93. Pop Goes Your Heart (1934)

Release date: December 8th, 1934

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: The Rhythmettes (Hummingbirds, Bees), Marion Darlington (Birds), The Singing Guardsmen (Chorus), Count Cutelli (Bear)

If your heart ACTUALLY goes pop, you may need to consult a doctor or a good surgeon. Another bug-centric cartoon. All animals and insects unite in harmony as we monitor their day to day lives—including how beavers deal with a hungry bear.

A bird sings its call, the scene fading out and back in to a lovely spring setting, flowers blooming and grass green. All of the animals and insects are soaking up the spring sun, humming birds and bees collecting nectar/pollen while humming/buzzing, a bird laying an egg and shaking hands with its significant other as a tally is crossed off, keeping track. The sequences with the humming birds, robins, and bees stretch on for quite awhile and lose a bit of their charm, but the backgrounds and scenery are very pleasing to admire.

Elsewhere, we have a grasshopper teaching its children how to spit tobacco. Priorities! It’s an amusing scene, but a gross one at that. The father spits just fine and urges his kids to give it a go, one of them spitting it up all over its face. Mmmm, delightful. 

More parental lessons, this time with turtles. A mother turtle teaches its children how to swim, the turtles lazing on their shells as they leisurely row along with their cattails. Elsewhere, a very beautiful painting of an apple tree. Pan in on two spiders strumming “Pop Goes Your Heart” on a spiderweb—very fun, jaunty, and cute. I’m already hooked to the tune, and there haven’t been any vocals! A handful of worms are also enticed, two groups of worms dancing around with apples as their bodies and a different worm for the limbs: head, arms, legs. Nothing too exciting, but the music is a joy to listen to and the animation is fun and beautiful.

A group of frogs are our destined singers, singing “Pop Goes Your Heart”. Once again, very catchy and fun. A nice shot of their reflection in the water as they sing to mix things up, undoubtedly to flex on their newfound technicolor usage, as if saying “hey, WE have color now, too! Looky what WE can do! Huh? Huuuuh? Top that, Disney!” As the frogs sing, we’ve a gag borrowed from the infamous One Step Ahead of My Shadow, a swan feasting on a few fish before a giant fish eats the swan and licks its lips contentedly. Nutritious! The song ends as the frogs dive into the water, breaking their reflections.

Focus shifts to a nest of hungry baby birds. A curious bird spots a worm writhing in an apple, fresh for the picking. The bird jams its head inside the apple, the worm snaking out another hole and using the opportunity to spank the bird senseless. These are the things they don’t tell you about the food chain. Clutching its wounded butt, the bird hops around and chirps in pain while the worm laughs in ridicule.

Beavers occupy the next scene, specifically two playing ping pong... or tennis... or badminton. The ball looks like a ping pong ball to me, so who knows. They play back and forth with their spacious tails. As always, some sort of conflict must arise. A bear sniffs the ground, searching for some food. A relatively amusing gag as the beat attempts to roar, making a squeaky garble instead. Embarrassed, the bear sprays some throat spray and provides an adequate roar, smiling contentedly at the audience.

The hungry bear stalks a hapless turtle, hurriedly picking up the pace. Eventually, the turtle retreats to its shell, its head popping out where its tail was and giving the bear a good bite on the nose. The bear retreats as the turtle smugly continues its stroll.

Full of fresh rage, the bear vents its frustrations by coming across the beaver community and disrupting all peace. A nice, flouncy, hurries rendition of “Pop Goes Your Heart” as the bear chases after the beavers, who seek refuge in a tree. The bear sticks its head inside the tree while one of the beavers pops out and smacks the bear’s exposed rear with its tail. Lots of spanking going on in this one! Meanwhile, another beaver gnaws at a tree ranch supporting a beehive. The branch falls and the beehive breaks against the bear, plaguing the bear with a swarm of angry bees and some honey on its fur.

Predator quickly transforms into prey as the bear tries to outrun the bees with little success, animation nice and volumetric as the bear twirls around aimlessly and swipes at the bees. Typical cartoon fashion as the bear launches itself into a grassy field, the honey causing the grass to stick to the bear. The bear rolls downhill, a mass of grass engulfing it completely.

Just in time for a farmer to be making hay. The mound of bear-grass lands next to the farmer, who shovels it into the hay bailing machine. Predictably (yet still funny), the bear is turned into a hay bale. Iris out as the bear darts away, much to the bewilderment of the farmer.

Not the most enthralling Merrie Melody, but, as always, not the worst. The colors were very pleasing and intriguing, and the music was certainly the highlight of the short. I especially loved the harp sequence between the two spiders! Not much going on with the plot. The cartoon was enjoyable, but none too engaging. I found myself zoning out at the climax, so I suppose that’s an indicator of something. Nevertheless, the backgrounds were beautiful, as was the music. Might be best to skip, there isn’t much to remark on, but it isn’t a total waste of time, either.

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