THE ACME FACTORY

Sam and Ralph:1960

2009-01-17T19:42:00.002-05:00

"Ready, Woolen and Able" shows that Sam and Ralph are apparently moving up the corporate ladder, for they now have reserved parking spaces at thier job site. Sam, in his old jalopy, is left in the dust by Ralph in his dragster. Points go to Sam though for using the appropriate hand signal when turning.

In no hurry to start work, the two casually wait for the whistle to blow. As usual, Ralph's first attempt at thievery is to simply grab a sheep in plain view, and all it takes is an object, in this case a rake, dropped from above by Sam to foil the wolf.

Several gags that follow could easily have been placed in a Road Runner cartoon, such as Ralph's barrel of TNT conveniently bouncing over it's intended target and rather showering a storm of boulders upon the wolf. That tiny umbrella looks very familiar and if I recall, it ain't gonna save you, Ralph.

The final sequence takes the idea of Sam being able to apprear everywhere at once to an extreme and Ralph finds that not even a whale's mouth is to be refuge from the ever-watchful canine.

Ralph is finally driven insane, but as he is hauled away to the looney bin (pun intended I guess), he remains confident that he will be back to work tomorrow. Now that is job dedication.

Sam and Ralph:1957

2009-01-04T23:30:00.002-05:00

In "Steal Wool", we get a glimpse into the home lives of Sam and Ralph, who are now neighbors. Sam shares his newspaper with Ralph before they head off to work, exchanging the usual pleasantries. At the job site, Ralph forces himself to change his facial expression to one of villainy, driving home the fact once more that this is simply his job.

Ralph usually tries the direct approach first...simply grabbing a sheep and trying to walk off with it. Then his schemes get a bit more elaborate. Of course when they don't work, he simply tries to murder Sam. Gotta love it.

One of my favorite gags of the entire series involves Ralph's giant rubber band. His expressions are just as comical as those of his coyote counterpart in the Road Runner series.

Maximum pain is inflicted on Ralph and, unlike the norm in which cartoon characters are injured but then are perfectly fine in the next scene, Ralph staggers home bandaged in a sling with a black eye.

Friends and neighbors once more, Sam shows concern and offers to let Ralph have a day off tomorrow. "I can handle both jobs." Now that I would love to see.

Sam and Ralph:1955

2009-01-01T17:29:00.002-05:00

All of the elements of this series begin to fall into place in "Double or Mutton". Firstly, Sam is finally Sam and Ralph is finally Ralph. The two arrive at work, punch in on the timeclock and exchange those monotone greetings that we all know from our own jobs.

Another day on the job begins and within seconds Ralph has received a sledgehammer blow to the head compliments of Sam. Ralph dips into some heavy artillary such as a cannon and a rocket in attempts to dispose of Sam.
My favorite gag involves Ralph flying a helicopter, trying to nab sheep with a metal claw dangling from a rope. Sam strolls by below and nonchalantly yanks the rope, bringing the copter crashing to the ground. Ralph deploys his parachute just a little too late.

Sam begins to prove that he is a bizarre entity, transcending time and space. After dropping one end of Ralph's highwire, he instantly appears holding the opposite end.

Ralph's Little Bo Peep disguise seems to work until it is revealed that the sheep is actually Sam in disguise, when only moments before both Sam and the sheep that Ralph lures away were in the same space together.

The whistle blows during another thrashing of Ralph, signaling the end of the work day. The two punch out and, now that they are off the clock, resume being civil to one another. "See you tomorrow, Sam."

Sam and Ralph:1954

2008-12-20T22:03:00.002-05:00

First things first: the characters names are still a jumble here. Sam is Fred, Ralph is Sam. All things in due time, I suppose.

"Sheep Ahoy" finds the wolf awaiting the shift change so he can nab some sheep but of course he isn't quick enough for the sheepdog. This cartoon features a more stationary Sam. He definetely doesn't move around as much as in the first film. I love the fact that not only can the Wolf/Wile E. Coyote not capture a fast character, but he also can't outwit an immobile one.

Here we see the wolf not only trying to aquire a sheep, but also turning to murderous plots as he tries to kill Sam, for example, with a boulder. For all of Sam's lethargy, he still packs a mean whallop.

As with the coyote, the wolf defeats himself a lot of the time, such as with a balloon/fishing pole scheme. The film ends with the inevitable shift change, but there's a new element that comes into play this time. Not only does Sam have to stop his thrashing of the wolf to allow his co-worker to take over, but it's quitting time for Ralph as well, who has a co-worker of his own take his place for the resumed beating.

One point that I always find amusing is this: I can see why someone would pay Sam to protect the sheep, but who in the world is paying Ralph to steal them (and most likely eat them)?

Sam and Ralph:1953

2008-12-16T20:30:00.003-05:00

Chuck Jones' Sam and Ralph first appeared in 1953's "Don't Give Up the Sheep". As with most cartoon series, all of the elements didn't come together right from the start. The first obvious point is that Sam is named Ralph!

The series revolves around a sheepdog whose job is, of course, to guard a flock of sheep. The job aspect is amusingly highlighted by the dog punching a time clock and relieving his co-worker during a shift change. A hungry wolf creeps along, anxious for dinner. Another aspect of the series that would not emerge just yet is that of the wolf also punching the timeclock on his way into "work". For now he is just a predator trying to score a meal.

The sheepdog thwarts the wolf's attempts at sheep-nabbing in several "black-out" gags similar to the Road Runner series. After all, the wolf is just Wile E. Coyote with a red nose, although his design in this first cartoon is a bit more scraggly.

The sheepdog is a bit more active here than in later cartoons. Sure, he is always quick with a fist to the wolf's face, but the dog would eventually become much more stationary.
Messing with the timeclock, unleashing a wild cat (from Acme of course), and disguising himself as the Greek God, Pan, are some examples of the wolf's schemes.

The end of the cartoon sees another shift change occur during the sheepdog's beating of the wolf. The canine co-worker takes over the thrashing with barely missing a beat.

Mornin' Sam...Mornin' Ralph

2008-12-06T21:08:00.003-05:00

Next up in the spotlight here at the Factory are Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.
When I was a kid, the Roadrunner/Coyote series were my favorite Looney Tunes. I think it was the lack of dialogue that made the cartoons so easy to follow. So to find "the Coyote" in two other series of cartoons always made it worth it to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings.

Hearing Wile E. Coyote speak in the cartoons with Bugs Bunny was never really appreciated until I was older, but the Wolf/Sheepdog films were right up my alley and I appreciate them still, but on a completely different level.

Once I entered the world of labor, I began to appreciate the antics of Sam and Ralph all the more. We all have had to do things that we really didn't want to, but we had to because it was our job. Our business lives are completely different from our social lives. There are the themes of the Wolf/Sheepdog cartoons.

An advantage to such a timeline is that I won't have to choose just one film per year, for there was only one Wolf/Sheepdog cartoon released in any given year. Not only will every Sam/Ralph film be highlighted but I get to glorify one of my favorite cartoon series. Stay tooned!

PD Warehouse:1934

2008-12-02T21:24:00.002-05:00

It's time for another edition of PD warehouse. Where cartoons are "breathtakingly restored" after "hundreds of hours of detailed restoration work". How do these companies sleep at night?
Sarcasm aside, today's cartoon comes from the Fleischers in two-strip technicolor for all fans of red and green.

"An Elephant Never Forgets" features a group of jungle animals as children heading to school. The Fleischer's use of a rotating tabletop background behind the cels creates the three-dimensional effect in the opening scenes. A lazy hippo never makes it inside the school, but rather falls asleep just outside the door.

A messy pig is physically disciplined with a smack on the head by the goose teacher. After a musical role call, a bullying gorilla abuses the elephant and the other children mock him for not remembering what two plus two equals.

A turtle is left in charge of the classroom who thwarts a giraffe's cheating attempt. While the teacher's back is turned, violence erupts and many a head is bonked with a book.

When class is dismissed, the elephant exacts revenge on the gorilla, proving that an "elephant never forgets"...to hold a grudge, apparently.

Tom and Jerry:2005

2008-11-24T19:36:00.002-05:00

We end our trip through time with Tom and Jerry with "The Karate Guard". Joseph Barbera returned one last time to co-direct this cartoon. He passed away soon after.

The cartoon takes the idea of Spike being Jerry's bodyguard and puts a martial arts spin on it. Jerry's karate skills are no match for Tom's flyswatter (there's that darn flyswatter again). The mouse is offered help by a mystical mentor who gives a magical gong to Jerry.

Whenever Jerry is in trouble with Tom, he simply bangs the gong to summon Spike the dog, who pummels Tom in classic violent fashion. Even when Tom attaches pillows to Spike's ears to block the sound of the gong, the cat's good fortune is short-lived.

In one impressive scene, Tom is launched directly at the camera, passes it and hits the roof of a house, all in one continuous shot, where he then claws frantically at the roof as he slides down. Tom enlists the help of Butch and his cronies and paintballs prove to be Spike's kryptonite. However, soon the cats are mere bowling pins to be knocked down by a balled-up Tom.

Tom is reduced to a servant, waiting hand and foot on Spike and Jerry, who gorge themselves on popcorn.
As with most cartoon series, the later, lackluster efforts of Tom and Jerry should not diminish the films of thier glory days, when fast-paced action, great music and violent mayhem ruled the screen with hilarious results.
Thanks to everyone who visits here for toughing it out through what became the longest timeline to complete due to my gaps in posting.
Coming up next will be another installment of PD Warehouse. From there...well, I have some ideas for characters who deserve the timeline treatment but I am open to any suggestions as well. Drop me a comment and let me know of any characters you would like to see highlighted here and I will see what I can do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tom and Jerry:2001

2008-11-12T21:36:00.002-05:00

When I made my last post, I was so grateful to reach the end of the Deitch/Jones films that I actually implied this timeline was over. Not true, as Tom and Jerry would not go away so quietly.
In 1975, H-B made some new cat and mouse cartoons for television, but the violence was turned down to an extreme and the duo were more buddies than enemies.
I hate to even mention the Filmation cartoons of the early '80s, which make the Deitch cartoons seem like animation masterpieces.
H-B took another crack at Tom and Jerry in the 90's before the rights were turned over to Turner and more specifically, Warner Bros.

I will spare you any mention of "The Tom and Jerry Movie".
Plenty of direct-to-video releases have resulted, as well as today's highlighted cartoon, "The Mansion Cat".
Not much to say here really. Amidst very simplified backgrounds, Tom and Jerry wreck havok in the house while thier owner is away.

While trying to watch his own performance in "Muscle Beach Tom", the cat is forced into the VCR by Jerry and ejected in cassette form. In a moment resembling a scene from "Terminator", Tom is frozen, shattered and reassembled and the slow-paced chase resumes.

A water bed is punctured, fireplace soot is tracked everywhere, and an out-of-control vacuum cleaner sucks up everything it gets near. Tom gets a plunger stuck on his rear and drives a lawnmower through the house.

Finding his home destroyed doesn't seem to effect Tom's owner much, who just makes a dry observation on Tom's worth.

Tom and Jerry:1967

2008-11-03T19:19:00.002-05:00

Tom's shark troubles continue in "Cannery Rodent". Why did I pick this cartoon? I actually dig the music over the opening titles. There, I admitted it.

Now that I have gotten that shameful revelation out of the way, let's move on. The cat and mouse chase leads our heroes onto a conveyor belt and into a cannery where they are sealed within properly-labeled cans.

Tom escapes easily with the aid of his claws while Jerry is left trapped in his can until he is captured and released in the same manner. Jerry repays Tom with a bite to the finger.

Tom repeatedly ends up in the water below where a hungry shark awaits. In yet another "friendship" moment, Jerry rescues Tom from the shark with some conveniently-placed pepper. Tom doesn't have such an easy change of heart, as evidenced by his devil horns, which quickly pop Jerry's halo.

