322. Goofy Groceries (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 321.
Release date: March 29, 1941.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Bob Clampett.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Sara Berner (Gorilla's Mother/Cobina Cow), Mel Blanc (Jack Bunny as Rochester/ Gorilla/Dog/Superman/Black boy), Jack Lescoulie (Jack Bunny), Kent Rogers doing "Coming mother" voice?.
Story: Melvin Millar.
Animation: Vive Risto.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Clampett's version of grocery items coming to life one enchanted night, before being terrorised by a gorilla product.

Being the first Bob Clampett cartoon where he *isn't* directing a black-and-white Porky Pig cartoon, you'd expect quite a big change as he has been granted enough creative freedom to work on coloured one-shot cartoons.

Being a very big step in his animation career, he uses his first opportunity on a cartoon which involves a formula which had been repeated numerous times over the previous decade.

A formula which constitutes inanimate objects from a convenience store or a bookshop, springing to life; which were made during the height of the Depression to cheer up audiences as they sing gay popular songs.

A lot of that material is certainly included in the short: such as the popular song numbers, the lame puns that go with merchandising products, and of course a climax involving a monstrous creature. Though Clampett appears to be satirising the formula, with not only dated references, though with a lot more wackier humour where the influence of Tex Avery is quite evident. This was quite unheard of from a Harman-Ising/Frank Tashlin cartoon.

Though being a satire itself of the dated formula, Clampett at times appears to pay homage to the puns which would have been used years earlier: such as a packet of cigarettes being instrumented as organ pipes. Then he appears to go even wackier with the jokes, either succeeding or failing in a comical perspective.

One of the prime characters of the short, is of a dog from a dog food manufacturing box called "Barker". And so, the dog behaves like a carnival barker as he is attracting other local characters of a circus parade.

It's a passable pun, though it only stands out as very corny. One of the worst puns which appears in the short, is the "chicken pie"; where Chicken Reel which is heard in the foreground, and the chicken noises certainly do not make the gag work realistically.

Clampett, however, on occasion appears to even create a pun, considered to be blasphemy for the Production Code and display it on a product in a subtle way. The gag which is most evident is the 'Fulla Bull' product where a bull is listening to the "Contended" cow singing If I Could Be with You.

If I dare say to some who might not know, the term "bull" in this sense is euphemism for "bullshit".

Note the "Brenda and Cobina" cows, which though is certainly rather dated (parodying the, though the animation of the two cows are very well-exaggerated. Here, Sara Berner is voicing the Cobina cow; impersonating Elvia Allman, and the other cow (was it Berner, too?) is impersonating a Blanche Stewart voice in the Brenda cow.

One of the most fulfilling gags in which relating to products, would be the Leopold Stokowski gag. This occurs during Jack Bunny (Benny)'s introduction, and orders him to paly music (What? No Phil Harris?) where the mop changes as a figure of Leopold has certainly been well visualised, as well as adding the tension gesture he makes with his hands. One of the more better gags which appear in the short as a whole.

For a spring-to-life short which is rather lengthy, (clocking in eight minute); the short is really split into two halves. The first part warms up with the gags, as well as musical numbers, whilst the later half is more climatic, but a rather lengthy one.

Moving forward to the popular number sequences: it starts off rather dull. The musical number begins with with the song: By a Waterfall; which is a rather dull sequence by not only the music, but also visually. The sardines in swimming outfits are rather beautifully animated and visualised, though I can't help but compare the angle-shots as well as the scenery to a Esther Williams performance, though she wasn't yet a celebrity by this point.

And so, the barker then makes an announcement on another song performance: which shows a lot of energy to Carl Stalling's music as well as an enthusiastic vibe. The can of tomatoes are seen performing a "can-can" dance (just realised the pun as I was writing it); and they sing I'm Just Wild About Harry; a popular song which is an insufferable ear worm. The tongue sandwich who sing "la-la-la" in rhythm to the song is also very charming, as how can anybody dislike a tongue sandwich gag?

