Category: Chuck Jones

Anything directed by the man who was responsible for directing the number one greatest cartoon.

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Bear Feat

“What did I ever do to deserve such a family?”

Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, and Phil Monroe; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek;Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1949. Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, and Phil Monroe; Layouts by Robert Gribbroek;Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1949.

It’s breakfast time at the three bears’ house and Junyer is annoying his father by laughing uproariously at a Bugs Bunny comic in the paper. (This will lead to a mistake later) After giving him his first pounding of the day, Henry spies an add in the paper that really catches his interest. Seems the Mingling Bros. circus is requesting trained bears. And the salary is nothing to scoff at. It’s “Good Pay!” Henry figures they could be sensational with a little practice. Ma tries to tell him something, but Henry won’t let her. Seeing how enthusiastic Junyer is about the idea, she decides to go along with it. Henry and Junyer, (who I’m just now realizing is probably also named Henry) try to unicycle on a tightrope. His son’s weight brings the wire to the ground. Henry orders him off, and he is launched. Other tricks don’t fare much better. While using a trapeze, Henry smacks a tree branch, and trying to jump through a hoop at the same time as Junyer just yields more of a headache than he usually has. Next up is less of an act, and more of a carnival game. But it has a sign that is hilarious when taken out of context: “Hit my baby son!” Henry tries his game (wherein you throw a baseball at Junyer’s head. It’s only slightly less cruel than you probably imagined. Only because you might miss.) Junyer’s head is hard enough to bounce the ball right back. So it’s back to the tricks. Henry wants Junyer to jump on his seesaw to launch him onto a chair Ma is holding. Again, since Junyer is so fat, (he eats a lot in this short. Which means he will survive the winter) he launches Henry high into the atmosphere. Seeing as there is no point waiting around, mother and son head back home. The next day, they resume their positions. Henry still doesn’t land on target. (I wonder what was going on through his head the whole time) He tries a high dive, but Junyer drinks all the water, and finally riding a motorcycle in a large barrel. This comes to an end thanks to one of Junyer’s banana peels. (On the plus side, Henry lets out quite the amusing scream) Back at home, Henry decides they are ready, and gets the paper to see where the address is. Only now does he realize that the paper is from 1928! (They really have a crappy delivery boy, but this brings up my problem from earlier: There was Bugs Bunny comic in that? He wouldn’t be born for another 12 years! Heck, even Mickey wasn’t around yet. He was born in May of that year, and wouldn’t be shown to the public until November. I guess Bugs tried out comics before acting. Or it was supposed to be an Oswald comic. I’m thinking too hard about this. Let’s just finish our story) Henry finally snaps, and decides to end it all. He jumps off a cliff. (It would be horrifying if it wasn’t funny. Just look at the smile on his face!) To his dismay, Junyer loves him too much and saves his life with a fresh bucket of water. Tada!  

Personal Rating: 3

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Hook, Line and Stinker

“ALL THE BIRDSEED YOU CAN EAT FREE!!”

Directed by Chuck Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Richard Thompson, Ken Harris, and Ben Washam; Layouts and Background by Philip DeGuard; Film Editor: Treg Brown; Musical Direction by John Seely. A Looney Tune released in 1958.

Going to be gone the next week, and I’m yet to prepare. So I need a short I can talk about fast. One with little plot. A Roadrunner short works. This was my favorite Roadrunner short as a kid, and never being able to catch its name, I never knew if I was going to watch it or not whenever I’d see one of these shorts. What made it my favorite? I’ll get to that.

While being chased, the Roadrunner stops short, steps aside, lets the Coyote pass, and runs off in the opposite direction. No way Wile E. can match that speed. Time to use the old grey matter and see if brains can triumph over brawn. Waiting with a tub, he actually succeeds in tossing it on top of the bird. He rolls a firecracker under it to make sure the bird dies. Then the bird runs up to him. So what did he catch? Nothing it seems. Unless you count an explosion as something you can catch. Next, he tries a hammer. The head falls off and smacking the shaft as hard as he does, causes it to vibrate after him wildly. How about putting some birdseed on railroad tracks? It might work, but next time, don’t stand on the tracks yourself whilst you pour. He also tries to skewer the bird with spear while suspended by a balloon. Not only does he miss, he swings up near a thunderhead. While holding metal. And trying to drop a piano on his prey doesn’t work either. Gravity forgets to affect pianos until he is on top of it. And now why this short was my favorite. The ending plan: a Rube Goldberg device. (I’m a sucker for those. Always have been) The Coyote has the bird stop for more seed then he, in order:

