Birth of a Notion, Robert McKimson, 1947
In which a cartoon Peter Lorre waxes disconsolate to his dog, Leopold, over his difficulties obtaining a duck wishbone for one of his experiments. “Ah need that wishbone vaary bedly, Leopold.” A potential solution to his problem eavesdrops in the background.
This is one of my favorite Looney Tunes, packed with hilarious non-sequiturs. It’s finally turned up on DVD, on Volume Six of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, apparently the last of such collections, which is a shame. There will be other cartoon collections coming from Warners on DVD, but apparently this particular way of anthologizing them has run its course. (Cartoon Brew, an animation blog co-authored by my old pal Jerry Beck, and from which the above link comes, is an excellent source for news of this ilk.) It’s a shame, as they’re not even close to getting to the bottom of the Tunes barrel (how I long to see Freddie the Freshman again!). However, as most of the universally acknowledged classics pack the prior five volumes, this collection contains a lot of eccentric, oddball stuff—it’s kind of the Looney Tunes version of those old jazz LPs that got titled For Musicians Only. Hence, it’s incredibly great. One whole disc is devoted to Looney Tunes WWII propaganda, featuring the deathless Herr Meets Hare and Russian Rhapsody. I know the title of this post is singular, but what the hell, you want to see this…
Here’s Bugs as Stalin at the end of 1945’s Herr, asking the immortal question, “Does your tobacco taste differently?” While it is understandable, as a matter of strategy, that the U.S. joined forces with one mass-murdering totalitarian so as to defeat another, the sight of Our Bugs explicitly extolling the virtues of Uncle Joe is a disquieting one today…
I kind of can’t believe they’ve managed to pad out 6 volumes with so many subpar cartoons (wasn’t there a whole disc of Speedy Gonzalez at one point?) and yet they never saw fit to include “Nasty Quacks,” one of my all-time favorites. “Greetings Bait” would’ve been nice too.
p.s. I think the line is actually “Does your tobacco taste different lately?”
And they’ve never put out RABBIT FIRE, the first of Chuck Jones’ “Hunter Trilogy.” Nor DEDUCE, YOU SAY, one of his very best Daffy/Porky genre spoofs. Hmmph.
I’ve actually thought of this idea before but since you brought it up…
Why aren’t more “modern” film and music stars converting over to cartoon form? I mean when Clooney did SOUTH PARK, it was huge! It’s weird because cartoons-especially adult oriented ones or one that hit kids and adults-have never ever been bigger. Yet, where are the celebs pimping their wares to that market? Aside from the Simpsons and very random Family Guy guests, I just don’t see it happening like it did in the olden days.
These collections are absolutely addicting. “Just one more… Just one more…” And then the sun rises.
I’d love to see the Roadrunner Collection.
Actually, cadavra, “Rabbit Fire” and “Deduce You Say” were both included on Disc 2 of the Golden Collection, Vol. 1.
What I’d *really* like to see is a box set of all the Bob Clampett stuff, in chronological order. Not that I’m holding my breath…
Coincidentally I just caught up with volume five, and doubt any endorsement of Uncle Joe will be as disquieting as Blanc employing Bugs Bunny’s exact voice for the Big Bad Wolf in Freleng’s Rashomon-avant-la-lettre “The Trial of Mr. Wolf.”
“There I was, minding me own business. And you know what’s going on right behind me back?
“Sa-bo-TA-gee!”
“Actually, cadavra, “Rabbit Fire” and “Deduce You Say” were both included on Disc 2 of the Golden Collection, Vol. 1.”
And now I bid you all a fond farewell. I’m moving to a sanitarium, as I obviously am no longer in possession of my faculties and should not be permitted to move amongst you without supervision.
Do not leave, Cadavra. Stay among us, we, the gentle correctors of gaffes. Can you imagine the kind of guff you’d have gotten at Wells’ place had you made the faux-pas there? Well, first you’d have to imagine Wells running a screen grab from a Looney Tune in the first place..
So, I’m on Amazon.com and there are 5 different cartoon anthologies and what appears to be the definitive one. Of which of these would you recommend? Thanks.
http://www.amazon.com/Looney-Tunes-Collection-Mel-Blanc/dp/B0000AYJXS/ref=pd_bxgy_d_text_c
That’s actually just the first of them, not the “definitive.” I’m a Looney Tunes nut, so I’ve got all six volumes, and cherish them all. As the post notes, both the images are from Volume Six, which contains a lot of the more oddball stuff. The early volumes highlight the prominent, putatively classic material.