Multiple 12/30/12, Best Animated Shorts
I was fortunate enough to get 15 animated shorts on one disc (Academy Awards’ Animated Collection)which was very convenient and actually not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. Seven of the shorts (and when they say short, they mean short, everything was between seven and ten minutes) were Tom and Jerry; in fact, in the 1940s they won four in a row. From what I could gather from Wikipedia, I was watching the uncensored/unedited versions, which was pretty interesting from a historical perspective. Keep in mind that these are mostly from the 1940s and 1950s when cultural sensitivities were not what they are today, and the depiction of minorities back then would be considered totally unacceptable now. And while many of those portrayals wouldn't be drawn today, the violence shown sixty-five years is pretty unabated in 2012, and may be even more so. I’m not sure how winners were determined back then (I’m really not sure now, either) but the cartoons were fun, and you probably have seen some of them over the years.
The Milky Way 1940 – MGM This is a story about three kittens who are sent to their room because they lost their mittens; what follows is a tale of the kittens’ dream come true – a world where everything is milk: geysers spewing milk; glasses full of milk; a world where they would never be without milk. Can there be too much of a good thing? You’ll have to watch and see. It’s cute and simple, but captures how a lot of kids probably imagine their utopia.
The Yankee Doodle Mouse 1943 – MGM Tom and Jerry This is the first of seven Oscars won by the cat and mouse team, and the first of four in a row. In 1943, World War II was going on and patriotism was found throughout the entertainment industry, cartoons were no exception. This provides a military twist on the timeless battle between Tom and Jerry.
Mouse Trouble 1944 – MGM Tom and Jerry Tom decides to read a book on various ways to catch a mouse. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and it is funny to watch Tom try the different foolproof tactics.
Quiet Please! 1945 – MGM Tom and Jerry This short co-stars Spike the bulldog who is trying to take a nap and is not pleased with the racket caused by Tom and Jerry (of course, poor Tom gets all the blame) and he threatens Tom with bodily harm if it’s not quiet. Cue Jerry and his every attempt to disrupt Spike’s forty winks and get Tom in trouble.
The Cat Concerto 1946 – MGM Tom and Jerry (7 minutes) Tom starts out as the star in this short as he is playing the piano at a concert (playing Liszt, not my favorite) and Jerry trying to sabotage his efforts by slamming the lid on his fingers, removing keys, etc. Tom, to his credit, keeps going, but to little avail, Jerry still gets all the applause.
Tweetie Pie 1947 – Warner Bros. Sylvester and Tweety Bird This is the introduction of that beloved canary (I think he’s a canary), Tweety Bird and his nemesis, Sylvester the Cat (although that isn’t his name in this short, but it’s clearly Sylvester). It’s in the cat’s nature to try and eat the bird, but luckily for Tweety Bird, there is some human intervention who always seems to catch Sylvester just before something bad happens. Tweety isn’t as aggressive to Sylvester as Jerry is to Tom, but it’s the same general idea, the cat gets outsmarted by his much smaller nemesis.
The Little Orphan 1948 – MGM Tom and Jerry It’s Thanksgiving time and Jerry is hosting an orphan mouse named Nibbles; he should have been named Jaws because he eats everything in sight. And of course, it then because the two mice versus Tom. It’s no contest, although there is a little twist at the end.
For Scentimental Reasons 1949 – Warner Brothers Pepe Le Pew Just from the title you could probably guess who stars in this short, Pepe Le Pew, the species-blind but odoriferous skunk. He starts chasing an unsuspecting cat who has had white paint poured on her, giving her a white stripe. Not a big stretch to imagine what happens as he fruitlessly chases her, although this does have a little twist at the end as well.
The Two Mouseketeers 1951– MGM Tom and Jerry Nibbles makes another appearance here as this short is set in 18th century France and the dialogue is in French (very little dialogue, though), and Tom, Jerry and Nibbles are dressed as musketeers. Jerry and Nibbles are trying to enjoy a delicious banquet when they encounter Tom. The usual antics transpire. The end was a bit of a surprise, and while not totally explicit, it was still kind of shocking: Jerry and Nibbles are on the street and look up to see a guillotine being dropped; it is implied (in French) that the victim of the guillotine is Tom. I’m not sure how that gets explained to kids.
Johann Mouse 1952 – MGM Tom and Jerry Tom and Jerry are living in the house of Austrian composer Johan Strauss, and Tom displays more of his piano playing chops. Tom and Jerry still have an adversarial relationship, except when Tom plays and Jerry dances; they actually sort of become famous. That is until their basic animal instincts take over.
Speedy Gonzales 1955 – Merrie Melodies with Sylvester Speedy Gonzales, the Mexican mouse with blazing speed is called on to handle Sylvester the Cat who is harassing Speedy’s relatives and friends. Andole! Sylvester is totally out of his league with Speedy, and his attempt to blow up all the cheese to keep it away from the mice definitely does not have the desired effect…for Sylvester.
Birds Anonymous 1957 – Merrie Melodies with Sylvester and Tweety Bird Sylvester is convinced to give up hunting Tweety and to join Birds Anonymous (B.A.) and the surprise star of this short is the cat who convinces him to join. I liked this episode (and I’m fairly certain I have seen this on television) and you get to see how Tweety actually enjoys the little games with Sylvester and misses him when he tries to go straight. Never fear, you know it can’t last.
Knighty Knight Bugs 1958 – Loony Tunes Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam Bugs and the blustery Yosemite Sam star in this take on a tale from King Arthur’s Round Table. Bugs, who is a court jester, is ‘volunteered’ to get the singing sword from the black knight (Sam). This was the only Oscar for the famous wascally wabbit.
The Dot and the Line a Romance in Lower Mathematics 1965 – MGM This short does not feature any anthropomorphized animals or cartoony people. The stars, as you might infer from the title, are a line and a dot. It seems very 1960s (which it is) and to me, starts to mark a shift to the animated shorts that are made today. It is narrated by Robert Morley, the English actor, and is about the pursuit of the Dot by the Line, which seems like a hopeless quest as the Dot is infatuated with the Squiggle. This might be my favorite from the whole disc because it has this wonderful flow that reminded me a little of the work by Bill Plympton that came later in the 1980s and 1990s.
So much for so little – Best Documentary Short Subject 1949 – This animated short was included on the disc, but was actually the winner for the Best Documentary Short Subject from 1949. Given the raging debate these days about publicly funded health care, watching this was very timely. It also seemed like some things haven’t changed that much. The premise of this short was to highlight how many children die each year in the US (obviously based on 1949 information) due to lack of proper medical care, and how little it would cost each taxpayer to improve the health of citizens. It follows one little baby through his life, and then at the end points out that John E. Jones might not survive, given the odds at that time. I’m not sure it would qualify as a ‘documentary’ based on the last twenty or thirty years, but it was an interesting view of public health that in some ways has not changed.