Shoots a slingshot, which knocks over a watering can, that empties its water on a flower, causing it to grow, allowing the match on its leaves to strike a match box and ignite an explosive, which fire a boot with a brick through the air, which lands on a lever, whose other end lifts a trap, which releases a mouse, who runs to some cheese on a scale, pulls it off, which lowers the other end with a weight, that slides off, and is attached to a gun’s trigger, which fires the gun, which ends up shooting a cannon, that bends down and lights its fuse, which fires a cannonball, that the Roadrunner watches fall, onto the Coyote’s head. The End.

Would I still consider this short my favorite? Probably not. The ending is still fun to watch, but one good joke does not equal perfection. I’d probably choose the first one: “Fast and Furry-ous” There’s just some magic in that one. Maybe because it was meant to be a one time thing. Good thing I enjoy all subsequent shorts too.

Personal Rating: 3

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Jumpin’ Jupiter

“The stars are so bright tonight, you can almost touch em.”

Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ken Harris, Keith Darling, Abe Levitow and Richard Thompson; Effects Animation by Harry Love; Layouts by Robert Givens; Backgrounds by Philip DeGuard; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Music by Carl Stalling. A Merrie Melody released in 1955.

You are traveling through an unknown area. An area of wisecracking rabbits, egotistical ducks, fanatic coyotes and homicidal canaries. Behind any door could be a train speeding towards you, and when you walk outside you must beware of falling anvils. It’s as clear as the pie on your face. You have just entered: The Wacky Zone.

Submitted for your approval, is the tale of one Porky T. Pig. He is out camping in a desert with his cat, Sylvester. Said cat is terrified. There are coyotes around, and coyotes will eat cats. But little does he know, that soon he will have much more extreme fears. Porky, does not worry about his cat possibly dying and leaves him outside the tent while he sleeps. Despite his worry, Sylvester does manage to get some shuteye. As they slumber, a flying saucer spots the campsite. Landing, we learn it is from Jupiter and on a mission to collect samples of Earth life. The pilot of said craft comes out and doesn’t he look familiar? It’s one of the instant Martians that Marvin is so fond of using! (Never buy Instant Martians from Craigslist.) Liking what he sees, (I’m guessing. He doesn’t emote much.) He gets back in his ship and burrows under the campsite. With the plot of land safely on top, he flies back into space. (Which seems to be full of bubbles) The lack of oxygen doesn’t bother Porky, but the lack of heat does and he grabs another blanket. The Instant Jupiterian comes out to check on his specimens and Sylvester panics. Unlike in other encounters they have together, he actually gets Porky to see the object of his fear. Porky is so cool, he doesn’t even bat an eye. He tells the (man?) that he’ll look at his wares in the morning, pointing out to us that he was a Navajo. (I don’t think that was racist. Porky isn’t one to be…)

Hey! I already excused this! Hey! I already excused this!

As I was saying: Porky goes back to sleep, while Sylvester continues to hide under the bed. The Jupiter (man created by) Jones goes back to his ship to read up on Earth life. (Written by Dr. Sig Mund Fre Ud) Only now do they seem to be free from Earth’s gravitational pull, as everything on the ship begins to drift away. (Except the dirt. I guess there’s magnets in it.) Porky and his belongings float down to ground just as he wakes up. Nothing like a good nights sleep to make the world look new. He even sees a planet he’s never seen before in the sky. (I’ve played Kirby 64. I think it’s called Shiver Star) He packs up camp and drives off with his pal Sylvester. Unaware they are being watched by the natives of the planet. Unaware that he is no longer on Earth.

Porky Pig. A mild mannered Earthling. He survived his close encounter of the second kind, and lived to tell about it. However, he just might soon find that things will never be the same. They never are, here in: The Wacky Zone.

Personal Rating: 4

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My Favorite Duck

“G-Gosh, what a c-cr-c-screwy duck.”