Jerry earns his own devil horns, however, when he uses the classic "fake shark fin" gag to send Tom swimming for his life into the horizon.
This would be the final year for theatrical Tom and Jerry cartoons, but is this the end? Nope. The mandatory wrap-up/conclusion post is forthcoming.

Tom and Jerry:1966

2008-10-27T21:34:00.002-04:00

Zzzzz...huh? Wha? Sorry, I must have dozed off there. "Filet Meow" has Jerry once more in charge of protecting a goldfish from Tom's starving belly. A simple needle to the feline's rear thwarts his first attempt.

Tom discovers that by wearing a trashcan, he can now be protected from any future needle attacks. Bear with me, folks. Tom attacks Jerry with an axe but (as I have pointed out before) Tom apparently has no feeling in his tail, which allows Jerry to place it on the chopping block without his knowledge. Luckily it screws right back in place.

Still wearing the trashcan, Tom is mistaken by the garbage man for actual trash and is thrown out. Tom returns and rigs up a hose system beneath the fishbowl to suck out his prey.

In order to accept the ending of this cartoon, you would have to accept the fact that Jerry finds a pet store that delivers a man-eating shark to his bathtub. Tom unknowingly sucks the shark through the tube and is forced to flee for his life.

Oh...and the shark apparently falls in love with the goldfish...or something.

Tom and Jerry:1965

2008-10-20T17:54:00.003-04:00

In sifting through the Tom and Jerry cartoons from this period, I can come across a few that are more tolerable than the others. "Tom-ic Energy" is one. I think I enjoy the films where Tom is simply chasing Jerry. No fancy backdrops, no real plot, no forced situations...just a simple chase.

One little detail that I like from Chuck's films is that he sometimes has action occuring during the title sequence. Yes, it results in the eye being distracted from actually reading the names of the people who worked on the film, but I feel it gives things that extra boost of energy right from the start.

Some gags are typical (a stoplight momentarily interrupts the chase, for example). Not to mention a strange sequence where Tom is mistaken for a female by an amorous cat. Pepe Le Pew would be proud.

A seemingly helpful act from Jerry is anything but, as the overzealous mouse inflats Tom's body with an air pump, resulting in the classic "deflating balloon" gag.

Jerry saves Tom from an angry dog, proving that the two characters actually need each other, filling the void in thier otherwise meaningless existances.

Tom and Jerry:1964

2008-10-13T19:31:00.003-04:00

We all know that Tom is able to sing. He does so in "Solid Serenade" for example. The difference between that cartoon and "The Cat above and the Mouse Below", however, is that the former is actually entertaining.

Concert halls are also nothing new as a backdrop for Tom and Jerry's feuding. "Cat Concerto" and "The Hollywood Bowl" come to mind. The difference between those cartoons and this one? I think you know the answer.

Tom sings excerpts from "Barber of Seville", annoying Jerry, who lives beneath the stage. Jerry attempts many unfunny ways to silence Tom, including a rubber band and publically licking a lemon.

A plunger to the face and a sack to the head, which sends Tom crashing through the stage floor, result in Jerry concluding the opera, which is odd because I thought he was looking for peace and quiet.

It will only get harder for me to pick cartoons from this period because they are so unmemorable that I have forgotten what most of them are about, and I'm not really in the mood to watch them in order to find out. I've been a bit moody lately, folks. Bear with me.

Tom and Jerry:1963

2008-10-06T19:07:00.006-04:00

As I said, I enjoy Chuck Jones films very much, but it is clear that he never quite knew what to do with Tom and Jerry. The films have that great Jones look to them but the stories are rather flat and they are anything but funny.

The title of Pent-House Mouse comes from the fact that Tom lives in a penthouse (and it conveniently rhymes with mouse, I suppose). A starving Jerry comes across an unwatched lunchbox at a construction site near Tom's house.

Typical construction site physics ensure that Jerry is dropped into Tom's waiting hand. Jerry escapes back to the work zone only to figure that Tom's mouth offers a more safe place to be.

There is a strange flyswatter sequence that needs no more attention here. Finally Jerry manages to dump Tom off the roof, into the construction site, where an out of control barrel ride lands the cat into a dog show. Offscreen violence ensues.

Jerry takes command of Tom's penthouse and should be grateful that ice cubes melt. Chuck Jones, Mike Maltese, Ken Harris, Ben Washam...what could possibly go wrong? Several things apparently.

Tom and Jerry:1962

2008-09-29T23:22:00.008-04:00

Has it been this long already? Wow. First, I need to apologize yet again for my absence. Life has been very busy and the days go by very fast. I appreciate the kind words I have received from folks and the gentle reminders about my poor, neglected blog. I will try to get back on track with it.

So we move on to 1962 and wrap up this horrible period in Tom and Jerry's career. "High Steaks" is yet another glimpse into the abusive relationship between Tom and his owner. Tom's pain does not really come from Jerry, but rather his hot-tempered owner.

A backyard cookout is disrupted by Jerry's attempts to swipe some of the food and by Tom's attempts to stop him, which always result in Tom pissing off his owner, who inflicts disturbing punishment upon the cat.

Tom gets his face pressed in a grill and an agitated soda bottle in his mouth before getting tied to a recliner, which I think Jerry hooks onto a car to tow the helpless cat away...or something. I honestly stopped watching after I snagged the last screenshot. It's that bad.

The Tom and Jerry reins would be handed over to Chuck Jones. Jones is one of my favorite directors, but even he could only slightly improve the series. Emphasis on slightly.

Tom and Jerry:1961

2008-04-21T16:12:00.006-04:00

Once the amazing H-B Tom and Jerry cartoons came to an end, the series was placed in the hands of Gene Deitch. To say that the films took a bizarre turn would be an understatement. Watching these cartoons is like watching an eerie T&J nightmare.

"Down and Outing" sounds like it would be typical fare for H-B (Tom goes fishing with his owner and Jerry tags along), but in the hands of Deitch, who had never seen a Tom and Jerry cartoon before taking over the series, the situation becomes creepy.

Shaky animation, off-model characters and a tin-like soundtrack all contribute to the cartoon's lackluster quality. Am I being too harsh? Possibly since I am comparing the films to what had come before, and let's face it, there is no comparison.

Anyway, Tom is abused severly by his owner, even though some might say the cat brings it upon himself. After a hellish car ride to the lake, we are now ready for some fishng-type shenanigans.

However, we never really get any. The potential for such a set-up never pays off as Tom's owner opts to fish with Jerry while Tom is bound with rope in the boat.

A Year Already?

2008-04-16T21:13:00.003-04:00

Well, it seems this blog is a year old today. I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who stop by here. I do appreciate it.
Again, I am sorry for the lack of updates but life is busy. Feel free to leave some comments as it might jump-start me into digging through my vhs tapes in order to continue with the Tom and Jerry tribute. Maybe I can actually finish it by the next anniversary.
I'll get to work on that, but I couldn't let one year and 10,000 visitors go by without saying thanks. Peace!

Tom and Jerry:1958

2008-03-24T12:58:00.006-04:00

The final Hanna-Barbera directed Tom and Jerry cartoon from the Golden Age is "Tot Watchers". All that would follow in the long career of the famous cat and mouse would pale in comparison to the films from 1940-1958.

A negligent babysitter (who is more interested in talking on the phone than watching the baby) continuously mistakes Tom's attempts at maintaining the child's safety as a threat.

Tom and Jerry working as a team never sits too well with me, since they make much better adversaries, but I guess it is nice to see that they can put aside thier differences for a moment when a baby's life is at stake.

The obligatory construction site is always the perfect place for two heros to prove how far they will go to keep a child safe. The typical violence is absent here (well, except for Tom's run-in with Spike, but the thrashing is left to our imaginations as it takes place off screen).

A weary Tom and Jerry return home with the baby, only to be blamed for his kidnapping, and they are carted off to jail.
Is this the end of our Tom and Jerry tribute? Nope. Come back and bear the pain with me as we continue on to a rather disturbing phase of the cat and mouse's career.

Tom and Jerry:1957

2008-03-21T22:15:00.006-04:00

Since I passed up the opportunity to feature "The Little Orphan" here, I will do the next best thing now by featuring the 1957 remake, "Feedin' the Kiddie".

This is almost an exact remake of "Little Orphan" (a brief shot of Mammy in the original film has been oddly omitted. Poor Mammy gets no respect.) Also, the backgrounds have been redesigned to accomodate the widescreen format of Cinemascope.

Nibbles, the ever-hungry relative of Jerry pays a visit just in time for Thanksgiving dinner...and we all know what happens when a Tom and Jerry film features a lavishly adorned dinner table, right? Yep, food fight!

Plenty of messy and dangerous fun ensues, leaving Tom broken and defeated, of course. Oh, and then there is this...

[Insert "these films are a product of thier time" disclaimer here.]

Tom and Jerry:1956

2008-03-04T22:25:00.006-05:00

Probably the most depressing tone in a Tom and Jerry cartoon can be found in "Blue Cat Blues". The film opens with Tom sitting upon train tracks attempting to commit suicide. Jerry watches from above and, through a voice-over track, tells us what brought Tom to this low end.

Tom and Jerry are apparently friends this time, that is until a female cat saunters by. Tom is smitten and becomes the brunt of several visual gags. He is magnetically drawn to her and he is literally putty in her hands, as she sculpts his face into a donkey's.

Of course, in every romance there is a rival and in this case, the rival is Butch, who continuously upstages Tom for the female cat's affections.

Exhausting all of his money to impress the girl, Tom is left broke, beaten and defeated as he realizes that the female cat has married Butch. Jerry concludes the tale of heartbreak, glad that his girlfriend is true to him...or is she? Nope, she too has eloped with another mouse.

Tom makes room for the despondent mouse next to him on the train tracks. As the two await the end of thier lives, a train whistle can be heard approaching just before the iris out.

Tom and Jerry:1955

2008-02-24T19:20:00.005-05:00

A memorable film from 1955 would be "Pecos Pest", if for nothing other than Uncle Peco's rendition of "Froggy went a-courtin'".

Uncle Pecos pays Jerry a visit before his big tv debut. While demonstrating his country stylings, Peco's guitar string breaks. The western mouse (who's face is obscured by his mustache and hat) sees a replacement guitar string in the form of Tom's whisker.

The rest of the cartoon deals with Pecos breaking guitar strings and hunting down Tom in order to rip another whisker from his face, with Jerry trying to protect his uncle from himself.

When at the mercy of Pecos weilding an axe, Tom finally surrenders and plucks his own whisker to give to the mouse, leaving him with only one left.

During his tv performance, Pecos breaks another guitar string. Tom's mocking laughter is cut short when Pecos reaches through the tv screen and plucks the feline's final whisker and finishes his song.

Tom and Jerry:1954

2008-02-02T20:02:00.001-05:00

"Mice Follies" features one of the fastest freezing refrigerators of all time. Every mouse should have one for dealing with pesky cats.

Jerry and Nibbles (or was he called Tuffy by this point in his career?) overflow the faucets in the kitchen, then freeze the water with the fridge to create an ice rink. Complete with a spotlight enhanced by multi-colored gelatin, the mice seem to have the perfect skating spot until Tom catches sight of them.

Tom is not as graceful as the mice and cannot keep his balance on the icy surface, leaving Jerry and Tuffy to simply wait while the cat exhausts himself while trying to stay upright. Tom soon shifts the odds (but only momentarily) when he finds some ice skates in the closet.

Tom gets slammed into an inconveniently opened ironing board and is transformed into a living sled as he is squeezed beneath a door. The super-fast fridge comes in handy as Nibbles melts the ice, leaving Tom to take a dive into the water.

Now that the cat is soaked, Nibbles has only to use the powerful fridge once more to freeze the water with its incredible speed, creating a living ice sculpture out of Tom, who must watch helplessly as the mice covort around him.
This reminds me...I need to defrost my fridge.

