A Case Suitable for Treatment

First SDCC licenses

2008-07-25T06:57:40Z

Bandai:
Lucky Star. Seinen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Comptiq Ace since 2005.

Del Rey:
CLAMP in America. A retrospective/biography, with art. By CLAMP and Shaenon Garrity.
Negima!? Neo. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in BonBon and Magazine Special since 2007.
Orange Planet. Shoujo. Kodansha, serialized in Nakayoshi since 2006.
Youkai no Oisha-san. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2007.
Soryuden. This is a novel, with illustrations by CLAMP.

Nothing earthshaking, though the Soryuden novel is surprising. Negima Neo is the manga version of the 2nd anime series, and is more kid-friendly than Negima. Orange Planet is by the author of Cherry Juice and Instant Teen. And the Lucky Star manga... well, you all likely know the anime.

"Alias John, alias Johnny, ALIAS JACK, ALIAS JACKIE!!!"

2008-07-24T21:23:44Z

Vroom! I have powered through the end of Warner Brothers cartoons for 1948! FOR YOU! Admittedly, no one comments on these anymore, but I labor under the illusion you care! :) Onward:

The Pest That Came To Dinner. Another Art Davis Porky Pig cartoon, this one's a bit odd. Porky is having problems with termites - specifically, a very French termite named Pierre, who takes on furniture like a lumberjack. He calls for an exterminator, but ends up with a dog who's more of a shyster, and who tries various methods that just end up destroying Porky's home. In the end, after trying to off Porky AND the termite with a bomb, the dog goes back to his office - but Porky and the termite team up, and turn the tables on him.

Hare Splitter. Bugs and a large, stupid bunny named Casbah are getting ready for dates with their 'girl' Daisy Lou - the fact that she's dating both of them at once is not something touched on here. Bugs arrives to find Daisy is out, so in order to get rid of the other rabbit, he dresses in Daisy's clothes and pretends to be her. What follows is possibly the most homoerotic Bugs Bunny cartoon ever - and that's saying a lot. Best line is when Bugs, fending off Casbah's groping hands, asks the audience "Do all you girls have to go through this?" Casbah catches on that Bugs is in disguise, but then Daisy arrives home, and he wallops her. She chases him off, and she and Bugs celebrate with explosive carrots. An underrated Friz Freleng Bugs, quite fun.

Odor of the Day. No, not what you think. Well, not QUITE what you think. Art Davis directed this mostly silent cartoon about a dog, seeking shelter in a winter storm, invading the home of a skunk. The skunk looks exactly like Pepe, but doesn't really act or sound like him. In any case, Chuck had only made two cartoons with Pepe at this point, so I don't think it was 'borrowing' as such. In any case, after much wackiness, the two realize that if they have colds, they can't smell, solving the problem. They cheerfully cuddle ujp together, with the only line of the cartoon being "Gesundheit!" Again, not gay at all. :)

The Foghorn Leghorn. I don't know if Foggy had been named yet by Bob McKimson's unit, but if not this was certainly the cartoon that did it. Once more, Henery Hawk is after a chicken. Once more he doesn't know what one is. His mentor gets beaten up by Foghorn, and, trying to save his reputation, declares Foggy to be a "loudmouthed shnook." Foggy, his pride offended, spends the rest of the cartoon trying to prove he's a chicken. The barnyard dawg does not help matters either. In the end, satisfied Foghorn is a chicken, Henery belts him with a shovel and starts dragging him home. Great stuff, it's on the first Golden Collection.

A-Lad-In His Lamp. Speaking of fantastic Robert McKimson cartoons, this was always one of my favorites as a kid. Bugs is cleaning his hole and comes across a lamp, which when polished up reveals a genie (voiced by Jim Backus, in his well-known tones). At first, Bugs rather prosaically wishes for two carrots, but when the genie notes he's returning to Baghdad, Bugs wishes to go there. He does, by flying - Bugs notes he's a hairplane. Unfortunately, he peters out over the Sultan's palace, and crash lands. The Sultan sees the lamp and decides to kill Bugs to get it. The genie, constantly getting interrupted, is no help at all. Finally, though, the Sultan is defeated, and Bugs wins the day. McKimson's Bugs in this period is not bright or likeable, he's more of a punk. Likely why I like this period of Bugs so much, he's more unpredictable.

Daffy Dilly. Many of the 1948 cartoons have had their Blue Ribbon titles found and restored, which means that this cartoon is the last one I have that has a Blue Ribbon Title card with credits chopped. Blue Ribbons continue, but starting with 1949 cartoons, they keep the full credits and just edit the ring openings and closings. This Chuck Jones effort finds Daffy trying to sell novelty jokes on the street - badly - until he hears a dying millionaire will pay a million dollars to anyone who can make him laugh. Greedy Daffy goes for it, yet he's also screwball Daffy here, so trying to get past the deadpan butler results in a string of well-timed blackout gags. Finally gaining entrance with a threat (implying the butler wants his boss dead), Daffy sees the millionaire, only to trip and fall into a cake. The rich dog laughs hysterically, so Daffy is now employed to get hit with pies. Jones hated discussing this cartoon, where Daffy is greedy yet wacky and likeable, because it didn't fit with his remaking Daffy into an angry, fallible loser duck.

