22. Red-Headed Baby (1931)

Release date: December 26th, 1931

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Rudolf Ising

Starring: Johnny Murray (Napoleon, Jack in the Box, Old Man), Ken Darby (Santa, Spider), The Rhythmettes (Chorus)

The last cartoon of 1931, can you believe it? 1931 gave us 17 cartoons, where we were introduced to Merrie Melodies, and characters such as Foxy and Piggy. The quality of cartoons has continued to increase over time—it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for the 25 cartoons in 1932! This time, we end the year on a musical number where a spider kidnaps the titular red-headed baby, and it’s up to her toy soldier boyfriend Napoleon to save the day.

Considering this cartoon was released on December 26th, it’s only fitting that we open with Santa tinkering away in his toy shop. He’s fiddling with a cute little dolly when he’s cut short by the chime of a clock—bedtime.

Once Santa leaves the room for the night, the doll pops to life and runs to turn on the radio. All at once, life fills the room as all the toys dance along to the music. This is our first actual “inanimate objects coming to life” short, where it isn’t limited to just trees, plants, and animals. Another popular trope would be books come to life, utilized by Frank Tashlin (1937’s Speaking of the Weather, 1938’s Have You Got Any Castles?) and Bob Clampett (1941’s A Coy Decoy, 1946’s Book Revue) to name a few.

We’re launched into our titular song number, “Red-Headed Baby” sung by our grayscale-headed baby. The vocals aren’t the greatest, no offense to Rochelle Hudson (I believe). Berneice Hansell would truly be the master of the baby voice as we’ll see in a few years, but it just doesn’t work for Rochelle. Her voice acting HAS gotten better though! And she was only 15 years old which is hard to believe (and I don’t even know if this is her to begin with, just a guess). [EDIT: Keith Scott has confirmed that this is not the work of Hudson; the identity of the eponymous red-headed baby remains unknown.]

Napoleon, a toy soldier, comes into play as the doll (we’ll call her “Baby”) flirts with him. Together they finish out the rest of the song, interrupted briefly by a jack in the box that Napoleon shuts up with a shot in the face by his pop gun.

There’s also a shot on the three wise monkeys as they remind us to see no evil, hear no evil, blow raspberries no evil. Clearly, they aren’t a fan. The wise monkeys would be used as a gag in a few cartoons, so as common as they were for a quick laugh, it still amuses me nonetheless.

No cartoon is complete without a menacing villain! This time it’s a spider, singing “Red-headed baby, you’re going to be mine!”. He lowers himself to the ground by turning one of his legs like a crank.

Baby and Napoleon notice the spider, and Napoleon immediately engages in a sword fight. I love these camera angles! Getting right up in their faces instead of a simple side view. It’s not much, but it’s something, especially for 1931 animation. Napoleon slides beneath the spider’s legs, giving him a hearty stab in the ass.

Napoleon uses a nearby jack in the box as a weapon, springing it in the spider’s face, who becomes dazed. Unfortunately for Napoleon, the jack in the box hits him on the head and knocks him unconscious.

Rushing to his side, baby cries “Napoleon, oh, Napoleon! Speak to me! SPEAK TO ME!” She turns to the audience and begs “Is there a doctor in the audience?” Our first usage of that ever so prevalent catchphrase! It gets me every time.

To Baby’s oblivion, the spider is right behind her. He snatches her away, her terrorized shrieks rousing Napoleon to consciousness. Abiding the laws of cartoon physics, the jack in the box crushed the bottom half of his body, which he inflates with a train whistle. Look at that animation of the spider kidnapping Baby! It’s beautifully smooth and bouncy. Animating all of those legs was no easy feat, especially with a doll squirming around in his clutches! 

The spider hijacks a toy train, with Napoleon chasing behind. More stunning animation! Again, not easy to animate, especially with the train going one way, baby and the spider another! 

Under pressure, napoleon thinks of how to save his sweetheart. He spots a little pull string duck toy, which he uses as a lasso. He loops the rope around the spider’s neck and pulls, effectively choking him.

Napoleon and Baby reunite, while the spider, clinging onto a balloon for safety, gets burned on the ass as he floats over some candles. To top it all off, Napoleon sends a cannonball hurtling towards the spider. The cannonball pops the balloon and sends the spider crashing to the ground.

