Martian Through Georgia

January 29, 2025 in ★★★, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 comment

Directors: Chuck Jones & Abe Levitow
Release date: December 29, 1962
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘Martian Through Georgia’ is narrated by Ed Prentiss and tells about a Martian (typically designed as a little green man, if a rather frog-like one).

This Martian is so bored by his own society, his psychiatrist advices him to travel. So the Martian sets out for Earth, where things are very different, indeed. Nevertheless, the Martian finds little happiness on our planet, and in the end goes back home, with renewed love for his home planet (or at least one of its female inhabitants).

‘Martian Through Georgia’ knows a very lame and disappointing ending and is far from funny, but the film’s character designs and animation are of a high quality. Yet, the film’s main attraction are its avant-garde layouts by Maurice Noble and background art by Philip DeGuard. Noble goes completely wild, so the artwork becomes a marvel from start to end. So even if the story fails to inspire, the film’s looks remain entertaining throughout.

Watch excerpts from ‘Martian Through Georgia’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Martian Through Georgia’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Six’

Wild Wild World

January 27, 2025 in ★★★½, Merrie Melodies, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Robert McKimson
Release date: February 27, 1960
Rating: ★★★½
Review:

‘Wild Wild World’ is an obvious parody on the documentary series ‘Wide Wide World’, which run on NBC from 1955 to 1958. Of all cavemen cartoons ‘Wild Wild World’ is the one most directly anticipating The Flintstones, who would make their debut only seven months after the release of this cartoon.

The film is introduced and narrated by one Cave Darroway (a caricature of the original televison series’ host Dave Garroway), but the main cartoon is supposedly found footage (in “cromagnonscope”) from 75,000,000 B.C., which would explain the dinosaurs but not the cavemen. The trope of cavemen and dinosaurs existing together is almost as old as cinema itself, but ‘Wild Wild World’ goes at lengths to show the society of 75 million years ago as being just like ours, with sky scrapers, barbers, elevators and such.

The film exploits a pleasant cartoon modern design and knows a running gag of three hunters trying to catch a dinosaur, to no avail. These cavemen are drawn all too tiny compared to the dinosaurs, exaggerating the prehistoric animals’ sizes way too much.

‘Wild Wild World’ is more of a curiosity than a classic Warner Bros. cartoon, but shows that the studio could be inspired even in its nadir.

Watch excerpts from ‘Wild Wild World’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Wild Wild World’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Six’

The Seasons

January 24, 2025 in ★★★, Canadian Films, Independent film makers | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Norman McLaren
Production date: March 17, 1966
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘The Seasons’ is an unfinished film in which Norman McLaren tried to emulate the Canadian landscape in several moving paintings.

The ever changing pastel paintings never cease to amaze, with their metamorphosis of clouds, seascapes and landscapes, but McLaren deemed the film too abstract to entertain and never finished it. Thus, we are left with loose images without a soundtrack, and indeed, in this state, the result is still a little too boring to sit out, despite its short length of only four minutes. And yet, the images themselves are so beautiful it’s a pity this short never reached a final state.

‘The Seasons’ is available on the DVD-box ‘Norman McLaren – The Master’s Edition’

The Flicker Film

January 22, 2025 in ★, Canadian Films, Independent film makers | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Norman McLaren
Production date: ca. 1961
Rating: ★
Review:

This unfinished film from ca. 1961 must be the most extreme Norman McLaren ever made. In fact this is one of the most extreme films in the entire history of cinema. The film consists of a black and a white image only that are altered in different rhythms to cause a flickering effect. The electronic soundtrack matches the flickering.

It’s a testimony of McLaren’s genius that even such an extreme film contains some rhythm and variation, and even a sense of a build-up, but the idea remains too extreme to be entertaining, and the continuous stroboscope effect quickly wears done the viewer.

‘The Flicker Film’ is available on the DVD-box ‘Norman McLaren – The Master’s Edition’

Renaissance

January 20, 2025 in ★★★★★ ♕, European films, France, Poland, Stop motion films | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Release date: December 1963
Rating: ★★★★★ ♕
Review:

‘Renaissance’ must be counted among Walerian Borowczyk’s best and most powerful works. Instead of the silliness of ‘Les Astronautes‘ and ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman‘, ‘Renaissance’ is a powerful stop-motion film on destruction.