Kit For Cat. Sylvester and an orange kitten are searching for food in alleys when the winter comes. Sylvester pretends to be dying so that dopey Elmer Fudd will let him stay at his place, but when the kitten does the same thing, Sylvester is clearly not going to win against a cute widdle kitten. So we have a long series of cat trying to outfox other cat gags, with Elmer in the middle. Things eventually get so bad the landlord evicts Elmer, and the cartoon ends with the cats - and Elmer - back to scrounging in alleys. This Friz Freleng effort is on the first Golden Collection.

The Stupor Salesman. Slug McSlug, the notorious bank robber, has gotten away with all his loot and is at his cabin in the mountains. Unfortunately, Daffy is once again a door-to-door salesman, and won't leave until he sells the crook something. This is probably my favorite Daffy the salesman cartoons, with lots of great bits directed by Art Davis and a fun Daffy who's all over the place. "Have I brass knuckles?!" Have I brass knuckles?!!? ... Say, have I brass knuckles?" In the end, the crook is done in by a gas stove and lighter, and Daffy gets one more thing to sell to him. This is on the 5th DVD collection.

Riff Raffy Daffy. Speaking of loopy, insane Daffy, this Bob McKimson cartoon finds him trying to sleep in the park, but police officer Porky keeps rousting him for vagrancy. Daffy eventually winds up in a department store window, but Porky sees this and chases him around the store. This is a Daffy who will happily sell Porky a gun to shoot him with, both for the money and because he's nuts. In the end, as Porky corners him, he reveals his wind-up toy children, and Porky lets him go. Porky knows what it's like to have a family, as he walks his own wind-up children home! One of the goofiest Daffys ever.

My Bunny Lies Over The Sea. Bugs, missing a left turn at Albuquerque, winds up in Scotland, and quickly falls afoul of a typical stereotyped Scotsman. It doesn't help that Bugs thinks his bagpipes are a hideous monster, and destroys them to "save the lady". Kilt-wearing McCrory takes offense, and soon they challenge each other to a golf game to settle things. Even though this is a Chuck Jones cartoon, Bugs isn't quite the shiny good guy he would be - he is not above cheating constantly, even though McCrory is hardly the usual level of threat to Bugs. In the end, he not only wins at golf, but gets out a set of brass band bagpipes to win at that as well! On the first DVD collection.

Scaredy Cat. This was, until the title was restored, the last Blue Ribbon with cut credits. Since it's on the first Golden Collection, it's now seen as originally intended. It's also fantastic, the first and best of Chuck Jones' trilogy of Porky/Sylvester cartoons in scary places. Porky and Sylvester arrive at a creepy old house, and only Sylvester can see the mice are a little bit beyond what you'd expect - complete with executioners! This Sylvester is silent, though, so can't convey anything to Porky, and in fact is misunderstood as having homicidal feelings himself. When Porky is captured (the sight of him bound and gagged carrying a "You were right, Sylvester" sign is actually quite creepy), Sylvester flees the house, but his conscience reminds him what a good owner Porky is, and that, axes or no, these are still just mice. Sylvester grabs a tree, beats the hell out of the mice, and earns Porky's gratitude. One mouse has the last laugh, though, and does a Lew Lehr impression. One of the best Looney Tunes ever, a great mix of funny with genuinely frightening.

Another yeear bites the dust, and what a great year it is! Next time I'll take on the first third of 1949. Bugs goes into vaudeville, sails on a riverboat, does a high diving act, and becomes a terrorist (yes, really). Daffy poses as a slave, avoids Thanksgiving, and gets hunted by Porky. Porky, meanwhile, also deals with Charlie Dog, a wiseacre squirrel, and acts as the pied piper.

Cough cough...

2008-07-24T10:10:52Z

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an admirer of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama -- even though she has not yet met him in person.

Asked at a news conference on Wednesday what she thought of Obama, Merkel responded: "I would say that he is well-equipped -- physically, mentally and politically."

...

Bush was famously caught on camera at a G8 meeting in 2006 giving Merkel a quick backrub and the chancellor was asked on Wednesday whether she expected more massages from Bush's successor -- whether it's McCain or Obama.

"That's not really up to me," she joked. "But I wouldn't resist."

Really, what can one possibly say? It's a good thing I gave my filthy mind to Ginny, or else I would have several options. :)

Courtesy half my flist

2008-07-23T18:43:56Z

Tell me a canon and I shall respond with my...
1. One True Pairing Ship:
2. Canon Ship:
3. "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship:
4. "You are one sick bastard" Ship:
5. "I dabble a little" Ship:
6. "It's like a car crash" Ship:
7. "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship:
8. "Makes no canon sense but why the Hell not" Ship:
9. "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship:

"Breathe, stupid! You forgot to breathe again!"

2008-07-19T19:43:13Z

Here's the middle third of 1948, Warner Brothers Cartoon style.

Nothing But the Tooth. The title has very little to do with the cartoon itself. It's the 1850s, and there's gold to be found in California. So prospector Porky Pig heads off to make his fortune. Unfortunately, he runs into a small Indian with a big ax to grind. Art Davis tended to get stuck with Porky, being the low man on the totem pole, and this isn't one of his best efforts.

