Cartoon a Day: To Beep or Not to Beep

To Beep or Not to Beep
1963
Directed by Chuck Jones & Maurice Noble
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 3

Today's cartoon is a late entry in the Road Runner series. The plot is the same as any other film in this series...Coyote chases Road Runner...but the film have a very different feel than earlier films in the series.

Many of the early Road Runner shorts depend on a series of very short gags. As the series progressed, director Chuck Jones started to go for longer gags. Whereas many Road Runner gags would last a few seconds at longest, some of the gags in this film last several minutes. And it is with mixed results.


One gage which involves a giant spring seems way too labored and just doesn't flow well. On the other hand, the catapult sequence is skillfully paced and plays more like a series of short gags with a big payoff at the end.

The early Road Runner films are stronger but this is a worthy entry in the series. It is actually the final Road Runner short directed by it's creator, Chuck Jones.

Cartoon a Day: My Favorite Duck

My Favorite Duck
1942
Directed by Chuck Jones
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6

Well it's been a crazy summer. There's been a lot of travel and internet problems at home that has made doing "Cartoon a Day" tough. Plus, the fact that I just got lazy. But with it being September 1, here we go again.

"My Favorite Duck" is the first cartoon to team director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese. That team would produce some of the greatest cartoons of all time. In this short, Porky Pig is on a camping trip where he is annoyed by Daffy Duck who continues to point out that it is not duck season so you can't harm a duck in any way.

Not all of the gags work, but some are classics. The fishing sequence in which Porky ends up floating on the wrong side of the water is very original as is the ending where the film breaks and Daffy has to describe the end of the film to the audience.

From an animation standpoint, the highlight of the film is some of the unique angles used. There is an obsession with low camera angles here like what you might expect to see in a student film. In this film it works well, especially in the final moments of the film when Daffy's plan has backfired on him.

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title #17

17. Jolene - Dolly Parton



Waaaaaay back when we looked at Chely Wright's song "Jezebel" (#39) I mentioned that another country lady, Dolly Parton would be putting in an appearance. Well here she is with her classic "Jolene." Whereas Wright's song is about a woman telling a competitor that if she steals her man she's gonna get it, this one is a woman begging Jolene not to steal her man away. Those are some great vocals at work there and some mean guitar work as well.

Songs with a Girls' Name in the Title #18

18. Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel



Probably one of the most upbeat songs about being dumped. The unique rhythm, which was supposedly achieved by Paul and Arty slapping their legs while someone else banged on a piano bench, points to the African influence Simon would explore on later albums like "Graceland."

Lessons Learned at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame

I'm in Cleveland for a Puppet Ministry Summerfest. Since I had a little extra time this morning I decided to visit the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. It was pretty cool, though there were some disappointments...No photo rule!?!?? How un-rock n roll can you get?

The museum houses a lot of classic instruments and memorabilia such as costumes and stage props. One of the things that was interesting to note about so many of the outfits that rock legends wore in concerts, in videos, and on album covers is that they really don't look all that impressive up close. You can see the flaws. You can see that they're made out of the same junk your wardrobe from Wal-Mart is made of.

The Hot Dog you see above hangs in the loby of the Hall of Fame (which is the only area where photos are allowed), it was used in concert by the band Phish. When you look at it from above you can see inside the bun and I noticed that it's made out of some of the same materials I've seen many a puppet prop made out of.

This all got me thinking that we always hear that those of us in children's ministry and puppet ministry can't compete with what the entertainment industry puts out. Why even try, right? Wrong!! Guess what, they work with the same materials we do. Same scrap fabrics, same goofy looking sequins, same spray paint, same chicken wire. The only difference is that folks like Beyonce and Prince are nuts enough to pay millions for it.

Cartoon a Day: Beware of Barnacle Bill

Beware of Barnacle Bill
1935
Directed by Dave Fleischer
Available on: Popeye the Sailor Vol. 1

It's been so long since I've blogged. Doesn't quite seem right to call it "Cartoon a Day" with a such a long absence. What can I say, life gets crazy sometimes. Well, let's give it another go, shall we.

Today we return with a true classic of the early Popeye series, "Beware of Barnacle Bill," sometimes refereed to simply as "Barnacle Bill the Sailor." In this short, Popeye has come to ask Olive to ask him to marry her, but she tells him that she is in love with Barnacle Bill, played by Bluto.


This film is sort of like a mini opera, with the characters singing the song "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" as a bridge between the fights. The Fleischer studio excelled at producing cartoons where music was the centerpiece and this short is a great example of that. The cartoon is not complex, it's just three characters and it all takes place in one room. However, the way the music and the animation work together is superb.

I've got to say, the final gag involving Popeye is a classic. It seems so out of character for him to be cleaning up the mess that he and Bluto caused, but then when he undoes all that work with one door slam it makes perfect sense.

Jessica Simpson Sings for Tony the Tiger?

While getting up-to-date on current events this evening I ran across the following interesting headline over at the Fox News website.



Of course, my simple mind pictured Jessica Simpson singing for the Frosted Flakes pitchman (Tony the Tiger), not her boyfriend Tony Romo and Tiger Woods. And of course, what was the famous cereal loving Tiger's review of her vocal talents? "They're Grrrrreeeeaaat!"

Cartoon a Day: Muscle Beach Tom

Muscle Beach Tom
1956
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Available on: Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 2

Welcome to the miracle of Cinemascope! You don't run across many widescreen cartoon shorts, but this is one of them. It's a short I saw hundreds of times on TV as a child, but I never realized that was a pan and scan version.