Supervison by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; (in fact, this was the first of Jones' shorts that he wrote) Animation by Rudolph Larriva; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1942 Supervison by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; (in fact, this was the first of Jones’ shorts that he wrote) Animation by Rudolph Larriva; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1942

Porky is off on a camping trip. Singing “Moonlight Bay” in a canoe he soon finds himself in a duet with “My Favorite Duck.” Porky decides to set up camp a good distance away from the lake, but Daffy is not one to stay away. He constantly gets in Porky’s way as the pig tries to drive a tent stake into the ground. And there’s nothing Porky can do but take it, as duck season is closed at the moment. (You’re not even allowed to molest a duck? That’s unfair.) Porky eventually gets his camp set up: underwater. He decides he’d rather be on dry land. While making some lunch, (and unintentionally singing “Blues in the night” which Daffy was singing earlier) he has his egg switched with an eagle egg. (Courtesy of Daffy) He has a pan swung in his face by the mother who takes her eaglet back. (And definitely has a male voice, but the baby says “mother” so maybe he’s just confused?) Next on the list of camping activities is fishing. Fishing, by nature, is boring. So, I’m not surprised to see Porky asleep. Daffy turns his canoe upside down and drags the fishing line into the sky. Porky, felling a tug, jumps out of the water and swims through the air. Before gravity kicks in. He finds Daffy stealing his food, and chases him into a tree. He decides to smoke him out. Daffy recommends rubbing some sticks (of dynamite) together as an alternative to matches. Porky prefers to do it the easy way. It’s the promise of his Indian suit that gets him to comply. Luckily, he is unhurt by the explosion, but it did catapult him and all his supplies into the sky. He comes down, but his stuff doesn’t. (It’s probably still up there to this day) If only he had a gun. Daffy gives him one, but reminds him it won’t do any good. He pulls out a sign to prove his point, but the universe has had enough of him and the sign declares duck season open. (Love Daffy’s face here.)

Beautiful. Beautiful.

Porky follows him relentlessly, and the chase leads to a large tree. They go around and around until…the film breaks. (What? Son of a…) Daffy comes out apologizing, but don’t freak out, (What? Me? I would never!) he’ll tell us how it ends. So apparently, Porky gets him cornered, but Daffy fights back with punches until Porky is groveling for mercy. (I’m not buying it) Porky hits Daffy over the head with the gun.

Personal Rating: 3

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Heaven Scent

“♪A smile was all you gave to me…♪”

Directed by Chuck Jones; Story by Chuck Jones; Animation by Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson, Ken Harris, and Ben Washam; Layouts by Erni Nordli; Backgrounds by Philip DeGuard; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Music by Milt Franklyn. A Merrie Melody released in 1956. Directed by Chuck Jones; Story by Chuck Jones; Animation by Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson, Ken Harris, and Ben Washam; Layouts by Erni Nordli; Backgrounds by Philip DeGuard; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Music by Milt Franklyn. A Merrie Melody released in 1956.

A fisherman comes back from the water one day with a decent sized batch of fish. The scent of the dead animals attracts the nose of one Penelope Pussycat. She tries to help herself to one of the morsels, but finds dogs every way she looks. The constant barking eventually has her hopping onto a flap pole that has been recently painted. Unlike most of her appearances, this time the stripe is no accident. She coats her back in the paint and her skunk disguise is complete. (Isn’t it interesting? If you had no idea what a skunk was, you’d never guess it was the most feared animal on the planet.) The trick works, and the dogs are sent running. The fisherman too. So there is nothing stopping Penelope from helping herself to a nice fat fish and heading off to the park for a picnic of one. But you know, picnics by yourself kinda scream “I’m lonely.” If only she had a special someone to share her life with. Enter Pepe. And he is smitten. And since the only thing required to make a relationship work is the male wanting the female, why does she run from him? He won’t let that stop him though. He finds her in grapes, and a tree. (Pepe: “Marry me.” *she runs* Pepe: “Too subtle?”) So, he decides to try the “playing hard to get card,” himself. Running in front of her and saying that he loves her but isn’t sure about marriage yet. She runs in a different direction. (The wood in the fences and trees in the background is interesting in this short. They aren’t colored in. An artistic choice? Or was Mr. DeGuard feeling lazy on this one?) Pepe knows a shortcut and manages to catch her in his arms. Running out of directions, Penelope begins running up a mountain. Pepe is still right behind her and has a little fun making her an echo love note. But she runs again. Pepe continues following her, as she runs into a tunnel that is blocked. Pepe stops to note that while there is not much difference between the sexes, “Viva La Difference!” and follows after her. And it just ends. Weird. It was pretty entertaining, but I guess they didn’t really have a clue about how to end it. That poor ending probably makes this my least favorite Pepe short. But I’ll have to watch them all again to be sure. (And yes, I’ve seen every Pepe Le Pew cartoon. Hasn’t everybody?)

