Category: Merrie Melodies cartoons

Feed the Kitty (1952, Chuck Jones)

A tough bulldog adopts an adorable kitten in Feed the Kitty; a story Jones liked so much he remade it. This one, the original, manages to be charming without saccharine, maybe because of the really strange objectification of the dog’s lady owner.

She kicks up her skirt at one point, revealing her legs, and it seems highly inappropriate.

The cartoon mostly concerns the dog not being allowed new toys–or, he assumes, a new kitten–and having to hide the kitten from the owner.

All the various gags to hide the kitten are good. There’s even the sequence where the dog thinks the kitten’s been baked. Jones handles the despondence quite well.

The only weak moment is during a chase sequence when the perspective gets messed up. Otherwise, everything–story, direction, animation–is wonderful.

Kitty‘s a fine fifties visual time capsule, but it’s also an excellent bit of cartooning.

3/3Highly Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Chuck Jones; written by Michael Maltese; animated by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan and Ben Washam; edited by Treg Brown; music by Carl W. Stalling; produced by Edward Selzer; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Marc Anthony / Pussyfoot) and Bea Benaderet (Marc Anthony’s Mistress).

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Golden Yeggs (1950, Friz Freleng)

Once again, the boys at Warner Bros. have some problems with basic gender realities. Not only does Daffy Duck lay eggs (something he strongly infers in Golden Yeggs without getting graphic), neither do ganders.

That incredible plot problem aside, Yeggs is a lot of fun. It starts on Porky Pig’s farm with a gander laying a golden egg. The gander blames it on Daffy, who ends up kidnapped by the mob.

What’s so fun about Yeggs is the lack of gags. There’s a lot of story with a relatively long present action as Daffy gets kidnapped and barters with the mobsters. Then the finish, with the chases and the gags, takes place over five minutes.

The animation is fluid and enthusiastic, even if it’s a little lazy in terms of detail. Actually, Porky and the farm are weak, the mob and the city are strong.

Freleng does a great job.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Friz Freleng; written by Tedd Pierce; animated by Ken Champin, Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Davis, Emery Hawkins and Virgil Ross; edited by Treg Brown; music by Carl W. Stalling; produced by Edward Selzer; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck / Porky Pig / Rocky / Nick / Hotel Employee / Chickens).

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Rabbit Hood (1949, Chuck Jones)

Rabbit Hood features some great voice work from Mel Blanc. Some of the responsibility falls on Jones and writer Michael Maltese, of course, since they put Bugs Bunny in Sherwood Forest with the Sheriff of Nottingham as an antagonist… but Blanc makes the cartoon memorable. Bugs has some great dialogue and Blanc nails it.

That success even makes up for his lesser work on the Sheriff, who’s a problematic antagonist. Jones and Maltese can’t make him actually threatening, so they play him like a buffoon. He’s not just an unworthy adversary for Bugs, he’s a boring one.

But the cartoon excels anyway. The gags are all strong, as is the pacing. Jones holds the gags in their aftermaths, waiting until the perfect moment to release the tension.

The animation’s quite good and Jones composes some excellent frames.

Hilarious tights on the Sheriff too.

And the final gag is utterly fantastic.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Chuck Jones; written by Michael Maltese; animated by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan and Ben Washam; edited by Treg Brown; music by Carl W. Stalling; produced by Edward Selzer; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny / Sheriff of Nottingham / Little John).

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Chili Weather (1963, Friz Freleng)

I’m missing why Speedy Gonzales is the good guy in Chili Weather. He’s trying to steal food (the theory being the factory has food so it should give food to his friends) and he tortures the guard cat.

If one got really creative, he or she could interpret Weather as commentary on the Mexican government starving its citizens while producing cheap goods for the United States. I’d love to read that interpretation, actually.

Speedy’s a bunch of stereotypes and whatnot, but he’s also an annoying jerk. Sylvester, as the guard cat, isn’t even a bad guy in Weather. He’s literally just doing his job.

It doesn’t help the animation is boring and Freleng’s one okay gag–Sylvester hopping on an ice block and melting it after soaking in Tabasco sauce–isn’t even original.

The plot doesn’t arc either, making Weather an abbreviated chase cartoon.

It’s fairly awful, except Blanc’s Sylvester.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Friz Freleng; written by John W. Dunn; animated by Gerry Chiniquy, Lee Halpern, Art Leonardi, Bob Matz and Virgil Ross; edited by Lee Gunther; music by William Lava; produced by David H. DePatie; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Speedy Gonzales / Sylvester / Mice).

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Frigid Hare (1949, Chuck Jones)

Frigid Hare ends on a strange note. It looks like Bugs Bunny and his newfound penguin friend are walking in place in front of the Northern Lights. The shot’s disconcerting since the rest of the cartoon is so strong.