The short starts bleak enough with the scene of a completely destroyed chamber. But then the objects in the room start to reassemble themselves…

Borowczyk’s command of stop-motion and reverse film making is astonishing, and although the tricks used are as old as cinema itself, these are used to an impressive effect, greatly enhanced by the soundtrack with all its crystal clear sounds. The whole surreal atmosphere looks forward to Jan Švankmajer’s stop-motion works, as does the morbid atmosphere.

Watch ‘Renaissance’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Renaissance’ is available on the Blu-Ray/DVD set ‘Walerian Borowczyk: Short Films and Animation’

Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes (Grandma’s Encyclopaedia)

January 17, 2025 in ★★★★, cut-out animation films, European films, France, Poland | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Release date: June 1963
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

With ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman’ Borowczyk continues the silly surrealism of ‘Les Astronautes‘ from 1959. Although we are promised 13 volumes, we only watch three words from the Encyclopédie: A is for automobiles, B for Balloons and C for Chemin de fer (Railways).

The film uses 19th century engravings to a great effect, especially the car race in ‘Automobiles’ is as inventive as it is entertaining. Borowczyk makes clever use of his source material, and the animation is greatly helped by the stark sound effects. These aspects make ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman’ a fun film, if not more than that.

Watch ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes’ is available on the Blu-Ray/DVD set ‘Walerian Borowczyk: Short Films and Animation’

Concert

January 15, 2025 in ★★, cut-out animation films, European films, France, Poland | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Release date: 1962
Rating: ★★
Review:

‘Concert’ stars Monsieur and Madame Kabal from the later feature film ‘Théâtre de Monsieur & Madame Kabal’ from 1967. This couple, a short man who constantly drinks and a grotesque tall woman with a hooked nose, are known for their domestic violence, and ‘Concert’ is no exception. When Madame Kabal catches Monsieur Kabal snoring through her piano recital her revenge is severe.

Unfortunately, Borowczyk’s cut-out animation is crude and emblematic, and even the violence is rather abstract. Even worse, a lot of time is wasted on less interesting scenes. Moreover, Monsieur and Madame Kabal are neither interesting or appealing characters and Borowcyk does nothing to establish their relationship. Thus, it doesn’t interest the viewer at all what happens to them on the screen, a problem that also haunts Borowczyk’s feature animation film.

Luckily, the next year Borowczyk would prove he could do much better with ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes ‘ and especially the dark stop-motion short ‘Renaissance‘.

Watch ‘Concert’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Concert’ is available on the Blu-Ray/DVD set ‘Walerian Borowczyk: Short Films and Animation’

Les Astronautes (Astronauts)

January 13, 2025 in ★★★, cut-out animation films, European films, France, Pixilation films, Poland | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Release date: 1959
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘Les Astronautes’ was the first film the Polish film maker Walerian Borowczyk made in France. In this short a mustached inventor with a pipe builds his own spaceship.

This film is as surreal as it is silly and it consist of several hardly related gags. For example, the first thing the man does with his spaceship is spying on a woman dressing. Throughout, Borowczyk combines pixilation and cut-out animation of hand-colored photographs to a great effect. The surreal atmosphere is enhanced by Andrzej Markowski’s electronic score and sounds.

‘Les Astronautes’ may be of little substance, it’s an entertaining film, nonetheless.

Watch ‘Les Astronautes’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Les Astronautes’ is available on the Blu-Ray/DVD set ‘Walerian Borowczyk: Short Films and Animation’

Акционеры (The Shareholder)

January 10, 2025 in ★★★, European films, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Roman Davidov
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘The Shareholder’ is the third of three animated Soviet propaganda shorts aimed at American capitalism from 1963, the other two being ‘Mister Twister‘ and ‘The Millionaire‘.

Of the three this short is by far the most interesting visually. The short uses a strikingly graphic style and cel animation of the highest quality. The animators working on this short clearly have full command of the human and animal form, making this propaganda short a feast for the eye. The story, on the other hand, is not as attractive: at 24 minutes it is slow, meandering, repetitive and overlong.

‘The Shareholder’ is worker Michael Chase, who is made shareholder of the Pearson company. But when he gets fired, he soon discovers that this share is worth nothing, nor are his possessions, which were all bought on credit. Broken and without a job he wanders the streets.