And so, the short then begins to shake up quite early; as high up at the grocery store's ceiling; a supposedly abandoned "Animal Crackers" packet is torn open by a threatening gorilla, who breaks the package open as he continues to make the snarling noises. And so Clampett, who appears to pay homage to Tex's gorilla gag in Circus Today; then responds with a calm, cheery remark: "Gosh, ain't I repulsive?", and then proceeds to cause dangerous events.


Just as the suspense is about to build: Clampett is making the suspense appear artistically in a cinematic perspective. A montage of can-can dancers and a gum packet doing the "hootchy-kootchy dance" is only seen through the gorilla's perspective. Just as he jumps  to the lamp to turn off the lights; the grocery turns to darkness immediately.

Panic and tension is very well staged and frantic, as the frantic is believable through the glowing of the character's eyes. The gorilla who is seen hanging onwards from a lamppost is also staged with a very intriguing camera angle which stands out rather well during the suspense scenes.

And so, this then follows a sequence where the characters fight for revenge as the gorilla is attempting to kidnap one of the dancers. At this point, Jack Bunny steps into the story, as previously the audience would have assumed the dog barker was one of the main focuses; as he certainly had a bigger personality than the other one-shot characters. Here in this short, there doesn't appear to be a main character: which is a very encouraging idea from Clampett.

After some mundane gags during the attack on the monstrous gorilla, Jack Bunny then appears to take action on the gorilla personally, in which this results in more comical gags. As he rides past, a group of chicks hatch as they cheerlead on him. Just as he faces the gorilla with an axe; Clampett then draws inspiration of one of Jones' poses, where Jack Bunny grins sheepishly.

One of my favourite references, which everybody can relate to is the Superman gag. Could this be perhaps one of the earliest Superman references appeared in film?

At the time the short was released, Superman only existed as a comic-book character and hadn't yet made his first screen appearance until a few months later by Fleischer - (he was also a radio adaptation in 1940 in The Adventures of Superman, where his actor was Bud Collyer). Here, he is called Superguy who tries to challenge the gorilla, though the foe is even beyond "Superman"'s skill. The gorilla's roar which petrifies Superman ends up terrifying him to the extend where he shrinks and ages back as a baby. This is purely a Clampett gag who would only create such a gag with looniness, as well as using that gag several times (see Wagon Heels).

Just then as Jack Bunny is about to meet his fate with the dynamite, he is only spared at the very last second of a humorous interruption. The gorilla is called "Henry" by his mother off-screen.

The sequence is a great satire of the then-popuar radio series: The Aldrich Family, where the introduction to the series began with the mother calling, "Hen-ree! Henry Aldrich!", and Henry would respond: "Coming mother".

Just then, the mother gorilla then takes the gorilla by the ear as a punishment where Jack Benny is safe. Is that Kent Rogers who voices the gorilla shouting "Coming mother"? Relieved from the near-death experience, Jack Bunny double-takes "Yipe!" on the dynamite which then explodes at the last second. The cartoon concludes with a comical caricature of Rochester, from The Jack Benny Show; as he quotes: "My oh my. Tattletale grey!".

In conclusion, Goofy Groceries is a rather daring attempt to help modernise the stories-come-to life formula, as Clampett is engaged with using radio references as well as creating wacky gags, in which wackiness adds to his name. However, with a few problems: by modernising the dated-formula with radio references, it makes the short even more dated. Do not get me wrong, as I believe the short works well on some cases: the Superman gag as well as the subtle pun jokes Clampett adds in are rather ftimeless, and the radio references are fine, though the fact the gags don't age very well over time, is a little issue. With that said, I will say this is one of Clampett's most fulfilling shorts he has created in quite a long time. Having been tormented of making nothing but Porky Pig cartoons, the short itself is a breath of fresh air for Clampett.

Rating: 2.5/5.

