Category: Directed by William Hanna

  • Puss Gets the Boot (1940, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera)

    Until the exceptionally racist caricature of “Mammy Two-Shoes” arrives, the most distinguishing thing about Puss Gets the Boot is the exceptional cruelty of the cat. Puss is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon, before Tom is named Tom (he’s Jasper here) and Jerry doesn’t get an onscreen name. For the first two minutes, it’s just…

  • Old Smokey (1938, William Hanna)

    Technically speaking, Old Smokey is a fantastic cartoon. The animation and the backgrounds are both excellent. Hanna composes some great shots, as well as the camera “movements.” But it’s not a fun cartoon. There are no gags, because there’s real danger. A house is on fire and only The Captain (the cartoon series’s lead) can…

  • The Goose Goes South (1941, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera)

    There aren’t any real gags in The Goose Goes South until the finish. And that gag is sort of predictable. The cartoon concerns a goose who can’t fly and therefore has to find other ways south for the winter. The uncredited narrator explains the goose’s problem and describes some of his adventures. But The Goose…