Buccaneer Bunny. Yosemite Sam is back, this time as a pirate. Still small, loud, and ornery, though. He's trying to bury his treasure, and makes the mistake of picking Bugs' hole to do it in. Bugs almost gets him to kill himself right off the bat, but Sam manages to wise up, so instead we get various 'kill the rabbit' gags on board the pirate ship. Including such Friz Freleng classics as the door running gag, and the match in the powder room gag. And cannons. Lots of cannons. This was on the 5th DVD collection.

Bone Sweet Bone. There's apparently a restored credits version of this cartoon, but I only have the Blue Ribbon. It's another Art Davis one shot. A paleontologist is putting together a dinosaur and a bone is missing. He suspects his dog, and then discovers the bone has been stolen by another dog. So the first dog has to get the bone - or else. Naturally, we immediately find out that the bone was never lost in the first place, and the dog is trying to rescue an ordinary bone. From a typical WB huge bruiser bulldog. Lots of hurt is applied. In the end, the dog gets the bone, but goes slightly insane when he discovers it was all for nothing. Slight but amusing.

Bugs Bunny Rides Again. Two Yosemite Sams by Friz Freleng back to back, this one has Sam as an evil cowboy again. Most prints today, including the one on the 2nd Golden Collection, feature the line from Sam, "And I ain't no namby pamby!" The original line in theatres was "And I don't mean Mahatma Gandhi!" After Gandhi was assassinated the same year, they redubbed the cartoon. In any case, this is a remake of Hare Trigger, only in a town rather than on a train. Has the terrific "Dance!" soft shoe routine, and a funny ending where Sam and Bugs fight to get on a train full of live-action bathing beauties. Great stuff.

The Rattled Rooster. Art Davis is very busy this year. A sad-sack rooster is trying to get the worm, but the other roosters tend to be better than him. He sets his sights on one wise-talking smart-aleck worm, and tries various methods to catch him. They fail. Best gag in these has a long gag where the worm gives the rooster a hotfoot, then does it again when the rooster is disbelieving at how easily he was tricked. In the end, the two team up to battle a female rattlesnake, but that doesn't last long. In the end, needless to say, the little guy triumphs over the big guy.

The Up-Standing Sitter. A Robert McKimson effort on the 5th DVD collection, this has Daffy as the loopy employee of a babysitting service, brought in to sit on an egg while the momma chick is away. The chick mistakes Daffy for his parent, but when Daffy corrects him, the chick declares Daffy a stranger, and proceeds to run away. Daffy spends the rest of the cartoon trying to get him back, with massive amounts of fail involved. A large bulldog doesn't help, of course. We're near the end of the daffy Daffy cartoons (as opposed to greedy self-centred Daffy), so I greatly enjoy these while I can.

The Shell-Shocked Egg. A bizarre multi-chase cartoon from Bob McKimson. A mother turtle buries her 4 eggs in the sand and waits for the sun to hatch them, but Clem hatches prematurely (legs only) and staggers off to find his momma. He ends up at a farm, where he gets a dog convinced he can now lay eggs - as well as a rooster convinced he's a chick. Meanwhile, Momma Turtle and her 3 now-hatched babies (who sing close harmony songs throughout, and I suspect are a Ritz Brothers parody) are panicked and searching for the egg/turtle as well. Lots of great gags here, and an amusing ending.

Haredevil Hare. The last of the pre-48 cartoons, this is where the dividing line was. Ergo, this was the latest cartoon you saw as a kid in syndication on your local generichannel. It's also a classic Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny cartoon, on the first DVD collection. Bugs is being dragged towards an experimental rocket headed to the moon, though he loses his panicked shrieking when he sees the pile of carrots being sent with him. He may regret that - the rocket goes out of control almost immediately and crash lands. Bugs wanders around and sees another rocket landing, this one belonging to Marvin the Martian, debuting here. (He looks the same as always, but has a different, scrunchier voice). Bugs steals his Uranium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator, so Marvin sends a goofy dog to get it back. After some fun Bugs gags, they get back a stick of TNT, which Bugs blows up. Unfortunately, this leaves the moon mostly destroyed, with Bugs, Marvin and the dog hanging on to the crescent. "GET ME OUT OF HEEEEEEERRRRRRREEE!"

You Were Never Duckier. And this is the first of the post-48s, as seen by most Americans growing up on CBS and ABC Saturday mornings (or the Canadian equivalent, CBC and Global). This is quite a popular cartoon with Daffy Duck fans, and it and another 1948, Daffy Dilly, are both oddities in the Chuck Jones canon. Jones manages to write a greedy Daffy here, trying to disguise himself as a chicken to get the $5,000 prize, while still making him likeable and zany (there's quite a few 'hoo hoo!' moments here). This didn't last long, and Jones didn't like to discuss these cartoons in later interviews, preferring to discuss his fallible, greedy coward Daffy. In any case, this Daffy, disguised as a chicken, naturally runs afoul of Henery Hawk and his father, who try to cook him up. A very underrated cartoon, quite excellent.