321. Porky's Bear Facts (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 320.
Release date: March 29, 1941.
Series: Looney Tunes.
Supervision: Friz Freleng.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Porky Pig / Bear / Mouse / Dog / Bull).
Story: Michael Maltese.
Animation: Manuel Perez.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: A lazy bear and his hound would rather sit and do no work, whilst Porky does all the harvest work. The laziness doesn't pay off when they go to starvation.

Porky Pig's stardom was already meeting a steady decline, even though ironically he would become a funnier comic personality. Schlesinger's policy for having stars appear in the Looney Tunes series was becoming more relaxed, where a few long-shots would be exceptions, but supposedly enough Porky Pig output would still be required.

Porky's job in this short is as a farmer; which as I said before, appears to be an occupation most featured in Porky cartoons. As you might expect, the cartoon shows Porky significantly less in this short. He only appears briefly as a farmer who is harvesting for the winer, and doesn't return until the film's conclusion.

One could say that with the black-and-white short input becoming relaxed, the short would have worked better as a one-short cartoon, considering how the main focus of the short is of a lazy bear and hound dog.

I suppose that judging on how the story is set as well as its location, Porky is the only suitable candidate then to have worked as a farmer (Elmer Fudd isn't quite  established yet--even though Friz Freleng certainly knew made the character very versatile).

Instead: Michael Matlese being the main writer of the short focuses on satirising the infamous tale of Grasshopper and the Ants. Instead, Maltese would use the same theme but explore further ways of making a great satire. The story mainly focuses on Porky's neighbour, who is a lazy bear who spends all afternoon in his porch playing his guitar, singing a parodied version of the song: Heaven Can Wait, which is replaced with Working Can Wait.

Maltese manages to pull off the laziness into the characters' personality in a exaggerated and charismatic form. The dog itself is very lazy that when a black cat is walking past the porch, the snoozing dog looks up and the only effort he can make is a groaning 'woof' to the cat.

The opening sequence finely establishes the two principal characters of the short, as only the audience are aware their sluggishness will only lead to disadvantages.

Despite being a great set-up for the sequence, you cannot help but make a little fuss over the lame puns Maltese pulls in the short, such as a mouse reading Of Mice and Men, or a bull reading the children's story: Ferdinand the Bull, though they are only brief and Maltese's other greater gags and comical situations later, do pay off the lame puns. Mel Blanc also attributes to the laziness of the bear, as he pulls off a voice of the bear very well. It's not a voice that Blanc rarely had used, and it sounds like the blacksmith from The Village Smithy; that's how far Mel's versatility goes.

Looking at Friz's own comic timing that he pulls off in this short; there are certain pieces of animation timing that have intrigue me.

One part at the beginning of the short, shows a trio of chickens nesting, and it is a egg-laying gag, which is in synchronisation to the xylophone playing from The Girl with the Pigtails in Her Hair. 

The last hen to lay her egg shows a decent form of exaggerated timing is is executed well. Another piece of animation is some effects animation which I find to be rather rich in terms of attention to detail and delicacy, even for a Warners cartoon. I suppose one would make the assumption that the leaves falling is just putting emphasis on the seasons changing drastically towards winter, though I also believe it was Warners going in some small competition towards Disney animation. Let's face it, around 1939-1941; Warners definitely did go through a brief artistic period, where they animated their characters, perhaps a real too realistically, though their style would eventually be settled roughly a year later.

Moving on forward towards the winter sequences; the disadvantages of being lazy during the summer then finally takes its toll on them. The bear and the hound are inside their shelter, as they shiver, with food being bare in the house.

Mike Maltese even makes a nursery rhyme joke amusingly portrayed, as he finds the cupboard empty, but with a note attached reading: "Now you know how I felt - Mother Hubbard", which I suppose is also a great pun which relates to the "cupboard being bare" like the nursery rhyme.

Mike Maltese really establishes the starvation and behaviour effects on the bear and the dog rather well. The bear bellows, "B-O-O-O-OY am I hungry!" which is well-delivered by Mel Blanc.