Tom and Jerry:1953

2008-02-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

"The Missing Mouse" opens with Tom tormenting Jerry. We can already expect the mouse to get his revenge. As a bottle of white ink falls on Jerry, a perfectly-timed radio announcement informs Tom that a white mouse has escaped from a laboratory. The mouse is filled with enough explosives to obliterate a city!

Since Jerry is already covered in white ink, it is the perfect chance to make Tom suffer. He threatens harm to himself repeatedly and Tom must put himself at risk to stop him, in order to prevent the explosion that the cat believes will occur.

Once Jerry falls into the sink, the ink is washed off and the jig is up. Tom boots the mouse out of the house...only to have the real white mouse arrive.

Tom manhandles the mouse, believing it is Jerry, but soon discovers that is actually the lab mouse. Thankfully, an update on the radio informs Tom that the lab mouse is no longer considered dangerous and that it will not explode.

Tom kicks the mouse out of the house, only to have it...yep, that's right...explode.
Radio announcer: "Repeat: the white mouse will not explode." Tom: "Don't you believe it!"

Tom and Jerry:1952

2008-01-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

I'm back. I apologize yet again for my ridiculously long absense. If I keep this up, this Tom and Jerry tribute will never be completed. Now that I have had a relaxing vacation, I hope to go full steam ahead here at the Factory.

In "The Flying Cat", Jerry once more teams up with the canary from "Kitty Foiled". (at least that is what the bird looks like to me. Anyway, I digress).

After Jerry rescues the canary from Tom, the two friends hide out in a birdhouse atop a pole. The first half of the cartoon deals with Tom's attempts to scale the pole to reach his prey.

After his ladder is torched and his vaulting pole runs afoul of a conveniently placed roller skate, Tom resorts to making a pair of wings out of a pink girdle. (try not to think about it too much). Tom's new aerial abilities prove to be no contest for the mouse and bird, who invert the birdhouse's roof to deliver multiple nails into Tom's rear (making him a living watering can). In one of the most painful scenes ever (in my opinion), Tom severs a tree lengthwise with his crotch. I cringe every time I see this.

Tom is finally lured into a train tunnel where he is crushed into the shape of a train signal hanging from above the tracks while Jerry and friend ride off into the iris out.

Tom and Jerry:1951

2007-12-19T22:38:00.000-05:00

"Slicked-Up Pup" is one of many cartoons that involves Jerry trying to frame Tom in order to get him in trouble. This time the trouble comes in the form of Spike the bulldog.

After inadvertantly knocking Spike's newly-bathed son into the mud, Spike warns Tom that if his son does not remain clean, there will be a thrashing administered.

Jerry, of course, does everything he can to get the puppy dirty and make it look as if Tom was the culprit. Tom repeatedly has to clean the puppy from Jerry's constant sabotage.

Jerry tricks Tom easily into a game of tic-tac-toe...using the puppy's body as the game board, and forces Tom to take a mud-dipping and a tomato to the face in order to shield the puppy from any potential grime. Tom thrwarts Jerry's ink-dousing attempt, only to accidentally dump the ink on the puppy himself.

As Tom tries to paint the puppy his natural color, Jerry switches the paint buckets causing the cat to turn Spike's son into a technicolor nightmare. The water hose is switched to dispense tar and Tom is forced to pass the puppy off as a chicken. Spike wises up and saves his son from the washing machine, only to throw the defeated feline into the machine instead.
I will never get tired of Tom's wild "takes", accompanied by his shrieks of terror, that are littered throughout the Tom and Jerry series.

Tom and Jerry:1950

2007-12-16T21:51:00.001-05:00

The best Tom and Jerry cartoons are the ones that really stay away from any kind of story and just feature the cat and mouse beating the tar out of each other.

Such is the case with "Cueball Cat". Tom is playing pool in an empty billiards hall and Jerry has the misfortune of living within the pool table.

The gloves come off quickly. Both Tom and Jerry take thier knocks in this one, an equally painful competetion which is always nice to see.

Jerry is crushed and run down by numerous billiard balls, while Tom swallows more than his share of them. Jerry has a cringe-worthy encounter with a pool cue tossed javellin-style by Tom, and the mouse returns the favor by giving Tom a licking with an extremely flexible pool stick.

Tom gets 86'd (literally) and Jerry gets a good impression from the 8 ball. Fire hoses, hand injuries and a well-placed needle make for moral-free cartoon fun.

Tom and Jerry:1949

2007-11-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I know that I have been very neglectful of this blog, but life is just very busy these days. I will do my best to post updates here at least once a week. So, on with the show.

In "Heavenly Puss", Tom's dangerous dealings with Jerry finally result in his own demise. A piano crushes Tom and sends him into the afterlife.

Tom rides a golden escalator into the sky and tries to sneak onto the train to heaven. However, the conductor knows all about Tom's evil ways on earth and will not allow the cat admission, unless he can obtain Jerry's signature on a document which absolves Tom of all wrongs inflicted on the mouse.

Faced with the alternative (an express ticket to hell), Tom returns to earth and tries to sweeten Jerry up in order to obtain his signature. Jerry's not falling for Tom's nice-guy-routine, and the cat attempts some forgery. He quickly learns that those in charge of heaven see all.

In a great pantomine scene, Tom begs and pleads with Jerry in desperation. He finally obtains Jerry's signature but it is too late. Tom is hurled straight down to the waiting cauldron of the devil, Spike.
Of course, it's all a dream and Tom awakens with a newfound affection for a confused Jerry.

Tom and Jerry:1948

2007-11-02T21:59:00.001-04:00

I had another tough choice to make between "Kitty Foiled" and "Old Rockin' Chair Tom". I opted for the former simply because it is what Tom and Jerry are all about. This cartoon has no plot whatsoever but one is not needed. Cat chases mouse and bird. Plenty of cringe-worthy pain is inflicted upon cat.

This one is filled with slam/bang action from start to finish. The only brief pauses in the action are when Jerry and the canary don indian disguises to allude Tom and when the canary holds Tom at gunpoint.

Tom runs fast enough to gain some air, but only briefly, and finds his muzzle in the shape of a mouse hole more than once. A birdcage and floorboards are used as weapons against the cat, and Tom gets all of his teeth knocked out by Jerry weilding a hammer.

One amusing moment is when the canary has a gun pointed at Tom. The bird drops the gun, and Tom politely (but nervously) picks the weapon up and hands it back to the bird so that the threat can resume.

Tom's attempt to run Jerry over with a model train is foiled by the bird, who drops a bowling ball onto the tracks, sending Tom crashing through the floor. Not much more to say here really. Everything you could want in a T&J film. Though I do still really like "Old Rockin' Chair Tom" too. Oh well. The perils of only highlighting one cartoon per year.

Tom and Jerry:1947

2007-10-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

It's a shame that there is some controversy surrounding "Cat Concerto" (You know, that whole "Rhapsody Rabbit" thing) because it can overshadow what is one of my favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Tom takes to the stage to perform "Hungarian Rhapsody #2". Let me say right now how much this piece of music sticks with me. It has been used in so many cartoons over the years, but never as perfectly as it is used here.

Of course, Jerry is living inside of Tom's piano and his sleep is disturbed. Jerry is not antagonistic at first. He actually tries to enjoy the music until Tom flicks him away.

The battle is now on as Jerry tries to ruin Tom's concert. He slams the keyboard cover down on Tom's hands and uses a cleverly placed mousetrap. The mouse raises Tom's bench to ridiculous heights and interrupts the music by playing some jazz riffs on the piano hammers.

Tom gets his moments as well as he punishes Jerry inside the piano during the song's frantic climax. Finally however, Tom can not keep up with Jerry and wears himself out, allowing the mouse to receive the applause.

Tom and Jerry:1946

2007-10-08T18:42:00.000-04:00

"Solid Serenade" is another Tom and Jerry cartoon that always sticks out in my mind, if for no other reason than Tom's rendition of "Is you is or is you aint my baby".

Tom sneaks over the wall with his bass fiddle to serenade his girl, but first he must deal with Killer the bulldog. A bit of taunting and some rope does the trick.

Tom's bass gives off enough vibrations to send Jerry bouncing helplessly around his home and the mouse is quick to break up the concert. What better way than flinging a pie laced with an iron at the cat? I can't think of one.

The chase is on as Tom ends up springboarding into a pile of dishes and Jerry slams a window on Tom's neck.

Jerry unties Killer but Tom subdues the dog with some trickery as well as a brick to the head. Tom pauses during the chase to swoon over the female cat, but at one point, Killer inadvertantly becomes the object of Tom's desires. "You set my soul on fire. It is not just a little spark but a flame."

Tom chases Jerry into the doghouse, where Killer awaits. The dog pummels Tom and ties him to the bass fiddle for a musical number of his own.

Tom and Jerry:1945

2007-10-03T20:04:00.000-04:00

Anytime you see a beautifully arranged dinner table in a Tom and Jerry cartoon, you just know that a food fight isn't far away in the future.

Mammy is expecting dinner guests, but Tom has plans of his own. He invites his girl over for dinner and forces Jerry to be thier personal servant.

Tom and Jerry go back and forth trying to humiliate each other. Jerry spits hot soup in Tom's face and the cat retaliates by holding Jerry over a candle on a spoon. When Jerry mocks Tom's failed attempts at kissing his girlfriend, Tom retaliates by using the mouse as a living corkscrew.

Soon a food fight erupts, with many a pie in the face. Tom even gets a salt-shaker-laced cremepuff down his throat. However, what fun is throwing food when all of those sharp knives are just laying around? Well, Tom and Jerry put the knives to good use, making the battle much more dangerous, and funny.

Tom, once again, seems to have no feeling in his tail when Jerry plants it in a sandwich, a dessert and a candle holder, but Tom regains feeling in his tail when he repeatedly bites it and when it is set on fire as he tries to enjoy a smoke.
At last, Tom is completely knocked cold and Jerry sends him sinking in the punchbowl.

Tom and Jerry:1944

2007-09-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

Now don't get me wrong. I love "Mouse Trouble". It's one film that makes me laugh out loud every time. However, "Puttin' On the Dog" does just the same and it's one of my favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Tom chases Jerry directly into a dog pound. Obviously this is no place for a cat, so Tom swipes the head off of a dog statue and puts it on his own. His feline head now covered, he feels confident about entering the dog pound.

The only problem is that he can't seem to keep the fake dog head on. Right off the bat, he gets it caught in the fence, but luckily the bulldog who spots him is not too bright.

Tom loses the dog head to Jerry and tries to get it back. In the process, he must fake his own decapitation for the benefit of the bulldog. The sight of a headless Tom and the nearby dog head on the ground causes the bulldog to emit a feminine scream of terror.

Believing he has caught Jerry with the fake head, Tom grabs onto the bulldog and tries to wrench his head from his body. It's a very funny moment as Tom tugs at the dog's ears and uses his rear end as leverage.

A self-inflicted hit on the head causes a lump on Tom's noggin, which will no longer accomodate the fake head. The gig is up, with some assistance from Jerry. The dog's mouth becomes a steam shovel as he unearths Tom and chases him up a pole.
The cartoon has fast-paced animation and a great jazz score, but I guess that can be said for most Tom and Jerry films. This time it just really stands out to me.

Tom and Jerry:1943

2007-09-21T20:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry about not posting regularly lately. I have been rather busy. Anyway, we continue on with Tom and Jerry to 1943. "Yankee Doodle Mouse" is a product of the war years and delivers just that:an all-out war between the cat and mouse.

Jerry retreats to his Cat Raid Shelter (the basement) and launches an assault on Tom, who is chasing him. Jerry uses every tool available, from tomato-launching mouse traps, to bottle corks, to spatula-shooting bricks.

The violence (for lack of a better word) begins to come into its own here as Tom is blown up numerous times by Jerry's dynamite sticks. Tom even brings it upon himself when he falls for the classic "reverse psychology" trick as he and Jerry try to pass some dynamite back and forth.

