because of its' VERY close similarites to the superior and more inventive "Rugged Bear", it hardly compares to the original but at the same time, it is still a more watchable and overall better short than most of McKimson's other cartoons from this same period. I mean, I'd probably rather watch this short of McKimson's over something like "Hoppy Daze", "Fish and Slips", or "Mother was a Rooster". Compared to McKimson's 1950's work, it's quite inferior but compared to the rest of his contemporary 1960's work, it's actually above average.

[Marty26]

Hardly a surprise considering both cartoons were actually written by the same writer, one Mr. David Detiege!


He's actually done this with quite a few of his WB cartoons. Suppressed Duck, for example, is I believe a remake of a similar Disney cartoon from about ten years earlier. Don't really know the title, though.

[Matt the Y]

He's actually done this with quite a few of his WB cartoons. Suppressed Duck, for example, is I believe a remake of a similar Disney cartoon from about ten years earlier. Don't really know the title, though.

That's the one where Daffy goes hunting the bear but isn't allowed crossing the boundary line.

You're probably thinking of Disney's "Beezy Bear"... which was written by Dave Detiege! That's the Donald Duck cartoon where Donald runs a honey harvesting farm which Humphrey the bear keeps trying to sneak into until he is discovered by Donald. Donald complains to the park ranger who sets up a boundary line. Donald must stay on his side of the line and the bears must stay on their side... not that that matters to Humphrey who keeps trying to sneak across the line anyway to get that wonderful honey (unfortunately the bees tend to be a bit of a complication in his scheming).

[kaseykockroach]

Miss written all over it. By the way, perhaps we could also have a "Coke or Pepsi" of the week sort of thing;)

[Speedy Boris]

Yeah I know this thread is two months old but I came across this short today after not having seen it in years.

I'd say "hit". I really liked the ridiculous amount of fire from the hunters in the beginning, the background art style was a lot lusher and more detailed than many WB cartoons from that era, and I liked most of the gags, such as the fly on the lion's nose, Elmer pointing his gun right at the lion, Elmer repeatedly smacking the lion with his newspaper, Elmer putting a target RIGHT NEXT to the lion, and the lion eating the steak, not knowing it was covered in hot sauce.

While Hal Smith's Elmer sounds decidedly different than Arthur Bryan's, I didn't find it horrible by any means. It was just higher-pitched.

[Mr. Semaj]

Hit.

One of Elmer Fudd's rare solo appearances, ever rarer where he doesn't lose.

[RachelToonist]

Hit.

One of Elmer Fudd's rare solo appearances, ever rarer where he doesn't lose.

Yes, a rare display of "smarts" on Elmer's part. We're fooled into thinking he's just as clueless as usual, since he doesn't seem to be aware that the "lion head" is a real lion. Nor does he know what happened to his steak and coffee. So the closing gag is a nice twist.

However, I agree with the others that this could have been a better cartoon. Rocky the mountain lion seems like a close relative of Pete Puma--it might have been better if he had been Pete Puma, complete with Stan Freberg's voice.

I rather liked the opening gags, particularly the lion off in the distance yelling out "YEOW!" as he goes off a cliff. The sound of the voice there just struck me as funny.

But Hal Smith's rendition of Elmer unfortunately drags the cartoon down. Therefore, I cannot unequivocally say that this is a "hit" or a "miss."

[LooneyLover81]

I like the part where early on in the short Rocky blows a pitch pipe and then roars (an example of a call-and-response gag).

That call-and-response gag of blowing a pitch pipe and then screaming had also been used in these other classic cartoons:

Notes to You (Friz Freleng, 1941, WB) (color remake: Back Alley Oproar)
Who Killed Who? (Tex Avery, 1943, MGM) (the scene where the detective is scared of a ghost, and then blows his pitch pipe)
Back Alley Oproar (Friz Freleng, 1948, WB) (Sylvester blows a harmonica here as he prepares to sing the "Figaro" opera by Gioacchino Rossini)
Martian Through Georgia (Chuck Jones, 1962, WB)

[Matt the Y]

Martian Through Georgia (Chuck Jones, 1962, WB)

Actually, I think you're thinking of "Rocket-Bye Baby" [Jones/1956]; the gag where the little ol' lady blows the harmonica whistle before letting out with her shriek of fear. That gag was not in "Martian Through Georgia".

[Marty26]

Yes, a rare display of "smarts" on Elmer's part. We're fooled into thinking he's just as clueless as usual, since he doesn't seem to be aware that the "lion head" is a real lion. Nor does he know what happened to his steak and coffee. So the closing gag is a nice twist.


For the record (and I think I mentioned this before), Elmer Fudd actually became quite a bit craftier and smarter as his cartoons progressed. The trend started more-or-less with Design For Leaving. And from then on out, Elmer Fudd had more "winner" roles and became smarter and more aware than before. Which, of course, resulted in his almost Bugs Bunny-like craftiness in his final (official) cartoon Crow's Feat.

[Speedy Boris]

For the record (and I think I mentioned this before), Elmer Fudd actually became quite a bit craftier and smarter as his cartoons progressed. The trend started more-or-less with Design For Leaving. And from then on out, Elmer Fudd had more "winner" roles and became smarter and more aware than before. Which, of course, resulted in his almost Bugs Bunny-like craftiness in his final (official) cartoon Crow's Feat. Not to mention "Hare Brush", where he completely turns the tables on the hunter/rabbit formula by being the victor in the end, saying "I may be crazy, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!" BTW, great cartoon.

[Marty26]

Hare Brush is especially significant in that it's the first Bugs Bunny cartoon where Elmer not only wins but is never even physically harmed. It was another one of those "Bugs plays the loser" cartoons Friz Freleng in particular would sometimes do.

Agreed that, despite Bugs being the fall guy, it's a great cartoon.