Cartoon a Day: Quiet Please
Quiet Please
1945
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Available on: Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1
This Tom and Jerry short has a premise that is a common cartoon scenario. There is a character who desperately wants some sleep, Spike the Dog in this case. The tired character tells another character that if he (Tom this time around) makes just one sound he's dead meat, which leads a third character (Jerry) to try and make as much noise as possible.
So, not a terribly original concept, but it is one that is consistently funny in most of the cartoons it's used in. This cartoon does have several funny sequences, the light bulb scene is a standout. But, like most Tom and Jerry cartoons, many of the things these characters do to each other look extremely painful, once again the light bulb scene is a standout.
There is some great animation display. About my only complaint from an artistic standpoint is that there isn't enough contrast in the background colors and the colors of the three main characters. That's nitpicking though, after all, this film did win an Oscar.
In this short Bolt and his human Penny have been captured by the villainous green-eyed man. They are about to be lowered into a pit of lava when Rhino, the hamster in a ball, is sent to rescue them. The film lives up to being a "short," it's only about 4 minutes long, but it is a lot fun.
This film is pretty much in the style of the opening "Bolt," which I described as being like "
The right elements are all there...the great backgrounds, the crazy inventions (especially the final one used in this cartoon), the great reaction shots...these are the things that make the Road Runner films great. There is one thing that really gets in the way in this short, however. It may seem like nit picking, but the music is just all wrong.
I know nothing of 
That's right, and not only does Sylvester die just a few minutes into this short but he goes to hell! Lucky for him it's only his first of nine lives. So Sylvester #1 will have to wait until the others show up. The devil, a bulldog, is anxious to speed things up, so he heads up to encourage Sylvester on with his dangerous Tweety chasing ways.
There are some great moments in this short and some wonderful stylistic designs. The roller coaster sequence features some amazing visuals and the opening shots that feature Sylvester and Tweety running across a sea of wires and TV antennas (a bit of a jab at the new medium of the time) are great from a design standpoint. Even the shots of the "putty tat" riding a conveyor belt down to hell are fun from a design standpoint. But despite the laughs and the great art, it's hard to get into a short that is so...well...morbid. It's no fun seeing cartoon characters H-E-Double Hockey Sticks.
This short actually focuses on two cats, George and Benny, who are parodies of the George and Lennie characters from 
It is very interesting to see the change that would happen in Speedy's design. The studio must've realized after this short that they'd created a great character, but that they'd given him a really annoying look. With his flat head and over sized front teeth, he just doesn't look like able in this short. Lucky for us he would go through a dramatic makeover and become the Speedy we all love.
The design of this laid back wolf is just perfect. The body curves into an odd pear shape with the feet leading as he walks while the rest of his body seems to lag a few inches behind. The constant whistling and 
One of the things that is so interesting about this short is the fact that it is presented in wide screen. The backgrounds, however, are very minimal. Not exactly sprawling landscapes, but it seems to work perfectly with the wide screen format. It almost creates the illusion that you are looking at something grander than you really are.
The short begins with a short history of one-on-one combat which takes us all the way from cavemen hitting each other with clubs up to the present day. There are a few good gags in this sequence, but in some ways it feels like padding.
The short really gets going when Goofy goes through some scientific training for his upcoming match. Our leading man does not speak at all in this short, he simply responds to the narrator. Though the Goofy voice is classic, the character works very well when done in this style. It leaves him to engage in more physical comedy, which has always been his strongest suit.
The highlight of the short is the shadow boxing sequence. Of course, the shadow does not confine itself to the wall and ends up having the upper hand in this sparing match. The sequence takes good advantage of the physical flexibility of the Goofy character. Though not as strong as some of the other Goofy sports films, this is still an enjoyable entry in the series.
They first try delivering milk door to door, but they end up getting fired after the horse is bitten by a horse fly and goes nuts causing the destruction of all the milk bottles. They end up going to the horse track where a bite from the same horse fly results in Porky and his horse becoming the winners of the race...and the $10,000 prize. The farm is saved.
This is an interesting short to look at as it is an early example of Tex Avery's direction. There are a few hints at some of the things he would do in some of his later MGM shorts, especially during the horse race sequence. The humor does come in spurts, but this is a pretty funny early Looney Tune.
This is another example of how cartoons in the 30's weren't being made for kids, but the fact that drunkenness is the main plot device of this short makes it seem to be a bit over the top. Clampett, of course, is known for going over the top...but usually in the animation department. Here the animation isn't as crazy as in some of Clampett's films, but Daffy's drunken expressions do show some of his style.
Porky doesn't really contribute much to the story, it would've been just as well off without him. It's certainly an enjoyable and well animated film, but Daffy Drunk can't help but make you cringe a bit.
Spike's quick entrances to pummel Tom make for some funny moments, and Tom giving Jerry a glue covered gumball to prevent him from whistling adds a different element to the mix, but ultimately this is a pretty standard Tom and Jerry short.
There also isn't much of a payoff in the ending. There is a big buildup, but ultimately the ending just puts us right back where we started from. The setup was ripe for a big gag that just didn't happen. It's enjoyable, but there just isn't anything that leaps out at you as extraordinary.
It starts with Woody doing some yard work. He pushes around the lawn mower and sings as he works. We've seen it all before in other cartoons, but then the direction of this short changes. Woody rakes the leaves in the yard and then sets them on fire, remember the days of burning leaves? Anyway, now it is the smoke which is keeping Wally awake and this turns out to be a very original turn for this cartoon.
The smoke, almost a character itself, enters the house through any crack it can find. After boarding up all the cracks, the smoke begins pouring in through a hole in the floor. Wally plugs it with the leg of his bed which leads to the best sequence in the film. Soon the pipes of the bed frame become a pipe organ, with Wally trying to plug more holes than he has limbs to cover. It's a very funny and original sequence.
Another thing that is interesting about this short is that Wally has his revenge on Woody at the end. He puts Woody into a strange machine that subjects him to a lot of the same treatment he gave Wally throughout the rest of the film. That's one of the unique things about Woody Woodpecker, he doesn't always end up on top. Can you imagine that being done to Bugs Bunny, no way!
This is a strange cartoon, and that's saying a lot when talking about Bob Clampett. Ultimately, only some of it works. In this one a dog, with strange hair and a voice that just doesn't fit, is after Bugs. Bugs gets in a few good jabs before being chased underwater, where he impersonates a mermaid with fun results, but then the short never leaves the underwater environment and we're left wondering why.
It's not that the gags aren't funny underwater, there are still some fun bits, but the underwater setting becomes distracting. There is an odd distortion effect put over the animation to make it look like we're looking through water. It just ends up being headache inducing and many gags, and great animation, is lost because we're trying to look past this goofy effect. All in all, the short is only mildly amusing. Guess you can't win 'em all.
