109. Buddy Steps Out (1935)

Release date: July 20th, 1935

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring: Tommy Bond (Buddy), Berneice Hansell (Cookie, Campbell's Soup Kids)

It’s been awhile since Cookie’s been in a Buddy short—or it sure feels like it. This would be her last appearance, and Buddy’s second to last. I also find the animation credit for Chuck Jones as “Chas. Jones” funny, that’s a new one to me. Buddy and Cookie go out on a date, and the objects in Cookie’s house come to life, including a framed portrait of Buddy.

Cookie ends her career the way she began: dolling herself up for a date with Buddy. She coos at a bird in her birdcage to come on out, and together they sing/chirp “About a Quarter to Nine”. The sound of a doorbell interrupts their brief song number, and sure enough it’s Buddy, all bundled up in some Ccrooge-esque winter garb, tipping his top hat and greeting “Hello, Cookie!”

The bird senses the coast is clear, and flies over to the window, which is slightly ajar. A photograph of Buddy and a book also adorn the scene. Finally free for the night, the happy little bird flies through the window, singing its song and doing figure-eights in the night air.

A snowy draft begins to pick up, forcing the bird backwards against the wind. Portrait Buddy is no exception to the perils of the wind as the draft blows through the open window. He clings to the edge of his portrait, losing his hat in the process. A moment of peace as he crawls out of the portrait, opening a book to use as a bridge towards the windowsill. He hops onto the window, but his diminutive size does little to close the window. Another draft rips through, and he cries “Help! Help!” 

Thank goodness for a random statue of Atlas holding the globe. He places the world down gingerly, running to the rescue. He places Buddy inside the book and closes the cover, shutting the window with ease. Our hero plucks Buddy up and positions him back into his picture frame, much to Buddy’s gratitude. Buddy snags his hat from outside the frame and all is well.

Elsewhere, the bird, who has sought refuge on a weather vane, braves the storm and flies back towards Cookie’s house. Unfortunately for it, the window has been closed. The bird wipes away the frost and pecks its beak on the glass to get Buddy’s attention. Buddy notices the bird and enlists in Atlas’ help once more (“Atlas! Atlas ol’ boy! Give us a hand, partner!”) When he struggles to open the window. Atlas lifts up the window, and buddy plucks the frozen bird from the snow, the bird’s talons frozen in an ice block. 

Buddy scoops some snow off of the bird and scratches his head, pondering how he can thaw the frozen canary. He lifts the bird over his shoulder and coos “Poor birdie!” Ideas hatch as he jumps on a window blind, pulling the blinds down and hopping to the floor, bird in hand. He dashes across the floor to another window, riding the blinds up so he can land on a table. Though the “come to life” trope has been tried and true (emphasis on tried), it’s almost nice to see it again. It’s been awhile, or so I believe. The cartoons blend together in the Buddy era.

Turning on a lamp, buddy positions the bird onto an elaborate lamp base with a woman holding out a bowl. Buddy lights a match beneath the bowl, melting away the bird’s ice block restraint. Water fills the bowl as the ice melts, the bird sneezing hot water onto buddy. Buddy grabs a handkerchief and laughs, saying “Blow your nosey!” The bird obliges, blowing its nose (beak?) like a car horn. Once more Buddy gives a laugh and pats the bird on the head, saying “'Atta boy!” Delightfully disgusting and puzzling as he ties the same snot filled handkerchief around the bird’s head. Obviously it was supposed to read as cute and endearing, but instead it comes off as amusingly gross. The bird gives a few hearty chirps and kisses buddy’s forehead in thanks.

To celebrate its newfound freedom and vitalization, the bird clicks on the radio and chirps another verse of “About a Quarter to Nine”. Thus begins a tap dance routine with Buddy. I’ve really missed the tap dance routines! Whenever I think of Bosko, I always think of that great tap number in Bosko in Person. It’s refreshing to see it make a comeback, even if it is with buddy. The movements are crisp, fun, and flighty, music jolly. A nice detail of one of the knick knacks positioning a lamp like a spotlight.