A cloud of flour makes Tom ripe for some floorboard smacks from Jerry, but the mouse's egg carton plane is shot down by the cat with fireworks.

Finally catching Jerry, Tom begins to tie the mouse to a rocket but ends up tied to it himself and is launched to the heavens, giving Jerry a fine 4th of July display.

Tom and Jerry:1942

2007-09-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, just the location of a Tom and Jerry film gives you an idea of the pain that will be involved for Tom. Such as it is with "Bowling Alley-Cat".

The slippery bowling lanes are the perfect skating rink for Jerry, but Tom is unable to stand up on the waxy surface, as he tries to catch Jerry. Jerry flings the cat into an ashtray and Tom is left with a mouthful of cigarette butts.

The sport shifts a bit when Tom pitches a bowling ball at Jerry, who uses a bowling pin for a baseball bat. In this situation, Tom does what anyone would do: try to catch the bowling ball.

A train of bowling balls is sent after Jerry down the ball return, but Tom ends up with a mouthful of one, while the others smack his rear. The "ouch" scene for this film would be when Tom's head gets caught between two bowling balls. Clunk!

A recurring question to me is: Why does Tom never feel when Jerry is tying the cat's tail to something? Here, Jerry ties Tom's tail to a bowling ball, resulting in his being thrown down the alley, through a brick wall and into a trash can. Jerry tallies up his bowling score.

Tom and Jerry:1941

2007-09-14T23:24:00.000-04:00

The slow pace of the Tom and Jerry films continued with "The Midnight Snack". Jerry breaks into the refridgerator in the middle of the night, but Tom is wise to him.

As Jerry makes off with a piece of cheese, Tom constructs an obstacle course before the mouse, complete with a bread staircase and a rolling pin.

Whe Tom's fun with Jerry results in crashing dishes, Mammy runs downstairs to investigate. Tom frames Jerry for the mess and Mammy begs Tom to catch the mouse.

Jerry gets the upper hand by trapping Tom on an ironing board and sending the cat crashing into the fridge. Mammy finds Tom inside, and as Jerry eats his cheese reward, Tom gets an off-screen beating by his owner.

These early films are charming in thier own way, but the best was yet to come, as Tom and Jerry shift things into a higher gear.

Tom and Jerry:1940

2007-09-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

As with most characters, Tom and Jerry are not fully formed in thier first appearance. In "Puss Gets the Boot", Jerry is not as rounded and cute as he would become, but more striking is Tom's scruffy, furry appearance, as well as the fact that his name is not Tom yet, but rather Jasper.

So, Tom...I mean, Jasper...is toying with Jerry until a vase is broken. Jasper's owner, Mammy Two-Shoes (who is only ever shown from the waist down, keeping the action from the perspective of the cat and mouse) quickly lets Jasper know that if he breaks one more thing in the house, he will be "O-W-T, Out!"

Jerry realizes that the best way to get rid of Jasper completely is to break something and blame it on the cat. Whenever Jasper gets too close to him, Jerry threatens to drop a glass to the floor. Some well-placed pillows by Jasper quickly ends the threat, until Jerry begins flinging plates down upon the cat, forcing Jasper to catch them and keep them from breaking.

Soon, Jasper has a stack of plates, bottles and glasses piled ceiling-high in his arms. Some final taunting from Jerry, plus a swift kick in the rear, send the entire pile crashing to the floor. Mammy arrives swiftly and drags Jasper out of the house, much to the delight of Jerry.

It is interesting to see how the pace of the Tom and Jerry films starts off rather slowly. Over the years, they would become much more energetic and wild. I think it's safe to say that the arrival of Tex Avery to MGM had something to do with it.

MGM's Tom and Jerry

2007-09-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

1940 was quite the year for the birth of many of the greatest cartoon characters. Tom and Jerry's films could be seen as just cat and mouse shenanigans, however, they are so much more.

The animation in most of thier films is fluid, fast-paced and energetic. Wild "takes" fly like crazy and new meaning to the word "pain" is expressed. I hate to use the word violence when talking about cartoons, but if it is ever appropriate to do so, now is the time. I can literally feel Tom's pain in some scenes, and to me, that is the result of the believable work done by Hanna/Barbera's staff. These films are breathtaking to watch, and they are good for lots of laughs as well.

A simple cat and mouse chase? Or rather one of the best cartoon series of all time? I vote for the latter, but I'll let you decide for yourself as we journey through the years with Tom and Jerry.

Tom and Jerry:1933

2007-09-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

In "The Magic Mummy", Tom and Jerry are police officers sent on the trail of a mummy that was stolen from a museum. They track down a mysterious figure who goes underground at a graveyard.

The mystery sorcerer brings the mummy back to life and forces it to sing for him. Our heros try to apprehend the villian but get thier skin literally ripped off thier bodies momentarily by the sorcerer's magic and are locked away in the wall.

Tom and Jerry escape and try once more to stop the sorcerer, who is now making the mummy preform in front of a ghoulish skeleton audience.

In the confusion, Jerry grabs the coffin, believing it contains the mummy, but when he returns to the police station, it is revealed that Tom is actually inside.

Tom and Jerry:1932

2007-09-04T22:04:00.000-04:00

Piano doctors, Tom and Jerry, are in charge of getting the star's instrument in perfect order for a big performance.

While Jerry deals with interfering mice, Tom literally extracts a sour note from the piano. Jerry whacks the note with a mallet, then kills it by smacking it on the wall before flushing the note down the toilet.

The hefty star of the show crams herself into her outfit, only to collapse during her performance. Tom and Jerry to the rescue.

The duo give the piano a check-up, complete with stethescope and some pulse-taking by Jerry. Tom pulls a key from the piano like a bum tooth.

The star recovers and interrupts Tom and Jerry's party with a performance that literally raises the roof. All in all, a must-see cartoon.

Tom and Jerry:1931

2007-09-03T22:06:00.001-04:00

Tom and Jerry climb aboard a train in the Swiss Alps,, but when the train gets tired out from climbing a vertical slope, it's up to a rescue dog to save the day. The dog is surprisingly not a St. Bernard, but it does have the barrel of booze required to get the train up and running again.

The train deserts our heros, who then have a run-in with a goat and a bear. While playing around with the echos in the mountains, Tom's head is knocked off momentarily by his own rebounding voice.

The duo is lured by a piece of swiss cheese into a tavern, where thier musical hijinks please the crowd.

Tom and Jerry swipe a piece of swiss cheese and share it with each other. All seems well, until holes began to form all over thier bodies.

Since the two now look like pieces of cheese themselves, they are chased off by a horde of mice from the tavern. Surrealism, without a doubt.

Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry

2007-09-01T22:17:00.000-04:00

Long before a certain cat and mouse blazed across the screen, two humanoid characters named Tom and Jerry were introduced at the Van Beuren studio.

Cartoons in the 1930s tended to be very surreal, and the films of Tom and Jerry were no exception. The short-lived series only lasted 3 years, so the cartoons have slipped out of public consciousness, especially since the character's names are now completely associated with MGM's cat and mouse.

The Tom and Jerry cartoons are a decent representation of the Van Beuren studio and over the next three days, they will be highlighted here.

PD Warehouse:1926

2007-08-31T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today's installment of PD Warehouse features none other than Felix the Cat. In "Two Lip Time", Felix chases a mouse aboard a ship. He loses the mouse but gains a nice case of seasickness, resulting in some vomiting out of a porthole.

The ship docks and a dutch girl catches the eye of frisky Felix. He commences wooing her, which seems to be working (oddly enough, seeing as how he is a cat), until it is discovered that the girl has a jealous boyfriend.

Felix dismisses the rival quickly by using a tire pump to inflate the pants of the boy, sending him sailing off with the wind. Felix's singing draws the attention of a man, who flings his clog at the cat, sending our hero out to sea. Of course, Felix conveniantly plucks the exclamation point from above his head to use as an oar for rowing the clog back to shore.

Hunger sets in and Felix tires to get some milk from one of the locals, who will only part with the milk if Felix waters his flowers for him.

Felix accidentally dumps gin into the watering can, resulting in drunken flowers and trees. The dutchman gives chase to Felix, but he is also dismissed by the cat, who uses his tail as a crank on a windmill, blowing his adversary away.

Woody:Conclusion/What's Next

2007-08-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

As with all cartoon characters form the golden age, Woody's later films do not have the power to diminish the greatness of the earlier films. The evolution of the woodpecker is a fun one to watch and his character is never easy to pin down within any certain category.

This is not the end for our hero either. Woody was resurrected in a recent television series, is still sometimes used as a sort-of mascot for Universal, and his films have now been released on dvd for new viewers to discover. This last fact is probably the most important to me: Those of us who grew up with and enjoyed these cartoons need to pass them down to the next generation, or else they will slip away into obscurity, where they already dangle precariously.

Enough of my ramblings though....what's next? Well, it's going to be a "Tom and Jerry-a-thon" here at the Factory!
Sure, we all know the cat and mouse team from MGM, but there is also a pair with the same names, from the Van Beuren studio, that pre-date the famous duo. So stay tooned for a look at VB's Tom and Jerry followed by MGM's Tom and Jerry.
But before we get into all of that, it's time to dig around in the PD Warehouse for tomorrow's installment.

Woody:1972

2007-08-29T19:25:00.000-04:00

We reach the end of Woody's journey in 1972. In "Chili Con Corny", Woody is travelling through a barren wasteland in his car and comes upon Ms. Meanie's Cafe.

The only item on the menu is the chili, which scalds Woody's mouth, sending him fleeing outside in search of water.

Ms. Meanie accuses Woody of trying to leave without paying the bill and forces him at gunpoint to wash dishes for her to work off his debt.

Woody doesn't come out on top here, for as often as he nearly escapes, the end result is the woodpecker washing dishes with Meanie's gun at his back.

Not much more to say here. Obviously the quality of Woody's films had greatly decreased by this point (argueably before this point), and it was time for our hero to join the group of great cartoon characters from the golden age of animation in retirement.

Woody:1970

2007-08-28T20:36:00.000-04:00

Woody is a stowaway aboard a ship. As he tries to score a meal, he blows his cover.

After a chase around the ship, Woody is caught and forced to walk the plank. He swims to a nearby island and finds a castaway, who is tired of eating nothing but coconuts. A woodpecker meal begins to sound appealing.

The castaway gets more coconuts, however this time they are dropped on his head, courtesy of Woody.

Woody is lured into a trap by a false entrance to a burlesque show. As the castaway reaches into the sack to pluck Woody's feathers, our hero hands off the innards of a pillow instead.

Woody talks his way out of being killed by offering the castaway a chicken dinner, which of course is nothing more than a coconut made to look like a chicken.

Woody:1967

2007-08-27T12:23:00.000-04:00

Woody could appear anywhere, such as in this Chilly Willy cartoon, "Chilly Chums".
A game hunter who is after the penguin has just ingested laughing gas and begins to incontrollably laugh. The problem is that his laugh is just a bit to familiar to Woody, who appears and punishes him by pecking away the ice beneath him, sending him into the water.

Woody:1964

2007-08-25T20:04:00.000-04:00

In a Halloween episode of the Woody Woodpecker Show, Walter Lantz tries to get Woody to blow up balloons for the party, but our hero has nothing but trouble. Lantz sends Woody off in a ghost costume and we transition into the new cartoon "Spook-a-Nanny".

Woody gets more tricks than treats at the party, at the hands (erm...paws...and flippers) of the entire Lantz cast, Chilly Willy, Smedley, Andy Panda, Buzz Buzzard, etc.

Woody meets up with some real ghosts (who just so happen to enjoy playing the woodpecker's theme song) and the spooks crash the party.

When the time comes for the cartoon's title song to be played, Woody takes to the piano for a tune that will stick in your head (even if you don't want it to).

The Woody Woodpecker Show combined the classic cartoons with live segments with Walter Lantz, in which he would give drawing advice or tell the history behind his films and characters.