All is well! The toys in the workshop celebrate, and baby sings another round of “Red-Headed Baby” (with some dolls behind her that look eerily like Bosko and Honey).

Even Santa joins the antics, coming downstairs and giving a joyous shout of “Yippee!” before another iris out.

What a fun way to end out the year! This cartoon is very cute. The first time we actually see a definite human! The short itself is rather predictable, but at this point I go into every cartoon with that in mind. Once you accept that, you’re able to enjoy it more. It’s more so cute than funny, but so be it. The music is catchy and fun as always, and there are some great bits of animation (like the spider kidnapping baby). It’s not my favorite Merrie Melody, but it certainly isn’t bad. Just standard.

Link!

21. Bosko's Fox Hunt (1931)

Release date: December 12th, 1931

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman

Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko, Fox), Rudolf Ising (Boar)

Ah... The hunting cartoons. Porky’s Duck Hunt would birth everyone’s favorite Daffy Duck in 1937. 1938 had Porky’s Hare Hunt which birthed that famous wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny, and 1931 has Bosko’s Fox Hunt, which would birth... no one.

A group of barking dogs stream across the screen as our cartoon comes to an open. Following the dogs is a group of jockeys riding their horses, including an elephant struggling to ride a horse because of his weight, and of course Bosko, whistling away and happily going about his business. Good contrast between the hurried nature of the dogs/jockeys and Bosko’s leisurely gallop. “A Hunting We Will Go” plays as the underscore, which would also be featured prominently as the underscore in Porky’s Duck Hunt.

After another shot of the dogs, we see what their target is—a fox, who looks exactly like a pants-less version of Foxy. Maybe he lives on after all! 

The fox skips around, happily barking along the way, completely unbothered by the stampede behind him. He gingerly hops along a few stepping stones, sliding along on tree branches and shaving off the leaves. The underscore is beautiful! Nice and quaint. A great contrast with the high energy “A Hunting We Will Go”.

Back to the stampede of dogs and Bosko, who’s sinking lower and lower on his horse as it deflates like a balloon. To solve the problem, Bosko stuffs an entire log in the horse’s mouth so that it’s stable again. Once again, the tagline for our reviews comes into play: overused and predictable but amusing nonetheless! Especially when the horse spits the log back out, using it to cross a gap between ridges.

More recycled footage of the frolicking fox, the hounds, and the overweight elephant from the beginning. The scene was amusing at first, but loses its charm after being shown for 3 times in a row. I’m guessing they needed to fill up the minutes somehow—that’s probably the biggest flaw with this cartoon, it feels rather empty, reusing footage to meet the quota.

Finally the fox takes notice that its being followed, and hides in a log. The stampede obliviously charges forth, leaving the fox be, except for a wiener dog who curves its body around the log, sniffing curiously. It ends up sniffing its own ass, kicks it over to the other side of the log, and walks on. Predictably amusing. Harman and Ising sure liked their wiener dog gags.

Bosko and his horse are the only ones left, which the fox takes note of. It drags a nearby mud puddle in the trajectory of their path, and sure enough, they land right in the puddle. The horse is covered with mud (while Bosko is miraculously clean) and not pleased about it. It swipes the mud off (and its fur) and wears it like a coat, glaring at Bosko and angrily stalking off.

The Plutoesque dog from One More Time makes an appearance, licking Bosko’s face and barking. The dog runs away to pursue the fox, while Bosko pulls out a double barrel rifle and starts shooting aimlessly. That sounds like a smart idea! 

We get recycled footage from Ain’t Nature Grand!, borrowed from the sequence where the bird chases the worm. This time, the dog is the bird, the fox is the worm. Further my point is asserted that it feels like they had a bit too much time left, reusing animation. Though one thing I’ve pretty foolishly failed to consider in the first place is the fact that it’s the Depression. If you gotta save costs, you gotta save costs. I should probably be a little more lenient with that in mind, but it’s not like I’m exactly criticizing them, just making a note of it.

