воскресенье, 16 марта 2014 г.

014 The Old Plantation



Tittle: "The Old Plantation"
Release year: 1935
Series: Happy Harmonies
Directed by Rudolf Ising (uncredited)
Produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Story:'Black beauty' must win a race against other toys in order to save the Old Plantation, a doll house.

Trivia:
*The first cartoon featuring MGM's "Tanner the Lion" logo
















My rating: 3 stars. Nice cartoon. Through the story is not very original, I like the visual style of it, and the pacing is ok for me.

суббота, 15 марта 2014 г.

How To Sleep (cartoon sequence)


In this 1935 live-cartoon short made by MGM and starring Robert Benchley we have two cartoon sequences:

There are two segments in the film:
1) A visual demonstration of blood flow in the brain on an animated man located in the beginning of the picture.
2) The counting sheep section located around four minutes in of the film.

There's no information about who done the animation. I guess it's not Harman-Ising.

Trivia:
*Academy Award winner (Best Short Subject)






013 Barnyard Babies

Tittle: "Barnyard Babies "
Release year: 1935
Series: Happy Harmonies
Directed by Rudolf Ising (uncredited)
Produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Story: Barnyard "Better Babies" contest.










 My rating: 1 star. Terrible (through realistic-like). Boring story. One of the baddest MGM cartoons imo.

012 Poor Little Me

Tittle: "Poor Little Me"
Release year: 1935
Series: Happy Harmonies
Directed by Hugh Harman (uncredited)
Produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Story: Bunnies, turtles, and other small woodland animals play. A skunk sits apart, singing "I ain't got nobody" and mopes his way home. His mother, Mrs. O. Dora Skunk, sings of her love to her large brood. That's enough for them, but not for our hero, Stinky. He spots a hairbrush and decides that's all he needs to do; he dashes out, and everyone runs away (including a turtle who apparently discovered his inner turbo-charger). A girl bunny with a cold finds Stinky's hat and returns it to him. They play: he pushes her on a swing. This attracts a bobcat with a black stereotype voice.

click on pictures to enlarge
















 My rating: 2 stars.  Cat's deisgn is a little weird, looks like a Bakshi-esque character. The story can be a little bit better. It's like a Harman style to make a 11-minutes long cartoon. In general, the cartoon looks better than the previous ones, but still weak.

011 The Chinese Nightingale

Tittle: "The Chinese Nightingale"
Release year: 1935
Series: Happy Harmonies
Directed by Rudolf Ising (uncredited)
Produced by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising

Story: A Chinese emperor is gladdened by the song of the nightingale and is moved to play his own song. One day, the Japanese send a music box with a mechanical bird; the nightingale feels rejected and leaves.

click on pictures to enlarge












 My rating: 1 star. I don't find this story much interesting. Nice backgrounds and tittle card though.