Whilst the hound and the bear are scattering for food, in search for any possible leftovers; Treg Brown's soundtrack really add to the emphasis of the starvation and desire for food.

The bear finds there is one bean left in the can, in which they plan to share between the dog.  Whilst the two say grace, a mouse rushes at the scene to steal the bean, in which Maltese is already getting up suspense for a mini-climax. The bear then ends up cracking up laughing which results in a near nervous breakdown. Maltese adds a sense of irony, where the dog remarks about the bear: "Say, the guy's out of his head. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to eat me". Just at that moment, the bear in fact attempts to eat the dog as he slowly approaches him as he's holding cutlery. The suspense then increases as the bear is still approaching the dog, and only to find that in each different shot they reach closer to Porky's home.

Porky, who had worked hard in harvesting for the winter then finds he is disturbed from his meal as the bear and the hound beg. Just as they beg, Porky refuses in which he retorts: "You buttered your bread, now sleep in it", which is wonderfully stuttered. Just then, Maltese then uses creed to play a part of the short's conclusion--in order to create a settling conclusion.

Porky's creed is evident as he has "Love Thy Neighbor" displayed in a picture frame on his wall, next to the door. He relents by accepting the pair into his house for a feast, in which they feast themselves. What appears to be much later; the bear has already been well fed as his proportionate size has increased.

Just at that moment, spring has arrived, and the audience would  believe the bear has learnt a lesson for slack work. In fact, Mike Maltese reverses the cliche by having the two main characters rush from Porky's home.

They go back to their spring/summer ways by sitting lazily on their porch singing Working Can Wait. The ending itself is a rather well-executed reversal, as the bear and dog don't learn from their mistake, and thus taking advantage of Porky's religious beliefs. This reversal ending is what set Warners apart from many other studios.

Overall: I believe the short is a well-executed satire of the Grasshopper and the Ant story--which only Mike Maltese could handle; with the right characters as well as melodramatic gags. The bear character has a lot of appeal thanks to Mel Blanc's great performance of the bear, as well as Maltese's great use of character establishment and comical circumstances. The Warner cartoons are only getting better and better as Mike Maltese is already attempting to revolutionise the humour and wit of the cartoons in the first three of his cartoons, though as we all know this is the beginning. Personally, I find that the Grasshopper and the Ant segment used in Foney Fables (released a year later) a lot more satirical than the short today, though this is still early days for Mike, and his efforts are already recognised. If I had any small issues; it would be that the short could have worked better as a one-shot cartoon, from either colour or black-and-white. By the way, does anyone else think the hound strongly resembles Willoughby? I wouldn't be surprised if Freleng used the same model for this short.

Rating: 3.5/5.

320. Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)

Warner cartoon no. 319.
Release date: March 15, 1941.
Series: Merrie Melodies.
Supervision: Tex Avery.
Producer: Leon Schlesinger.
Starring: Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny / Cecil Turtle / Other Turtles).
Story: Dave Monahan.
Animation: Charles McKimson.
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling.
Sound: Treg Brown (uncredited).
Synopsis: Bugs, disgusted of the predicted title, protests at Cecil Turtle by challenging him to a race in an attempt to prove the title otherwise, though Bugs is oblivious to the Turtle's many tricks.

Bugs Bunny is already the growing star of the Warner cartoon series. After appearing in two shorts, the directors have finally managed to establish Bugs' personality as a trickster with a Brooklynese accent. In his third appearance, being directed by his creator, Tex is already experimenting further with his character very early on.

Tex, having a love for satire and parody has set the idea of satirising The Tortoise and the Hare tale; which is what the short really does; so Avery is already playing his cards right rather early.

He is already attempting to challenge Bugs' wise-cracking personality very early on, similar to how Clampett interpreted Bugs. Bugs is portrayed as the loser of the short, and Tex is already attempting different personas for the rabbit, by giving him a cocky and brash attitude, as well as give him common appeal for his popular audience. Perhaps Tex only attempted the persona for laughs, or including a moral that sometimes you just can't win. Bugs's position in the short is handled very properly in a satirical matter. Bugs has already become a popular character, that a parody version of the Aesop fable featuring Bugs blends in very well, making the satire more hysterical.