Personal Rating: 3

(Nah, It was probably an artistic choice by Philip. I never knew the guy, but I don’t think he’d be one to leave wood uncolored.)

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My Little Duckaroo

“I’ve got you now, Canasta.”

Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson and Lloyd Vaughn; Layouts by Maurice Noble; Backgrounds by Phillip DeGuard; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Directon by Milt Franklyn. A Merrie Melody released in 1954. Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Michael Maltese; Animation by Ken Harris, Ben Washam, Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson and Lloyd Vaughn; Layouts by Maurice Noble; Backgrounds by Phillip DeGuard; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Directon by Milt Franklyn. A Merrie Melody released in 1954.

It’s a followup to “Drip-along Daffy.” And sadly, it’s not as good as its predecessor. Daffy is once again cast as the hero. (Known this time as the Masked Avenger) Porky is there too and still relegated to the role of comic relief. Daffy spots a wanted poster for Nasty Canasta. (Looking different than he did in his first appearance and how he would look in “Barbary Coast Bunny.” Guy just can’t find a style he likes.) Daffy decides to fix his little red wagon, but not because it is the right thing to do. It’s all about the money. Luckily, Canasta’s hideout is clearly labeled, so Daffy has no problem finding it. The problems start when he comes in and introduces himself to the thug. Canasta can’t be bothered to react to Daffy at all. (Not even to his nice mask. I agree with Daffy. It is stylish) He has no luck with his alter egos either, The Frisco Kid and Superguy. Eventually though, Canasta does challenge Daffy to a game of cards. After the classic “cutting the cards joke” Daffy deals. He gives Canasta one card and keeps the other 51 for himself. He has a royal straight flush full house with four aces. Canasta has a three of clubs and his gun in Daffy’s mouth. It’s clear who the winner is. Daffy then suggests arm wrestling. (I’m not surprised he lost. Canasta is the kind of guy who makes a cigarette by putting all the ingredients into his mouth and spitting out the final product.) Porky suggests that Daffy just arrest Canasta. And I’m happy to report that Daffy doesn’t do the old “glad I thought of it gag.” That’s not my favorite gag. He slaps some handcuffs on Canasta and tries to drag him away. Canasta breaks free. Daffy finally snaps and challenges the outlaw to fight. Porky has the utmost confidence in him. (Um, Porky old pal? You did see Canasta’s Crusher impression, didn’t you?) Porky calmly waits for the fight to subside outside, (while his shirt changes color briefly) as he assures us that Daffy is going to fix Canasta’s little red wagon. Daffy comes out the loser. And to add insult to injury, Canasta literally made him fix his little red wagon. (That’s harsh. We watched a subpar sequel to a great Daffy short for such a weak punchline?)

Personal Rating: 2 (Mostly because it’s a rather disappointing sequel, if you haven’t seen it’s predecessor, it could earn a three)

No post next week. I’ll be out of town. But we’ll be back the week after, so stay tooned.

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To Duck…. Or not to Duck

“No rough stuff!”

Supervision by Charles M. Jones; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by Robert Cannon; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. A Looney Tune released in 1943.

Daffy is having a grand time flying as only he would up in the clouds, when he is nearly shot. This leaves an impact shaped like him in the cloud, much to his amusement. He screws around with this for a bit, but he is eventually hit and he goes down. After berating the dog who is retrieving him about not being gentle, (Whose name is Laramore. A name I’ve never heard outside of this short.) he is brought back to the one who shot him: Elmer.

Elmer is pretty polite about things. He apologizes for killing Daffy, at least. But he defends his actions as sport. Daffy quits faking (Oh, come on. Were you really buying it?) and rightfully complains about what a bad example of sport it is. Elmer is armed to the teeth, and Daffy doesn’t have anything but a bullet-proof vest. (“How did that get there?”) He demands that Elmer and him fight in a real sport: boxing. There’s already a ring set up even. (Ducks love boxing you know. How else would there be a full house there already? Clearly, they just sit there constantly waiting for a fight.)