Woody:1962

2007-08-24T21:26:00.001-04:00

Chilly Willy's canine adversary, Smedley, appeared in a few cartoons with Woody, but I think it's safe to say that the combination was never as effective as when the dog and the penguin were paired together.

Woody takes up residence in a telephone pole and it's up to troubleshooter Smedley to evict him.

Woody dupes Smedley into delivering room service to him. Throughout the film, Smedley breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience in his southern drawl. It's one of the traits of the dog that makes him funny, but it really doesn't do much this time.

Eventually Smedley is trapped in the telephone lines and Woody uses the electricity flowing through the dog to light his home within the pole.

As I said when I began, I am missing cartoons of Woody's for the remainder of the 60's but I am sure I can do some padding from here on in. Stay tooned!

Woody:1961

2007-08-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

Woody Woodpecker is destroying the roof of a house, and the homeowner hires The Blue Streak, the world's fastest cat, to stop him.

Woody's disbelief in the cat's claim is quickly squashed when the Blue Streak proves his speed by playing a one-man game of badminton, with Woody as the "birdie".

Woody slips the cat some tranquilizers in order to slow down the high-speed feline. The cat is reduced to less than a snail's pace, leaving Woody the opportunity to resume pecking holes in the roof.

The Blue Streak discovers that he can reverse the effects of the pills if he receives a blow to the head. Woody whacks the cat with a mallet, inadvertantly restoring the cat's super-speed.

Once the cat catches Woody and goes to claim his reward, the woodpecker turns the tables once more, and the only reward the cat gets are some pecks to the head, compliments of Woody.

Woody:1960

2007-08-22T19:52:00.001-04:00

A doctor has just diagnosed a colonel with a bizarre illness. It seems the colonel is allergic to noise and is sent into a jittery fit whenever noise is present.

The butler has the task of keeping everything quiet for the colonel, which wouldn't be too hard if it were not for Woody Woodpecker.

After his tree-pecking is silenced by the butler, Woody sets out for revenge. A telephone call delivers some long-distance pecking from Woody and a nearby bell tower is a prime location to make some noise.

Woody continuously moves the hands on the clock forward so that the bell will chime, while the butler places himself at risk for many beatings as he tries to stop the bell from ringing.

By the end of the film, the colonel seems to be recovering (momentarily), but the butler and the doctor (and even Woody) are now afflicted with the same allergy as the colonel. Even the "The End" card nervously shakes just like the characters.

Woody:1959

2007-08-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

A new adversary for Woody was created in the form of Ali Gator (who would later be renamed Gabby Gator). The aligator fancies a woodpecker dinner but of course, the tables are turned every step of the way.

It's rather easy for Woody to dupe the gator into a pain-filled round of "follow the leader", which results in Ali being dropped from a cliff and bashed on the head with a mallet.

In a bizarre turn of events, Ali is frequently threatened by another aligator, which tries to eat him. At one point, Ali actually does eat Woody, but the woodpecker uses the opportunity to polish the gator's eyeballs (and happens to break one of them in the process).

Ali ends up in his own pressure cooker instead of Woody and is blasted up into outer space.

Note: Early in the film, Ali reads from a tag around Woody's neck, "In case of accident, notify Walter Lantz".

Woody:1958

2007-08-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

Woody sells insurance this time around and he has to convince Dan Dooley, his old nemesis, just how dangerous the cartoon world can be.

The policy that Woody is pushing would cover Dooley from mishaps such as having a safe fall on his head, lightning strikes, dog bites and pile driver accidents. It even protects against being thrown into a printing press, which Woody demonstrates by pushing Dooley directly into one.

Dan finally breaks down and signs the policy, only to find that it does not protect against guided missle attacks...which Woody just happens to have.

Dooley tries desperately to escape the missle but finally gets blown up by it, landing him in the hospital. The ticking of a toaster sounds just like the ticking of a missle, so Dooley leaps out of the window to escape.

On his way down, he signs Woody's new policy...only to find out it will not cover any injuries incured from jumping out of a window.

Woody:1957

2007-08-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

Woody tells his neice and nephew, Splinter and Knothead, how he aquired his bearskin rug.

Woody is a door-to-door salesman, who pushs ordinary gadgets while trying to make them sound much more important than they really are. His next customer is a bear who is trying to hibernate for the winter.

The bear cannot get rid of the pesky woodpecker and quickly resorts to violence to free himself from Woody. Woody gives the bear a "Do Not Disturb" sign, but when the bear goes outside to hang it on his door, Woody locks him out. When the bear bangs on the door to be let back in, Woody admonishes him for breaking the instructions of the sign.

The bear locks Woody in a safe and dumps him in the river, but of course that never works in cartoons. By plane and by train, the bear fails to kill Woody. Eventually, one of his own death traps backfires on him.

The bearskin rug on Woody's floor is very much alive, but at least it can finally get some rest.

Woody:1956

2007-08-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

"Arts and Flowers" demonstrates how Woody is able to apply the rules of the cartoon universe.

Our hero enters into an art contest, where he must paint a desert flower. He has a rival, however, in the form of a snooty artist. The gloves come off quickly, as Woody sabotages the artists's car to hinder him from reaching the location.

The artist claims his place by drawing an "X" on the ground, which Woody simply pulls out from under him. The woodpecker paints a pond on a large rock and, after demonstrating that the water is real by swimming in it, lures the artist into taking a plunge head-first into the stone.

Woody's drawings also come to life. A greek figure smashes her vase over the artist's head, and Woody's sketch of a dog comes to life and attacks his opponent (thanks to the bone that Woody has painted on the artist's behind).

Finally, Woody draws railroad tracks beneath the artist's feet, and of course, a train uses the fake tracks to mow down the snobby artist.
Woody frames the mangled body of the artist and wins the contest, but the prize is nothing more than a painting of a money sack.

Woody:1955

2007-08-17T21:03:00.000-04:00

"Square Shootin' Square" is a lesson in how many ways a woodpecker can slip dynamite to a crook.

A bank robber hides his stolen loot in Woody's tree, but when Woody claims the dough for himself, the hijinks begin.

The thief tries to reclaim the money but Woody manages to insert TNT into his vacinity at every turn. Even in an old fashioned "drawing" contest, Woody's doodle of a gun manages to shoot the criminal in the face.

A "shell game" results in multiple explosions for the crook, and some fast word play gets the crook to insist on claiming a lit drum of dynamite.

Finally, the robber's abused horse fights back by double-crossing its master. One more gunshot to the face causes the crook to break down and beg an officer to take him away to jail, seeing prison as his only escape from Woody.

Woody:1954

2007-08-16T21:18:00.000-04:00

If there ever was a piece of music that is synonomous with cartoons, it is "Hungarian Rhapsody #2". Woody Woodpecker is just one of many characters that have played it on the piano, such as he does in "Convict Concerto".

Woody is a piano tuner that is accosted by a bank robber on the run. The crook hides in Woody's piano and forces him at gunpoint to play without stopping.

Woody tries to get the attention of a police officer, who is oblivious to what is going on around him, while the crook calls for his henchmen from inside the piano.

Playing "Hungarian Rhapsody #2", Woody, his piano and the thief inside are escorted out of the shop, right past the clueless cop, and onto an escape vehicle.

A fast-paced chase ensues. Woody frantically keeps playing the piano, even as it tossed out of the truck, onto a train, and is literally pulled apart as it flies out over a cliff. When Woody, piano and criminal all crash down to the ground, they land in jail, where Woody's frazzled nerves finally become unwound.
Definetely one of my favorite Woody Woodpecker films.

Woody:1953

2007-08-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

3-D films were all the craze in 1953, and Woody Woodpecker contributed with "Hypnotic Hick". Throughout the cartoon, the 3-D effect is utilized with the characters leaping,swinging (and spitting bolts) toward the screen.

Woody is hired to deliver a summons to Buzz Buzzard, who works at a construction site. (Always a good location for a cartoon.)

After trying every trick in the book, yet failing, Woody resorts to hypnotism to force Buzz to accept the summons.

Woody is not satisfied with simply completing his objective, but rather sets out to completely humiliate Buzz. Using his hypnotic powers, he forces Buzz to act like various animals, then forces him to be his protector. Woody places himself in danger around the construction site and the hypnotized buzzard has no choice but to place himself in harm's way to protect his master.

Woody brings Buzz to justice but the woodpecker is given a summons of his own...for hypnotizing out of season.

Woody:1952

2007-08-14T23:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have to pick "Stage Hoax" for 1952 simply because it is just so bizarre. It's one of those films that makes me laugh but only because it is so twisted.

Woody is stranded in the desert in the old west and tries to hitch a ride. When he fails, he resorts to dressing in drag (complete with fake plastic female legs) to entice Wally Walrus to give him a lift in his stagecoach.

The wooing doesn't last long and Woody is ejected from the coach. He uses a "wanted" poster for Buzz Buzzard to trick Wally with a false stick-up. Once inside the coach, Woody is attacked by the real Buzz who shoots a rocket full of termites, which detach the coach from the horses.

Woody hurls the fake female legs at Buzz before his coach goes over a cliff. Once more, he dons the dress and wig to trick Buzz into breaking his fall. Unrealistic amounts of legs protruding from beneath Woody's dress aren't enough to stop the buzzard from falling in lust and forcing himself upon the woodpecker.

Woody's cries for help are answered by Wally Walrus (who has been carrying the fake cut-out of Buzz on his back this whole time). During the scuffle, Buzz ends up in drag accidentally, Wally falls in lust with him, and Woody uses them both, instead of horses, to pull his coach.
Confused yet?

Woody:1951

2007-08-13T17:33:00.000-04:00

Woody took some time off in 1950 but returned in 1951 with some cartoons in which he doesn't speak. My guess is that this was a way for the studio to save money. Anyway, in "Destination Meatball", Woody encounters dishonest grocery store owner, Buzz Buzzard, who literally jacks up his prices.

Buzz uses invisible ink to hide the "hidden tax", but Woody refuses to pay except for a stamp to the buzzard's hand.

The invisible ink is dropped on some parts of Woody and Buzz believes he has killed the woodpecker. Afraid of the hangman's noose, he sweeps Woody's remains into the basement. "The Woody Woodpecker Polka" (from a cartoon released the same year) is whistled by both Woody and, oddly enough, Buzz in this film.

Woody tries to use a phony ghost to scare Buzz but when the jig is up, both parties douse themselves in the ink. Having invisible characters was another cost-cutting device, I am sure.

Buzz is led by Woody into the freezer where he is solidified and put on display in the store window, and Woody makes off with his free groceries.

Woody:1949

2007-08-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

Woody Woodpecker took it easy in 1949 and only appeared in one film, "Drooler's Delight". On a hot day, nothing sounds better than an ice cream soda, so Woody takes his quarter and heads to the ice cream parlour.

In route, he crosses paths with Buzz Buzzard, who steals Woody's quarter while the woodpecker is casually flipping it in the air. Woody pulls out all the stops to get his money back from Buzz. First, he impersonates a blind begger to snatch the quarter back.

When Buzz re-obtains the quarter, Woody resorts to dressing in drag to catch the eye of the buzzard. Woody's female outfit is complete with...

...a booby trap! Woody finally makes it to the shop only to find Buzz is the waiter.

Woody shrinks in size during the final scene and is mixed up with ice cream in a glass by Buzz. Woody finally gets his Drooler's Delight and Buzz gets some pecks on his beak.

Woody:1948

2007-08-10T22:13:00.000-04:00

"Wet Blanket Policy" places Woody against the evil Buzz Buzzard, a shifty insurance salesman. The cartoon also is the first to feature the "Woody Woodpecker Song", which I never really cared for since the lyrics include gruesome images of the woodpecker "knocking holes in your head"...but I digress.

Anyway, Buzz forces Woody to sign a life insurance policy that states the buzzard would be the beneficiary, should Woody meet an untimely death.

