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Director: Gene Deitch
Release Date: July, 1962
Stars: Tom & Jerry
Rating: ★
Review:
Tom is involuntarily drafted on a whaling ship of an Ahab-like character in search of the whale ‘Dicky Moe’. On board Tom encounters Jerry, who makes life at sea extra hard for Tom.
Although ‘Dicky Moe’ could have been a nice take on ‘Moby Dick’ , the cartoon completely fails to deliver its promise. Most of the gags have nothing to do with Moby Dick, and the titular whale only arrives after six minutes. The best gag is the one in which a black Tom pretends to be the captain’s shadow, but I guess most viewers will remember this cartoon for the captain repeatedly exclaiming ‘Dicky Moe!’.
Nevertheless, the short is slightly more interesting to look at than most Gene Deitch Tom & Jerry cartoons, because of its nice etch-like backgrounds.
Watch an excerpt from ‘Dicky Moe’ yourself and tell me what you think:
This is Tom & Jerry cartoon No. 122
To the previous Tom & Jerry cartoon: Calypso Cat
To the next Tom & Jerry cartoon: The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit
‘Dicky Moe’ is available on the DVD-set ‘Tom and Jerry – The Gene Deitch Collection’
Director: Walt Disney
Release Date: July 25, 1927
Stars: Lois Hardwick (Alice)
Rating: ★★★
Review:
‘Alice the Whaler’ was one of the last of the Alice Comedies. It was only followed by two other titles, before Alice was replaced by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It features Lois Hardwick as Alice, who had replaced Margie Gay at the end of 1926.
‘Alice the Whaler’ is a cartoon that consists of rather unrelated gags. This time Alice and the gang are on a ship, looking for whales. In this cartoon both Disney’s character designs as the flexible animation have matured. Gone are the goggly eyes, and even one character (a cat cook) is wearing Mickey Mouse-type gloves. Also starring is a small mouse that peels potatoes just the way Mickey would do a year later in ‘Steamboat Willie‘.
Alice has almost disappeared from the screen, by now: she’s visible in four shots only, two total shots of the ships and two close ups that contain no animation whatsoever. Indeed, in his next series, Walt Disney would abandon live action altogether, relying on animation only, which by now already was the best in the business.
Watch ‘Alice the Whaler’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘Alice the Whaler’ is available on the DVD ‘Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities’
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