I love the referee at this match. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s voiced by Tex Avery due to all the laughing he does when he is supposed to introduce Elmer. (“You can have him!”) He finally does get Elmer’s name out, and he is promptly booed by the audience. To be fair, Laramore cheers for him but the ducks pelt him with projectiles. When introducing Daffy however, he not only gives him a hug, but addresses him as “Daffy, (Good to his mother) Duck.” Daffy is promptly applauded by the audience. To be fair, Laramore boos him, but the ducks pelt him with projectiles.

The ref. (who would be named Ducky Wheeze in “The Sylvester and Tweety Msyteries”) begins listing all the moves that are not allowed. He even demonstrates them on Elmer. Daffy wants to be absolutely clear on things, so he repeats all of them on Elmer just so he knows they’re illegal. When the fight is ready to begin, the two are ordered to shake hands. Daffy tells Elmer to pick a hand, and Elmer picks the wrong hand. (There was nothing in it.) Daffy is willing to let him try again, and there is something in the other: a mallet that clobbers Elmer.

Ducky starts the match, but Elmer is already out and Daffy is declared the winner! Definitely more fair. Daffy is looking out for all the animals that are unfairly killed. Elmer is a good loser. He doesn’t complain, but he does point out that he thought they weren’t supposed to use certain moves. The moves in question being, the ones he is now using on Daffy and Ducky.

Personal Rating: 4

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Bugs Bunny’s Bustin’ out all Over

“Naughty, you might like to know, is natural for little kids.”

Written, Produced, and Directed by Chuck Jones; Co-Director: Phil Monroe; Music by Dean Elliot. A T.V. special released in 1980.

With the summer solstice tomorrow, it seems like a perfect time to talk about this special. There are three new shorts never before seen in theaters!

“Portrait of the artist as a young Bunny”

It starts with school being let out for the summer. Bugs is as excited as the children, before remembering that he hasn’t been in school for years. Distracted by this, he crashes into a tree and has a flashback to his youth. Sort of like a sequel to “The Old Grey Hare.” (Or prequel, if you prefer.)

A young Bugs is excited for summer and so is a young Elmer Fudd. He asks for us to be very quiet, and Bugs asks why he should. What is in it for him? Flustered, Elmer tries to bribe him for his silence, which Bugs uses as a great segue to start asking us viewers for money. Later, Elmer ends up walking off a cliff. (Look at those flowers behind them. These kids are either at the top of a beanstalk or are really tiny.) Bugs points out that gravity will be his undoing, but Elmer is immune. He hasn’t studied gravity yet.

Bugs leaves a book about said subject out for him, and like all children during summer vacation, Elmer happily jumps into some learning fun. Now fully understanding the “gravity” of said situation, he falls through the air now when he walks off a cliff. Wile E. makes a cameo telling him to let an expert fall first. (I don’t know what he’s doing in this time period.) Bugs isn’t about to let a kid fall to his death though, and leaves a spring for Elmer to land on and propel him back to safety. While grateful, Elmer isn’t going to let that stand in his way of being a great hunter. But all too soon, Bugs has reduced him to tears.

He decides that he has no other choice but to quit cold turkey. Bugs acts as an enabler and gets him to break his fast almost as fast as he started. Elmer returns with a rapid fire model of his pop gun and fires rounds upon rounds into Bugs. This crashes him into a tree again and he comes out of his stupor. Bugs figures that he and Elmer were the first to start chasing each other, just as he catches sight of a coyote pup chasing a very fast egg.

“Spaced Out Bunny”

Bugs loves nature, but it doesn’t seem to love him. Flowers wilt, rocks roll away, and a butterfly is ready to start something. Even the trees bark at him. Luckily, Bugs’ luck changes when he spies a carrot just waiting to be eaten. He takes the bait, unaware that it was a tranquilizer carrot that was part of a trap concocted by a one Marvin the Martian. He is pleased with his capture saying that Hugo will love Bugs. (Hugo? Where have I mentioned that name before?)