To further the Harman-Ising nostalgia of tap dance routines, some more objects come to life. A joker leaps out of its playing card and does some not so soft soft-shoeing, whereas a chorus of Campbell’s Soup kids sing “About a Quarter to Nine” in the trademark Berneice Hansell baby voice. A pig on a “SNIFF’S SPECIAL HAMS” label also lends his voice.

Some sort of ambiguous bug also sing a chorus, lazing around in a sink, rowing itself along in the water with a spoon. Conveniently, a tin of bug spray is positioned by the sink. The soldier on the label comes to life and sprays the bug to eradicate it. Naturally, the bug flees. It attempts to climb out of the sink, grabbing at a box of suds instead and filling the sink with bubbles. The bug pops it’s head out of the water, expelling bubbles out of its mouth and singing some more. The Harman-Ising feel is certainly strong in this one.

Meanwhile, an alarm clock perched by the window spots Buddy and Cookie bracing their way through the snow squall. Urgently does the clock ring, its piercing alarm sending everyone scrambling back into their places, including portrait Buddy.

Everyone situates themselves just in time as Cookie unlocks the door. She steps inside and bids Buddy goodnight, Buddy kissing her hand. What a charmer. Cookie admires her portrait of Buddy, sighing “Isn’t he a dear?” She showers the picture in kisses, adding “You darling!” We get a view of photo-Buddy covered in lipstick. He glances at Cookie before glancing back at the audience, giving a lipstick covered wink as we iris out.

As far as Buddy cartoons go, this wasn’t bad at all. It had more excitement than usual. It felt fresh, which is ironic considering it calls back to the days of Harman-Ising. The song numbers were very fun to watch, with Buddy doing his tap routine and Hansell lending her squeaky baby voice for the Campbell’s Soup kid chorus. Both Buddys, real and photograph, lacked discernible personality, and Cookie wasn’t very riveting herself, but at this point you develop a tolerance for it. While I think you’d be fine if you skipped it, this is one where it wouldn’t kill you to watch it, either. Nothing particularly riveting or enthralling, but much more endearing and watchable than some of the other Buddys we’ve seen. His clock is ticking! One more short and he’s kicked to the curb.

Link!

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.

Link!

99. Buddy's Pony Express (1935)

Release date: March 9th, 1935

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Ben Hardaway

Starring: Billy Bletcher (Villain, Barfly), Jackie Morrow (Buddy), Berneice Hansell (Cookie)

Though this is the 99th cartoon, this is my 100th review and I just wanted to thank you! This has been very exciting and fun for me, and I hope that I’ve been able to educate, inform, and entertain you. These cartoons aren’t masterpieces, but we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly—which we will continue to see all of those. Thank you for your support and motivation! In terms of synopsis: Buddy competes against a fierce competitor with tricks up his sleeve.

A quiet, sleepy town in the old west. Or not. Bullets fly and bodies roll, an undertaker even taking in a body that rolls right into his stretcher. How morbid! Two men clinging to telephone poles shoot at each other, hitting the poles which each shrink in size as the shootout ensues. They meet in the streets, a big dog vs a little dog. The big dog plugs the little dog’s gun in his own gun, shooting him upwards with ease. The little dog comes crashing to the ground, taking the big dog with him. Two men bury the men in the hole with the excess dirt they left behind.

Elsewhere, Buddy is tinkering away at a piano inside a saloon. Now he’s REALLY under his final redesign. I like it a lot, I think it’s the most fitting and appealing. His stool takes a life of its own, dancing along to the music. Meanwhile, a dog orders a glass of whiskey, drinking its contents and convulsing. Nothing like a good whiskey to make you writhe on the floor.

Cookie makes her appearance in another one of her waitress roles, singing an original song titled “Oklahoma Cowboy Joe”. Some intermittent shots of Buddy playing the piano while she sings, including him being a ham and playing with his feet. A tiny cowboy enters the saloon and shoots a few warning shots, Cookie singing that his guns are empty and that it’s just for fun—makes me feel very safe. Another man shoots him right in the head, his head exploding... revealed to be Buddy in disguise. The gag is certainly incomprehensible but amusingly so, especially when an oil lamp falls on Buddy’s head.

