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Directors: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
Airing date: February 8, 1963
Stars: The Flintstones
Rating: ★
Review:
‘Foxy Grandma’is the third episode of the ‘Flintstones are getting a baby’ continuum. It’s easily the weakest of the lot. Little is done with the pregnancy idea, even though the whole plot is based on the fact that Fred doesn’t want Wilma to do housework in her condition.
Wilma naturally wants to ring her mother to help her, but Fred insists on getting a housekeeper, which turns out to be a more difficult task than imagined. The episode takes a particularly silly turn when one ‘Grandma Dynamite ‘ turns up. There’s even a surreal road gag straight from a Tex Avery cartoon.
Unfortunately, all the antics are more tiresome than funny, and the slapstick feels tried and uninspired when compared with episodes focusing on the relationship between the four main protagonists. In this episode the Rubbles hardly have a role.
The stone age gags, too, are familiar: a lawnmower dino, a hedge trimmer bird, an intercom parrot, and a saw-billed bread knife bird. The water tap mammoth can be credited with being given the lamest gag of the whole episode.
Watch an excerpt from ‘Foxy Grandma’ yourself and tell me what you think:
This is The Flintstones Season Three episode 21
To the previous The Flintstones episode: Mother-in-Law’s Visit
To the next Flintstones episode: Fred’s New Job
‘Foxy Grandma’ is available on the Blu-Ray ‘The Flintstones – The Complete Series’ and the DVD-box ‘The Flintstones Season 3’
Director: Émile Cohl
Release Date: 1910
Stars: Lucien Cazalis
Rating: ★★★
Review:
‘Jobard a tué sa belle-mère’ is not an animation film, but one of ten comedy shorts Émile Cohl directed in a collaboration with actor Lucien Cazalis for Pathé.
The ten films all feature the character Jobard, played by Cazalis. It’s a pity that ‘Jobard a tué sa belle-mère’ appears to be the only one to have survived in some quality, because the film shows Cohl’s skills as a live action comedy director. Indeed, the film is a prime example of early French comedy film.
In this episode Jobard scares his mother-in-law to death. Literally. Or so he thinks. So he sets out to buy a wreath, which he loses immediately at a cafe. So he buys a circular bread instead, which he accidentally replaces with a tire. In the end he ends with a cushion, accidentally stolen from the police office.
Lucien Cazalis, who plays Jobard is quite a good comedian, and the film clearly shows that French comedy had a huge influence on American slapstick comedy. It’s a pity Lucien Cazalis has been completely forgotten, today, for he clearly deserves more recognition.
Watch ‘Jobard a tué sa belle-mère’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘Jobard a tué sa belle-mère’ is available on the DVDs ‘Émile Cohl – L’agitateur aux mille images’
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 