Cartoon a Day: The Up-Standing Sitter

The Up-Standing Sitter
1948
Directed by Robert McKimson
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 5

Yesterday was the first day since starting this project that I didn't get to watch a cartoon. So today I'm trying to get in two.

"The Up-Standing Sitter" is an interesting cartoon. It's certainly funny and has some fun animation. What's weird is that it seems like Daffy Duck staring in a Tom and Jerry short.

The premise is that Daffy works for a baby sitting agency. He is called on to sit for a chicken, her child is an egg not yet hatched. The egg hatches soon after Daffy arrives, though. The young chicken eventually realizes that Daffy is not it's mother, father or any other relative, so he is a stranger and strangers aren't to be trusted. The chicken makes a run for it and Daffy must chase him down. So like a Tom and Jerry short, we have the chased playing various tricks on the chaser. There is even large grey bulldog thrown in to the mix who looks a lot like Spike from the Tom and Jerry shorts.



There are some great animation sequences. This frustrated reaction from Daffy after being tripped is a highlight...




It's a fun short, I guess it's just a bit odd to see the Warner Brothers folks seeming to copy a style of another studio.