Reviews

In this cartoon, Oswald and Pete are two hobos traveling across the country during the Depression. They stop at a farmhouse after spotting some pie cooling on a windowsill and approach it. One gag in this cartoon that I enjoy is when the lady of the house uses Oswald's ear to cut a slice of pie for him. Another gag I enjoy is that of Oswald creating a saxophone out of a log. He then uses it to play various tunes. One of which has a scarecrow dancing like a Hasidic Jew. Like many cartoons of the early sound era, an outhouse gag is shown with someone stepping out. This cartoon, produced at the Walter Lantz studios could very well be a remake of an earlier Disney Oswald titled HUNGRY HOBOES.

Sure I liked (not loved) this series as a kid back when I first started watching it for a short time in the early 90's, but today I feel it far inferior to most other cartoon series. While they did come up with creative plots to the series, the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is really no more than a commercial disguised as a TV program. This show has no artistic merit to it except to keep the kids' attention for a short time and persuade them to buy their merchandise. This show just cannot compare to the cartoons made during the classic era of animation from the 1920's through 1960's or the stuff from the "revival period" of animation in the late 80's/early 90's. Cartoons should be made not to persuade the kids to buy the products, but to first cater to the cartoonists' tastes and then to those of the public.

Here it is! The very first appearance of Flip the Frog. Flip, however, instead of being a more anthropomorphic frog, is a frog-like frog (who can do human things like play piano). He entertains some pond residents with a musical number on a piano accompanied by a Mickey Mouse look-alike on the violin. Although this cartoon does not have too much humor or excitement in it, I still feel that it is beautiful to view. This cartoon and TECHNOCRACKED were the only two Flip the Frog cartoons produced in color (although I have yet to see the original color version of TECHNOCRACKED)using the two-strip Cinecolor process.

In this cartoon, Crowy is hunting for a fox because there is a 45 cent bounty. Foxy, on the other hand, is putting up a sign for a 25 cent bounty on crows after they had destroyed his field. One fun gag I enjoy is when Crowy is about shoot Foxy, but looks in his book, that tells him not to use a gun. He doesn't get it so Foxy holds up a sign to see the explanation on page 59. I feel that these Fox and Crow cartoons are not getting the public attention that they deserve. They are just as funny as cartoons like Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies or Disney. They just are not heard of today. I really think that Columbia should release a complete Fox and Crow DVD set.

If I could pick a favorite Charlie Dog cartoon, this would be it. I love the sequence where Colonel Shuffle is playing his banjo on his front porch singing "Boll my weevil and corn my pone, when you're way down south you're never alone!" Charlie runs up and begins playing "Yankee Doodle," causing Yankee hating Colonel Shuffle to hit him with his banjo. Charlie also faces a problem with Shuffle's bulldog Belvedier.

One thing I cannot understand is why this cartoon is not shown anymore. There are no black people in it like there were in say "Mississippi Hare" (which mind you were portrayed pretty good-naturedly). It seems rather odd that Turner Broadcasting, stationed in the South would refuse to show a Southern cartoon. I suppose it could be possible that the people working for AOL-Time Warner assumed that just because it had the word "South" in the title, that it would feature stereotypical blacks. I feel this a shame because this is the best Charlie Dog cartoon ever made.

Flip the Frog plays a hot dog vendor at a circus, but soon finds himself chasing after a thief for stealing a woman's purse. I enjoyed some of the gags in this cartoon such as the beginning where Flip is selling a hot dog to a customer. He orders the hot dog to roll over and it dips itself into the mustard. As the customer bites into it, it jumps out of the bun and flees. This is exactly similar to the Mickey Mouse cartoon THE KARNIVAL KID. This isn't a surprise seeing as both cartoons were animated by Ub Iwerks. I also enjoy the gag where the woman slides down an ostrich whose feathers fit on her like a tutu. The ending (which I will not give away) was quite a surprise for me. Overall, I feel the animation of this short is done quite well as most of Ub's cartoons are.