Dough Ray Me-ow. One of my favorite Art Davis one-shots, filled with hilarious cartoon violence, and usually, when it was shown at all, cut to ribbons on CBS. It features the stupidest cat in the entire WB canon, Heathcliff. This is a cat that runs into doors, cracks walnuts by putting them in his mouth and smashing his head with a hammer, and occasionally forgetting to breathe. He's friends with a clever parrot, Louie, who at first merely tolerates the stupid, till he finds he's second in line to a million dollars in a will. Heathcliff is first. So the parrot starts trying to kill the cat, but the cat is stupid, strong, and tough, so nothing seems to go right. Best gag is Heathcliff's birth certificate, which merely says 'You're four.'. The bird triumphs in the end, but makes a mistake of telling Heathcliff about the inheritance as he's dying - so he decides not to. Fantastic, on the 4th DVD collection.

Hot Cross Bunny. Bob McKimson Bugs, where he's an experimental rabbit at a hospital. At first pleased due to the cushy lifestyle he gets, he becomes more annoyed when he realizes the doctor wants to switch his brain with a chicken. Bugs is very brash here, trying to win over a room of grumpy doctors with a soft shoe, magic tricks, and Danny Kaye imitations. He also threatens to blow himself up with a chocolate malted. The doctor actually manages to stay even with Bugs at times, not falling for the multiple door gag where the villain keeps moving even after the hero stops. In the end, though, it's the doctor who ends up with the brain of a chicken.

We've turned the corner into the modern Looney Tunes age, folks! In the final third of 1948, Bugs fights for the affection of a female rabbit, deals with a genie, and goes golfing; Daffy sells things to millionaires and bank robbers; and Porky and Sylvester stay at a very creepy house.

Manga the week of 7/23

2008-07-17T21:38:58Z

A nice, light week, provided you don't buy Del Rey.

BANDAI:
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Vol. 1. Shoujo. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Asuka since 2006.

DARK HORSE:
Berserk Vol. 24. Seinen. Hakusensha, serialized in Young Animal since 1988.

DC/CMX:
Kiichi and the Magic Books Vol. 2. A 'Flex' comic, hence genreless.
Gon Vol. 5. Seinen. Kodansha, serialized in Morning since 1991.

DEL REY:
The Wallflower Vol. 16. Shoujo. Kodansha, serialized in Bessatsu Friend since 2000.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 18. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2003.
Toto! Vol. 2. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2005.
Shiki Tsukai Vol. 3. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Shonen Sirius since 2006.
School Rumble Vol. 10. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2003.
Pastel Vol. 11. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Magazine Special since 2002.
Kujibiki Unbalance Vol. 1. Seinen. Kodansha, serialized in Afternoon since 2007.

DRAWN & QUARTERLY:
Red-Colored Elegy. Seinen. Seirindo, serialized in Garo since 1970.

And that's it. Recs? Red-Colored Elegy, despite the publisher flipping the panels a bit (with author permission) is still fantastic. The Wallflower is always great. Yes, Geass is shoujo, it's published in Asuka. Admittedly, Asuka is one of the freakiest of the shoujo magazines, so... Oh yes, and Kujibiki Unbalance for you Genshiken fans.

Your quarterly reminder...

2008-07-16T21:23:18Z

Are you a shoujo manga reader? Are you reading I Hate You More Than Anyone, Volume 5 of which just came out from CMX?

For god's sake, why not?!?!

Almost forgot...

2008-07-15T23:30:54Z

Cartoons on the next Golden Collection that are currently Blue Ribbons (in other words, ones that could potentially have titles restored):

Birth of a Notion (1947)
Crowing Pains (1947)
My Favorite Duck (1942)
Fifth Column Mouse (1943)
Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)
Fresh Airedale (1945)

and possibly some from the 'unannounced 15'.

We know Crowing Pains is credit restored already. Of the others, I'm almost positive Horton's titles are lost. We might see My Favorite Duck or Birth of a Notion, though.

Some thoughts on cartoons and racism

2008-07-13T22:12:38Z

I'm going to LJ cut this, as I do plan on rambling quite a bit. :)

Casual racism was, and to a certain degree remains today, a sad fact of life. I don't mean things like calling someone a racial slur, or thinking them stupid or ignorant. I mean things like thinking a caricature eating watermelon and fried chicken is amusing, or a Japanese character having huge buck teeth and going "Vely solly!". This was especially true in the 1930s to 1950s, and was especially true at cartoon studios. Most cartoon writers and artists were only a few steps away from vaudeville and other stage acts, and vaudeville was the home of blackface and broad jokes about ethnic stereotypes. The lower the ethnic group on the totem pole, the more 'acceptable' the jokes were.

The argument generally made for releasing cartoons with these jokes in them today is that a) the creators were a product of their time, and in most cases were not actually blatantly racist as simply ignorant (OK, willfully ignorant). People just thought nothing of it. And b) By releasing these cartoons uncut, we aren't attempting to whitewash history and trying to pretend that our past was all sunshine and roses and everyone loved their brother, but showing that we have come far by showing where we were. Which is fine.

The trouble a lot of cartoon fans, especially hardcore ones who want every single Hollywood studio cartoon out restored on DVD, have with this argument is that they take it one step further by arguing the cartoons aren't racist. The intent wasn't to belittle blacks, Native Americans, Japanese, or what have you (well, Japan is another matter, which I'll get to in a bit), and so since it wasn't, the cartoons aren't racist.