All of the sudden, a cowboy skates inside on his spurs and posts a flyer, shooting bullets to hold it in place. Immediately the gaggle of cowboys in the saloon gather round to read the news. The flyer advertises a pony express race at 2:30, a mail contract awarded to the winner. Buddy and Cookie read it once the crowd disperses, Buddy eager to enter. He shows off his horse to Cookie, the horse whinnying happily. The villain of the cartoon pokes his head around the corner to eavesdrop, overhearing Buddy boast “He’s the fastest in the county!” 

Buddy pulls out his pocket watch and excuses himself to get ready for the big race, telling Cookie that he’ll see her there. Outside, the villain takes the horse off its post and kidnaps it, giving a Billy Bletcher evil laugh for good measure. He makes off towards an abandoned glue factory, where his OWN horse is waiting. It’s practically a shell, the villain shooting off a vulture perched on top of the poor thing. To restore it back to its former glory, he stuffs a balloon in the horse’s stomach and attaches a pump inside, blowing it up to size. He draws two dots on the eyelids of the comatose horse, who stares at him wearily before becoming a vegetable once more.

Satisfied with his work, the villain takes his own decrepit horse to the post outside the saloon, passing it off as Buddy’s horse. Buddy dresses up in his cowboy garb, bouncing out the window and onto his fake horse, which takes off for the race.

The horse zigzags to the starting line—not bad for such a weak horse. Cookie bids Buddy good luck, to which he confidently replies “It’s a cinch!” the villain doesn’t think so, laughing him off.

Some nice visuals as a man fires his starting pistol to signal the start of the race. He’s perched on a grazing horse, the force of the shot propelling him downwards and back up, the horse’s body reverberating in rubber hose goodness. The runners are off, an array of spot gags including a Native American riding inside a teepee, a man hobbling on crutches, a man riding after a dog...

The man riding after a dog faces some trouble once the dog spots a rabbit. The dog stretches itself through many rabbit holes, the rabbit mocking the twisted up dog. Sounds familiar!

Meanwhile, Buddy and the villain are next and neck. The villain plays his dirty tricks, if stealing Buddy’s horse wasn’t enough. He yanks the tail of Buddy’s horse back, sending him flying. Once more does buddy surge ahead. This time, the villain yanks the horse’s tail and twirls him above his head, laughing as Buddy and his horse sit in a daze. He’s too busy laughing at the two to notice an upcoming cactus, getting knocked into it and twirling around.

Our chase continues to a cliff, some beautiful animation of the horse galloping along as buddy dangled by the reigns over the edge, the cliff rotating as they move along. Buddy twists around a tree, the villain passing. To prevent them from edging further, the villain shakes a bridge beneath Buddy, tossing him up in the air repeatedly. Buddy rides inside the bridge like a protective hamster wheel, chasing down the villain.

His makeshift protective wheel crashes against a rock, catapulting him over a cliff and dangling on a limb by his suspenders. The villain laughs, tossing a boulder down at the branch to finish him off. Harsh! Of course, the boulder bounces off the branch and knocks the villain, amusing animation as he tugs at the grass for support like a carpet. He and the horses topple over the edge and crash into Buddy, all four plummeting to uncertain doom.

The entire landscape is riddled with mud puddles. Cookie cheers Buddy on from the finish line as the rivalry approaches, both sliding into mud puddles. Thankfully, our hero buddy pops out of a puddle across the finish line, the villain left to lie in the rain. Buddy and cookie kiss... a horse, that is. Buddy’s horse pops up between the two and blushes at the unprecedented display of affection, iris out.

Not a very captivating cartoon. There were some lovely visual gags and pieces of animation: the guy shooting his pistol and propelling off his horse, Buddy barely holding onto his horse as it scales the mountain, the villain clutching the grass like a rug and pulling it, but it just felt not memorable at all. I found myself zoning out a lot on this one, so overall I'd skip it. Not the worst, but not much of anything. Just another unmemorable cartoon.

Link!

96. Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name (1935)

Release date: January 19th, 1935

Series: Merrie Melodies

Director: Friz Freleng

Starring: Tommy Bond (Buddy), The Debutants (Chorus)

First cartoon of the new year, and what a year it will be! Buddy and Cookie star in this as playful mermaids--an unassuming premise yet a very monumental decision. Beforehand, no Looney Tunes stars (Buddy, Bosko) starred in Merrie Melodies and vice versa. The lines have been crossed!

The cartoon opens with a nice shot of rolling waves crashing against some rocks. I love the two-strip technicolor look, I think it’s extremely charming and adds a nice palette. Especially with complimentary colors such as red and green! The pink reflections and sea foam add a nice contrast with the white reflections and green water. Elsewhere, three mermaids sing “Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name” with substitute lyrics, a hula mermaid dancing along to the music and a sawfish playing its nose/saw with a mallet.

A dance break as some clams underwater serve as castanets, accompanying the dancing lobster from How Do I know It’s Sunday. It’s still a good scene, the animation nice and added colors freshening up the monotony.

Meanwhile, a group of mermaid children are dancing and playing about, including two familiar mermaids: Buddy and Cookie. The thing is, they don’t refer to each other by names, and could very well be different characters. However, the boy is the spitting image of Buddy, and Cookie looks similar to her brief Jack King redesign. Not to mention, their voices are the same as always. It’s a safe bet to assume it’s them. Plus, it makes my life easier instead of just typing “the boy” and “the girl”.

Buddy and Cookie are engaging in a game of tag, some nice animation as they swim towards the foreground and then the background. Buddy tags Cookie by smacking her in the butt and laughing at her abrasion. She doesn’t find it too funny, and lets Buddy know by smacking him hard. Very funny and amusing to watch Cookie stalk away on her mermaid fins, her cheeks puffed out in defiance and fists clenched. Such attitude! I love to see it! 

Downtrodden, Buddy sighs and mopes around, banging his head against a ship in the midst of his oblivious wandering. Delighted at his find, he eagerly swims back to Cookie (occasionally jogging on his fins, a nice touch) and drags her along to show off. Cookie is initially reluctant, but her own inquisitive nature prevails as she and Buddy stick their heads inside a hole.

Wide, spacious, and mysterious: the perfect place for curious kids to investigate. Almost immediately, they come across a chest spilling over with treasures. Cookie rifles through the coins, and a lobster gets stuck on her finger. The perils of greed! She shakes it off and continues her search, fancying herself a big necklace.

Buddy has other priorities, rifling through a clothes trunk. He sports a bowler hat, a cane, and a mini mustache, the spitting image of Charlie Chaplin as a mermaid. Buddy doing the Charlie Chaplin walk on his fins is highly amusing, even though it runs a little long.

Cookie on the other hand continues to bling herself up in jewels, sauntering over to a piano and posing. An imitation of Greta Garbo, maybe? She plays the piano, but to no avail. The hammers have no strings to hit. The strings are dislodged and hide behind the piano—cookie fixes it right up and launches into a rendition of “Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name”, accompanied by a Harpo Marx lobster. Friz works his musical timing as two jolly roger skulls from a pair of pirate hats dance along to the music, timing absolutely spot on. The song ends as a fish swims out of cookie’s mouth on the final note.

Always have to have mischief of some sort. A rather menacing octopus meanders about, overhearing the jaunty piano music. It swims inside the ship, and we hear a scream. Sure enough, the octopus emerges with Cookie in its clutches. Buddy overhears the commercial and swims out of his Chaplin wear—which is a shame. That’d make for an interesting fight scene with the garb on! The octopus exerts all the effort it can to swim away faster, buddy trailing close behind as he fashions a motor to his back.

After an extended scene of more racing and Cookie beating the octopus over the head with a fishbone, buddy catches up to the octopus and the fight ensues. Great sound synchronization as the octopus swims around, smacking buddy over and over again. The animation is very fast and frenetic, what I like to see. Can’t go wrong with an Orlando Martin trombone gobble (or 3) as the octopus imprisons Buddy under its tentacles, rising up and smacking buddy with its body over and over again.