This is one of the worst cartoon shows to ever be thought up. It features the Looney Tunes gang as babies whose characters are not at all identical to their grownup counterparts (with the exception of Daffy). To make matters worse, there is not an ounce of creativity put into this show. The episodes are ripped off from plots of other shows such as "Rugrats" and "Muppet Babies." For example, there was an episode where the babies experienced their first snowfall. Wasn't there a "Rugrats" episode like that? There was also an episode where the babies go out to play in the puddles and Daffy is afraid to get into the water (ironic isn't it?). There was a "Muppet Babies" episode just like this where Fozzie was afraid to swim.

Not only do they rip off other episodes, they make the mistake of adding Lola Bunny from SPACE JAM. I feel that Lola was very unnecessary. She is not even an actual Looney Tune. They also added Melissa the duck who appeared in such classic WB shorts as THE SCARLET PUMPERNICKLE and MUSSEL TUSSEL.

Overall, I feel that this show is a total disgrace to the classic cartoons that WB produced from the 30's through 60's. I bet that Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese, and Bob Clampett (to name a few) have made thousands of revolutions in their graves when this godawful show came out. It will be a blessing when this show goes off the air after the creators run out of "Rugrats" and "Muppet Babies" episodes from which to copy.

When I saw this movie, I liked it much more than I did the musical which was released 20 years later. Sure, the musical has wonderful songs and acting, and brilliant color, but this version is much more like the original novel. I felt Alec Guiness was perfect for the role of Fagin. Robert Newton made a wonderful Bill Sykes as well. Seeing this movie without all the songs and gaiety in the musical makes this movie more dark and somber just like it is in the original novel. Fagin is portrayed more as a vile and sinister character than a loveable rogue as he is in the musical. Don't get me wrong, I love the musical, but this version is much, much better.

In this classic Fox and Crow cartoon, Crawford Crow tries to get Fauntleroy Fox's supply of food. I enjoy the animation of this short and the fun gags such as when Fauntleroy replaces the sandwich contents that Crawford is eating with Roman candles. One part I like about the short, however, is the beginning where there is a statement that reads: THE NOTION THAT ALL BIRDS FLY SOUTH FOR THE WINTER IS ERRONEOUS. A DIET OF DRIED LEAVES AND ACORNS CAN SATISFY THE MOST RAVENOUS APPETITE.

In my opinion, this is one of Disney's best animated films of all time. Take a look at all the brilliant background art and the effects, all done by hand. I especially like the blurred vision of the eight ball that Pinocchio is trying to shoot after he inhales too much nicotine from his cigar. The Disney animators were really good at giving emotional feeling to different scenes in the movie. For example, the warm, fun, relaxing atmosphere of Gepetto's workshop contrasts greatly with the scary scene of Lampwick's transformation into a donkey at Pleasure Island. I feel that this just isn't as good when done with computer and the films themselves were better back in those days. Disney wasn't afraid of offending anyone or frightening children. Do you think the donkey scene would be included if this movie had been produced today? It is very doubtful, considering that Disney's films of today are beginning to look rather bland in their political correctness. If you have never seen this movie, I suggest you go buy it or rent it. This is a classic that no Disney fan/animation buff should be without.

Normally, I like the original movies better than their sequels, but this is an exception. I enjoyed the special effects of this film, especially the underground subway scene and the scene where the evil woman alien was chasing Agents J and K. I liked Frank the pug too, who didn't play much of a role in the first movie. If you don't care for weird humor like this, then this movie isn't for you, but to the rest of you, I do suggest you see this film.

Out of all the Flip the Frog cartoons that I have seen, this is one of my favorites. It also has some superb special effects done with a special camera that Ub had made out of spare auto parts. This occurs in the scene where, after Flip inhales some opium out of a pipe, he gets stoned and begins happily skipping through clouds of smoke in a hazy image.

Willie Whopper and his dog are climbing up a volcano when it sucks them in and they end up in Hell. While I cannot decide which Willie Whopper cartoon out of all that I have seen is my favorite, this one is really good. I enjoy the background art of this cartoon as well as the animation. Some gags I enjoy are the famous dead people walking in line one after another. They include Emperor Nero playing his fiddle, Antony and Cleopatra, Simon Legree riding a dogsled, and Rasputin doing the Russian dance. One thing that puzzles me, however, is why Willie, being such a kindhearted person, would want to stop one guy from leaving Hell. This cartoon is a lost cartoon with a few segments left of it.