This isn't how I feel. Intent is fine and dandy, but ask Shakespeare how he feels about his plays being analyzed to hell and back. The creators of the cartoons are, with some exceptions, long gone and no one can really ask them about these. When they did, in past interviews, they tended to mention that no harm was intended, and note things like Bob Clampett bringing in a black jazz band and black actors for his cartoon Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs.

But I'm sorry. Big lipped, grinning, dice-for-teeth black men are racist. African natives playing ping-pong with the plates in their lips are racist. Donald Duck fighting a Japanese soldier who notes that he has to shoot everyone in the back is racist. And there's a difference between acknowledging this and admitting our past was imperfect, and trying to say it wasn't as bad as all that. (What cartoon fans really mean, of course, is that they're giant completist geeks, so give them all their cartoons with no exceptions in pristine uncut condition so they can take the DVDs and rub them against their bodies. But this is a less attractive argument. :) In any case...)

As for current DVD releases. The Looney Tunes Golden Collections have basically tried to build into this gradually. There haven't been any of the Censored 11 on DVD yet, nor have their been any of the more appalling B&W Buddys or wartime cartoons. What we get restored are the cartoons with blackface gags, or brief Stepin Fetchit caricatures. Things where there's a racist gag, but the cartoon is a blizzard of other gags as well, so the cartoon itself is not about race or ethnicity. The Walter Lantz and Popeye collections are going one step further, releasing cartoons with 'L'il Eightball', Lantz's little black boy stereotype, and in September the Popeye DVD will have the racist Japanese wartime cartoons.

(Speaking of those, the argument for them is generally similar. We were at war, it was the spirit of the times, etc. Really, a lot of the Japanese slurs during WWII were far worse than the jokes about blacks earlier, as these were jokes created through hatred and fear, rather than just as a 'look, funny!' stereotype. That said, they're easier to release today as it's easier to say 'it was a war' rather than 'it was the way we all thought back then'.)

The reason I bring this up is that the 6th Golden Collection of Looney Tunes out October 21st is said to have, on the 3rd disc, Buddy's Circus. As I've noted before, this is 2/3 a normal dull Buddy cartoon, beginning with lots of fireeaters and lion taming and ending with a baby getting trapped on the high wire. In the middle third (and I've never seen this bit, so this is admittedly secondhand from books and such), Buddy brings out some Ubangi tribesman he captured from Africa to do tricks. (The Ubangi River is in the Congo, though I believe it's the Mursi, from Ethiopia, who are more famous for the plates in the lips.) Ubangi was, btw, in the 1930s, a more 'socially acceptable' slur for blacks, nigger being frowned upon at polite parties. Buddy at one point puts a record on the huge lip plate of an African native, and it plays. He calls him an 'Ubangi-Phone'.

To say I was startled by this cartoon being included would be an understatement. I thought it a misprint at first. If it's there, it's a shocking advance in how WB is choosing to release these cartoons, and I imagine it will have a special introduction or parental lock or somesuch (everyone knows the 'not appropriate for children' tag on these DVDs is ignored by parents and kids everywhere). That said...

There's 15 more 'unannounced' cartoons that are being included as extras. We know very little about them (Jerry said one was a Sniffles cartoon). Could some of these be more examples? It can be argued the reason that Buddy's Circus is on Disc 3 and, say, Coal Black or Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips aren't on the Wartime disc is simply because no one's HEARD of Buddy's Circus. Coal Black is a well-known cause celebre, and BBNtN has its racism displayed for all to see in its title. But if they were extras, well, they'd be far less publicized and might just slide through unobtrusively.

Do I think it likely? Probably not. It's possible we'll see BBNtN on the second disc, mostly because, as I said, Japanese WWII racism is more 'acceptable' than racism towards blacks in today's modern culture. (There's Tokio Jokio as well, but that's not just hideously racist but actively bad. The Bugs Bunny cartoon is a racist but average Bugs entry.) I'm still not sure WB wants to deal with the fallout of releasing something like Coal Black or All This and Rabbit Stew, though. That said, this is the 'final' Golden Collection, and Jerry has said future DVD collections will find a new way to market the as yet still unreleased remaining cartoons. If that's the case, this GC could be one last shot at getting some 'adult' face before they become something else entirely.

Well, crap

2008-07-13T09:02:03Z

So long, Bobby Murcer. You were a great Yankee to grow up with, and a great Yankee announcer when I was grown up.

Manga the week of 7/16

2008-07-10T22:10:45Z

Apologies to all for forgetting this week was a Thursday comic day. Next week is typical Wednesday. And yes, another big week. Also, the usual apologies for having almost no info on all these yaoi titles.

AURORA:
Pretty Poison. Josei. Ohzora Shuppan, serialization unknown, 2006.
Oh My God Vol. 1. Yaoi. Biblos, serialization unknown, 2005.
Nephilim Vol. 2 (Final volume). Shoujo. Asahi Sonorama, serialization unknown, 2005.
Mister Mistress Vol. 1. Yaoi. Biblos, serialized in Be x Boy since 2005.
Kiss All The Boys Vol. 2. Yaoi. Futabasha, serialization unknown, year unknown.