In this short, Jerry is enjoying a day at the beach when Tom, who is trying to impress a young lady cat, interrupts. Jerry does seek his revenge but ends up being a spectator for most of the film as another cat tries to make the moves on Tom's girl and the two end up doing a fine job of beating each other up with little help from the mouse.

This film really makes great use of the widescreen format and it's wonderful to see the beautiful art work in widescreen. This one is not as over-the-top violent as many Tom and Jerry films, but does display some great pacing from Hanna and Barbera. It moves very smoothly from gag to gag and shows just how well they knew these characters. We associate Hanna Barbera with so many other TV characters now, but back at this time they worked Tom and Jerry exclusively and their expertise with the cat and mouse shows in this short.

Cartoon a Day: Tom-ic Energy

Tom-ic Energy
1965
Directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble
Available on: Tom and Jerry - The Chuck Jones Collection

It might turn out to be a Tom and Jerry week here for Cartoon a Day, since I used some more Father's Day gift card goodness to pick up the recently released "Tom and Jerry - The Chuck Jones Collection" DVD set. The Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry films are going to be interesting to look at. After Warner Brothers got out of the cartoon business, Jones was courted by MGM where he ended up doing a number of projects, including the final 34 Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts. These films represent the final days of the age of animated theatrical short. They are also interesting in that while they are the work of a master, they are generally not considered to be a high point in Jones' career. However, it is interesting to see theatrical animated shorts done in full animation, from a time when animation was heading to a slimmed down television version (being spearheaded, oddly enough, by Tom and Jerry's creators...William Hanna and Joseph Barbera).

The look of these shorts is very different from the Hannah Barbera films. The look of the two main characters changed quite a bit. Jerry had a bigger head and larger eyes. Tom was given thicker eyebrows and longer ears. The color scheme is quite a bit different as well. Plus, the films are widescreen!

This short has the cat and mouse chasing around city streets and rooftops. There are some decent gags, but they just don't quite have the intensity of the HB years. The highlight of the film is when Tom gets caught up in the laundry, ends up dressed in a ladies clothes, and then is mistaken by another cat for a female. The scene is played Pepe le Pew style, complete with Mel Blanc doing the voice of the other cat.

I can remember seeing many of these shorts as a kid, and even then we could tell the difference between the older Tom and Jerry cartoons and these. I can honestly say that my memories back then were that these were not as strong, but it will be fun to revisit them with the eyes of an adult.

Cartoon a Day: The Bowling Alley-Cat

The Bowling Alley-Cat
1942
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Available on: Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 2

With my Father's Day gift card I managed to pick up Volume 2 of the Tom and Jerry DVD sets. So here is one of the shorts on that collection, and early one called "The Bowling Alley-Cat."

This is an early short for the cat and mouse team. The design of Tom is quite a bit different than what we'd come to know. His head seems rounder, eyes a bit larger and he's a bit more scraggly looking.

You can probably figure out the plot from the title, Tom and Jerry try to kill each other in a bowling alley. It is a great location for them as there are lots of new ways of causing injury to each other.

Actually, the film seems somewhat tame for a Tom and Jerry short, until about halfway through...right about the time Tom gets a bowling ball in caught in his mouth and then is creamed in the face by about half a dozen more. It actually goes to show one of this cartoons greatest strengths, it builds. The level of violence/humor keeps ramping up as the short progresses. Hanna and Barbera are patient with their best bits which shows their skill as directors.

Cartoon a Day: A Ham in a Role

A Ham in a Role
1949
Directed by Robert McKimson
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6

This marks the first time that a Goofy Gophers cartoon has appeared on "Cartoon a Day." The characters were never major stars in the Looney Tunes universe (they only appeared in nine films) but they can be amusing characters.

In this short, a dog is fed up with acting in cartoons so he heads to his country home to practice Shakespeare in order to pursue more dignified roles. Unfortunately, his home has been taken over by gophers who seek their revenge after being tossed out the window.

The gophers lay right into this dog character without much cause, so it's a little hard to cheer for them. Problem is, the dog is portrayed as pompous, but not mean. So it's the gophers that come off looking nasty. The sequence involving a magnet and a suit of armour toward the end of the film is very funny however.

There was one thing that struck me as I watched this short. Now understand, I'm one of those people that can't stand it when people suggest that certain cartoon characters (or Muppets) have certain...shall we say alternative lifestyles. However, as I watched the interaction of the two gophers, which is the funniest part of the film, I began to have memories of a James Bond film, "Diamonds are Forever." Specifically, the two assassins in that movie, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, who are supposed to be gay. Seeing the two gophers plotting things and then walking off arm in arm reminded me of seeing the James Bond villains walking off hand in hand. I did find a little bit of debate out there on the interwebs about whether the gophers were portrayed with a certain stereotype. I don't think they intentionally were, but I could see where one might think so.

Cartoon a Day: My Little Duckaroo

My Little Duckaroo
1954
Directed by Chuck Jones (as Charles M. Jones)
Available on: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6

"My Little Duckaroo" features Daffy Duck as a Lone Ranger type hero, with Porky Pig as his sidekick (or "comic relief" as this short calls him). The film has that classic Chuck Jones style to it, but I didn't find this one as out-loud funny as some of Jones' other Daffy shorts.

You may think this sounds silly, but there is a major distraction in this film that kept me from really enjoying the gags. Much of the film takes place inside the hideout of the villain, Nasty Canasta. For some reason, the inside walls are decorated with pages from a book...so you can see words and pictures on the walls. It's an odd choice for background art.


I just couldn't pull my brain away from trying to read the print on the walls. I suppose that shows that I'm easily distracted, but I just couldn't stop looking at those stupid walls. So I guess there's some cool animation here, but bad choices for backgrounds.