Bosko (irresponsibly) joins in on the fun, his rifle shooting amuck as he bounces around aimlessly. This short has a lot of similarities to Porky’s Duck Hunt, and this is another: Bosko/Porky unable to handle the gun. It does make for a quick laugh! I’m probably biased since I love Porky so much, but I feel its funnier with him (and through Tex Avery’s vision), just because he has more personality than Bosko, but nevertheless.

The fox hides in a hole and pops out in an adjacent hole Bugs Bunny style. The dog’s rear is exposed as he snoops around in the hole, looking for his target, which bites him in the ass (literally).

The dog scoots around, yelping in pain, while Bosko aims his rifle down the foxhole. The fox, once again proving himself to be a regular Bugs Bunny, grabs the rifle and elongates it, popping out of the first hole and shooting Bosko. The fox runs off as Bosko vows to get him.

Spotting a nearby cave, the fox seeks refuge and hides. Bosko furiously yanks it by the tail and pulls it out...

...revealing a giant boar who grows aggressive and chases after Bosko. Bosko and his dog hide in yet another cave, and sparks, stars, an all sorts of cartoon indicators of violence fly. The dog manages to get out of the scrabble, but receives a stray punch in the jaw.

Things grow quiet, and the dog picks up a club, hiding behind a rock. He anticipates the boar’s return. Instead, Bosko comes out on top, accomplished and proud. The dog bashes his head in with the club, mistaking him for the boar, but once he sees his mistake we iris out on him giving a dazed Bosko some kisses.

This cartoon felt rather empty and hollow, moreso than usual. Lots of recycled animation made it feel as though they needed to fill up some time. However, I really liked the music underscore, especially with the fox frolicking around. There were some good visuals, such the fox sliding on the tree, Bosko sagging down on the “deflating” horse, and the bright stars, smoke, and rocks flying during the offscreen fight scene. The Bosko cartoons have gradually been increasing in quality—i think it’s safe to say this cartoon would feel much more transparent and paper thin if it were made at the beginning of the year instead of the end. However, I’ve seen better, and know there are better shorts to come. Overall a rather average cartoon, still worth a snoop.

20. Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (1931)

All Bosko cartoons I review could also benefit from this disclaimer, but disclaimer: seeing as this is the first entry in the Censored 11, this review contains racist imagery, content, and stereotypes. I don’t in any way endorse these, nor do I take pleasure displaying them on my blog. However, it would be wrong of me to gloss over this and act like it didn’t happen, and that everything’s fine. These are issues that need to be discussed and can’t be shoved under the rug. This is purely for informational and educational purposes. If there’s anything I can do to make this easier to get through, PLEASE let me know, and PLEASE correct me if I say anything offensive or hurtful. Your enjoyment and your comfort are my priority, and I don’t want to squander that because of a careless mistake. Thank you for understanding and I hope this can serve as an educational source of information.

Release date: November 28th, 1931

Series: Merrie melodies

Director: Rudolf Ising

Starring: Johnny Murray (Piggy), Rudolf Ising (Alligator, Villain), Ken Darby (Uncle Tom), The King's Men (Chorus)

As I mentioned above, this is the first entry in the infamous Censored 11 list. For some background information, the Censored 11 is a group of cartoons held from syndication starting in 1968, because the use of ethnic stereotypes (specifically black stereotypes) was too offensive to show to audiences. (In my opinion that list should be WAYYY longer, but I digress.) In this cartoon, Piggy tries to rescue a kidnapped Fluffy on a steamboat, whereas an epithetical, doglike Uncle Tom is terrorized by skeletons in a graveyard. A steamboat and some skeletons, certainly sounds familiar, doesn’t it? 

The cartoon opens with three blackface caricatures playing the eponymous song “Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Land” on a banjo, mouth harp, and spoons. The song is catchy with some beautiful layered harmonies, though the caricatures make it hard to appreciate.

We get a shot of the steamboat they’re aboard on the moonlit water. I’m sure you can tell, but this time we’re ripping off Disney with Steamboat Willie (it gets less subtle in a minute). However, I love the above gag of the steamboat heading down the waterfall. The backgrounds are quite moody and beautiful, too. I love moonlit backgrounds though, especially in black and white cartoons.