The film’s highlight is the scene in which Michael Chase loses all his possessions: they change into cheaper and cheaper forms for his eye, before vanishing altogether. It’s also interesting to note that the film predicts how robotization leads to unemployment. However, the film’s message remains fuzzy, and its ending unclear.

Watch ‘The Shareholder’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Shareholder’ is available on the DVD set ‘Animated Soviet Propaganda’

Мистер Твистер (Mister Twister)

January 8, 2025 in ★★★★, European films, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Anatoly Karanovitch
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

After Fyodor Khitruk gave Soviet animation a huge update with ‘Story of One Crime’, the animated Soviet propaganda shorts also became more modern and interesting to look at. A good example is ‘Mister Twister’ from 1963.

Based on the poem of the same name by Samuel Marshak (1887-1964) ‘Mister Twister’ is a story in rhyme about Mr. Cook (alias ‘Mister Twister’), an American millionaire who visits the Soviet Union on request of his daughter Susie. When he arrives in Leningrad, he refuses to sleep in the appointed hotel, because a black man sleeps there, too. The doorman of the hotel calls all his colleagues from other hotels to tell the millionaire they’re full. After a tiring day of searching and a night in the doorman’s office, the millionaire and his family are completely humbled. Now, Mr. Cook will rent a room, even though he will be surrounded by colored people, all visiting Leningrad because an international conference.

This cartoon uses both cel animation and cut-out techniques and is conceived as a children’s book coming alive. The animation (e.g. by a young Yuri Norstein) is crude and emblematic, but shows modern influences in its unnatural depictions of movement.

‘Mister Twister’ is one of no less than three animated Soviet propaganda films from 1963 aimed at American capitalism. Despite the rather poor animation, it’s the best of the three, because of the charmingly little story, and because its anti-racist message, which is of a much more lasting quality than say the glory of communism.

Watch ‘Mister Twister’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Mister Twister’ is available on the DVD set ‘Animated Soviet Propaganda’

миллионер (The Millionaire)

January 6, 2025 in ★★★, European films, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Directors: Vitold Bordzilovsky & Yuri Prytkov
Release date: 1963
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘The Millionaire’ is an animated Soviet propaganda film, aimed at American capitalists, just like ‘Mister Twister‘ and ‘The Shareholder’ from the same year. Of the three its visuals are the most conventional: the simple cartoon style harks back to the 1930s and 1940s and is a little reminiscent of the work by Otto Soglow.

Like in ‘Mister Twister’, the story is narrated in rhyme, and this time tells about a bulldog which inherits a great fortune from an old lady. Now the dog is top of the bill, he behaves more and more human-like. He even manages to be elected into the senate, where, as a true capitalist (according to the narrator), he opposes peace. The short’s moral is a little unclear, but seems to be that money can even make the dumbest person mighty. Like in ‘Mister Twister’ the animation is emblematic, although there are some good takes on the dog.

Watch ‘The Millionaire’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Millionaire’ is available on the DVD set ‘Animated Soviet Propaganda’

False Hare

November 20, 2024 in ★★★½, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , | 3 comments

Director: Robert McKimson
Release date: July 16, 1964
Stars: Bugs Bunny
Rating: ★★★½
Review:

‘False Hare’ starts with two wolves, ‘Big Bad’ and his nephew, who unconvincingly pose as rabbits to make Bugs Bunny join their ‘club del conejo’ (or Rabbit Club). Bugs is way ahead of the duo, and only plays along because he is bored.

The gags, which involve a falling safe, an iron maiden, a cannon and a lot of dynamite are surprisingly fine, and this makes ‘False Hare’ anything but a sad farewell to our hero. Sure, the short is no standout, but at least we can laugh with Bugs to the very end.

The wolf and his nephew [ who had been introduced in ‘Now Hare This’ from 1958 as Isla points out in the comments below] seem destined for a long series of cartoons, but in fact ‘False Hare’ was the very last Bugs Bunny cartoon of the classic era, and the second to last cartoon made at the original Warner Bros. studio (‘Señorella and the Glass Huarache‘ being the final one). Thus we would never see this comic duo again. Note the cameo of Foghorn Leghorn.