Before the ink is even dry, Buzz begins his attempts to kill Woody. A gun and and axe don't work, especially when Woody pauses the chase to answer the phone (and uses the delay to douse Buzz in ink).

Buzz attempts to drop Woody into a tank of crocodiles, which he just happens to have beneath his office, but of course Woody gets the drop on Buzz.

The buzzard is sent fleeing from the crocs as Woody pecks the insurance policy to confetti.

Woody:1947

2007-08-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

Wally Walrus finds himself once again having Woody Woodpecker for a neighbor. The fact that Wally works nights and sleeps during the day is not respected at all.

Woody sings at the top of his lungs and makes a racket while mowing the lawn. When asked by Wally if he can possibly make any more noise, the woodpecker obliges by instantly becoming a one-man band.

Woody burns his leaf pile in the yard (and throws some trash in for good measure) and the smoke trails up into Wally's room. The walrus tries numerous things to try and stop the smoke from coming in, but even a picture on his wall gets infiltrated by Woody. In a humerous moment that blends action with music, Wally struggles to keep the smoke from coming up through his bedposts, to the tune of the Blue Danube Waltz.

Wally finally gets his revenge on Woody with a "tit for tat" machine that puts the woodpecker through extreme versions of the same annoyances that were inflicted upon Wally.

Woody:1946

2007-08-08T22:09:00.000-04:00

Wally Walrus has rented out a room in his home to a new tenant. Unfortunately for him, the tenant is Woody Woodpecker.

The trouble begins with Woody's noisy and destructive game of indoor golf. Wally informs him of the strict rules, which are specific enough to include "no opium smoking".

Woody decides to take a bath but drops a dime down the drain accidentally. Determined to retrieve it, the woodpecker begins his assault on the pipes in his bathroom.

Unbeknownst to him, each action that Woody preforms on the pipes directly affects Wally's bathtub downstairs. Soon the walrus has a wire in his face (and...erm...elsewhere), and his tub is being jostled, shaken, lifted and dropped.

Woody drops dynamite down the pipes and the house explodes...but at least he finally retrieves his dime, much to Wally's chagrin.

Woody:1945

2007-08-06T20:08:00.000-04:00

Woody is on the search for a meal but all of the local restaurants are closed. He finally finds a sign in a window that promises to "stuff" him.

Unbeknownst to Woody, he has entered a taxidermy shop and the fox who owns it is determined to collect on a cash reward for a stuffed woodpecker. The film contains mant funny moments as Woody believes the establishment he entered is a diner rather than a taxidermists.

The fox dreams of what he could obtain with the money; "women, motorcars, women, yachts, women, mansion, women..." and he slips some knock-out pills into Woody's soup. Woody awakens on the taxidermy table but is not ready to be stuffed just yet.

The fox learns that trying to kill Woody is no easy feat, since the woodpecker uses everything at his disposal to inflict pain upon the fox, such as an anvil and an elevator.

The fox's dreams of fortune are just as squashed as his body and Woody even manages to infiltrate his crushed dream.

Woody:1944

2007-08-05T21:10:00.000-04:00

Woody takes over an abandoned barber shop in "Barber of Seville". After disrespecting and disposing of an indian customer, Woody's next client asks for "the works". Big mistake.

Woody uses his beak as a flamethrower to burn the helmet off of the man, then gets overzealous with the shaving cream.

Woody warbles opera as he terrorizes the man with a razor blade, in a fast-paced climax which sends the customer running for his life.

Director Shamus Culhane uses the woodpecker's insanity to great effect and this cartoon is considered by many to be one of Woody's best. It's one of those films that you need to see to appreciate, since words really can't do it justice.

Woody:1943

2007-08-04T20:50:00.000-04:00

A product of it's time, "Ration Bored" deals with wartime gas rationing. Woody is at his peak here in the area of anti-authoritarianism.

Woody runs out of gas during a frivolous drive. He presents a children's book at the gas station, but it is clearly not the "A,B,C ration book" that the attendant had in mind.

Woody resorts to stealing gas by siphoning it from the gas tanks of other cars and eventually attempts his theft on a police car. Woody proves that the law does not apply to him as he assaults the cop after some back-and-forth with the siphon hose.

During the chase, the cop ends up with tires on his appendages and Woody slaps a steering wheel on him, driving the officer like a car directly into a gas silo...which explodes...killing them both.

Once in heaven, they learn that angel wings are also being rationed, and the cop learns that even in the afterlife, there is no escape from the woodpecker.

Woody:1942

2007-08-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

My 100th post already? Time flies.

Like many other cartoon characters, Woody did his part for the army in "Ace in the Hole". His job seems a bit more trivial since it involves clipping horses, and Woody would rather be flying one of the planes.

Woody does not conform to the laws of reality as he hitches a ride on top of the plane's shadow, and bounces dangerously over a group of bombs.

The Sarge squashes Woody's hopes of flying but that does not stop the woodpecker from trying on one of the pilot's suits. A flare is dropped inside and causes fireworks for our hero.

Woody finally ends up in a plane and the Sarge is put through the wringer as he tries to stop the bird. There is quite a "Tex Avery moment" here as the Sarge flees from the runaway plane and slams the hangar doors. There is a moment of silence, then the Sarge opens the door slowly....only to be mowed down by Woody's plane.

The Sarge is left crippled after being blown up by the bombs from Woody's plane, but that doesn't stop him from forcing Woody back into his horse-clipping duties at gunpoint.

Woody:1941

2007-08-02T21:18:00.000-04:00

Woody got a cartoon series of his own beginning in 1941 with the obvious film name of "Woody Woodpecker". A staple of the cartoons was to have Woody burst forth from the title card to deliver his trademark laugh.

Woody leaps out and directly into a song ("Knock on Wood") in which he delights in his craziness. Many a time I have caught myself quietly singing this to myself. The other woodland animals label him as insane and urge him to seek professional help.

Woody goes to a doctor, who in this case is played by a fox (who's office is only open for one minute a day). The doctor should have taken the whole day off if Woody is his patient.

Woody frustrates the doctor by trying to read the eye chart with his eyes closed and by vanishing, only to reappear at the door seconds later. This is just the beginning. Soon, Woody is careening around the office in a flurry of nuttiness, eventually being thrown right out of the movie screen and into the audience.

While the doctor on screen goes insane from his time with Woody, the woodpecker annoys the audience members until they slam his theater seat on him.

Woody:1940

2007-08-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

Woody Woodpecker first appeared in the Andy Panda cartoon, "Knock Knock". As Andy's father is busy studying his racing form, he is interrupted by a knocking sound. Assuming it is the door, he answers it to find noone there. His frustration causes him to rip the door apart, only to learn that the knocking is coming from the roof.

"Guess who?" It's Woody and he has been destroying the roof with his constant pecking. Andy and his father learn that the holes in the roof are the least of the problems. The cross-eyed woodpecker is clearly insane with a crazed laugh and an affection for nose-honking. In his first form, Woody is quite the colorful character, complete with green tail feathers, a red chest and blue feathers. He is very loud, both in appearance and personality.

Poppa Panda has mishaps with his gun and must resort to more clever methods to rid himself of Woody. A time bomb disguised as a female bird is enough to trick the woodpecker into an explosive kiss, and Woody must cure his broken heart by terrorizing the pandas some more.

After several unsuccessful attempts to pour salt on Woody's tail, Andy finally does and renders Woody incapacitated. Two more woodpeckers in insane asylum gear come to collect Woody, but they prove to be just as looney.

What was meant as a bit role in a cartoon turned into much more and now Woody Woodpecker was unleashed upon the world.

Guess Who?

2007-07-31T21:53:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's Woody Woodpecker...and for the next month, we're going screwy with Walter Lantz's biggest star.

Many cartoon characters evolve, in both physical appearance and in personality, but Woody always stands out to me in terms of character evolution. His appearance changes drastically over the years as does his personality, but that is to be expected when your career spans 32 years.

Alongside of Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Wally Walrus, Buzz Buzzard, Gabby Gator and many others, Woody always stood out as the ultimate instigator and troublemaker. Join me on a journey through the career of the most popular Lantz character.

PD Warehouse:1932

2007-07-30T16:05:00.000-04:00

In Van Beuren's "The Cat's Canary", we begin with a grisly scene in which a cat sets a trap to catch birds, succeeds, and eats his prey.

The trouble begins for the cat, however, when the only sounds that eminate from his mouth are the chirpings of the bird in his stomach. He quickly seeks out a doctor's assistance.

The doctor's treatment apparently involves banging the cat on the floor and smacking his rear, in an attempt to get the bird out. Eventually, the cat gets ejected from the office.

After dealing with lovesick birds, who are attracted to the chirping coming from the cat, he joins up with a group of alley cats, who eventually accept the chirping feline. Debris is thrown from a nearby building to silence the cat's tune, resulting in the cat getting hit with a birdcage, which allows the bird in his stomach to escape.

The trouble isn't over yet for the cat, as the bird quickly rounds up his buddies, who launch and aerial assault on the feline. The cat is pelted with eggs and even a cannonball launched from the bill of a pelican, delivering sweet revenge from the birds.

Goofy:Conclusion/What's Next

2007-07-29T23:10:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so I was feeling lazy about screenshots tonight.
Starting in 1992, Goofy appeared in the tv series "Goof Troop" which paved the way for a feature film, "A Goofy Movie", which spawned a direct-to video sequel "An Extremely Goofy Movie". Most of these ventures attempted to stay true to the character of Goofy, while trying to modernize the world he inhabits, but they can't compare to the earlier career of the one and only Goofy. It's been fun looking back over his career. He really is one of the best.

So, what's next? Well, as I eluded to in the comment section a few posts back, I think that Woody Woodpecker would be the obvious choice to highlight next, due to the new dvd set. My only misgiving is that the timeline would be not quite complete, as I am missing films of Woody's from the late 60's. So, if you will all bear that in mind, I can put aside my obsessive/compulsion this time.

Before we begin however: Sometimes the machinery here at the Acme Factory goes haywire and random cartoons get spit out haphazardly. In between character timelines, you might see posts about cartoons that just don't fit anywhere else. They may be "one-shot" cartoons, or something from the Public Domain Warehouse. I can never know what the Acme gadgetry will crank out, so stop by tomorrow and we'll find out.

Goofy: 1990

2007-07-28T21:52:00.000-04:00

Since 1987's "Soccermania" has yet to be released in the U.S., I have to move on to 1990's "The Prince and the Pauper".

Here we find Goofy co-starring as himself, a good friend of Mickey's. When Mickey switches places with the Prince, Goofy has no idea and overwhelms the Prince with a greeting that the royal mouse is not accustomed to.

It is interesting to say that Goofy is quite the hero in this film, since it is he that saves the Prince and Donald from the dungeon. Physical comedy, of course, is abound whenever Goofy is on screen.

Obviously, this film deserves to be in a Mickey tribute (which is on my "to do" list), but I had to mention it here for Goofy's role in this very entertaining cartoon.

Goofy:1983

2007-07-27T19:07:00.000-04:00

In the featurette, "Mickey's Christmas Carol", Goofy is given the role of Jacob Marley. Naturally, Goofy makes the character more amusing than scary. He first appears as Ebeneezer Scrooge's door knocker and gets a nose-honking from his former business partner.

Animated in a transparent blue, the ghost of Goofy emerges in Scrooge's room and promptly trips over his cane.

Goofy unknowingly strangles Scrooge with his chains of punishment and tells the miser that he will be visited by three spirits. Of course, Goofy says "three" while holding up two fingers.

Goofy makes his exit, avoiding the cane on the floor this time, but ends up falling down the stairs instead. This is always a good cartoon to watch during the holidays.

Goofy:1961

2007-07-26T21:41:00.000-04:00

Eight years passed before Goofy reappeared in "Aquamania". Our hero cannot resist buying a speedboat and soon is off to the lake with his son.

