Tag: Ken Harris

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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Mouse Wreckers (1948, Chuck Jones)

I have some not insignificant problems with Mouse Wreckers.

First, the cartoon is almost entirely beautiful. Great backgrounds, great talking mice, almost everything. Except the mice’s victim, a cat. The animation on the cat is fine, but the design of the cat itself is awful. It frequently disrupts otherwise fine shots.

Second, the cat’s innocent. The mice go after him because he’s got awards for mouse catching. The cartoon never shows it. In fact, the cartoon shows the cat to be stupid and lovable. He drinks too much catnip, who wouldn’t love a cat like him….

For the first half, the gags the mice pull to get the cat to leave the house are weak. Wreckers is more interesting, during those scenes, in terms of the great animation on the mouse’s pulley.

But the final gag is fantastic. It saves the cartoon, probably because it’s the longest gag as well.

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 (Hubie / Claude) and Stan Freberg (Bertie).

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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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