blogging by Andrew Wickliffe


Balloon Land (1935, Ub Iwerks)


A scene from BALLOON LAND, directed by Ub Iwerks for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

For lack of a better word, Balloon Land is disturbed. It’s a cartoon about a magical place where everyone is a living balloon. Not just people, but plants too. Objects are solid though.

The new balloon people–Iwerks opens showing the reproductive process–are made through one creature’s snot and then inflated. We later learn balloons can be made but not immediately inflated and the snot can also be used as a gooey weapon.

It’s a happy place with a happy song, except outside the gate there’s the Pincushion Man, who murders balloon people with his infinite pin supply. Since he’s been cast out, he’s had to settle for killing the balloon plant life.

Two newborns head out of the protected area and piss him off and Balloon Land‘s narrative gets underway.

The animation’s fine and all that, but it’s a freaky cartoon once one gives it any thought.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Produced and directed by Ub Iwerks; music by Carl W. Stalling; released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


RELATED


2 responses to “Balloon Land (1935, Ub Iwerks)”

  1. Matthew Hurwitz

    If you’re reviewing cartoons now I have about 50 I’d like to read your take on!

    1. Is this really the first cartoon since I started doing short stuff?

      Send the list!

Leave a Reply

Blog at WordPress.com.

%d