After sinking the car into the water along with the boat, Goofy straps on the water skis. I never understood why since the only person left to drive the boat at that point would be his young son.

Goofy's oversight of this fact results in his son starting up the boat and getting them involved in a high-speed race. Goofy's skiing abilities (or lack thereof) are put to the test.

Goofy is soon tangled up with an octopus while being dragged along the lake and the terrified creature has no choice but to go along for the ride. Goofy and the octopus are struck by lighting at one point and are thrown from the lake onto a roller coaster.

The hair-raising race ends with Goofy being flung across the finish line and into the winner's trophy, proving that he can still triumph despite his ineptitude.

Goofy:1953

2007-07-25T19:54:00.000-04:00

As the Golden Age of animation was drawing to a close, Goofy could always be counted on for laughs. In "Father's Day Off", Goofy is left at home with his son and he scoffs at how his wife makes housework sound so difficult.

Goofy thinks he has everything under control, but life in the household quickly becomes unravelled. He must deal with his destructive son, a messy dog, an overflowing bathtub and a burning iron.

The milkman and the grocery man greet Goofy with kisses (obviously expecting Mrs. Goof). Goofy is oblivious to what these affectionate visitors really signify.

While a soap opera is playing on the radio, Goofy drops the phone next to the speaker. Hearing the phony screams and cries for help, the operator believes they are real and calls the police.

Mrs. Goof returns home just as the police and the fire department storm the house and her husband is knocked out by the iron which has burned through the floor and fallen through the ceiling.

Goofy:1952

2007-07-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

In a crime-ridden city, Goofy is an unlikely detective hired by a woman to find the mysterious "Al".

The chief of police (who looks just like Pete, although this cartoon is not listed in Pete's filmography most of the time) seems quite adamant that Goofy leave this case alone. Everyone seems to be trying to stop Goofy from finding Al, including some shifty weasels.

Goofy quickly finds himself sunk to the bottom of the river with cement on his feet and even ends up in the morgue, where he is promptly kicked out and told not to come back "until he's ready".

The film shifts into high gear for an energetic car chase sequence full of gags. The mystery of Al is finally revealed.

It seems that the police chief is Al and the woman who was looking for him is his bride-to-be. Apparently, the cop was having second thoughts about the marriage and was trying to hide. If only Goofy hadn't been on the case.

Goofy:1951

2007-07-23T20:08:00.001-04:00

Lots of great Goofy cartoons this year, as our hero deals with fatherhood, gambling and his smoking addiction, but I had to pick "Lion Down" simply for its "cartooniness".

Goofy tries to set up a hammock on the roof of his building, but only has one tree to tie it to. He heads out to the woods and cuts down a second tree and brings it back home. His hammock is now set up and he relaxes in it. Problem solved? Nope!

A mountain lion resides in the tree and does not take kindly to being removed from his woodland home. Furthermore, he finds Goofy's hammock appealing.

The film is packed with gags such as when Goofy steps out of the hammock while it is suspended across the buildings, he walks on the air for a moment until he realizes his predicament. He is then able to scramble on the air in order to get back to the safety of the hammock.

The doorbell that just won't stop ringing, and which brings the action to a grinding halt every time, is a great repeating joke, as is the brief moment of shared laughter by Goofy and the lion at the newspaper comics, before the action resumes.
Finally, the lion takes his tree back but leaves an acorn, which Goofy plants and waits for it to grow so he can use his hammock again. All in all, a fun cartoon.

Goofy:1950

2007-07-22T19:16:00.000-04:00

Once in a while, a cartoon comes along that deals with an issue we can all relate to. In this case, the issue is road rage and Goofy is behind the wheel.

The concept here is that Goofy, "Mr. Walker", is a mild-mannered, good natured civilian, but when he gets into his car he becomes Mr. Wheeler, an aggressive, road-raging menace who is drunk on power.

As I said, we can all relate. I have been the recipient numerous times of an unwarranted "finger", but I have to admit that there are other times when I can rage with the best of them. This film really holds up the mirror to the viewer and makes you think about your own actions while driving.

The new theme music for the Goofy cartoons helps us understand that this is no longer the Goofy of the past. No more bumbling Dippy Dawg. No more would-be sports star. Goofy is now the common man and his cartoons would deal with the day-to-day stresses in the life of a domestic family man.

So next time you're driving, ask yourself if you could be a little less like Mr. Wheeler, because the end result is usually the same as Goofy's in this cartoon.

Goofy:1949

2007-07-21T21:27:00.001-04:00

I think it's safe to say that Goofy takes the most physical abuse of his career during the course of this film, the majority of which takes place in the last minute.

Goofy is now a typical working guy who comes home exhausted, but is inspired to take up a home work-out program. His mail-order home gym arrives at lightning speed and soon he is guided by the recorded voice of an instructor.

Goofy has nothing but trouble with the barbells and quickly gets tangled up in the chest expansion cables.

What results is Goofy's home being demolished as his punished body is flung around the room, through the ceiling and out the window.

After quickly being admonished by a woman in a neighboring building who believes he is a "masher", Goofy is hurtled back directly through the brick wall of his building. His work-out clearly leaves him exhausted, but not in the way that it should have.

Clips from this cartoon were used in the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". While the cartoon is a good example of Goofy at his best, it is odd for it to be used in "Roger Rabbit", since the events in the movie predate this cartoon. Now I'm being picky though. This is one of my favorite Goofy cartoons.

Goofy:1948

2007-07-20T20:59:00.000-04:00

Goofy leaves behind the world of sports to take a job at a circus, where he cares for the elephant, Delores.

The elephant destroys Goofy's trailer in an attempt to wake him up, but Goofy's a pretty sound sleeper. Once awake, Goofy teases Dolores with the promise of a peanut, attempting to soften her up for what is to come...her bath.

The film revolves around Goofy's attempts to bathe Dolores, resulting in Goofy usually getting more wet than the elephant.

Things get even more difficult when the elephant develops a bad case of sneezes, eventually landing animal and trainer in the mud.

I always love how oblivious Goofy always seems to be to what is happening around him...or to him, such as when the water hose is left running while in his pocket.

Goofy:1947

2007-07-19T20:30:00.000-04:00

Mickey would be absent from a series of cartoons featuring only Donald and Goofy, showing that the two's personalities had eclipsed the mouse's.

Donald and Goofy run out of gas while driving through the desert and are forced to go on foot. Goofy, of course, is oblivious to the danger while Donald is freaking out. In a very funny scene, Goofy uses a magnifying glass to look at thier map and sets the map on fire, at which point he uses the last of Donald's precious water to put out the fire. Donald's frustration with Goofy, who just doesn't seem to get it, makes these two a great comedy team.

The rest of the film deals with mirages. While Donald sees ice mountains everywhere, Goofy envisions a soda fountain. Goofy's mirage is quite elaborate. He can not afford to pay for the imaginary beverages (which he was unable to actually drink in the first place) and is forced to wash imaginary dishes to work off his imaginary bill.

Donald and Goofy escape on a camel and we are left to wonder if the animal is just another mirage as well.

Goofy:1946

2007-07-18T17:49:00.000-04:00

As the residents of the "Goofy universe", play a basketball game, we are treated to a game that is a bit unconventional, but never gets as out of control as "Hockey Homicide".

The announcer once again calls the game frantically while the Goofs drop the ball (pun intended, I guess) on thier playing abilities.

There is one very short Goof who does not meet the neccessary height requirements for the game, but once all the other players have been exhausted, he is allowed on the court.

Mini-Goofy is not above relieving an opposing team member of his trunks in order to steal the ball and inadvertantly win the game for his team.

After being placed in just about every sport, Goofy would slowly begin to evolve once more, as we will see in the years to come.

Goofy:1945

2007-07-17T18:50:00.000-04:00

Usually, if you want to see a zany cartoon you would look to Warner Bros. since nobody did it better. However, once in a while a cartoon comes from another studio that can be ranked right along side the Looney Tunes gang in terms of hilarious insanity. Such is the case with Goofy's "Hockey Homicide".

This is another film that really needs to be seen in order to be fully appreciated. The action is fast-paced, energetic and full of gags. The speed builds and builds until there is no choice but to throw the typical rules of a Disney cartoon right out the window.

Even the fans are laugh-inducing as one of them actually forgets for a moment which team he was originally cheering for. Probably due to all of the blows to the head from the character next to him.

The two star players never even get to play, for every time they step on the ice, they immediately begin fighting and find themselves thrown into the penalty box. When thier time is up, they return to the ice, begin fighting and are thrown right back into the penalty box.

The referree takes so much abuse that he resorts to wearing full body armor, while a spectator is left chewing on a puck after his burger has been flung onto the field. By the last minute of the film, the announcer's words are a jumble, being spit out at break-neck pace, while the game disintegrates into chaos.

The action is so frantic that several clips from other Disney films are quickly spliced into the action. If you don't blink, you will see a few seconds of "How to Play Baseball", "How to Play Football", "Victory Through Air Power", and Monstro the Whale from "Pinocchio".

Goofy:1944

2007-07-15T22:05:00.000-04:00

I admit that I'm not much of a sports fan. I usually turn a game on when I want to take a nap. I might feel differently if every game was like the ones played in Goofy cartoons.

Goofy has come a long way from simply being a football announcer in "Touchdown Mickey" to be being the star of the game in this film. Once again, everyone in the film's universe resembles Goofy.

The usual mundane-voiced narrator is replaced here by a much more sports-commentator-esque voice, which just isn't as funny to me, but I guess it is more appropriate for the pace of the film.

The "Goofys" of the two teams fumble thier way through the game (no pun intended),the coach is driven mad and confined to a straight jacket.

It is disturbing, yet all too true I fear, to see that the ridiculous act of players slapping each other's asses is demonstrated here as well.

Goofy:1943

2007-07-14T21:38:00.000-04:00

Following in the steps of Mickey Mouse, who appeared in the feature film "Fantasia", Goofy's star status finally reached the point where he appeared in the feature film, "Saludos Amigos".

During World War II, the Latin American market became important to American industry and "Saludos Amigos" (and its follow-up "The Three Caballeros") where products of this time. The film took four short cartoons and blended them with live-action footage of the Disney artists visiting numerous South American locations.

In Goofy's segment, "El Gaucho Goofy", we find our hero portraying the Argentina version of the cowboy, the gaucho. Goofy is far from a perfect gaucho and his horse has a mind of its own.

The cartoon has the ever-present narrator, who at one point, slows down the video and audio in order for us to fully appreciate the graceful(?) way that Goofy captures an ostrich. We are then treated to some singing from Goofy, which would be remarkable, if it weren't revealed that a skipping phonograph is actually providing his vocals.

Goofy dances with his horse, who proves that Disney characters aren't above dressing in drag. If you go in search of this film on dvd, know that the scene of Goofy smoking has been edited on the gold collection release, as I mentioned once before here.

Goofy:1942

2007-07-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

Goofy tackled a wide variety of sports during his career, and baseball seems an obvious choice. The pace of this film increases towards the end and the style proves that Disney cartoons can actually make you laugh.

Another aspect of the Goofy cartoons around this time is the use of multiple characters that all resemble Goofy. Some people have asked me why this is and I always have felt that it was the artist's way of portraying Goofy as the "every man". Goofy could take on many roles, even within one film.

Once the basics of the sport are (somewhat) explained by the narrator and demonstrated by Goofy in his own fumbling way, it is time for the World Series.

The narrator is much more enthusiastic here as he calls the game, trying to keep pace with the frantic actions of Goofy. One of the funniest moments for me is when Goofy knocks the ball apart, reducing it to a ball of string for the outfielder to catch. Outfielder Goofy then tries to furiously reroll the string into some version of a ball. However, when that fails, he must simply grab the entire pile of string and hop with it to home plate, when the controversial ruling of the umpire is given.

Once again, it was hard to choose a film from this year, but I had to go with the one that made me laugh out loud.