Now we see why this is in the Censored 11 (if the blackface wasn’t enough). Fluffy happens to be riding on a horse drawn (donkey drawn, really) cart with a doglike Uncle Tom epithet, both of them giving a few lyric-less bars of “Camptown Races” in the style of Foghorn Leghorn. A whistle sounds, and Fluffy urges “Oh, there’s the boat! Hurry, Uncle Tom!” Uncle Tom whips the donkey and they race off.

Ahh, subtlety! Mickey Piggy is the captain of the steamboat, dancing while ringing various bells and horns to the beat of the underscored music.

Fluffy and Uncle Tom arrive just in time for the steamboat to dock. Fluffy boards the boat, leaving Piggy tasked with carrying her heavy luggage that briefly dips him into the water as the bridge sags beneath its weight.

Fluffy bids Uncle Tom farewell, and the passengers dance and clap along to the jazz band blaring out a tune. Piggy and Fluffy are also dancing, but Piggy, being the intelligent porcine he is, is perched right on the edge of the boat.

He predictably falls off, landing on the paddled wheels which smack him repeatedly before sending him flying. He then lands on an alligator, mistaking it for a rock.

Dodging the alligator’s snapping jaws, he swims to a nearby log, plucks a twig off the side and plants it in his butt to use as a propeller. He hugs the log and speeds away, losing the alligator and climbing back to safety. Amusing gag, but highly predictable.

Focus is back on Uncle Tom, who’s back on the carriage with the donkey. Perpetuating the stereotype of black people being “lazy”, he’s asleep. The donkey’s tail occasionally hits him, causing him to wake up and go back to sleep. Tired of getting swatted at, Tom ties a rock to the tail of the donkey. The donkey is undeterred and hits him on the head with the rock, which sends him flying, landing conveniently in a nearby graveyard. Honestly, this entire sequence is more cringeworthy and uncomfortable than it is funny.

As Uncle Tom frightfully roams the graveyard, a mausoleum opens up to reveal a swarm of bats, followed by a gang of singing skeletons.

Uncle Tom and the skeletons engage in a call and response musical number, singing “Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Land”. The singing is good, but once more hard to appreciate with Uncle Tom right there, not to mention this is a blatant ripoff of Disney’s The Skeleton Dance. And man, to think that Chuck Jones’ early cartoons were Disneyesque! Gags include a tiny skeleton dog rising from a grave and barking, receiving a swift kick by a skeleton back into the grave.

Justifiably terrified, Uncle Tom escapes the graveyard by diving through a hole in the crumbling brick wall. He spots a boat on the ground, and à la Fred Flintstone picks it up and runs, diving into the lake. However, because there’s no bottom, it’s useless, and he swims away. I DO enjoy that gag (as much as I can), stereotypical in the usage of the gag but amusing nonetheless.

More stereotypes as we find out that Uncle Tom can’t swim. Cut back to Piggy and Fluffy, who hear his cries for help. Piggy heroically declares “I’ll save Uncle Tom!” and dives off the side of the boat...

...straight out of his Mickey Mouse patented pants. He swims back in the air to get them, diving back in the water. Again, another funny gag, but it has more potential than humor to it. In my opinion, My Favorite Duck uses the same gag much more effectively.

Enter the Tex Avery villain (not actually Tex Avery, he wouldn’t come aboard until 1935, but this type of villain would be used in many of his shorts, like The Blow Out and Milk and Money). The villain kidnaps Fluffy, and Piggy, already tasked with saving Uncle Tom (who he’s dragging to shore) has to swoop in to the rescue.

Piggy scales a passing mail hook and snatches Fluffy to safety, leaving the vaudevillian dangling by his coat on the hook.

But that’s not all! Piggy teaches the villain a lesson by lowering the hook above a conveniently placed buzz saw, torturing the villain and cutting his ass open. Jesus! Piggy and Fuffy embrace and laugh merrily as the torture ensues. Iris out.