Watch ‘False Hare’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is the 168th and last Bugs Bunny cartoon
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: The Iceman Ducketh

‘False Hare’ is available on the Blu-Ray-set ‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Edition’

The Unmentionables

November 18, 2024 in ★★★★★, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 comments

Director: Friz Freleng
Release date: September 7, 1963
Stars: Bugs Bunny
Rating: ★★★★★
Review:

In the 1960s the quality of the Warner Bros. Cartoons rarely reached the heights of the best of the 1940s and 1950s, but there were a few which did so.

‘The Unmentionables’ surely is one of them. The cartoon obviously parodies the television series ‘The Untouchables’, with Bugs Bunny as Elliott Ness (or Elegant Mess, as he’s called in the cartoon). Luckily, ‘The Unmentionables’ doesn’t rely much on the parody element, but has many gags of its own, like silly gangsters (a series of gags harking all the way back to ‘The Great Piggy Bank Robbery’ of 1946) and a great example of Friz Freleng’s timeless lightswitch routines.

The cartoon also sees the welcome return of that infamous gangster duo Rocksy and Mugsy, who make their final appearance here. And then there’s Bugs as a flapper girl! Even the opening shots are wonderful, with some nice 1920s scenes drawn in a retro-1920s art deco style. The whole cartoon is a delight and one of the studio’s final best moments.

Watch ‘The Unmentionables’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 162
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Hare-Breath Hurry
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: Mad as a Mars Hare

‘The Unmentionables’ is available on the Blu-Ray-set ‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Edition’

The Million-Hare

November 15, 2024 in ★★★, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 comments

Director: Robert McKimson
Release date: April 1, 1963
Stars: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck
Rating: ★★★
Review:

In ‘The Million-Hare’ Daffy Ducks spends his holiday at Bugs’s place, watching tv. The action only starts when their two names are mentioned on tv as contestants in a ‘buddy race’: whoever gets first to the studio, wins.

What follows is a series of rather Roadrunner-like gags, in which gravity often is as much Daffy’s enemy as it were the coyote’s in the Roadrunner films. The cartoon is very talkative, but some of the gags are good. I liked Bugs’s wonderings about Daffy’s abilities.

The staging on the other hand, is often rather odd. I especially thought that the characters were a little too big on the screen several times.

Watch two excerpts from ‘The Million-Hare’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 160
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Devil’s Feud Cake
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: Hare-Breath Hurry

This is Daffy Duck cartoon no. 92
To the previous Daffy Duck cartoon: Fast Buck Duck
To the next Daffy Duck cartoon: Aqua Duck

‘The Million-Hare’ is available on the Blu-Ray-set ‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Edition’

Shishkabugs

November 13, 2024 in ★, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 comments

Director: Friz Freleng
Release date: December 8, 1962
Stars: Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam
Rating: ★
Review:

In one of his last appearances (only two would follow in the classic era) Yosemite Sam is a cook for a king (who’s, I guess, a caricature of Charles Laughton, an actor already dead at the time).

Despite Yosemite Sam’s efforts the king is bored with what he’s offered and demands Hasenpfeffer, a dish unknown to Sam. He soon finds out, and happily Bugs Bunny comes along to borrow some carrots. What follows are some terribly unfunny routines, with too much dialogue and rather poor animation for a Warner Bros. cartoon.

Worst is the scene in which Bugs talks while laying in a large oven tray: in an obvious and unconvincing cheat only his head is animated, while his body remains perfectly still. I would expect that in a Hanna-Barbera television cartoon, not in a theatrical Warner Bros. cartoon.

Better than anything moving in this cartoon is the background art by Hawley Pratt (layouts) and Tom O’Loughlin (paintings)

Watch ‘Shishkabugs’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 158
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Bill of Hare
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: Devil’s Feud Cake

‘Shishkabugs’ is available on the Blu-Ray-set ‘Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Edition’

The Critic

November 11, 2024 in ★★★★, Independent film makers | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Ernest Pintoff
Release date: May 20, 1963
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

Conceived by Mel Brooks, and directed by UPA alumnus Ernest Pintoff, ‘The Critic’ is a short little unpretentious gem.

The film starts as an abstract animation film (designed and animated by Bob Heath), with several shapes appearing and moving to the baroque harpsichord music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s French Suite. But then suddenly a man starts commenting what he sees with us. The 71-year old Yiddish man of Russian decent certainly disapproves what he sees, but at the same time he seems immersed in the images on the screen, trying to make head and tale of the abstract forms.

