046 500 Hats of Batholomew Cubbins

Title: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (in original, but no The in the viewed retitle)
Studio: George Pal
Date: 04/30/43
Credits:
An Animated Puppetoon
Produced and Directed by
George Pal
Based Upon a Story by Dr. Seuss
Series: Madcap Models/Puppetoons
Running time (of viewed version): 8:24
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: Boy has many hats, irritating king.
























Comments: I know the narrator from WB cartoons? Maybe Tex Avery MGMs? No, wait, it's from the Goofy shorts. And the king voice is his Pegleg Pete voice. Pan flute. Sounds like it's playing Barnacle Bill the Sailor. The soundtrack feels like it's for a WB cartoon too. The pauses are in places for visual jokes that don't come. The look of this is less Seussy than the last non Seuss cartoon. Willoughby's Magic Hat was also a hat based cartoon. Odd. Executioner has a Batman nippled body armor deal going on. Long guillotine raising section. I'm not sure if the political subtet of the cartoon is that you cannot force people to do things, but they'll do it for money. The hats and executioner looks great in this, the king is good, Bart is ok, but everyone else is kinda bleh. None has stock expressions like George Pal did (later note: what do I mean by this?). I should probably cap every hat, but I'm not doing it now. Some hats seem recycled (the venetian hat seems to be, so who knows what else).

(edit: title cards added from BCDB; thanks Mr. Cro; also name changed, same thanks)

045 Willoughby's Magic Hat

Title: Willoughby's Magic Hat
Studio: Columbia
Date: 04/30/43
Credits: -
Series: (An Adventure in Animation?)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:12
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: Small man with magic hat fights robot for girl.























Comments: (Possible need to reorder this cartoon in the timeline eventually.) Thurl? Popping from still to still in the opening. Claim of taking Samson's hair and making a hat for Hercules. This is close to the truth, as Samson and Hercules are likely both evolved from the same Mediterranean story. See also Melqart. The griffin has a grinch style top hair style. Looks way better than the limited Popeyes. Were there used hat stores at the time? Going to the regular niation, it looks as bad as the Popeyes, with worse backgrounds. The robot looks like Bender from behind. The girl is fairly attractive. The robot seems to be a transformer, too; and he looks a bit like Boris Karloff. It's really mixing your villain burdens when you have a robot, who'se choking a girl, then tying her to railroad tracks. Her headlights are on in one shot.

BoxOffice, April 24, 1943

BoxOffice, April 24, 1943

p27
"color,

and

budget

a for

of three series, all "substantial" increase in the 1943-44 Paramount

program is announced by Oscar Morgan, general sales manager of short subjects and Paramount Newsreel. There will be 64 shorts in the lineup. Emphasis is on quality musicals and a maximum number of color subjects. "The public definitely wants color, and important budget increases have accordingly been made to provide for color In every

shorts

series
...
with

the

exception of

two."

says

Morgan. All cartoons. 24 subjects in total, will have that treatment. The series added are; Eight "Little Lulu" subjects. Based on Marge's Saturday Evening Post character,

these cartoons will be filmed in Technicolor at the Famous Studios in New York. A special promotion campaign will herald the debut. Six to eight Technicolor musicals. These will be produced at the Holljn^'ood studio, and will utilize singing, comedy and musical talent from the Paramount lot. They will be two-reelers. Eight Noveltoons. A series of eight novelty cartoons. In Technicolor, these will be produced to take advantage of individual properties owned by Paramount. They will include such subjects as "Rag-gedy Ann," and "Hunky and Spunky," two

donkeys."
"Paramount is accordingly providing a shorts program designed solely for entertainment purposes." He feels that the entertainment pendulum "has definitely swung to shorts of the escapist type." The remainder of the lineup is broken down as follows: Eight Popeye cartoons, six George Pal "Puppetoons." six Popular Science, six

"

"Limelighting "Little Lulu" —

Lulu." Marge's Saturday Evening Post character, who will make her botv in a series of eight one-reel Technicolor cartoons on the Paramount

"

p32?

"Schlesinger Cuts Cartoon

Schedule Down; 39

to 26
Because of a heavy schedule of army and navy films and the paucity of personnel. Leon Sclile-singer. after huddling with Norman Moray. Warner short subject sales manager, has decided to reduce his

1943-44 cartoon schedule to 26. all in Technicolor. Program previously called for

39."

p45


"The conference of studio unions at its recent meeting went on record as offering full support to the Screen Cartoonists GuUd in its disagreement with Terrytoons. and to the Screen Office Employes Guild in its demands for increased wages from the producers."

p(before 48)
"DAVE FLEISCHER has announced plans to produce a cartoon with a combination of drawn and photographic backgrounds. Al Geiss is preparing an untitled story"

p48
"VING FULLER, cartoonist and writer recently discharged from the tank corps, has been ticketed to serve as technical advisor on "Gone With the Droit.""


p86
"Mr. Bugs Bunny, perhaps

the tops in everyone's choice as their favorite cartoon actor. What Charlie McCarthy is to Edgar Bergen. Bugs Bunny does everything except figure point rationing for Leon Schlesinger or Warner's."

044 Swing Your Partner

Title: Swing Your Partner
Studio: Lantz
Date: 04/26/43
Credits: -
Series: A Foolish Fable / Homer Pigeon
Running time (of viewed version): 6:02, with intro; 5:46 without
Commercial DVD Availability: Columbia House WWaFCE v4

Synopsis: Horse enslaved by pigeon routs square dance.























Comments: "Who's A Horse's" plays (they left off the ass). Silhouette in front of the moon shot. The horse doesn't like Homer, and considering how he uses the whip, it's not much of a surprise. Borders on an orchestra cartoon. Drummer looks like a darker Goofy. Cat looks Terry like. Possible edit in viewed following dance caller's egg head; I think it's a tobacco spitting gag that's been cut. I think the horse is going to hook up with Daisy pigeon at the end. Refers to itself as a mare tho, so I guess the horse is a she... Seems too forward to use "Al Falfa" on the drums... Cartoon lacks cohesiveness. Amputee butter churn.