Yes, work really does suck------at least if you work for Bill Lumbergh. I recently saw this movie in a neighbor's dorm and I loved it. I especially found the stuttering Milton Waddams humorous. It was rather unfair how Lumbergh treated him. For example, he took away his stapler and he moved his office down to the basement. I noticed that Michael Bolton looked a lot like Rick Moranis, even though he was played by David Herman. This movie can be stupid, but it is stupid in a sense that it is funny.

My opinions on this short are different than those of the previous poster. I didn't find this cartoon to be racist at all. In cartoons, everything is a caricature of something, but there are just some liberals out there who think the animators were being racist. They don't seem to have enough sense to realize that it was made at a time when black caricatures in films were common.

This is my favorite Elmer Fudd short. It's one of those cartoons where he isn't starring with Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. This cartoon was a humorous parody of "Gone with the Wind," with Elmer Fudd playing Ned Cutler (Rhett Butler in the real movie).

I just saw this movie today and I loved it. When I saw the previews for it on TV, I thought it looked quite stupid. That just proves that you can't make a proper judgment on a movie just by seeing its previews. Male Nurse, Greg(or Gaylord)Focker is engaged to teacher Pamela Martha Byrnes. I liked the scene at the beginning of the film where the children at Pam's school keep screwing up on the letters that they use trying to spell out: MARRY ME PAM (on one try, they spell out: MARRY ME MAP). After Pam agrees, Greg has to "meet the parents." The mother is just fine and likes Greg, but Jack(played by Danny DeVito)the father is a real jerk. I didn't like him too much. One part I found funny was where Greg was eating dinner with Pam and her parents. He brought out a bottle of wine for them to drink. He popped the cork, which hit a vase that contained the ashes of Jack's mother. The vase breaks and Jinks the Himalyan cat rushes over to the ashes and urinates in them.

The acting in this film was wonderful. So if you're a fan of comedy such as this, you should watch this movie. It's definitely a classic.

I watched this movie to see what it was like. I knew I could not assume that just because it starred a woman that it was a "chick flick." Let's take ERIN BROKOVICH for example. That stars a woman and that is not a "chick flick." I found this movie kind of boring as I am not too interested in weddings. So it may not be a "chick flick", but it isn't a movie that I want to view again.

This short features two parts of the human mind: reason and emotion (hence the title of the short). Reason, who is depicted as an egghead nerd, urges us to think and "reason" something before we actually do it. Emotion, who is depicted as a caveman, urges us to act as we feel. One part I enjoy is where Reason and Emotion are shown in both the man and the woman. Emotion urges the man to walk up to the woman and say/do what he feels like to her. Reason tells Emotion to "retain respect for womanhood." The man listens to Emotion and the consequence is a slap in the face. The woman's version of Reason and Emotion are both females. Emotion wants some high-calorie foods whereas Reason settles for something light like tea and toast. The result for listening to Emotion is a large figure. This is one of those wartime cartoons as it shows Reason and Emotion in a Nazi's mind. Emotion states that Hitler did not want war, but he was only forced into it whereas Reason states that Hitler is a liar.

I remember seeing this short when I was young on "Walt Disney Presents." That version has all WWII references censored, which ruins much of the interest of the cartoon.

This is the first appearance of Pete, the villain of the Disney shorts. Pete is the oldest of all the "modern" Disney characters. He first started off as a bear and later evolved into a cat. In this short, Pete (who is named Bootleg Pete) is a collector of rare crossword puzzles and Alice's puzzle is missing in his collection. Pete of course tries to get Alice to give him her crossword puzzle, but Julius the cat comes and sends Pete gliding over the sea and landing onto a buoy after a fight. Alice finally solves the puzzle by filling in THE END. I am not too interested in the silent era of Disney's animation, but I do enjoy the Alice Comedies more from a historical perspective.

Goofy is bored when he gets home from a long day at work and decides to take up photography. Although this phrase is not in the title, this is one of those "how to" shorts. It features a man voicing over the cartoon talking about the subject of photography.

This is also an important cartoon in the history of Disney. It is the first appearance of Humphrey the Bear, a zoo inhabitant who is one of Goofy's photography subjects. I know that is Humphrey from reading reference books such as the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED CHARACTERS, but I often find it hard to believe. This bear does not look or act anything like Humphrey. He is a lot more vicious and surly than the more friendly and happy-go-lucky Humphrey that we're used to. It's too bad Humphrey came so late when Disney was losing interest in the shorts; otherwise, he'd probably be a more well-known Disney character.