Mel Brooks, who voices the critic, is in top form from the man’s first utterance “what the hell is this?” to his final verdict: “I don’t know much about psychoanalysis, but I’d say this is a dirty picture”. The animation seems to be a parody of the work of Norman McLaren of the time: the use of baroque music, choreography of shapes, monochrome background art. the sometimes organic forms, and the sense of narrative elements all point to that direction.Indeed, according to Wikipedia the short was inspired by a screening of a Norman McLaren film Mel Brooks attended, where he overheard a man mumbling to himself during the entire cartoon.

‘The Critic’ is an excellent bit of fun. More people must have thought so, because the short won the Academy Award for best animated short in 1964.

Watch ‘The Critic’ yourself and tell me what you think:

War and Pieces

November 8, 2024 in ★★★, Looney Tunes, Road Runner, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Chuck Jones
Release date: June 6, 1964
Stars: Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘War and Pieces’ was the last Road Runner cartoon directed by Chuck Jones himself, although there would follow fourteen more by other directors.

It’s a nice, if not too outstanding entry, with seven attempts, including a bizarre ‘secrets of the harem’ kinetoscope gag as well as invisible paint. The most outlandish is the one in which the coyote shoots himself right through the earth only to meet a Chinese roadrunner at the other side.

The background art is gorgeous throughout this cartoon, but particularly noteworthy during these Chinese scenes, which apparently inspired Maurice Noble to some of the craziest designs. These make ‘War and Pieces’ more than just a nice watch.

Watch an excerpt from ‘War and Pieces’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘War and Pieces’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 3’

Dumb Patrol

November 6, 2024 in ★★★, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Gerry Chiniquy
Release date: January 18, 1964
Stars: Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘Dumb Patrol’ is the last of the Bugs Bunny vs. Yosemite Sam cartoons, being the last screen appearance by the hot-tempered little villain, after a career of nineteen years. Set in World War I the film is dedicated to an air battle between Bugs and Sam, here billed as Sam von Shpamm.

Gerry Chiniquy’s timing is all too relaxed, and unfortunately there’s way too much talking, but there are some fine gags, like Sam shooting his own plane to pieces. The short is no standout, but certainly no bad farewell to the little mustached character. Note Porky Pig’s short cameo as a French soldier.

Watch ‘Dumb Patrol’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 165
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Transylvania 6-5000
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare

‘Dum Patrol’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 3’

Wet Hare

November 4, 2024 in ★★★, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Director: Robert McKimson
Release date: January 20, 1962
Stars: Bugs Bunny
Rating: ★★★
Review:

In ‘Wet Hare’ Bugs Bunny battles one ‘Black Jack Shellac’ over a waterfall which the apparently French Canadian wants to dam (we’ll never know why).

The gags are not as they could have been due to McKimson’s all to relaxed timing and the talkative characters. Nevertheless, Bugs’ final scheme is a fine one, as are his Al Jolson-impersonations when singing under the waterfall, which mean that Mel Blanc manages to make Bugs Bunny sound like himself and like Al Jolson at the same time!

Watch ‘Wet Hare’ yourself and tell me what you think:

This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 156
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Prince Violent
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: Bill of Hare

‘Wet Hare’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 3’

The Mouse on 57th Street

November 1, 2024 in ★★½, Merrie Melodies, Warner Bros. films | Tags: , , , , , | 1 comment

Director: Chuck Jones
Release date: February 25, 1961
Rating: ★★½
Review:

This short starts with a mouse eating his way through the largest uncut rum cake and getting drunk.

For a while we watch some fine silent comedy, but when the mouse mistakes a diamond for ice, the cartoon turns into an ordinary chase cartoon starring two talkative cops, with one being a late addition to a plethora of characters inspired by Lon Chaney jr.’s Lennie in the 1939 film ‘Of Mice and Men’.

These sequences are more tiresome than funny, but give the viewer ample time to watch the gorgeous background art, with its beautiful cityscapes. The animation, too, is top notch, but these elements cannot rescue the rather uninspired story.

Watch an excerpt from ‘The Mouse on 57th Street’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Mouse on 57th Street’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 3’

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