Cartoon a Day: Defense Against Invasion

Defense Against Invasion
1943
Directed by ?
Available on: Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines

Today I felt like watching a Disney wartime educational short. "Defense Against Invasion" seems by it's title like it would be about defending your home from enemy attack, but it's really about vaccination.

Part of the film is live action, with a cast of boys who were probably picked to try and resemble the Our Gang kids visiting a doctors office. Animation kicks in as the doctor explains how vaccination works to fight diseases.

This is an interesting short as the character and scenery design seem somewhat ahead of their time. The modern look of the "factories" inside the body seems more like something out of a 1950's cartoon.

The highlight of this short for me is the animation of the germs. The movements of these black, spider-like creatures reminds me somewhat of cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's contribution to the film "Pink Floyd - The Wall." It's some creepy stuff, especially for a film that, unlike some of the other propaganda shorts, was intended for kids.

Cartoon a Day: Mississippi Hare

Mississippi Hare
1949
Directed by Chuck Jones (as Charles M. Jones)
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 4

I've been away from "Cartoon a Day" for awhile, but let's get back on track with a cartoon that isn't in the TV rotation much anymore, "Mississippi Hare."

The very first scene is the primary reason this cartoon isn't shown much. We begin by seeing workers in a southern cotton field. Bugs' tail is mistaken for some cotton, and he's picked and bailed. He then ends up on a paddle boat where he faces a riverboat gambler called Colonel Shuffle.

Shuffle is pretty much Yosemite Sam. The voice is different, but the look, and certainly his stature, is similar. Part of me thinks that the short would've been even better with Sam as the bad guy, but it's still a great cartoon.


The pacing of this short is one of the most interesting parts. Some of the gags are very quick, while others build and build. The sequence in which Shuffle chases Bugs through the ship and they take turns opening doors for each other has a great payoff when Bugs opens the door of the furnace for the Colonel. But then, it keeps going as the short gambler tries to douse his burning pants with water. Watching Bugs slowly counting out change so that Shuffle can get water from a coin operated cooler as his pants burn is hilarious.


It's a shame that this one is out of the TV rotation. It's pretty tame compared to some.

Tim Burton's "Batman"...20 years ago.

Do you remember what you were doing 20 years ago this evening? I do. I had a date! I know it probably doesn't seem that big of a deal to you, but you don't realize how rare of an occasion that was. A good friend took pity on me and accompanied me to a late evening showing of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," which I had already seen once. As we exited the theater around 11:00 that evening, we passed by the line that had formed for the midnight showing of the summer of 89's most anticipated movie..."Batman." The June 23rd release date had been stamped on our brains many months before, and now the day was upon us. Part of me wanted to suggest to my date that we just turn around and make the night a double feature, but I ended up waiting for the first showing the next day. My movie pals and I lined up early and we had such a great time. The movie was worth the wait. It's hard to believe it's been 20 years.

With all the excitement, deservedly so, over Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" last year, I fear that many have forgotten what a great movie Burton's "Batman" is. This was only Burton's third feature. With only the bizarre fun of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Beetlejuice" under his belt, he seemed an odd choice for such a potentially big franchise. But Burton's take on the material was spot on. Jack Nicholson was an inspired choice to play the Joker and Michael Keaton gave the fanboys who whined about his casting a swift batkick to the pants. Mix it with the incredible production design and what is still one of Danny Elfman's best scores, and you've got a classic.

Happy 20th to Tim Burton's "Batman!" You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Sorry for the Blogging Break

Greetings all. Sorry for the delay in blog posts here. A combination of craziness of work, a wedding trip, and then vacation with spotty internet service in the hotels I was at made it pretty much impossible to blog. But I'm back...hopefully

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title #19

19. Rosanna - Toto



Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro was dating a girl by the name of Rosanna. Supposedly she often visited the recording studio and brought the band food. She inspired the band’s leader, David Paich, to write the song that bears her name. That Rosanna was actually actress Rosanna Arquette, and legend has it that she now hates the song.