This is my favorite segment from the Disney feature "Make Mine Music." I remember seeing that movie (or at least part of it since it was a school night)on the Disney Channel about three years ago. Disney released this feature on video for the first time ever in the spring of 2000. One time, I was looking at reviews on "Make Mine Music" and the people who bought the video or DVD were upset because one segment had been deleted. It was this one. I'm glad I never bought a copy of MMM. Disney did it again. They censored a classic work of art like this just to please some pathetic do-gooders. It's a classic ballad about two feuding hillbilly families who kill each other off (which is definitely why those PC #@#%$% censored it)and their descendants Grace Martin and Henry Coy fall in love and marry. At the end, however, the feud is carried on. As much as I hate to defend the Disney Company, I will say that Disney does not want to censor their works and would probably like to show them in their complete forms. They only do it because they're tired of getting complaints from do-gooders. Censorship is not the answer. Giving MMM a PG-rating would be better.

This was a wonderful idea for a Disney (or non-Disney)cartoon. It was very creative to portray the latest Hollywood stars as characters from the classic nursery rhymes. I was reading someone else's comments and they mentioned that understanding this short's humor would take a lot of knowledge of the Hollywood stars of the 30's. I do agree with them. Many of those stars were unknown to me, but I could identify quite a few of them. Let's see! There was Katherine Hepburn portrayed as Little Bo Peep. W.C. Fields is portrayed as Humptey Dumpty with the puppet Charlie McCarthey making clever jokes about him. In the nursery rhyme about the seesaw, there was Edward G. Robinson and Greta Garbo going up and down. Simple Simon was portrayed by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was the pieman. The scene at the beginning is humorous where Mother Goose takes the place of the MGM lion. Then, there is a disclaimer that reads: ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONALITIES PORTRAYED IN THIS PICTURE, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

While I am not normally a fan of the SILLY SYMPHONY series, I like some of them. This one happens to be one of my favorites that I watch often. The title character named Ambrose (Butch as he prefers to be called) is about to receive a bath from his mother. He runs away from home to be a robber. This short appears to take place in the 18th century as Butch wears a Three Musketeers-type costume. When he runs into a bulldog named Dirty Bill (who dresses just like Robin Hood), he points his toy guns at him and says "Your money or your life!" Soon Butch and Bill become friends. Butch tells Bill a fictional story of how he held up a stagecoach and forced the people in it to give him all their valuables. Bill's facial expression turns from friendly to greedy as he orders Butch to bring the bag to him. Butch tells him that they're only cookies. Bill pulls a knife on Butch and it literally scares the pants off of him. The ending was good as Butch runs into his home and voluntarily jumps into the tub. There is a Disney reference to this cartoon. AT the beginning of the short, when Butch is playing with his toys in his room, there is a holdup scene similar to that of the movie TOY STORY. Of course this cartoon was released sixty years before TOY STORY.

While I enjoy this movie historicalwise and the plot of it as well, the ending leaves me depressed. I dislike the fact that Jack froze to death. I understand that James Cameroon had to make most of the passengers die because that is what happened in reality. What he didn't need to do, however, was make Jack die since he was a main character. If I produced this movie, I would have made Cal freeze to death instead and Jack would marry Rose. The present time would have both Jack and Rose as an elderly couple talking about what had happened. Another thing that bothers me is how these third class passengers were treated. The crewmen wouldn't allow them to go up to the deck until all the first and second class people were loaded onto the lifeboats. After breaking down the door, the third class passengers fled to the deck. Some of them, however, gave up and stayed down in the steerage. The scene where the Irish mother is telling her children a story to put them to sleep is very sad. I really hated Rose's mother Ruth. She was very nasty and shallow. The ship is sinking, many people are dying, and all she cares about is that the lifeboats are seated according to class? What a b****! The only reason she wanted Rose to marry Cal was because they were broke and Cal was rich.

I still enjoy this movie, as I had mentioned earlier, but it really isn't something I want to watch everyday. It certainly isn't something you want to watch before you go to bed. If you do, you should watch something funny afterwards.