BLU:
Alley of First Love. Yaoi. Tokuma Shoten, serialized in Chara since 2006.

DARK HORSE:
Ghost Talker's Daydream Vol. 1. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Shonen Ace since 2001.

CMX:
Tears of a Lamb Vol. 3. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Hana to Yume since 2001.
I Hate You More Than Anyone Vol. 5. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Hana to Yume since 1998.
Dorothea Vol. 2. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Shonen Ace since 2006.

SEVEN SEAS:
Tetragrammaton Labyrinth Vol. 3. Seinen. Wani Books, serialized in Comic Gum since 2005.

TOKYOPOP:
Your And My Secret Vol. 2. Shonen. Mag Garden, serialized in Comic Blade Zebel since 2002.
Vassalord Vol. 1. Shonen. Mag Garden, serialized in Comic Blade Zebel since 2006.
Tokko Vol. 1. Seinen. Kodansha, serialized in Afternoon since 2004.
Silver Diamond Vol. 1. Yaoi. Tousuisha, serialized in Ichiraci since 2003.
Samurai Deeper Kyo Vol. 29. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 1999.
Rose Hip Rose Vol. 2. Seinen. Kodansha, serialized in Uppers since 2002.
Psychic Power Nanaki Vol. 3 (Final Volume?). Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Hana to Yume since 2004.
Elemental Gelade Vol. 8. Shonen. Mag Garden, serialized in Comic Blade since 2002.
Chibi Vampire Vol. 9. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Dragon Age since 2003.

VIZ:
Shojo Beat.
Rurouni Kenshin VizBIG Edition Vol. 3. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1994.
Real Vol. 1. Seinen. Shueisha, serialized in Young Jump since 2002.
Case Closed Vol. 24. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 1994.

YEN PRESS:
Suzunari Vol. 1. Seinen. Houbunsha, serialized in Manga Time Kirara Carat since 2006.
Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning Vol. 4. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in Shonen GanGan since 2000.
Alice on Deadlines Vol. 3. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GanGan Wing since 2005.

Hefty third week of the month. Recs? The first volume of Viz's Real, a critically acclaimed manga about wheelchair basketball from the creator of Vagabond. We know I love Banri Hidaka, and here's new volumes of two of her series from CMX. Tetragrammaton Labyrinth and Suzunari are for the yuri LFBs. And Tokko is another weird series from the creator of GTO.

Censored cartoons now uncut

2008-07-09T17:40:34Z

List of previously censored cartoons that will be uncensored on Golden Collection Volume 6:

Bear Feat - The ending, where Papa Bear throws himself off a cliff in a suicide attempt and is saved by Junyer, is cut from TV prints these days.
Birth of a Notion - Daffy sneaking into Peter Lorre's bedroom with a knife and stabbing the bed, and Lorre showing he's protecting himself with a shield, was cut from recent TV airings.
The Booze Hangs High - Nickelodeon cut the scene where the drunk pig regurgitates a corncob back up, eats a corn kernel he missed first time round, then opens a trapdoor in his stomach and tosses the cob back in. No, I'm not making this up.
Bosko's Picture Show - In addition to the question of what Bosko says late in the cartoon ("the dirty mug" is thought to be what was meant to be heard), a scene with Hitler chasing Jimmy Durante with an ax was cut from Nickelodeon airings.
Buddy's Circus - Assuming it *is* on the collection, the entire middle third of the cartoon, where Buddy introduces African natives who do various racially offensive tricks, was understandably cut by Nickelodeon.
Chow Hound - The scenes with the mouse dresses as an African native are cut from TV prints. Some TV prints had the final scene, with the gravy torture, cut.
Crowing Pains - The dog hanging from a tree branch and Sylvester trying to kill him with an ax is cut from TV prints.
The Ducktators - The entire original opening and ending have been missing from almost all prints since the 1950s.
Fifth Column Mouse - The traitor mouse initially showing some backbone and then getting threatened by the cat is cut, presumably to make him less sympathetic.
Hare Trigger - Some gunplay is cut from recent TV showings.
Heir Conditioned - An alley cat getting hit in the face with a flatiron is cut.
The Hole Idea - The hole being used to retrieve a baby accidentally locked in the parents' safe was cut.
Hook, Line & Stinker - Some dynamite gags are cut from ABC viewings.
Horton Hatches the Egg - The Peter Lorre fish committing suicide has been cut from most TV prints.
Jumpin' Jupiter - Porky mistaking the aliens for Indians and using derogatory names for them is cut from ABC prints.
Lights Fantastic - Chinese and Egyptian stereotypes have been cut from the recent Cartoon Network showings.
Martian Through Georgia - The narrator urging the Martian to commit suicide, and the Martian putting a gun to his head, is cut from almost all TV prints.
My Little Duckaroo - Lots of cuts. Nasty Canasta's cigarette tricks, Daffy as the stereotypical Freesco Keed, And more guns and violence edited out.
Rookie Revue - The Suicide Squad seen eating hash is cut.
Russian Rhapsody - There's a point in the cartoon where there looks like an obvious edit (right before the Stalin mask), but it's been in all prints seen, so presumably this was edited at the time of initial release.
Satan's Waitin' - The entire final scene is missing from CBS airings. Also, the scenes with Sylvester on the roller coaster tracks are cut.
The Weakly Reporter - Some gags making fun of Nazis were removed by Cartoon Network.

