Walt Disney and Bob Clampett recycled
April 7th, 2009 by Scott Marks
Former student and current Facebook friend Julie Mynatt sent me this meticulously researched and assembled comparison reel showing how later day Disney raped the bones of Uncle Walt. Go to YouTube and search “Disney Deja Vu.” You’ll be surprised to see just how much of this stuff there is.
The Jungle Book (1967) was Walt’s swan song, the last animated feature he personally oversaw from beginning to end. Disney gave the green light to The Aristocats (1970) which turned out to be the studio’s first animated feature to be released after his death. You’ll notice that none of the reused footage appears in a film that Disney signed off on. He would never let reused animation sully a production he personally supervised. Honestly, I have never seen The Aristocats or Robin Hood (1973). They opened at a time in my upbringing when it was hip to reject cartoons in favor of trying to sneak into R rated pictures. Even with the voices of Phil Harris and Pat Buttram, these clips may have forever scared me off these two pictures.
Legend has it that without Walt to guide them, Robin Hood quickly went over budget and the studio had to cut corners. That is what probably motivated the tracings of cels past. The same can’t be said of Robert Clampett. Clampett was the star student who didn’t apply himself. Instead of spending the entire week on a homework assignment, Clampett wrote seven of the ten assigned pages and the night before it was do plagiarized the rest. While the folks at Disney were working under sudden budget restraints, Clampett was just plain lazy. He’s still my favorite animator in the Warner Bros. stable, but some of what follows is uncalled for.
WARNING: Much of what follows is politically incorrect. It reflects past thinking, not contemporary society. I hope…
Tags: bob clampett, disney cartoons, Looney Tunes, merrie melodies, recycled animation, reused animation, robert clampett, robin hood, the aristocats, the jungle book, Walt Disney, warner bros., warner bros. cartoons, warner brothers cartoonsFiled Under Rants
Notes on Speedy Gonzales & Slowpoke Rodriguez, his half-baked cartoon cousin
July 27th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Last night a Mexican friend came over to watch some cartoons and, being the patronizing gringo that I am, the evening began with a handful of Speedy Gonzales shorts.
Of all the superstars in the Warner Bros. cartoon canon, Speedy Gonzales is probably the most nonessential. Within thirty-six hours of purchasing each of the five Looney Tunes Golden Collections, I had watched every cartoon and most of the supplementary features, including the audio commentaries. Until last night, the Speedy Gonzales disc remained the only virgin in the set.
With the possible exception of Being There, a feature length comedy cannot, nor should not be a one note proposition. (See Arthur. The title character is a drunk. Get it?) Live actors squandering five reels in search of variations to play on a one trick premise seldom works, yet with a little ink and paper and only seven minutes to fill, one joke can work miracles. Everywhere that the Wolf went Droopy was sure to go. No matter how hard he tries, Wile E. Coyote will never dine on Road Runner. Every move Daffy makes leads to a buckshot facial from Elmer’s rifle. In each instance, the comic resourcefulness and precision character response jumps out from the screen.
A grinning Speedy Gonzales yells, “Andale! Andale! Epa, Epa! Arriba! Arriba!” as he zips past El Pussygato, arms burdened with cheese for his impoverished amigos who react to his beneficence by jumping up and down.
Suddenly Little Audrey looks good.
Speedy wasn’t always a cuddlesome, Mexican hat-dancing mouse. In Robert McKimson’s Cat-Tails for Two, the pesos needed in order for Speedy to secure what would eventually become his trademark sombrero were spent on an unappealing gold front tooth. According to Robert McKimson, Jr., the fastest mouse in Mexico (and friend of everybody’s sister) was based on a pair of Mexican brothers his father played polo with. The grimy rodent, pitted opposite a much more appealing pair of John Steinbeck retreads, discharged little audience appeal short of Mel Blanc’s well-seasoned vocalization that he had spent years perfecting on The Jack Benny Program.
The studio had faith in the character so Friz Freleng and his designer Hawley Pratt set about retooling the rodent. Their final solution was a featherless cross between Tweety Pie and the Road Runner. As a Coyote substitute to play opposite Gonzales, Freleng recruited the services of his venerable foil, and Tweety’s arch nemesis, Sylvester the Cat aka Sylvero Gato. Speedy would frequently sneak up behind Sylvester and substitute a couple of “Arriba! Andale’s!” for “Meep Meep’s’” that sent the cat soaring to the stratosphere. Cannibalizing his own creation, Freleng modified Tweety’s “I like him, he’s silly” catchphrase to fit the mouse.
Continue reading Notes on Speedy Gonzales & Slowpoke Rodriguez, his half-baked cartoon cousin
Tags: Animation, Cartoons, Looney Tunes, merrie melodies, merry melodies, Mexican, mexican american, mexican boarders, mota, offensive, Photos, Political incorrectness, politically incorrect, Porky Pig, slowpoke rodriguez, Speedy Gonzales, speedy gonzalez, warner brothers cartoons