Now Hear This is a fairly amazing cartoon. It’s even more amazing when one considers it’s a Warner Bros. cartoon under the “Looney Tunes” banner. Jones and co-director Noble play with the idea of sound as it relates to movies. I suppose cartoons specifically, but it’s really just moving images.
They strip away the background, the superfluous details and just leave their protagonist, a British guy with bad hearing, practically two dimensional in the void.
There’s a narrative–the British guy confuses the Devil’s ear for a hearing trumpet–but it’s really just about the crazy things Noble and Jones come up with. The images constantly change, transitioning via the sound. It’s a great exercise, but they also create an excellent cartoon.
The pacing’s also important–since nothing happens–the gentle gags move it along and they work beautifully.
I wish Now Hear This ran three times as long.
Highly Recommended
CREDITS
Directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble; written by John W. Dunn and Jones; animated by Bob Bransford and Ben Washam; edited by Treg Brown; music by William Lava; produced by David H. DePatie; released by Warner Bros.
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