When Bugs comes to, he finds that he is no longer on Earth, and that he is not going back, lest he upset Hugo. Marvin caught him in the Himalaya’s. He is that very same abominable snowman Bugs and Daffy met. (Despite the fact he melted.) Bug’s is not happy to be in such a situation again, and tells Hugo that he doesn’t want a rabbit. He wants a robot. Marvin is a robot, right? Not really. But Bugs has another idea of what he could be used for, and soon Hugo has a “Mickey Martian” watch™ all his own. (What a way to go. Marvin has no air, and is forced to be in pretty uncomfortable situation.) Bugs then asks Hugo if he is any good at throwing a Frisbee and challenges him to throw one to Earth. Hugo takes Marvin’s ship and gives it a good hurl towards the blue planet. Bugs is along for the ride, and makes it back home safely.

“Soup or Sonic”

To finish up our special, we have the continuing exploits of the Coyote and the Roadrunner. Wile E.’s schemes this time include riding many firecrackers, (the middle flies without him, he lights his tail, it flies off without him,) throwing a Frisbeefrom Freleng Manufactures. (That’s a really good joke.) using a giant sheet of flypaper, and catching a giant housefly-squito with teeth who wraps him up in it, and throwing an explosive tennis ball. Which doesn’t seem clear on when it blows up, seeing as it hits several things and doesn’t go off. He is forced to hit several times to keep it away, but it ultimately lands next to the rest of them. Then it goes off.

Eventually, he chases the bird into a pipe that gets smaller as it goes along, and the two end up shrunk. He alerts his prey to this and the two run back to get bigger. The Roadrunner is soon back to normal. Wile E. isn’t so lucky. He doesn’t notice things are amiss, until he tries to dig into the giant bird’s leg. Unsure what to do next he holds up a sign, “You always wanted me to catch him, now what do I do?” (Can’t help but think this would be funnier if he hadn’t already pulled out the dining utensils. As if to suggest, he was only chasing the bird this whole time because we wanted him to.)

Personal Rating: 3

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Bugs and Daffy’s Carnival of the Animals

“Wait’ll you hear MY arpeggios!”

There’s nothing corny about this concerto!

Produced, written, and directed by Chuck Jones; Production Design by Herbert Klynn. A TV special released in 1976.

The first television special for the Looney Tunes! Bugs and Daffy are going to play parts from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals,” And quote the poems Odgen Nash wrote about said music. I love animals, I love animation, and I love music. Throw chocolate and video games in there, and you’ve got my nirvana!

Things start rather rocky as Bugs and Daffy argue on the pronunciation of the man’s name. Bugs says it correctly, while Daffy insists it be pronounced phonetically. Porky (making a quick cameo) arrives to tell that the show is starting and Bugs walks out on stage, getting tons of applause. Daffy gets none as he enters. The conductor begins and the two take their places each playing a piano. (Not all of the pieces are here, but they got a good number of them. Besides, pianists don’t belong at a carnival of animals anyway.)

Lions: This part is drawn in a simplified style as we see a pride of lions heading off into a cave. Inside, only their eyes and roaring mouths can be seen. (Kinda creepy to be honest.) These are also some pretty lively lions. You’d think they’d be sleeping in the day.

Roosters and Hens: Daffy and Bugs introduce this part by wearing gloves as combs, Daffy still not get any any love. It’s a shame Foghorn couldn’t have made a cameo at this part. The chickens peck and crow.

Wild Jackass: Daffy throws in the the mule couplet Ogden wrote as well. Which is kind of weird. Camille made a part about donkeys AND mules? Why not include horses, ponies, quaggas, zebras, hinnies, zedonks, zorses and unicorns as wells? Carnival of the equines. Instead of showing any animals at this part, we just see a carousel with color changing donkeys.

