Hello my friends and happy Saturday Morning, once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Buddy the Elf says, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." With that what better way to celebrate December than following the bouncing hen-fruit and singing, Jingle Bells. The cartoon is a Famous Studios short called, Snow Foolin' (1949) (you have probably guessed you are in for a very punny cartoon). This is one of their Screen-Songs cartoons. These cartoons followed a simple formula that they never broke away from. The cartoons would start with a bunch of spot gags based on a loose theme and then one character would tell us, "Follow the bouncing [blank]" and words would appear on the screen for the audience to sing along to with the bouncing object letting you know when to sing what word. In many ways these were a follow up to a series of "follow the bouncing ball" cartoons that the Fleischer studio made in the late 1920's and 30's (for those of you who don't know Famous Studios was the successor to the Fleischer studio). I have always wondered if movie audiences of the time actually sang along with the cartoons or remained silent.
Next comes another Christmas cartoon from Famous Studios, Santa's Surprise (1947). This is honestly one of my favorite Famous Studios cartoons. However I will say it is not one of the studio's funniest (for that go for their early Popeye cartoons). What it is however is a sweet, sentimental and non-cynical Christmas story where the sentimental never feels artificial or forced. One of the reasons I love cartoons is to provide myself with a few minute break from the bad things happening in this world and anyone looking for a little escapism will find this fits the bill perfectly. Reviews in movie magazines of the time were fair positive but mostly viewed this cartoon as a kiddie affair. This film marks the movie theatre debut of Little Audrey. In many ways Little Audrey was Famous Studio's replacement for Little Lulu. The studio had made a series of cartoons featuring the comic strip character Little Lulu, however when they decided to stop paying to use this character they created their own little girl character. The name for the character was not original though, as some mean spirited school yard jokes called Little Audrey jokes were very popular the time, most of which include the line, "Little Audrey laughed and laughed." With how mean spirited some of these jokes were it is strange to think that the cartoon character of the same name made her debut in this sweet little short.
It would be easy to assume that a Mickey Mouse Christmas cartoon featuring Mickey taking care of a bunch of orphans would be an extremely sentimental affair, but in doing so we would be underestimating early 1930's Mickey. At the time Mickey's Orphans (1931) was made Mickey Mouse cartoons were rarely sentimental and instead focused mostly on gags. Though in today's times we think of Mickey as a very sweet and welcoming figure head for all things Disney, in the 1930's he was thought of as one of the then great figures of comedy and like many screen comedians of the era, the mouse would do anything for a laugh and little to be cute and cuddly. This film is a remake of a silent Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (another character who was an anything for a laugh comic) Christmas cartoon, Empty Socks (1927). However it is worth noting that the year after this movie came out there was a much more sentimental Mickey Mouse Christmas cartoon, Mickey's Good Deed (1932), which was not only one of the mouse's earliest dips into sentimentality but one was his best. About Mickey's Orphans, The Motion Picture Herald said, "The Youngsters will get a real kick out of this short and the oldsters will extract a bit of enjoyment." The Film Daily said, "A Mickey Mouse short that is filled with many hilarious moments for children and fun for adults who have ever staged a Christmas party for youngsters." The following is from an issue of The Film Daily dated, Feb. 7th, 1932, "In addition to El Brendel in person, this week's show at the Roxy is a special treat for the kids. The presentation includes four scenes based on 'Mickey's Orphans,' the Mickey Mouse cartoon that was held over three weeks at this house. The characters of Mickey and Minnie are portrayed by the Arnaunt Brothers, popular pantomimists. Patricia Bowman, Fred Warning's orchestra in a novelty titled 'Dancing Melodies,' and the Roxyettes and ballet group are made up to represent kittens, musical notes and animated furnishings in Minnie's boudoir." This film was reissued to theatres in 1934.
As many of you probably know The Simpsons did not start off as their own TV show. In fact they started out as a series of short segments on The Tracy Ullman show. Here is one of those segments.
Lately I have really been enjoying the Looney Tunes commentaries on the Anthony's Animation Talk YouTube page. For those of you who haven't watched these yet here are some.
Thank you for joining me come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then more all your Tunes be Looney and your Melodies Merry. -Michael J. Ruhland
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