Goofy:1941

2007-07-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

"The Art of Skiing" ("erm...pronounced shee-ing") shows us how to tackle the slopes the Goofy way.

Goofy is the not-too-enthusiastic subject as the narrator must verbally force him out of bed and into his skis. Goofy's first problem: He has put his skis on before he has put on his pants.

Once the problem of the clothing is resolved, Goofy takes to the slopes and shows us how (not) to perform manuvers in the snow, while the always present narrator rambles off bits of poetry and offers Goofy advice on how to get up after falling. The narrator's instructions are being recited to quickly for our hero who has barely completed step one while the instructor is about ten steps ahead of him.

Goofy tackles the long jump and has mishaps in the air before crash landing back through his own window and directly into his own bed, where he resumes sleeping immediately.

Slapstick comedy, a yodel-peppered soundtrack, and the first use of the infamous "Goofy yell" make the topic of skiing much more fun than the sport actually looks.

Goofy:1940

2007-07-10T21:52:00.000-04:00

"Goofy's Glider" is the first in the very hilarious "How To" cartoons. It is a formula that would be used with the character throughout the 1940's.

The film revolves around Goofy's attempts to get his glider into the air. What makes these films different however, is the presense of a narrator who takes on the role of Goofy's instructor.

Many times the narrator seems lost in his own world, oblivious to Goofy's bumblings, but then is suddenly snapped back to reality during a moment of crisis. The droning, almost snooty tone of the narrator's voice is extremely funny when contrasted with Goofy's antics.

After trying a bike, catapult and roller skates to launch the glider, Goofy resorts to using a cannon, to which the narrator advises that if all else fails, "try your own ideas". Clearly the narrator has given up and, while Goofy tinkers with explosives, the professor-like voice is rambling on about nonsensical science facts.

In my opinion, the Goofy films of the 1940's were the funniest ever made by Disney.

Goofy:1939

2007-07-09T19:55:00.000-04:00

In 1939, Goofy finally got his own series of cartoons. The first entry, "Goofy and Wilbur" shows that a perfect formula for the character was still not realized. Don't get me wrong, it's a good cartoon but it can't compare with what was to come in Goofy's career.

Goofy goes fishing (in a "No Fishing" zone. Gasp!) and he brings along his grasshopper friend, Wilbur, who is used as live bait.

After several successful catches, Wilbur is eaten by a fish but saved by Goofy. This is a "buddy film" in just about every sense of the phrase and Goofy's concern for Wilbur seems quite genuine. Although, I guess Goofy never really thought things through and realized the potential danger in using his friend as bait.

The near-tragedy does not stop the duo from trying again and this time, Wilbur is eaten by a frog. In pursuit of the frog, Goofy watches in horror as the frog is eaten by a stork. Goofy follows the stork to its nest but loses the bird, leaving a tearful Goofy to lament the loss of Wilbur.

Just when things look most bleak, Wilbur hatches out of one of the stork's eggs. Don't ask me how that happened. I guess it is a lesson for another time.

Goofy:1938

2007-07-08T20:50:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it is hard to pick just one film from each year, but this time I have to go with "Boat Builders" if for no other reason, the scene in which Goofy tries to woo an inanimate object.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy are constructing a boat that is so easy to put together that "even a child can do it". Yep, nothing can go wrong here.

Goofy struggles with a board that just won't stay in place and gets dropped into a bucket of nails. The resulting pain only occurs after Goofy has deciphered the word "nails" on the bucket in which is rear is placed.

When Goofy opens the box that contains the mermaid headpiece for the ship, he bashfully believes that the lady is real. When the headpiece falls from the box, Goofy believes that the lady has feinted and lends his assistance.
He accidently thrusts the figure to his lips and, thinking it to be the "lady" showing her affection, becomes flustered.
While he is distracted, Mickey moves the figurehead but gets it caught on the boat's whistle, making Goofy believe that the inanimate damsel is flirting with him.

When Minnie christens the ship, it collapses upon itself, leaving our three heros in the drink.

Goofy:1937

2007-07-06T21:08:00.000-04:00

A group of ghosts in a haunted house are bored and decide to prank call a ghost exterminator company, which just happens to be run by Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

The three arrive on the scene and are immediately put through the paces by the ghosts. I don't know why the three always seem to seperate during thier cartoons since I think there are more comedic possibilities by having these three characters in the same space together.

"I'm brave, but I'm careful", says Goofy to himself but of course he is not careful enough. Soon he is caught in a mirror game with one of the ghosts before being flung down the stairs in a cabinet.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy are inadvertantly covered in mollasses and flour, making them look like ghosts. For some reason, the ghosts that have been tormenting them are afraid of ghosts and flee the house in panic.

Always a great cartoon to watch on Halloween.

Goofy:1936

2007-07-05T22:15:00.000-04:00

By 1936, Goofy begins to leave his Dippy Dawg appearance behind. In "Moving Day", he is an ice delivery man who gets wrapped up in Mickey and Donald's scheme.

The mouse and duck are late paying thier rent and Sheriff Pete is laying down the law by planning to sell thier furniture. Goofy arrives just in time to help assist the tenents with packing up thier belongings before Pete can sell them.

While Donald deals with getting his rear end stuck in plungers and fish bowls, Goofy does battle with a piano that has a mind of its own. Goofy is placed in a battle of wits with the not-so-inanimate object that just refuses to stay aboard the truck.

A leaking gas pipe causes Donald more trouble and when Pete lights his cigar, the house explodes, allowing for a getaway from the delinquent renters.

Goofy's performance with the piano shows the character's ability to use pantomine effectively. Goofy accomplishes more without a single word than others do with full dialogue.

Goofy:1935

2007-07-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July! As we celebrate America, what better way to learn about fire safety than from Goofy?

I've always loved "Mickey's Fire Brigade". From the minute the flames eat through the title card, you know you're in for a treat. The comedy team of Mickey, Donald and Goofy worked well in my opinion due to the character's different personalities: determined but fallible Mickey; angry, bombastic Donald; and clumsy, good-natured Goofy.

While Mickey deals with an out of control hose and Donald deals with mischieveous flames (which play "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf" on the piano), Goofy is busy throwing objects out of the burning building...directly into the engine of the fire truck, where they are promptly incinerated.

Another good gag is when Donald and Goofy ironically try to save the fireplace from the burning house. The three head upstairs when they hear Clarabelle Cow, who is in the bathtub, completely unaware of the fact that her house is on fire. In a very funny scene, Clarabelle thinks that Goofy is a peeping tom, rather than her potential rescuer. The three firefighters are forced to pick up the entire tub, with the cow in it, and try to save her against her will.

Clarabelle is sent screaming as her bathtub slides down the ladder and she thrashes Mickey, Donald and Goofy, still not aware that they saved her with thier inept rescue.

Goofy:1934

2007-07-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

Goofy only appeared in one film in 1934, but in it we begin to see him take on some of his future characteristics.

Mickey and the gang put on several performances for the young mice from the orphanage. Make no mistake, this film is more significant in the career of Donald Duck than Goofy, but the dog's bumbling is not without value here.

Goofy (still Dippy Dawg at this point in his career) and Horace Horsecollar twirl and throw Clarabelle Cow back and forth between each other, giving Goofy plenty of opportunities to get twisted up and clobbered.

Eventually Clarabelle's dress is inadvertently ripped off by a clueless Goofy, earning him a knock on the head courtesy of the humiliated cow.

It would not be long before Dippy would be named Goofy and he would take his place within the comedy trio with Mickey and Donald. The upcoming films are classics, due mainly to the extremely different personalities of the three characters.

Goofy:1933

2007-07-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

The newly named Dippy Dawg had several cameos after his debut. In a rather "out of character" appearance, Dippy is cast as a creepy villionous character in "Ye Olden Days". It's not a role that he plays well since it is too hard not to laugh at him rather than view him as a threat to Mickey.

Minnie is the daughter of the king and she is scheduled to marry Dippy Dawg. When she refuses, she is locked in the castle tower.

Along comes Mickey, a wandering minstrel, who sets out to rescue Minnie. His attempt is foiled but his life is spared when Minnie professes her love for him.

The king arranges a duel between Mickey and Dippy, with the winner earning Minnie's hand. Even the two steeds get in on the action as the plucky mouse dons a stove for armor and a bucket for a helmet. Mickey gets the upper hand when Dippy's spear is severed by the guillotine and the dog is forced to leap out of a window to escape. Mickey is victorious and Minnie shows her appreciation.

This cartoon was a nice break from the usual "singing and dancing" routine, but it is clear that Dippy Dawg still has a way to go before he becomes the loveable Goofy.

Goofy:1932

2007-07-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

It begins in 1932. Mickey and the gang put on another musical show, but this time there is something different.

A character in the audience is cracking open peanuts and munching on them loudly during the performance. Another trait that the others find obnoxious is the dog's goofy laugh, which he releases frequently.

On a sidenote, one gag that can be kind of gross if you stop and think about it is when Horace Horsecollar chews up crackers and spits them out down onto the dancing cows on stage, in an attempt to simulate snowflakes.

As for the dog, the other audience members finally tire of his disruptions, so they clonk him on the head with a mallet to silence him.
The character with the goofy laugh has no name at this point, and it's hard to believe that this older looking dog with a beard would eventually become Goofy.

Goofy

2007-06-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

In 1932, a character with a silly laugh had a small cameo in a Mickey Mouse film. From there, Dippy Dawg went on to become Goofy, who starred in arguably the funniest Disney cartoons ever made.
Goofy was not just a fumbling, bumbling idiot for it was obvious that the dog had a heart of gold. (yes, Goofy is a dog). It is always easy to sympathize with Goofy and he is able to make us laugh at ourselves, for his extreme blunders always have a way of making our own goof-ups seem trivial.
So, let's step back to 1932 and follow the career of the one and only Goofy: from Dippy Dawg, to the star of the hilarious "How To" films, to feature film appearances, to the Goof's role as family man and more. See ya tomorrow!

Droopy/Roger Rabbit Conclusion

2007-06-29T22:07:00.000-04:00

So ends the "Droopy tribute which morphed into a Roger Rabbit tribute".
The Droopy films, as I have said before, are just a glimpse into the mind of Tex Avery and the talented artists who worked with him. Hopefully, in the future we will finally hear that the other Avery films will be released on dvd.
In the medium of animation, there are no boundaries and Tex lived that fact to the fullest. It's a shame that he, in his later years, doubted his own work. His sad, final years in no way tarnish the hilarious body of work that he left behind. His films remain just as fresh and funny today as they were when they were made.

As for Roger Rabbit, it's a shame that his career was cut so short. The character clearly had the potential to revitalize the concept of the theatrical cartoon. It's a bit disheartening to know that the days are over when cartoons would accompany feature films. At least Roger gave the idea a really great try.

So, what's next at the Acme Factory? Well, I'll give you a hint. The next timeline will be of a character who just turned 75 years old last month. Stay tooned!

Roger Rabbit:1993

2007-06-28T20:51:00.000-04:00

"Trail Mix-Up" finds Roger, Herman and the mother in the great outdoors. Roger of course is stuck carrying everything.

The negligent mother once more leaves Herman in Roger's care while she goes off hunting. Roger gets a visit from forest ranger Jessica and then demolishes a large area of the forest with bug spray.

Roger tries to save Baby Herman from a beehive and ends up with a mouthful of them. Droopy makes his cameo as a mischief-maker, using a fake shark fin to scare Roger. "Gets 'em every time."

Things couldn't get worse, right? Wrong! Baby Herman follows a beaver into a dangerous sawmill, where Roger has much pain inflicted upon himself as he attempts to save the child.

A ride down the logflume and river results in a bear getting taken along for the fast-paced ride. The entire crew ends up in a geyser which erupts, sending them all to Mount Rushmore, obliterating the national landmark.

Roger insists it is not the end of the world, but nothing is further from the truth as the flag he plants in the ground pops the earth and causes it to deflate like a balloon.