Songs with a Girls' Name in Title #20

20. Donna - Richie Valens



So the question always seems to come up when playing Trivial Pursuit…who are the three performers killed in a plane crash on “the day the music died?” Answer: Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and our next artist, Richie Valens. This song is about Valens’ actual girlfriend, Donna Ludwig. Turns out the B-side of this single was a hit for Valens also…”La Bamba.”

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title #21

21. Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett



There is nothing deep about “Mustang Sally.” She’s got to slow her mustang down, simple as that. When you’ve got Wilson Pickett delivering the vocals you don’t need to waste time trying to analyze it. Just sit back and let Mr. Pickett do the driving.

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title #22

22. Proud Mary - Credence Clearwater Revival



Another song with a girls’ name in the title that isn’t about a girl. Proud Mary is a riverboat and John Fogerty’s exceptional musical talents do create the feeling of a giant paddle boat making it’s way down the Mississippi River. Though the CCR original is what I list, this song should probably get double billing for Ike and Tina Turner’s equally classic rendition as well.

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title

Sorry for the delay in continuing this series of posts. Remember I said I was having some computer issues, still am to some degree, but it's kept continuing this series a challenge. But, for now, some of the bugs may have been worked out. So here's a refresher of the songs we've covered so far...

40. Come on Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners


39. Jezebel - Chely Wright


38. Iris - Go0-Goo Dolls


37. Maggie May - Rod Stewart


36. Mandy - Barry Manilow


35. Walk Away Renee - Left Banke


34. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass


33. Oh Sherry - Steve Perry


32. A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash


31. Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac


30. Wake Up Little Sussie - The Everly Brothers


29. Valerie - Steve Winwood


28. Runaround Sue - Dion


27. Elvira - The Oak Ridge Boys


26. Lucille - Little Richard


25. Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys


24. Lola - The Kinks


23. Veronica - Elvis Costello

Cartoon a Day: Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom

Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom
1953
Directed by Ward Kimball and Charles A Nichols
Available on: Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities

Today's short is one of my all-time favorite cartoons. I was in either kindergarten or first grade when I saw it for the first timein the library at Clifford Elementary School. "Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom" is an educational short about music, but it is also one of the Disney studio's most creative shorts. Others must've thought so too, since it won an Academy Award. And to top it all off, it's in beautiful widescreen.

The film takes place in a classroom full of birds led by an owl. He takes the class on a history of music, tracing it to four basic elements...the toot, the whistle, the plunk and the boom.

This short is one that really proves Disney wasn't all about cute little woodland creatures. The characters in this short have that great 50's geometric design. I love the character designs in this short and they have influenced the way I design my shadow puppets a great deal.

The film serves it's purpose, it is very educational, in fact it still used in classrooms today. The film is also very funny, though. The "plunk" sequence is my favorite from a comedic standpoint. They demonstrate several different types of string instruments in this sequence...from violins to hammer dulcimers and more...each one of them ends up breaking a string which hits it's player. It's a very funny sequence.


I'll just close by letting a bunch of this film's creative images speak for themselves. This is another one of my desert island cartoons.

Superman Graduates

Cartoon a Day: All A Bir-r-r-rd

All A Bir-r-r-rd
1950
Directed by Friz Freleng (as I. Freleng)
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol 2

In this Tweety and Sylvester cartoon the duo are aboard a train. Both are riding in a luggage compartment and, as usual, Sylvester is trying to make a snack of Tweety.

There are some great gags in this cartoon, more of Freleng's great sense of timing at work. Freleng makes great use of two sets of running gags in this short. The first involves Tweety pulling an emergency brake cord to stop Sylvester's attacks.

The second is a hilarious use of a bulldog who also happens to be on the train. He and Tweety manage to switch places with each other several times, so much so that you can predict that last gag, but the gag fits so well you would'nt have it any other way.