Buddy retaliates by poking it with a stick, swimming away into a pipe, octopus following. He ties the tentacles to various holes in the outside rim of the pipe, effectively keeping the beast at bay. For good measure, Buddy swings a log at the stuck octopus, shooting him out the other side and right back in again. Very creative and amusing! Cookie comes from out of the shadows and gives buddy a peck on the cheek for his bravery. He flushes all shades and tints of red, so preoccupied with his bashfulness that he gets conked on the head by the log he had been swinging. An equal and opposite reaction for every reaction, bucko! Cookie catches him and we iris out.

A very cute cartoon indeed, but not much else beyond that. The colors were nice and Buddy and Cookie, albeit dull, were likable enough. Buddy’s Chaplin imitation was definitely a plus, as was Friz’s knack for musical timing, demonstrated especially with the skulls dancing. Some scenes ran a bit long, but nothing to make me say “this is dreadfully boring”. An average cartoon, but average used in a relatively positive connotation. Maybe worth the watch.

Link!

95. Buddy the Dentist (1934)

Release date: December 15th, 1934

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Ben Hardaway

Starring: Berneice Hansell (Cookie)

The last cartoon of 1934! I can’t say it was an exciting year—probably the least memorable year yet. The Merrie Melodies started to go into color, though, which is exciting! 1935 will be a big year. Porky makes his debut, as does Tex Avery. Termite Terrace would be born, and the world has never known peace since! Also interesting to note—Jack King gets an animator's credit, despite helming his own directorial unit at the time. I wonder how that happened. For now, we focus on Buddy, who plays dentist after his dog suffers a toothache from eating too much fudge.

Someone’s in the kitchen with Buddy, someone’s in the kitchen I know. Someone’s in the kitchen with Buddy, it’s his pup, Bozo. Buddy’s whipping up a batch of fudge, with enthralling and rigorous instructions such as “Think of a number from 1 to 100” and “Stir until exhausted”.

Bozo sniffs the fudge, to which buddy scolds “Ah ah! Burny burny!” I think that’s the LEAST of your concerns if your dog is that close to chocolate. Nevertheless, Buddy gives his dog one last knowing glance as he strolls off, the fudge unattended. Bozo takes this as an opportunity to lick the boiling death trap, yelping in pain at the burn. Very amusing to watch him sucking up water desperately to playfully lapping it once buddy comes back in, shrugging.

Quite the masterful baker as buddy pours the contents of the pan into a syringe, flipping the pan back on the shelf and balancing the syringe on his finger. He shoots squares of fudge onto a cookie sheet, and one into Bozo’s mouth to pacify him. Bozo instigates, wanting more, but Buddy reprimands him, scolding “That’s all you get. And besides, candy’s bad for dogs’ teeth.” Begrudgingly does bozo mock Buddy once he leaves the picture. Of course, Buddy catches him sniffing the pan of fudge and orders him to come near him.

Buddy rings up cookie while Bozo sulks next to him. I love the detail of the bird listening in on the conversation. Buddy teases Cookie, promoting her to guess what he has for her. He entices her with a promise of some fudge, while Bozo, seeing that Buddy is effectively distracted, seeks out the pan of fudge. It topples to the ground, and his mission is accomplished as he eagerly indulges in a few hearty helpings.

All of the sudden, Bozo yelps in pain as a bell chimes forebodingly. A visit to the mirror confirms he has a toothache, represented by a little figure hammering away at his tooth. Bozo cries in pain, which prompts Buddy to break his goody two shoes persona and shout “Hey, shut up! Shut up!” Ah, misunderstanding, another great comedy point. Cookie believes Buddy is telling HER to shut up and hangs up on him, scoffing that he can’t tell her to shut up. Damn right! 

Aggravated, Buddy runs into the kitchen (first time holding the ear piece and accidentally getting yanked back into the living room) to see what the fuss is about. He drags Bozo by the collar and props him up on the table, exclaiming “Now see what you’ve done!” Bozo is too distracted by the pain to be properly guilt tripped, and Buddy  inspects the situation. Instead of angry, he cracks a grin as he tells bozo “See, I told you candy would hurt your teeth!” Considerate as always! Buddy reaches into the drawer and brings out an arsenal of intimidating tools: a hammer, a screwdriver, some pliers... the works.