Bugs has also given Tex more fresh gags which is one step further than what he would usually go. The gag and the satire already starts at the very beginning at the short, at the hilarious title card sequence. Bugs walks in, chewing his carrot and curiously reads the credits as well as the title for what would appear to be a predictable short, much like Sniffles Bells the Cat. The gag works greatly as Blanc gives Bugs more of an identity by making him pronounce the artists' names (save Carl Stalling) in the credits incorrectly, like Dave Monahan, Charles McKimson, and of course Tex. However, at the point Bugs double-takes on the title Tortoise Beats Hare, Tex has already got the plot going. Bugs protests, "Why those screwy guys don't know what they're talking about! What a big bunch of jerks!", and then directly references his creators: "And I ought to know, I work for them".

At that point; Bugs' outburst was a deliberate setup by Tex and Dave Monahan, as already the short turns straight to unpredictable. Bugs wants to challenge against the title, as he tears the credits away frantically opening doors to people's homes demanding, "Where's that toitle?".

Notice how Bugs starts off with the casual, streetsmart trademark the audience already came to know him for. Tex wonderfully blends the cocky and brash personality in, as the thought of a tortoise beating a hare has ticked him off, perhaps its Bugs' instincts.

After frantically searching through homes, he discovers the home of "Cecil Turtle" through a letterbox, and proceeds to bang at his door. He lets out a deliberate mistake by demanding the door to open or "I'll huff, and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in", in which Bugs sheepishly corrects, "Sorry, wrong story".


This suggests Bugs is only human, though Tex thought it was a great opportunity for chuckles, and it is executed well.

After the door opens, Cecil Turtle is introduced to the short; and Blanc's performance of the character compared to Toby Tortoise from the Silly Symphonies are indeed, parallel. Bugs' brash attitude is also similar to Max Hare, though most of the Warners directors claimed more than once his personality was heavily influenced from the Disney character. Full of rage, Bugs demands the turtle to challenge Bugs in a race match, as he is willing to bet as much as $10 that Cecil won't win. Adjusted for inflation, $10 is worth today, about $159.71, which back in 1941 would have been a crusher. At this point, the story is already off at a great start; as Tex is already satirising the tale by having gambling playing a part.

At that point, Cecil Turtle plays a part in this story; whereas in the fable he was just a humble character who went slow and steady, with little identity. His third-dimensional personality is evident when the race has started. He quietly sneaks into a telephone service tree, where he begins to make a few calls to some local relatives.

Cecil already has plans to sabotage Bugs secretly cheating by using his local relatives to help trick Bugs, by giving him the impression that Cecil is in the lead, Cecil gives out the commands: "Get out the works".

The diversion is well-baited with excellent satire. Only Tex would have revealed a double-crossing side for a supposedly meek turtle. The sequence is a great bracer for what is to happen. Then the sequence evolves into a series of montage shots where quick close-up of hands and fingers dial numbers calling further relatives to be on the gag which creates great suspense and overture. Stalling uses the piece the Athalie Overture which fits in with the suspense wonderfully.

Afterwards, the rest of the short mainly turns to a string of gags one-by-one, in which the audience experience Bugs being the victim. The story construction has already been handled greatly; setup and personality play a part in the first act, whilst in the second it focuses on the jokes on Bugs.

Despite being a great satire to the fable, as the character personalities as well as caricature was ahead of its time, Tex still hadn't quite got the ability to achieve faster and broader timing.

Compared to even Disney's The Tortoise and the Hare, where the short not only pioneered faster animation, but the speed was very believable--the pace Bugs is racing at seems very adequate. Perhaps this was to emphasise that the mediocre pace would be no match for the turtle?

