Some Background Information
March 9th, 2006
So why would anyone want to watch black and white cartoons?
One of the first fifty answers to that one might be simply to appreciate the lovely background work in the depression era shorts. To me, there is something charming and unique about this stuff — a very special emotional appeal that was rarely duplicated in color films. The major and the smaller studios all had wonderful success in this area. The examples above are from Fleischer, Iwerks and RKO, respectively.
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On March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Actually, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any black and white cartoons. But the old-time cartoons I remember as a child from the 50’s were so well drawn and charming. I especially recall a movie-length film with a character named Hoppity (a grasshopper) who lived in a garden belonging to a human couple. They were going to lose their home because the Man couldn’t sell his songs. All the bugs helped find the missing “check thing” that fell out of their mailbox, and the Couple moved to a penthouse complete with a garden — and all their bug friends.
On March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Cathy, maybe in advance of the ReFrederator podcasts we can post a black & white cartoon for you here on the blog.
On March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
You’re remembering [link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033727/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9aG9wcGl0eXxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=1;ft=23;fm=1]”Mr. Bug Goes To Town”[/link], from Fleisher Studios.
Although I seem to remember that it was in color. =)
On March 12th, 2006 at 12:00 am
That cartoon feature was “Mr. Bugs Goes to Town”, sometimes known as “Hoppity Goes to Town”. Wonderful movie! From the Fleischer Studio, the same folks who gave us the old Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons. The thing was a very gentle spoof of those very popular Frank Capra movies like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”. Tall lanky hero-types like Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper were always standing up for their communities in the live action films, so grasshopper Hoppity did the same in his movie. I always thought the movie’s most charming sequence had the hero singing “Be My Baby Bumble Bee” to his girl, a bee, while he walked her home. There were all these great visual puns… what looks like a big full moon turns out to be a car’s headlight, a peaceful little pond is revealed as an abandoned hand mirror etc.
On March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Sorry about the messy link, I see that it doesn’t work in the comments section.
On March 10th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I’m a big fan of the old b&w Popeye cartoons, especially the musical numbers like “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard” or the one (the title of which escapes me) where Popeye and Bluto climb a mountain, yodel, and fight over Olive.
Is anyone else besides me a fan of the old comic strip “Thimble Theatre”? That’s the strip, created by E.C. Segar, in which Popeye first appeared.
On March 23rd, 2006 at 12:00 am
That first picture you posted here (the baby buggy by the front door of the charming cottage) makes me remember how much I loved cartoons (even black and whites) of family scenes. I was always intrigued by how other people lived (even cartoon families) and was constantly comparing and assessing as a child: This family is like mine, this family is not, this family is not as CRAZY as my family, etc. Maybe cartoons taught me how to observe life a little more closely? Even on the more recent “Teacher’s Pet” series, I was endlessly fascinated by the mom’s kitchen.