Well... where to begin? Obviously, this one was uncomfortable to get through. It’s unfortunate but also true—this is the tamest of the Censored 11. I found myself cringing and constantly thinking about the stereotypes, and because of that I had a hard time appreciating any positive elements, such as bits of good animation and a swingy music score. The stereotypes were there, but sadly pale in comparison as to some of the things we’ll be seeing... but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Uncomfortableness aside with the content, this short itself was pretty boring and not very funny. The backgrounds were nice and moody, and I enjoyed the music, but that’s about it. (Watch at your own discretion of course, it wouldn’t be right of me not to link this and act like it doesn’t exist.)

19. Bosko's Soda Fountain (1931)

Release date: November 14th, 1931

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Hugh Harman

Starring: Johnny Murray (Bosko, Wilbur, Mouse)

Bosko’s Soda Fountain marks the first appearance of Wilbur, Honey’s trouble making cat that would inevitably cause chaos for Bosko. As the title suggests, Bosko works at a soda fountain, and Honey asks if he can bring an ice cream cone over to Wilbur, who’s being unruly during his piano lesson.

Behind the bar is Bosko, whistling away while concocting a milkshake. The gags are musically timed (as was the norm) as Bosko slides across the floor like an xylophone, skillfully catching scoops of ice cream in the cup. He slides the shake to the end of the bar, where a mouse eagerly awaits.

Much like Bosko in Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid, the mouse twists himself around so the stool can be raised, thus granting him access to his treat. He slurps away and remarks “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” in an obnoxiously amusing delivery.

Meanwhile, the reoccurring hippo character from Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! and One More Time makes an appearance as she enters the soda fountain. I like that they staged this scene so we only see her reflection in the mirror as Bosko talks to her, great way to mix things up and make the audience look! Bosko remarks that she’s his old school teacher. She sits on a stool (or three of them for that matter) and places an order.

While Bosko prepares, the hippo turns on a nearby fan, sparking this predictable yet fun visual of the air making a parachute in her blouse.

Elsewhere, Bosko’s mixer bites the dust on him. The mouse from before laughs at him, so, as punishment, Bosko scoops him up and turns his tail as a crank, the mouse’s head spinning and thus mixing the shake together. Damn, talk about harsh! You laugh and you get milkshakeboarded! 

Bosko serves the milkshake to the hippo, which towers over him (complete with a nice little swivel as he sets it down). Unfortunately, the fan, which is still on, blows the milkshake right in the hippo’s face. She gets pissed (which... it’s her own fault) and curses at Bosko, leaving the establishment with a raspberry. The ever unflappable Bosko just laughs.

We have some more filler of Bosko hopping around on the xylophone paneled floor, playing glasses as chimes with some spoons. A comically elongated dog enters the facility, and right away spots a platter of sandwiches. He wastes no time swallowing them whole.

Bosko takes notice, and at first he’s rightfully angry, but realizes he can exploit the dog as a musical instrument, and thusly plays him like an accordion. Like all gags this has become overused and stereotypical, but it’s still fun to watch and amusing nonetheless. I have a soft spot for accordions gags.

Now we focus on Honey, who’s teaching a little cat (Wilbur) how to play the piano. Wilbur, however, proves himself to be rather uncooperative. He mocks Honey’s solfeggio and angrily smashes down on a few keys, protesting “I want an ice cream cone!” 

As annoying as he is, I too had to go through the trials and tribulations of taking piano lessons as an extremely inattentive kid, so I know his pain. It’s very real! Maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for him (it seems I’m the minority here. People find him to be annoying).

Honey gives in and rings up Bosko, reusing animation (and part of the dialogue verbatim) from Bosko’s Holiday. THANKFULLY they didn’t reuse the god awful voice acting in that scene. This one is faster paced and not as grueling to get through. Bosko assures he’ll be right there, whips up a vanilla ice cream cone and hops on his bike.

He rides on, occasionally hitting a bump and juggling the rogue scoop in the cone. I enjoy it! A particularly catchy music underscore with some amusing sound effects. Meanwhile, we cut to Honey, with Wilbur once again demanding for his ice cream cone.

Saved by the bell (knock), Honey lets Bosko in. He says “Here, Honey!”, thinking it’s for her since she didn’t specify otherwise. Wilbur takes no shit and runs up to Bosko insisting “HEY! THAT’S MINE!”.

