Category: Cartoons from the 50’s

The 1950’s contain some of the most revered shorts Warner Bros. ever produced! Many of which now are considered some of animation’s greatest triumphs.

Posted on

Don’t Give up the Sheep

“Hello, Fred.”

This is the first appearance of Ralph and Sam, and it shows. Sam is erroneously called Ralph, and the real Ralph looks less like a coyote and more like a starving animal.

It starts with Sam going to work. He greets Fred Sheepdog and they switch places for the day. Ralph shows up and plans to get the sheep. He sets the time-clock ahead and this works. Until Sam sees the village clock and runs back to the field. (One thing to keep in mind, Ralph usually gets his prey. He just does not get to eat it.)

3 more scenes deserve mention. Ralph digs under the ground to get the sheep but he gets greedy and takes them all. Sam sees this and rushes down. The wolf grabs him. POW! Ralph uses a rope swing to swing down and get a sheep, bur he grabs Sam. Finally, Sam quits for the day and Fred greets him. Sam starts pounding him and we see it’s really Ralph in disguise. The real Fred shows up and takes over Sam’s Ralph pounding.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Feed the Kitty

“Don’t you dare bring one more thing into this house!”

A little kitten comes across a big dog. He tries to frighten her, but she treats him as her bed. Falling for her, Marc Antony takes her with him to her new home. The mistress of the house decides the dog has enough material objects and warns him to not bring in anymore things. So now he must try to keep the kitten hidden. This lady never stops moving and frequently runs into it. Puppy has to pass it off as a toy and a powder puff just to keep it safe.

When she comes into the kitchen, he hides it in the flour bin. Wouldn’t you know it, she is about to make cookies. He tries to save her, but the mistress throws him out. Unbeknownst to him, his kitty crawls out of the bowl but not before he thinks she has been beaten, rolled out, cut into shapes, and baked. The dog is reduced to a blubbering wreck and the woman tries to cheer him up with a cat shaped cookie. (Seriously, who makes cookies shaped like cats?) He puts it on his back and cries, but surprise! She’s alive! The woman finally gets wise and says if he takes care of it, he can keep it. A happy ending for all.

Rating: 5

Posted on

Baton Bunny

“Guest conductor: Mr. Bugs Bunny”

The beauty of this short, is that there is no dialogue. We have Bugs trying to conduct a orchestra, but things just don’t seem to go right for him. His cuffs keep sliding along his body and a fly annoys him to no end. Every time he tries to move and fix the problem, the musicians play in accordance with his movements. Bugs always gives them a glare and I can see why. If they are there, then shouldn’t they be professionals who know what to play?

That aside, Bugs is by no means patient in this short. (He has a man thrown out for coughing.) After a staged Native American attack with his ears, Bugs goes crazy trying to kill the fly from earlier. He manages to hit it and bows. To his shock there is no audience. (Traitors.) But wait! There is a sound of clapping. It’s the fly he squished. Bugs bows to his only admirer.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

The Hypo-Chondri-Cat

“Have you ever operated on a sick cat before, doctor?”

Its a rainy night and Hubie and Bertie have just settled in to their new home, eating cheese by the fire. They run into Claude and a chase ensures. It looks like they are trapped, but an open window sends Claude running to his bed to make sure he did not catch a cold. The mice now know his weakness and decide to torment him. He changes color at their suggestion and is soon begging them for their help.

They get ready for a operation and Claude faints. He has a way, disturbing fever dream (can you say, “extremely creepy?”) and wakes to find the mice crying at what appears to be his grave. He tries to tell them he is alive, but they walk right by. The clock strikes 12 and Hubie recalls that at midnight, ghosts appear. They “now” see Claude and he begs them for their help again. They push him off a cliff and he begins to fly towards cat heaven (Thanks to a balloon) Now filled with an inner peace, he bids the mice farewell. I wonder what happens when he finds out it’s not real?

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century

“Can you do it, Dodgers?”

This is probably the longest title for a Looney Tune made in the golden age. (Its sequel is longer.) And don’t worry. If you forget what you are watching, the short keeps reminding us. I’m sure everyone has seen this one. I mean, George Lucas showed it in certain theaters when “Star Wars” came out, and a clip appears in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

The plot is that in the 24th and a half century, the shaving cream atom (aludium fozdex) is alarmingly low. The only remaining source is on Planet X and Daffy and Marvin are both trying to claim it for their planets. For once, Daffy actually wins this battle but as Porky says, it’s not really a big deal. The fighting has only left a football sized planet left. Also interesting is the fact that this is the only short where Marvin did not appear with Bugs. (He really should have appeared more.)

Personal Rating: 5

Posted on

Rabbit Fire

“Sthurvival of the fittest. And besides its fun!”

This is the short that I believe most everyone thinks of when they think of “Looney Tunes.” It defines classic. Most memorable is definitely the duck season/rabbit season line. That will be remembered until time itself stops. As for the plot, it is basically the same as “Rabbit Seasoning” (even though this one came first) It also marks the first time time Bugs and Daffy starred in the same short. (Their first time on screen together was in “Porky Pig’s Feat” but that was just a cameo by Bugs)

As a kid, this was one of the first one I ever saw and to this day I can still remember the joy of seeing it whenever it came on. (You know, back when Cartoon Network was cool, and this stuff was pretty much on every day?)

Personal Rating: 5

Posted on

Golden Yeggs

“Oh, my aching back!”

A commotion is going on at Porky’s farm. It turns out to be a golden egg. The goose responsible has read the original story, and says that Daffy is the one who did it. Daffy goes along with the charade and he comes to the attention of Rocky and his gang who want the money the duck produces. They “talk” Porky into giving him away and the rest is gags as Daffy tries to get away with it without dying. It’s a great short that deserves to be a full-length motion picture. I hope you are enjoying this place as much as I am. Woo hoo hoo hoo!

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Boobs in the Woods

“That’s my lake.”

Porky and Daffy worked great together, but to me they were at their best when Daffy was a screwball. Don’t get me wrong though, I still love it when Daffy was more serious, but for me this is comedy genius.

So we got Porky just out trying to paint a picture when Daffy gets in his way. What follows is our favorite duck getting the best of our porcine friend. As we all know, Daffy usually wins, but in this one (which I think is Daffy’s last crazy cartoon) Porky wins.

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Deduce You Say

“I may be down, but the jig is up!”

We open and find Daffy, A.K.A. Dorlock Holmes and Porky, (Watkins) on the case of the Shropshire Slasher. After all the times you’ve seen Porky and Daffy together, you may be mistaken into believing its nothing special. But you’re wrong. It makes fun of the British language quite a bit, and Daffy gets his neck bent. This is why Looney Tunes are better than whatever they’re parodying. I bet Sherlock was never a clown, or that we ever saw his foe’s mother. Did Sherlock ever get his face full of darts? I think not. Case closed.

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

The Wearing of the Grin

“I sentence ye to the wearing of the green shoes.”

That’s a harsh punishment. Let me tell you why. Porky needs a place to spend the night, and the only one he finds is supposedly full of leprechauns. Porky is skeptical, but soon finds himself at the mercy of them. They accuse him of trying to steal their pot of gold. What follows next is Porky running from the aforementioned shoes in a surrealistic Irish setting. He then awakes to find it was a dream. Or was it?

Personal Rating: 4