Buddy painfully struggles to pull the offending tooth, but to no avail. They both fly backwards into a wall, a calendar/advertisement fluttering into the clutches of buddy. It advertises “DR MOHLER — painless dentist, WE USE GAS”. I love the detail of “Octember”, a gag reused in Porky’s Double Trouble. Ah, gas, of course! Buddy is enticed by the concept of drugging his dog. He places a funnel over Bozo’s mouth and turns a gas valve. Jesus, buddy! Of course, this isn’t supposed to be dark. The dog falls asleep and swells up like a balloon.

With some quick thinking, Buddy uses a vacuum to suck his dog back down. Nothing can ever go right for either of them—the vacuum bag explodes, sending Buddy flying against an ironing board and propelling him outside, where he‘s propelled back inside thanks to a clothesline. Buddy hears Bozo crying (now conscious), and finds him hiding under Buddy’s pillow in his bedroom.

The “heavy object tied to a string tied to a tooth” trope, tried and true. By heavy object, I usually mean door. But, for some reason, Buddy has dumbbells in his bedroom and ties the string to Bozo's tooth and around a dumbbell. He tosses the dumbbell, and Bozo merely chases it and returns it to him. Strong dog! They try again, this time with the same results, Bozo sporting a top hat and an even BIGGER dumbbell.

Finally, Buddy  realizes tying the string to the doorknob is the way to go. Of course, Bozo begs no, and Buddy then ties the string to his OWN tooth to prove it isn’t so bad and that it won’t hurt.

Just in time for a random cat to wander into Buddy’s home! Bozo chases the cat, and Buddy is forced along in the chase as he’s tied to his fervent pooch. A wild goose chase ensues, Buddy and Bozo landing in a sprinkler outside as the cat mocks them. Bozo chases after the cat once more, poor Buddy shanghaied as he struggles to keep up. He lands in a wagon and is dragged along the street, nearly run over by a car. A cat knocks over a man digging in a trench, who serves as the perfect bridge as bozo and buddy cross the trench, the oblivious man scratching his head.

The chase carries on into Cookie’s yard, where she’s lounging in a hammock, reading a book. Buddy and Bozo fly over cookie, running into her and knocking the hammock to the ground. Buddy finds Bozo’s tooth, showing it off triumphantly. Cookie finds her own prize—Buddy’s tooth. Iris out as we all laugh it off.

Not the most entertaining cartoon to watch, but it did keep me engaged. The chase scene was nice, lots of pep and energy. I don’t have any major gripes with the short, maybe a bit boring in some parts but it was ultimately slightly amusing. Buddy didn’t have too much personality (like always), but it was refreshing to hear him have some dialogue. I think that’s one of the biggest problems—some of the Buddy cartoons have such minimal dialogue. Not that you can’t have silent cartoons. A cartoon that can convey its message well without dialogue is a very strong one indeed, and there are lots of great cartoons like that. But usually music, animation, ACTING, and of course PERSONALITY carry those cartoons. The Buddy cartoons aren’t there yet, they’re still rather primitive. Not crude, but still in the baby steps. A lot of progress has been made though! This may be worth a watch, just because it’s so absurd.

Link!

94. Viva Buddy (1934)

Release date: December 12th, 1934

Series: Looney Tunes

Director: Jack King

Starring: Billy Bletcher (Pancho, "Caramba!")

Jack King’s last Buddy cartoon of 1934, the next cartoon being a Ben Hardaway entry. Our adventurer Buddy finds himself in Mexico, but trouble arises when Pancho, a caricature of Wallace Beery, shoots up a cantina.

Hmm, it seems Buddy’s hair is greased again? Buddy strolls through the streets of Mexico, strumming his guitar and singing like always. Just a collection of visual gags like always as he strolls the streets, walking up a wagon and crushing a duck, sliding down a ton of sombreros on top of a man’s head. The usual.

