100. Buddy's Theatre (1935)

Release date: April 1st, 1935

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Ben Hardaway

Starring: Berneice Hansell (Cookie)

The 100th cartoon overall! Crazy to believe, huh? We’ve certainly come a LONG way. I sometimes think “Man, this stuff is definitely unpolished” but then I think of cartoons like Sinkin’ in the Bathtub and eat my words. The challenge is only 10% complete, but I’m fine with that! The good stuff is just ahead! For now, in a rehash of Bosko’s Picture Show, Buddy runs a theatre and shows off some gag reels, including a fight between cookie and a gorilla.

If the title reading “BUDDY’S THEATRE” wasn’t enough of an indicator of what this cartoon entails, the short opens to a big sign advertising Buddy’s theatre, a steady stream of moviegoers heading in. Buddy’s at the ticket booth, merrily handing out tickets to his patrons. He pardons himself to take a call, and a baby hiding beneath the booth swallows a dangling line of tickets. When Buddy glares at a man in line after his call, the man points to the offending baby. Blessed be cartoon physics as Buddy uses the baby as a ticket dispenser, a creative and amusing gag. More patrons come by, including a woman who buys a ticket for one bur is very clearly hiding her short husband in her jacket. The baby has no more tickets to spit up, and Buddy declares the movie sold out, giving the baby a lollipop to pacify its cries.

Buddy happily executes his duties, scooping up a tower of film reels and carrying them up an interminable staircase. He tries to get into the projection booth, but with little luck. The door’s jammed. He manages to finally yank it open, but the force sends him toppling over the staircase, sliding on the banister with his belly. He scoops up all of the falling reels, one by one, sliding across the floor and crashing right into the wall.

Inside the theatre suffers a man on the end row, constantly having to stand up to let people in. Eventually, he becomes so frustrated he rips the seat from the floor and places it in the aisle, glaring. It’s simple, but very amusing—cartoons allowing us to watch what we’ve always wanted to do.

In the projection booth, Buddy proudly displays a poster of Cookie. He talks to the poster and says that he’s gonna run her movie, giving her printed face a kiss. Cookie’s just everywhere! She’ll be in Mexico or the Old West with Buddy, and she still has time to make movies. Buddy slides the film in the projector, lighting a candle to project the light. He pops his head out of the window and says “Just a minute, folks! Just a minute!” 

A Looney Tunes staple as various curtains part, including a clothesline, to reveal the spectacle. We begin with a news reel, “PASSÉ NEWS, IT SHRIEKS FOR ITSEF”. A chick hatched from an egg pounds its chest and shrieks the obnoxious call of the wild from Buddy of the Apes.

First order of business is in “Dome, Italy — premier mausoleum again lowers age limit for army service”. In the streets of Italy march a line of babies, giving Benito Mussolini a salute. Meanwhile, in “Yodel, Switzerland — Swiss navy launches it’s newest battle cruiser.” Two men shake hands, one of them smashing a bottle against said battle cruiser. Immediately, the ship sinks. One of the men shrugs and says “Well, here today, gone tomorrow!” and they shake hands once more.

Back to Buddy in the projection booth as the film ends. The film strip tears, but it’s nothing a quick hammer and staple can’t fix. Well, he’s efficient! Buddy swaps films, and changes a misplaced “attractions coming” to “coming attractions”.

A baseball (reused from Buddy’s Bearcats) flies towards the screen and advertises “the SMASH HIT of the CENTURY — three years in the remaking”. Various planes fly towards the camera, messages on each propeller. “IT’S GIGANTIC”. Another one, “IT’S STUPENDOUS”. Another, “IT’S COLOSSAL”, “IT’S SUPER-COLOSSAL”... one flies up and crashes to the ground, reading “IN FACT IT’S ALMOST MEDIOCRE”. A tried and true gag, but always amusing nonetheless.

The screen advertises “Don’t fail to see JAMES BAGKNEE — ‘HERE COMES THE GRAVY’”, a reference to the 1934 film Here Comes the Navy starring James Cagney. Battleships fire cannons, which even fire into the audience watching. The audience all duck in their seats to avoid getting walloped by a cannonball.

Finally, it’s Cookie’s big break. “WARMER BROS. Present ‘the CHINCHILLA’ starring COOKIE — a phoney vitamin production”. “Warmer Bros” is a reoccurring gag, but I love the “phoney vitamin production”, a reference to “a Vitaphone production”. Cookie’s playing the piano and singing, while a lovestruck Buddy sighs “Ain’t she sweet!” 

A very obvious take on King Kong. A gorilla, the “chinchilla”, climbs through Cookie’s window. Buddy shouts “LOOK OUT, COOKIE! LOOK OUT!”, but she can’t hear him (unlike Bosko and Honey in Bosko’s Picture Show). Cookie spots the gorilla and slams the piano lid on its head, which does little to ease its anger. The gorilla gets its feet stuck in the strings of the piano as it leaps after Cookie, Cookie jumping out the window and dangling by a tree branch as the gorilla frees itself

Buddy ceases the film, crying “I’ll save you, cookie!”, tugging a rope that slides the projection screen over to a clothesline. The gorilla leaps out of the movie and lands right into a pair of pajamas. Buddy tosses a strip of film like a grappling hook, tying it around the chandelier of the theatre and swinging right into the gorilla. Buddy whacks him away with a piece of board, dragging the projection screen back over where Cookie is still in peril. Once more he yells “I’ll save you!”, grabbing a step ladder and jumping right into the movie... or through it. Interesting to note that the screen bulges around on the ground as buddy fights... And so does Cookie? There’s another spot where Cookie was supposed to be, but it’s as though the animators forgot she wasn’t actually there. Buddy pops up from the crumpled screen in a daze as we iris out.

Bosko’s Picture Show is the superior entry, sorry Buddy! This one felt rather tedious. The gags were slightly amusing, but nothing laugh out loud worthy. I did love the baby regurgitating tickets at the beginning, though. It’s obvious they tried to emulate Bosko’s Picture Show, trying to have a big climax where the love interest is in trouble and the protagonist saves her, but it just didn’t work. Buddy’s infatuation with Cookie was amusing, if not borderline creepy. Not much to add, though. Probably safe to skip.

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