032 Flop Goes the Weasel

Title: Flop Goes the Weasel
Studio: Warner Bros.
Date: 3/20/43 (2/20 in OMAM)
Credits: -
Series: Merrie Melody (in Blue Ribbon retitle)
Running time (of viewed version): 7:37
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: Chick pretends to imprint on and then causes problems for weasel.

















Comments: That's some non-traditional angles. Unusual racial cartoon: a brown hen, with a kerchief and speaking in dialect, with an unhatched chick speaking in morse code in dialect. Sugar is lacking, a wartime shortage mention. The weasel is Jones dog/cat like. Weasel goes "hyuck hyuck hyuck" like Mel Blanc did for Lil Eightball for Lantz in 1939 (tho weasel is not a black character based on his voice). Much like Droopy, the chick is a step ahead of the weasel. Silhouette scene. Jughead hat, electric washing machine with wringer. So much sneezing. A good cartoon I don't recall from an era I don't expect to find WB theatrical surprises in.

BoxOffice March 20, 1943

BoxOffice, March 20, 1943

p31


"Luncheon With the Disneys - Ned Depinet, president of RKO Radio, visited the Disney Studio and had luncheon with company officials there. From left to right: Roy O. Disney, executive vice-president and general manager: Walt Disney, Depinet and Gunther Lessing, vice-president and general counsel."

p35
"Paramount and Walt Disney's "Saludos Amigos,""


p36
"Labor-Managers Formed

First Hollywood studio to organize a labor-management committee along the lines now being recommended by the war manpower commission for the major plants, is Leon Schlesinger's cartoon-making company."







p40
"Cartoon Producers Ass'n Holds Fourth Session

Leon Schlesinger served as temporary chairman when the Animated Film Producers' Ass'n held its fourth meeting for further discussion of means whereby closer cooperation among cartoon producers may be realized. The association, now well along in the formative stage, has as its purpose: the stopping of help pirating: contacting of various government branches and bureaus"
Membership includes Schlesinger. Walt Disney. Walter Lantz. George Pal. M-G-M and Screen Gems. Hal Adelquist of the Disney Studios has been chosen as temporary executive secretary."


p63
"Original 'Amigos' Drawings Featured in Art Exhibit

Cleveland Original drawings of Disney's "Saludos Amigos" as well as other Disney sketches made during his South American tour, are being featured at the Cleveland Museum of Art in a display sponsored by the Cleveland Council of International Relations this month. This is part of a South American exhibit covering many fields."

p71
"Cartoonist's Wife

Has Story on Contests

Boston Mrs. Arthur C. Moger, wife of the motion picture cartoonist and promotion agent locally, has an article in this

month's issue of She, a comparatively new magazine for women. Her theme is the conduct of contests in and out of theatres, a subject on which she should be well versed since her husband has conducted scores of local theatre and other contests. Mrs. Moger's story is well written and offers much interesting information. She is a graduate pharmacist and says Moger married her because he found "she could

get aspirin tablets at wholesale.""

031 Dumb-Hounded

Title: Dumb-Hounded
Studio: MGM
Date: 03/20/43
Credits: Directed by Tex Avery
Series: Droopy
Running time (of viewed version): 8:02
Commercial DVD Availability: Droopy

Synopsis: Wolf escapes prison, is pursued by Droopy.





















Comments: The first cartoon on the Droopy collection, as this is the introduction of Droopy. Great simple title card, completely inappropriate with a human prisoner and... wait, I suppose the dog might be Droopy's breed. Shadow separated from caster joke. Text joke, followed by text not joke. Quadrupedal Droopy (eventually becomes bipedal in the short). Pee joke. Extreme quickness of wolf and his cuts to the slowness of Droppy and his. The wolf makes heavy use of signs speaking in his voice. Takes upon takes. Reading a Dick Tracy comic. Droopy speaks to the audience directly. I wonder if the woo woo in Hollywood is old what's his face. This Droopy's ugly, but not as ugly as some other intro versions of characters I could name. Undertaker has a variable velocity. Wolf's brakes joke. Droopy's kinda murderous himself. Droopy really loses his cool at the end, something he would only rarely (never?) do later. They make up for some of the many poses by running in reverse for a time. Wolf leaves the frame of the film.

From the paper:
"Laughs of the week
"What's the difference between a worm and a bedbug?
Well, a worm crawls on its own stomach, while a bedbug is not so particular."

"There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead
When she was good
She was very very good
And when she was bad -
She was popular"

030 Shipyard Symphony

Title: Shipyard Symphony
Studio: Terry
Date: 03/19/43
Credits:
Story
John Foster
Directed by
Eddie Donnelly
Music by
Philip A. Scheib
Series:
Running time (of viewed version): 6:35
Commercial DVD Availability: -

Synopsis: A ship is made, and some statuary pretends to direct it, perhaps intended as an allegory.



















Comments: Majestic golden eagle, funny looking gulls. Starts with that American military song that sounds a bit like Hail Britannia. Then they lose the concert feel, and it's more or less just animated to the music instead of attempting to appear like an orchestra of ship construction. Half measures. I wonder what you nail before sending it through the buzzsaw... The launch animation makes me feel a bit seasick. Moving girder walking would be seen in other later cartoons. Statue of Liberty is in silhouette, almost.