List of cartoons for next (last) Golden Collection!

2008-07-09T14:01:35Z

WB has issued the presser for GC Vol. 6. Some things to note:

1) They say it's the final collection. Since there are still tons of Looney Tunes left to release, I hope they're wrong. EDIT: Jerry Beck says that this is the last Golden Collection, but that Looney Tunes on DVD will continue in 2009. We will wait to see how they do new packaging and sets, then!
2) There's a lot of Bosko and 30s cartoons on here. Color me surprised and pleased.
3) The box art for once looks fantastic, and emphasizes the wartime disc.
4) There's only 60 'main' cartoons, but apparently there will be 15 not yet known 'bonus' cartoons. Unsure if these will be restored, let's hope so.
5) Not a lot of WB stars this time around, huh? Just two Bugs Bunny cartoons?

In any case, the list of 'main' cartoons:

Disc One: Looney Tunes All Stars
1) Hare Trigger (1945, Freleng). Yosemite Sam's first appearance. Has the great 'draw a gun' gag.
2) To Duck… Or Not To Duck (1943, Jones). Daffy vs. Elmer in a boxing ring? Great daffy Daffy, even from Chuck Jones.
3) Birth of a Notion (1947, McKimson). One of my favorite Daffy Duck cartoons, this has Daffy trying to stay warm for the winter at a mad scientist's house. A classic.
4) My Little Duckaroo (1954, Jones). A not-as-good sequel to Dripalong Daffy, with Daffy as the cowboy and Porky as 'comedy relief'.
5) Crowing Pains (1947, McKimson). Foghorn Leghorn's second cartoon, with Sylvester as an added bonus. This will have restored titles (it was a Blue Ribbon), including a previously unknown scene with Henery Hawk!
6) Raw! Raw! Rooster (1956, McKimson). Foghorn gets a visit from his brash, loud college chum Rhode Island Red.
7) Heaven Scent (1956, Jones). One of the funnier Pepe LePew cartoons, with some great dialogue.
8) My Favorite Duck (1942, Jones). Porky goes camping, and Daffy gets in the way. One of Jones' best Daffy cartoons, with him being completely obnoxious yet likeable.
9) Jumpin' Jupiter (1955, Jones). The last of the trio of cartoons with Porky and a terrified Sylvester being menaced by things only Sylvester can see.
10) Satan's Waitin' (1954, Freleng). Sylvester is going to go to Hell for chasing Tweety. Or at least he is if Satan can trick him into gettign killed 8 more times. One of the more interesting Tweety cartoons.
11) Hook, Line and Stinker (1958, Jones). A roadrunner cartoon, best known for its use of bad canned music than any actual gags.
12) Bear Feat (1949, Jones). The Three Bears see an ad for a circus and start practising. All these cartoons in the series are fantastic, and this is no exception.
13) Dog Gone South (1950, Jones). Charlie Dog trying to get himself a master in the Deep South.
14) A Ham In A Role (1949, McKimson). More Art Davis than McKimson, I suspect. The Goofy Gophers and their loopy dog antagonist. The early GGs, before they get tired, are quite hysterical.
15) Often an Orphan (1949, Jones). Another Charlie Dog, this time with his usual antagonist, Porky.

Disc Two: Patriotic Pals.
1) Herr Meets Hare (1945, Freleng). Bugs battles Hermann Goering in Germany, with a Hitler cameo. What's Opera, Doc? fans will like the similarities.
2) Russian Rhapsody (1944, Clampett). Hitler vows to take his best plane and fly to defeat the Allies, but doesn't get far due to some Russian gremlins. One of the best WB cartoons ever, a masterpiece.
3) Daffy - The Commando (1943, Freleng). Two German vultures battle Daffy on the Western Front.
4) Bosko the Doughboy (1931, Harman). Bosko in World War I. He tries to sing and dance, but it ain't happening. Instead he has to fight. One of the best Boskos.
5) Rookie Revue (1941, Freleng). Spot gag cartoon on Army Life, with a few topical gags suggesting that entry into the war was near.
6) The Draft Horse (1942, Jones). One of Chuck's best early cartoons, where a patriotic horse runs into difficulties.
7) Wacky Blackout (1942, Clampett). An extremely topical spot gag cartoon. Not all that good, really.
8) The Ducktators (1942, McCabe). Yes, it's on here! Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo as birds trying to take over the farmyard. Eventually the dove of peace gives them a good whalloping.
9) The Weakly Reporter (1944, Jones). Another incredibly dated spot gag wartime cartoon.
10) Fifth Column Mouse (1943, Freleng). A traitor mouse convinces the other mice to give in to the cat. We soon learn why this is a bad idea.
11) Meet John Doughboy (1941, Clampett). Porky Pig introduces a spot gag newsreel. Jack Benny and Rochester make an amusing appearance.
12) Hollywood Canine Canteen (1947, McKimson). Likely Tashlin did the storyboards. A lot of celebrity caricatures, and some of the final wartime references.
13) By Word of Mouse (1954, Freleng). The first of three cartoons promoting capitalism, featuring Sylvester. As interesting as a lecture on capitalism!
14) Heir-Conditioned (1955, Freleng). The second of three cartoons etcetc.
15) Yankee Dood It 1956, Freleng). The third of three cartoons etcetc.