Bugs is in Antarctica, having made a wrong turn and wasted a few days of his vacation. The vacation timeline is rather problematic… when the cartoon ends, Bugs only has four days left. So it takes him about a week to figure out his plan to rescue the penguin from an Inuit hunter. Oh, wait… Antarctica is unpopulated.

I guess Frigid Hare has more than one logic hole.

But it’s a charming cartoon, with Jones coming up with all sorts of great sight gags. I actually remember it from my childhood, the imagery is so strong.

And the penguin is adorable.

It’s even good natured, which is somewhat surprising for Bugs.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Chuck Jones; written by Michael Maltese; animated by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan and Ben Washam; edited by Treg Brown; music by Carl W. Stalling; produced by Edward Selzer; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny / The Inuit Hunter).

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The Mouse That Jack Built (1959, Robert McKimson)

A prerequisite for The Mouse That Jack Built is probably working knowledge of “The Jack Benny Program.”

I have none, though I think I’ve heard the radio show before. But I certainly do not remember it enough for Mouse to make sense.

It’s a strange concept for a cartoon–imagine Jack Benny is a cartoon mouse; he’s still Jack Benny in all respects, except species and affinity for cheese. And then there’s the frame. Apparently, the cartoon opens in the “real” Beverly Hills, even though it’s a cartoon. Because it ends with Benny, in person, in the house where the cartoon takes place. McKimson didn’t think anything through.

The animation’s mediocre. It’s weak on Mary Livingstone’s mouse alter ago and good on Benny’s.

Benny gives the only good performance (besides Mel Blanc).

I suppose it does make me want to see Benny’s program, but it’s not much of a cartoon.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Robert McKimson; written by Tedd Pierce; animated by Warren Batchelder, Ted Bonnicksen, George Grandpré and Tom Ray; edited by Treg Brown; music by Milt Franklyn; produced by John W. Burton; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Jack Benny (Jack), Mary Livingstone (Mary), Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson (Rochester), Don Wilson (Don) and Mel Blanc (Ed the Vault Guard).

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Cat Feud (1958, Chuck Jones)

Cat Feud is almost too precious for its own good.

In fact, the precious nature is what gets it into most of its trouble.

The cartoon concerns a tough construction site guard dog who gets all mushy inside when he finds an adorable kitten. Trouble comes in the form of a stray cat, who is after the kitten’s lunch.

Jones has some fantastic shots of the construction site, where all the action plays out (including the chase) but the cartoon’s pace is disastrous. Milt Franklyn’s score is most obvious culprit. Franklyn concentrates on accentuating the cuteness of the situation–the bulldog protecting his kitten–without bringing any of the tension. The kitten will be about to plummet from a steel skyscraper frame and the music will be pleasant and ethereal.

Feud could have been exciting and enthralling. Instead, it’s just a cute little cartoon.

Adorable or not, it’s lesser work.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Chuck Jones; written by Michael Maltese; animated by Ken Harris, Abe Levitow, Richard Thompson and Ben Washam; edited by Treg Brown; music by Milt Franklyn; produced by John W. Burton; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Marc Anthony / Pussyfoot)

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Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948, Robert McKimson)

So all you need to make Daffy Duck an incredibly sympathetic character is Porky Pig.

In Daffy Duck Slept Here, Porky’s a traveler in search of a hotel room. He ends up lodging with Daffy, only they haven’t met yet. Once they do, the majority of the hilarity ensues.

And it is hilarity. Slept Here is an excellent cartoon, making great use of a Harvey reference, for example.

Daffy’s a fun loving guy and Porky’s somewhere between a square and a jerk. The animation on Porky is peculiar, actually. It’s almost like one’s supposed to be predisposed to dislike him. Even Mel Blanc’s voice for Porky is unenthusiastic, not just compared to his work on Daffy’s, but on the supporting characters too.

Treg Brown’s editing is particularly sublime here; the whole cartoon’s a technical achievement.

Well, except the final gag. It’s flat. But Slept Here still leaves a fine impression.

Conrad the Sailor (1942, Chuck Jones)

I wasn’t sure what I was going to say about Conrad the Sailor when it started. It seemed pretty simple–Conrad is a lame cat sailor and Daffy Duck makes fun of him. It was a simple case of Daffy being a bully.

Maybe I could have done something about how cartoon icons are often callous and cruel.

Then Conrad escalates the situation and starts trying to kill Daffy. Daffy, while a jerk, was never insane and murderous. He was a jerk.

The role change makes Conrad the Sailor a little more interesting than its content.

As a cartoon, it’s decent. There’s a nice swaying of the ship in the opening titles. There’s a good gag with the ship’s captain coming through (until the final time Jones uses it–as a finishing gag–and it’s too little).

Besides being interesting and mildly amusing, Conrad doesn’t make much of an impression.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Chuck Jones; written by Dave Monahan; animated by Ben Washam and Ken Harris; edited by Treg Brown; music by Carl W. Stalling; produced by Leon Schlesinger; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck) and Pinto Colvig (Conrad Cat).

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