Cartoon a Day: Hockey Homicide
Hockey Homicide
1945
Directed by Jack Kinney
Available on: Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy
Well folks, life got crazy, so "Cartoon a Day" didn't happen for quite a while. But with the Winter Olympics going on, I just couldn't resist doing a review of a great cartoon that celebrates a great winter sport...the Goofy short, "Hockey Homicide." In my opinion, this may be the best of Goofy's staring vehicles.
Like many of the other Goofy sports cartoons, every character in this short is a variation on Goofy. This time it's presented as coverage of a hockey match with Doodles Weaver (of Spike Jones' City Slickers) as the voice of the play by play announcer. His fast-paced commentary alone makes this funnier than your average Disney short, but there's so much more to love here.
As usual, the animation is masterfully done. The artistry is really where the Disney animation studio set itself apart from the others, but here you also have a level of comedy not often seen from the mouse house. The comic pacing is more like a Warner Brothers short.
Through it all you can see that while the makers of this short poked fun at some of the odd aspects of the sport (the fights and such), that they also had a true appreciation for the sport. That kind of appreciation is often what makes for the best kind of comedy. So during a break in the games from Vancouver, be sure to check out this animated winter sports classic!
Buckaroo Bugs 
DVD's are great for viewing Clampett cartoons. Being able to freeze frame the images can give you a real appreciation for the various poses used in the animation. This is perhaps best demonstrated in Red Hot Ryder's horse. He's a minor character in the cartoon, but from an animation standpoint he's the highlight. The character combines modern elements along with qualities of a rubber band like character right out of the early days of animation. This one sequence where Red Hot Ryder and the horse jump off the edge of the Grand Canyon is evidence enough. When the horse realizes what he's done, he actually turns back through himself to turn around. It's brilliant animation!
Animation at it's best when it explores the limits of what the art form is capable of. This cartoon is a great example of that.
El Terrible Toreador
Like most Silly Symphonies, there is not much story here. The gags are pretty simple, though you can see a progression taking place here as the sight gags are not repeated over and over as they are in many early cartoons. A few gags seem quite imaginative for this time period, especially when we think the bull and the toreador are fighting but when the smoke clears we see that they are playing patty cake.
The bullfight arena is a classic setting for golden age cartoons. Almost every major character has been a toreador at some point, so it is interesting to see what is probably one of the earliest examples of a bullfight cartoon.
This scenario leads to some absolutely beautiful background art. Several New York City landmarks are portrayed in some very rich and detailed paintings. There are plenty of good gags, but most of the fun of this cartoon just comes in watching Jerry taking the city in.
It's interesting to note some of the differences in Jerry's appearance in this short. Tom and Jerry have gone through many design changes over the years. In this film, Jerry's nose seems to be a bit more round and bulbous and his whiskers seem longer. He also wears a somewhat dumb expression much of the time, which is not your typical Jerry look.
I'm not sure if this film still runs on TV or not. There are a few moments that would keep it off the Cartoon Network rotation, including a blackface gag and one bizarre moment when it could be interpreted that Jerry is looking up the skirts of some of the ladies of New York. Still this is a great cartoon. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the wonderful music! It is obviously inspired by Gershwin (perfect for the New York setting) and compliments the on screen action beat per beat.
In this cartoon, Sylvester has barely any energy left to chase the fastest mouse in all Mexico. But when Speedy's cousin Slowpoke comes for a visit, the putty tat is re-energized. Both Speedy and Sylvester are soon overshadowed by the scene stealing Slowpoke.
This cartoon came close to the end of the golden era of cartoons, yet this is a strong cartoon. Slowpoke is a hilarious character, it's a shame he was only used twice. Some might see him as a Mexican stereotype, but really he's simply the opposite of the leading man...a classic comedic situation. Like the slow wolf from some Droopy cartoons, I love the way Slowpoke moves and minimal amount of animation used to bring him to life.
In this short, Woody is in the old west and ends up participating in a shooting contest. The competitors can choose their weapons, so Woody uses a slingshot while his top rival, Buzz Buzzard as an Indian, uses a bow and arrow.
There's nothing wrong with a silent cartoon comedy, but the animation has to really excel. While this short has some good moments, mostly early in the film, many sequences are lacking that extra punch that is needed. Had Buzz and Woody been given some 
This Droopy short actually does not feature Droopy. Rather there are three kid versions of Droopy who terrorize a small schoolhouse. The Wolf, voice by the brilliant 
The voice and animation of the slow-moving, whistling wolf are a perfect combination. I love his strange posture when he walks. The feet lead as the rest of the body seems to move much slower behind. The wolf is the real star of the short. Even though this is not directed by 
To Beep or Not to Beep
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.
"My Favorite Duck" is the first cartoon to team director Chuck Jones and writer 
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.
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.
Muscle Beach Tom
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.
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 
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.
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.
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, "