He gives it a lick... And recoils, screaming “I DON’T LIKE VANILLY!” and blowing the ice cream in Bosko’s face. What a brat! I find him more funny than annoying. I love loud, obnoxious characters (I know that’s a startling revelation. You probably couldn’t tell with my undying love for zany Daffy), so I guess that says something about me, doesn’t it? 

Look at that angle! Very similar to Porky pointing the gun at the cats in Kitty Kornered. It’s dizzyingly beautiful! I respect that they mix up the monotony by experimenting with different camera angles. Bosko chases Wilbur up the stairs, who jumps on the pendulum of a grandfather clock, knocking Bosko down the staircase.

Another visual I love. The cat disassembles part of the banister, so the wood repeatedly hits Bosko painfully in the ass like spokes. He lands on a cart that sends him flying out the window.

Thankfully, a pair of pajamas is hanging on a clothesline, and Bosko lands safely in them. That is until Wilbur sticks his head out of the window and pulls the clothesline in, undoing the butt flap and sending Bosko tumbling into the washbasin. Iris out as he pops up with a pair of underwear on his head.

I think it was a good spot gag cartoon! Not much plot to it, but that doesn’t really bother me, because it’s filled with fun visuals and a good music score. The Bosko cartoons are slowly improving, one by one. I have a feeling this one wouldn’t have been as good if it were made in the 1930-1931 season (we’re now in the 1931-1932 season). I thought Wilbur was REALLY funny. Obnoxious? Absolutely. But “I DON’T LIKE VANILLY” is probably one of the funniest lines I’ve heard so far LOL. He reminds me a lot of Beans, particularly in I Haven’t Got a Hat when he sticks out his tongue to the audience. Possible relation maybe? ultimately, I’d give it a watch! It’s nothing outstanding, but it’s chipper and upbeat and pretty entertaining.

18. You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931)

Release date: October 21st, 1931

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Rudolf Ising

Starring: Johnny Murray (Piggy), The King's Men (Drunkards), Orlando Martin (Car)

Exit Foxy, enter Piggy! Piggy would have an even shorter career than Foxy, spanning only 2 cartoons (his next short being our first entry in the censored 11, further obscuring any chances of notoriety). His name is derived from a childhood classmate of Friz Freleng, a pair of brothers who were named “Porky” and “Piggy” (Freleng would go on to create our favorite stuttering pig in I Haven’t Got a Hat in 1935). In this cartoon, Piggy and a group of men get drunk at a theatre, making for a wild string of surreal imagery as they go on a wild goose chase after a car.

Our story begins with a criminally catchy display of the titular song “You Don't Know What You're Doin'!”. The lion maestro conducts the orchestra, and gets so caught up in the swing that his pants (“pants”) fall down. Embarrassed, he hikes them back up as the song blazes on.

There’s a rather impressive crowd shot of the crowd bottlenecking into the theatre (reminds me of Picador Porky and Porky and Daffy to name a few). What a shot! These crowd shots would drastically improve in the next few years, but for 1931, this is impressive. Next we meet our hero, Piggy, who’s puttering along on his motorcycle. He has a sidecar handy, which clues us in that he’s headed to pick someone up.

Sure enough, he pulls into the driveway of a house, his bike sputtering and stalling to a halt.

A silhouette shot reveals Piggy’s motives: he’s here to pick up his girlfriend, who’s happily scatting away while literally powdering her nose. Piggy pokes the stomach of a cherub statue blowing on a horn, prompting an actual car horn to blare. Piggy, being the charmer he is, skips straight to the point: “Make it snappy, Fluffy!” Fluffy is undeterred by his bluntness and coos “Okay, baby!” 

There’s another crowd shot pouring into the theatre before focusing on the lovebirds, puttering along on their way. Piggy’s faulty bike conveniently stalls out as they approach the theatre, with a guard laughing at the failure. Piggy and Fluffy hop out of the bike, crawling under the guard’s legs with their snouts in the air. The bike takes a life of its own and also stalks away, blowing a fume of exhaust in the face of the guard. We get yet another blackface gag where the guard cries “Mammy!” in reference to Al Jolson. As always (and I have a feeling I’ll be saying this quite often in many a review), I could easily do without the blackface. Again, I understand that it was in reference to Al Jolson who was a bit of a powerhouse at the time (and would continue to be), but still.