And so the tricks begin, Bugs turns puzzled when he finds Cecil has showed up, supposedly ahead of Bugs Bunny. Baffled, he removes his shell acting like a bad sport and proceeds to keep running, until he pauses feeling more puzzled. "I can't figure it out back there, I'm going along at a good clip, didn't see him pads me. Then, bingo--just like that, and there he was in front of me". Tex's timing couldn't go perfectly as the camera quickly pans to Cecil, indeed standing in front of Bugs whilst he made that delivery point. Puzzled, Cecil and Bugs' personality appear to trade unnaturally as Cecil gives Bugs a peck in the lips.

And so, more gags are pulled in the climax of the short. Bugs waves back "So long shorty" so what was Cecil off-screen, until an off-screen reply yells, "So long, speedy?" Bugs is tricked into believing he is not watching his own speed, especially as he notices "Cecil" standing on the other side of the bridge. Just as Bugs zips past, Cecil also lets out a cutting remark, in one of Tex's usual forth wall lines: "We do this kind of stuff to him all through the picture", which again suggests that every gag will be predictable.

Bugs then proceeds to block a path, using lumber, stones and barbed wire to prevent Cecil; but only to notice that the turtle has supposedly overtaken Bugs. Every trap Bugs creates becomes more climatic, and yet he is still falling for Cecil's great diversion. He proceeds to cut off the ropes of a bridge, but yet still finds that Cecil is on top of him on a tree.

At that point, Bugs then goes to his frantic speed, though the pacing of the animation tells otherwise. He hops, and rushes with great capacity, until he skids towards the finishing line. The animation of Bugs, relieved is beautifully character animated by Bob McKimson himself.

The chuckling and the subtleness of the animation is rather remarkable, as it suggests how Bugs went through a lot of strange experiences with the turtle, and Bugs certainly feels very "alive" in the scene.

Until that point, an off-screen "Speedy" is called to Bugs with a distinctive voice. Cecil is seen sitting quietly by a tree, asking plainly, "What kept ya?". At that point Bugs, lost for words, vows to strangle Cecil:

 "Ooh you blankety-blank-blank turtle!", in which Cecil reminds him of the $10 bet. Bugs reluctantly hands over the money and scoffs: "And I hope you choke!". The character animation for the closing sequence by Rod Scribner definitely displays how subtle and human Rod's animation could be, even though his exaggeration is quite evident. At that point, Bugs paces back questioning how he had been beaten by Cecil. For challenging Bugs' personality very early: it has been pulled off successfully, and also ambiguity as it suggests how the Turtle is one of a few Bugs can't outwit, especially how Clampett and Freleng interpret it that way in future shorts: Tortoise Wins By a Hare and Rabbit Transit. At this point, Bugs questions: "I wonder if I've been tricked". This concludes with a hilarious payoff by Tex where multiple turtles respond, "Mmm, it's a possibility" and kisses Bugs in the lips. The payoff works well so successfully that Tex has used it several more time, all wonderfully too.

Tortoise Beats Hare is a wonderful portrayal of how Bugs was given a different layer of personality. Already having been given the street-smart personality that was cherished by everybody, Tex already is playing around the character's personality, by experimenting how Bugs can work in several levels. Real people's personalities are constantly evolving, which I believe is what Tex was trying to achieve, not making predictable all the time. Clampett would take inspiration with the different personality, and would interpret Bugs Bunny very differently compared to the other directors. It's one of the few exceptions in character personalities, that is naturally accepted by everybody. Overall, the satire of the fable is beautifully caricatured, as Cecil Turtle has more of an identity, as well as having a crafty personality being no match for Bugs. At the same time, the moral of the fable is also blended in the story, except the moral appears to be you can't always win a battle of wits, instead of the infamous "slow and steady wins the race". If the short had been made a couple of years later, it would have been a beautifully paced short with faster timing by Tex, which to be is lacking in the short, though Clampett would improve on that two years later, with a sequel...

Rating: 4/5.