His destination? “CANTINA EL MOOCHER”. As predicted, stereotypes are abound. Buddy struggles to get inside as everyone’s snoring blows the doors open. Buddy enters through a window, everyone asleep. A game of checkers is engaged only by some Mexican jumping beans on the tiles.

Buddy tosses a coin in a man’s mouth, who plays the piano with his feet. Everyone is thusly prompted to wake up, the cantina full of life as beer is served and a group of singers sing, the lead singer strumming a corset instead of a guitar. Buddy even shows off his guitar kills, playing with his teeth and hands. The man can do everything! He’s a wunderkind! The guitar comes to life and plays itself as buddy eagerly dances along, playing it once more while doing a handstand and kicking his feet together to the beat of the music.

Gunshots welcome a scene change as a man darts on his hours around town, shooting aimlessly. He urges his gang to follow, and we have a shot of a bunch of men shooting guns while riding in a car... and a nice pan out to reveal they’re carrying sides of the car and running with their feet Fred Flintstone style. The Yosemite Sam wannabe shoots various pots of tequila, one in a poster and one in reality. Just because he can, right? 

His poor horse attempts to flee, but the villain ties him up to a post, licking the horse’s tail to flatten it enough so it’ll go through the hole in the post. A nefarious mustache tug and a physical lift of the doors (like lifting a garage door) and the menace is inside the cantina.

Various gunshots to accompany a grand entrance. The residents of the cantina recognize him instantly, exclaiming “Pancho!” as he shoots around—shaving off some man’s hair, shooting a barrel with a man inside who shouts “Pancho!”, another repeating the routine in a cash register, and my favorite: the Marx brothers emerge from a murphy bed, introducing themselves as “Zeppo!” “Harpo!” “Chico!” “Groucho!” Great gag! 

Pancho even targets Buddy, blowing his banana to smithereens. That does it! Buddy gives him a piece of his mind for ruining his fill of potassium, squirting the remains of the banana right in Pancho’s laughing face. Pancho holds buddy and gun point and backs him into the piano, ordering him to play.

Ah, Cookie’s here too for some reason! Of course! She does a flamenco dance to accompany Buddy's piano music. The dance is cute, but not timed well to the sound effects of the castanets at all. I think it may have been reused from How Do I know It’s Sunday, too. Pancho applauds the performance, clicking his gun holsters together and skating on his spurs. He spots cookie and flirts for her, asking for a “nice kiss”. Cookie gives him a nice slap in the face, sending him skating backwards on his spurs outside, lodging himself in the door.

A nearby goat bucks Pancho back INSIDE, where he continues to flirt like nothing happened. Buddy grunts “that big bozo!” and lodges a fork right in Pancho’s butt. Two suction cups attached together (what we all need, right?) cover Pancho’s pistols, who cries “CARAMBA!” and tosses his pistols to the floor. In retaliation, he summons a whip and snags Buddy, dumping him right into his sombrero and giving a good ol’ Billy Bletcher villain laugh. It’s tried and true, but Billy Bletcher does do a great villain!

Pancho yanks Buddy out of the hat, who punches his stomach repeatedly upside down. A parrot cheers on the fight. Buddy holds onto a chandelier as Pancho swings him around by his feet, nice animation as the two fly off the chandelier and land into a shelf. The two pop out of the debris, and Pancho, suddenly friendly, puts his arm around Buddy and laughs “I was only foolin’, Buddy!”, iris out as the two laugh it off.

Unsatisfying as the ending was, I loved it. What a way to totally backtrack from the entire events of the cartoon! Though it is a bit of a cop out from a “proper” ending, I suppose. That doesn’t bother me, but I can certainly see how that would be a problem. This cartoon was okay, nothing too great. The “lazy/sleepy” stereotypes were cringeworthy and annoying and detracted slightly from my enjoyment of the cartoon, though there isn’t too much to enjoy. Buddy was cute, but not particularly charming or charismatic. Pancho was full of personality and Billy Bletcher’s vocal performance definitely held my interest. The music was good, backgrounds good, animation decent... Just another buddy cartoon that’ll be soon lost from my memory bank. Probably safe to skip it, nothing too exciting.

Link!