(Passing by the elephant for now and skipping the tortoise altogether)

Kangaroos: I should mention that Bugs and Daffy don’t admit they are quoting Mr. Nash and instead act like they are making up the rhymes on the spot. Daffy challenges the rabbit to rhyme boomerang. It’s a good thing Australians enjoy kangaroo-meringues. Represented by a couple of kangaroo silhouettes jumping to the music. (They have to jump because they are incapable of walking)

(More skipping around to…)

Birds: Wait, we already had chickens. Which by the way, are BIRDS! Luckily, Bugs and Daffy don’t play the parts of the cuckoo and the swan. I guess Camille just meant Passerines, here. Songbirds, to you commoners) Daffy likes this part, as he himself is a bird. (His neck stripe is orange in this special.) The birds sing in a piece that looks like it came from “Yellow Submarine”

(Backing up a bit)

Aquarium: Bugs and Daffy seem to be having fun together now. (Bugs is speaking with Daffy’s voice for some reason.) The music perfectly conveys the idea of submerging under the sea. (For the longest time I thought this was the “Harry Potter” theme. I’m glad I never told anyone they were the same.) Since they didn’t claim to only be fish, we are also treated to an image of a (demon) whale, a sea star, and a jellyfish.

(Now we get to the…)

Elephant: (What’s with Nash’s words here? How are the elephants teeth upside down? Teeth can grow upwards) This part looks like it came from a schoolhouse rock video. For some reason, a few of the elephants have purple eyes that stare into my soul. More creepyness.

(Back in order…)

Fossils: How nice of Camille to include extinct animals as well. No reason they should be left out of a carnival saluting them. Nash’s poetry is actually kinda scary here. Imagine being alone in a museum at midnight, and suddenly all the fossils start to sing and make music with their bodies. (Even Daffy is hiding during this part.) The animation here is just some rough images of dead things. Not just dinosaurs either. I spy a hominid skull, a mastodon, and a plant fossil. (Why is that there? Carnival of the ANIMALS! The botany parade is next week.)

Finale: My favorite part! Something one can dance to! Much like “Fantasia 2000” I wouldn’t mind whole movie set to this music. (But I suppose that would take a lot of the fun out of things. The music here kind of outright tells you what to picture, as opposed to letting the animators coming to their own conclusions.) It’s like a Rhythm Heaven Remix with the animals of the previous pieces returning to strut their stuff one more time.

The two pianists finish and leave. Daffy is still not getting any of the attention he deserves. Why ever not? Seems the audience is comprised of nothing but rabbits. (Who better to perform “The carnival of the Animals” to?)

Personal Rating: 4. (Beautiful music. Beautiful animation. It’s like “Fantasia” with a fraction of the budget.)

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The remaining Mr. Hook shorts

In my first year of doing this blog, I made a small post about one of this guy’s shorts. Since I barely said a dang thing about him, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Much like Snafu was made for the military, Hook was made for the navy. (Well, his first short was shown in theaters, but it was made by Walter Lantz studios, so we’re not talking about it.) Unfortunately, Hook wasn’t as interesting as Snafu. He was a goody-two shoes who was happy to follow the rules. And all three of his shorts were about buying war bonds. They’re still entertaining though. (Except for Hook’s annoying laugh. That’s his main character trait.) All three of them were released in 1945.

The Good Egg

“Now ain’t this cute!”

Hook is asleep on his ship. His bad side (personified in the classic cartoon way: a devil version of himself) finds his war bond. (He takes it to bed with him?) He tells the sailor to not waste his time with such things, but his good side disagrees. (What’s more, he flat out beats up the devilish side.) He then explains all the benefits of purchasing a bond. He even recommends purchasing more. After the war, he’ll have a nest egg that will make it possible for him to purchase new clothes and a nice house. A stork also pops up, but the good side says that it will come later.

Personal Rating: 1

Tokyo Woes

“I got a mess of hot platters for you today!”

This short begins with a Japanese radio show. Starring some of the most racist caricatures I’ve ever seen. Yeah, it was a different time, but they have way too many teeth! It creeps me out! Our hostess’ (whom we first see on a toilet) main focus is telling the world that bonds are useless. This angers our perfectly behaved protagonist. He’ll show her! He launches a missile her way, but surely someone as perfect as Hook would never actually kill anybody! (What do you think he’s in? A war?) The missile just unloads a sentient war bond. Good thing he has no moral compass! He hands her many bombs and hightails it out. The bombs explode and leave nothing but their hair, glasses, and grotesquely over-sized teeth.

Later, when the war is over, the same bond comes to Hook to make good of his promise. Granting him new clothes, a nice car, and a boob job. (I’m not joking.) The bond asks if there’s anything else he wants. Hook agrees that there is, but he can get it himself. We end with him being kissed by a woman. Money can’t buy love, you see.

Personal Rating: 1