Piggy and Fluffy make their way into the theatre, where the lion maestro is conducting away. Piggy goes up to a hippo playing in the band, laughs, and pulls his concert bib(? Flap? White thing?), launching the hippo (rightfully) into an indistinct tirade. Fine with their cruelty, Piggy and Fluffy take their seats.

The concert rages on, complete with a line of cat dancers in the background. The lion conducts the bird playing a horn, whose body stretches thinner and taller as he gets more involved. Eventually, the lion gets fed up at the bird’s upstaging and hits him on the head. I just want to add, I LOVE the asbestos curtain. Things that get funnier as they age! 

Fluffy enjoys the concert, clapping and beaming. Piggy, not so much. He hops out of his seat and blows a raspberry in protest.

Initiating another lyrical music sequence, Piggy protests “You don't know what you're doin'!” A horse playing in the orchestra speaks with his trombone, blowing “Oh yeah? Is that so?” Piggy marches up on stage, picking up a spare saxophone and responding “Yes, that’s so!” The two laugh into their respective instruments, and Piggy launches into a saxophone rendition of “Silver Threads Among the Gold”.

However, he’s interrupted by the sound of offscreen humming to the same song. The sound is from a group of drunk dogs, who laugh and insist “You don’t know what you’re doin’!” 

Piggy and the drunks jump into a call and response singing battle, insisting that the other party doesn’t know what they’re doin’. The music is delightful! The drunks sing in some beautiful harmonies, and the underscore is lush and catchy, the syncopation of the music furthering the effect. It’s certainly an earworm and definitely worthy of a listen.

Once the song is finished, the drunks are greeted by applause. The main dog in the middle gets a swell head, bowing and eating the attention up. He eats it so much that he topples over the box seat, bounces off a timpani drum and lands on the stage, much to Piggy (and the audience)’s amusement, who laughs at him.

Nevertheless, the drunk is undeterred. He pulls out a bottle and takes a few swigs, stumbling around and burping in Piggy’s face. The dangers of second hand drinking! Piggy himself gets inebriated from the impact. Alcohol has always been used as a comedy device. Quite honestly, I think it’s funnier in this era. We’re still in prohibition, and we have all these cartoons about getting drunk! I guess if you can’t have a drink, the next best thing is watching some cartoon characters drink it for you.

Piggy and the dog stumble out of the theatre, and we’re launched into this beautifully surreal scene. Piggy steals the dog’s drink and pours it into the engine of his own car, causing the car to get drunk. The car hiccups and “sings” along to the music, vocals provided by Orlando Martin. He sounds great as the car! Not unlike the adults in the Peanuts television specials.

Edit: It was actually Martin playing into the trombone rather than speaking—that’s what I assumed, but didn’t specify here. Oops! 

This scene is pretty hard to describe, other than beautifully surreal! The best thing to do is check it out for yourself. The car gets startled and runs (drives?) away from Piggy. Piggy chases after it, stumbling and trying to maintain his balance. The drunken dog also pursues in the chase just for the hell of it.

I can’t stress this enough, the visuals are stunning! This entire scene parallels another drunken frenzy in lady, play your mandolin!, though the surreal and imaginative nature of it all reminds me of Porky in Wackyland. Clock towers come to life, shaking their hips, sewer drains roar like monsters, lampposts gallop like horses... it’s beautiful! 

Thankfully for Piggy and the dog, the drunken hallucinations soften as they land in the bed of a truck. The truck, clearly startled, gallops away and dumps them off the edge of a cliff where they land squarely in a trash can. Drunken spirits rage on, as the two exclaim “whoopee!”. Iris out.

Without a doubt, this is my favorite cartoon so far. It’s beautiful! The pacing is just right. It’s definitely on par with the cartoons we’d be seeing in the late 30s and early 40s during the black and white era. The music is fantastic, with beautiful harmonies, a terrific underscore, swinging jazz... It’s such a spirit raiser! The only downfall is the blackface gag. I absolutely recommend this cartoon if you‘re in the need for something feel-good. If you don’t watch it, well, you don’t know what you’re doin’!