Saturday Morning Cartoon: Pink Plasma

Happy Halloween!   This year I'm posting Pink Plasma, a Pink Panther cartoon from 1975.  This one is pretty significant for me, as I am aquainted with this cartoon's director Art Leonardi.  When I was a kid our family got together with the Leonardi family on occassion, and I remember him timing out this cartoon during a visit.   He demonstrated the monster voice to me at the time, and I am reasonably sure he did all the voices / utterances you hear in the cartoon.   Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon - LA DOT

Got two minutes?   Then take the time to enjoy this brief cut from the Animaniacs, where Dot Warner makes a startling discovery about the Los Angeles transportation system (besides the fact that we don't have one).  Enjoy!

Christmas Morning Cartoon: Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Merry Christmas, one and all!   This year we're celebrating the Holidays with a Max Fleischer Color Classic from 1936:   Christmas Comes But Once a Year.   This cartoon marks the first and only color appearance of Grampy, a wild inventor that co-starred with Betty Boop in several classic cartoons.  At this time, the Max Fleisher studios was trying to make Disney-type cartoons along with their roster of Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons.  This cartoon is kind of a weird bridge between the two styles:   The first couple of minutes tries to create a scene full of sincerity and pathos, but it comes off as cloying, maudlin and a little annoying.   However, once Grampy enters the cartoon, the picture takes off, because this is what the Fleischers were great at: innovention. 
Grampy appeared in ten Betty Boop cartoons and was always a welcome addition to the films.   If you have a desire to see more I suggest you check out Grampy's Indoor Outing and The Impractical Joker, two of his better films.
This cartoon also showcases the three-dimensional sets that the Fleischers liked to use with their characters.   You can see them at the beginning and the end.   Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon - Santa's Surprise

I am continuing my annual tradition of posting a few Christmas-themed cartoons in the weeks before Christmas.   This year I'm starting with Santa's Surprise, a Paramount Noveltoon from 1947.   This was the first appearance of Little Audrey, who replaced Little Lulu when Paramount decided they no longer wanted to pay for the rights for the Little Lulu character.  Little Audrey went on to appear in several other cartoons and a long-running series of comic books from Harvey.   Also appearing in this cartoon is one of the most stereotypical set of children since the Our Gang comedies.   Still, it's a cute cartoon to launch the holiday season here at JoeFood.   Look for the December calendar with only 30 days.  Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon - Dog Show

Earlier in this blog, I mentioned the new Mickey Mouse cartoons that the Disney studios were making.  They've now made close to ten of them, and each one has gotten better and better.   Here's one of the latest ones, Dog Show starring Mickey and Goofy.   It's a pretty predictable story, yet delivers some great laughs along the way.  If you like this one you can watch some of the other ones by following the YouTube link.   I recommend Gasp, No Service, and Ghoul Friend.  Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon: A Fractured Leghorn

Foghorn Leghorn is one of those cartoon characters that some people love, and some people hate.  I fall in the middle.  Some of his early cartoons are among the best cartoons Warner Bros ever made...   in fact his first one was nominated for an academy award.  On the other end of the spectrum, some of his later cartoons are among the worst ever made.   Check out Mother was a Rooster, The Slick Chick or Strangled Eggs to see the worst.  Look for Walky Talky Hawky or The Leghorn Blows at Midnight to see the best.   You'll notice I didn't create links for the worst; you'll have to find them yourselves.  I won't take blame for that.

A little history about Foghorn Leghorn might be appropriate here.  He started out as a supporting character to Henery Hawk, a character who had already debuted in a cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.   Foghorn debuted in Walky Talky Hawky and literally stole the show from Henery.   The cartoon earned an Academy Award nomination for director Robert McKimson, and a new cartoon series was born.  Twenty eight Foghorn cartoons were made, all directed by McKimson.

Most people think that Foghorn Leghorn was patterned after Senator Claghorn, a character that lived on Allen's Alley on the Fred Allen radio show.  In fact, in his early days he was patterned after a sheriff character that appeared on a 1930's radio show called Blue Monday Jamboree.   However, as the character developed, he began to sound more like Senator Claghorn, picking up many of his catchphrases ("That's a joke, son!" is among the most obvious)

The interesting thing about Foghorn is that, although it may seem like his cartoons are all the same, the writers and directors actually tried to create some variety in the series.  They created several characters to inhabit the Foghorn universe, and each cartoon may differ depending on the supporting cast.  Henery Hawk, the weasel, Miss Prissy, Little Egghead, and Barnyard Dog were among the regulars.  Sylvester and Daffy Duck also made appearances in the series.   This is in contrast to Pepe Le Pew, Hippity Hopper or the Roadrunner, in which every cartoon had the same basic plotline.

The cartoon I'm posting below is Foghorn's fifth cartoon, A Fractured Leghorn, from 1950..   It's a bit different than most of the others, and was rarely seen on television.  No Barnyard Dog, no Henery Hawk in this one.  Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Croissant de Triomphe

Yeah, I'm a little late with this one, but I think it's worth waiting for:  Croissant de Triomphe, a new Mickey Mouse cartoon from those fine folks at Disney.  Yesterday Bob Iger announced that this would be the first in a series of 19 new Mickey Mouse cartoons being made for the Disney Channel and Disney's website.  I think this first one is a great start...   it almost seems like a 1930's cartoon, but it also has a contemporary touch to it.  In addition, I like the characters all speaking French.  Click the link below the picture to watch the cartoon at the Disney website.  Aimer quelque chose!



Croissant de Triomphe on Disney Video

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Ballot Box Bunny

Only three more days until election day!   For today's cartoon I've picked a standerd Bugs Bunny / Yosemite Sam cartoon from 1950:  Ballot Box Bunny, directed by Friz Freleng.  This cartoon contains the infamous "Those Endearing Young Charms" exploding piano gag (used at least three times by the Warners crew) and a unusually dark ending that in recent years has been edited out of television showings.  I wish all elections could be determined this easily.   Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Roger Ramjet

Today I'm going to introduce many of you to one of the funniest cartoons you've probably never heard of:  Roger Ramjet.  Created in 1965 and voiced by Gary Owens, Roger Ramjet was the leader of the American Eagles, a group dedicated to keeping the world safe from evil.   The animation is poor, but the direction and the writing more than make up for the low budgets.   There were 156 five-minute episodes produced for syndication, and while everyone one isn't a gem, as a whole they are hysterical.   The running gags alone are worth the price of admission.   Here are two episodes chosen almost at random:  "Hi Noon" and "Miss America."   Enjoy!