Disc Three: Bosko, Buddy & Merrie Melodies.
1) Congo Jazz (1930, Harman). Bosko in the jungle, having fun with animals. Only his second cartoon. The last where they tried to give him a 'Suth'n' black voice, after this is was Mickey imitation squeak.
2) Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931, Ising). The 2nd Merrie Melodie, with Foxy driving a trolley car. Famous for the song being included in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
3) The Booze Hangs High (1930, Harman). Bosko and barnyard animals sing and dance. Some grotesque 30s gags make this interesting.
4) One More Time (1931, Ising). The last Foxy cartoon, where he's a traffic cop. Good music, not-so-good direction.
5) Bosko's Picture Show (1933, Harman). Bosko runs a movie theater, and either does or does not say "The dirty fuck!" depending on which historian you listen to
6) You Don't Know What You're Doin! (1931, Ising). This came right after the meh One More Time, and yet is fantastic. Great score, great characters, great direction. One of the best early WB cartoons.
7) We're In The Money (1933, Ising). A Ted Lewis caricature runs amok in a department store.
8) Ride Him, Bosko! (1932, Harman). Bosko as a cowboy, more famous for the live-action ending where the animators admit they don't know how to end the cartoon and walk off, leaving Bosko standing there.
9) Shuffle Off To Buffalo (1933, Ising). Babies in heaven await being born, all while singing the title tune. A fun cartoon, great soundtrack.
10) Bosko In Person (1933, Harman). Bosko and Honey put on a show. More fun than it sounds, this was really terrific.
11) The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon (1933, Ising). The final MM with Harman/Ising, which is what you'd expect - cutlery comes to life.
12) Buddy's Day Out (1933, Palmer). The first Buddy cartoon. It sucks.
13) Buddy's Beer Garden (1933, Duvall). This is also Buddy, but much better - it's actually not bad. Freleng ghost directed this cartoon.
14) Buddy's Circus (1934, King). Presumably a typo, not sure what cartoon will actually be here. I imagine it's not Buddy's Circus, one of the most racially offensive Looney Tunes ever.
15) A Cartoonist's Nightmare (1935, King). A cartoonist falls asleep and is menaced by the villains he's drawn. Beans has to rescue him.

Disc Four: Most Requested Assorted Nuts.
1) Horton Hatches The Egg (1942, Clampett). A cartoon based on the Seuss. It's terrific.
2) Lights Fantastic (1942, Freleng). Times Square marquee comes to life. Lots of great design here.
3) Fresh Airedale (1945, Jones). Jones' nastiest cartoon ever, about a lazy yet sneaky dog and a put-upon cat.
4) Chow Hound (1951, Jones). Jones' second-nastiest cartoon ever, about a dog who uses a cat and mouse to get himself meat. Ends with the gravy line.
5) The Oily American (1954, McKimson). A dorky Indian millionaire and his deadpan butler.
6) It's Hummer Time (1950, McKimson). A cat is put through progressively hideous punishments by a nasty dog.
7) Rocket-Bye Baby (1956, Jones). Earth and Martian babies are mixed up, with hilarious consequences.
8) Goo Goo Goliath (1954, Freleng). And here, it's a giant baby.
9) Wild Wife (1954, McKimson). An attepmt at feminism in the 50s, a husband notes he works all day while his wife takes it easy. She shows him otherwise. Pretty sexist in its feminism, actually.
10) Much Ado About Nutting (1953, Jones). A squirrel find a nut, and tries to crack it. But it's a coconut. Better than it sounds, a nice silent Jones classic.
11) The Hole Idea (1955, McKimson). McKimson's last great classic, animated entirely by himself, about a man who invents a portable hole.
12) Now Hear This (1963, Jones). A bizarre cartoon where an old man finds an ear trumpet. Lots of freakish animation.
13) Martian Through Georgia (1962, Jones). A sad Martian tries to find happiness in the Deep South.
14) Page Miss Glory (1936, Avery). A great cartoon with art-deco design, as a fabulous star is coming to a backwoods town and everyone gets ready.
15) Normal Normal (1968, Lovy). One of the last WB theatrical cartoons, and one of the weirdest, about this guy and his attempts to deal with what's inside his head. Hard to describe.

List of directors for this set:
17 Chuck Jones
11 Friz Freleng + 2 uncredited
9 Robert McKimson
6 Rudolf Ising
4 Bob Clampett
4 Hugh Harman
2 Harman/Ising
2 Jack King
1 Tom Palmer
1 Norman McCabe
1 Tex Avery
1 Earl Duvall
1 Alex Lovy

More later, including the list of previous censorship that should be uncut on this set!

This post

2008-07-08T10:07:27Z

http://tencrush.livejournal.com/127243.html

Word. Wordy McWord with a side of YES GODDAMMIT.

CMX

2008-07-06T09:33:20Z

Wrapping up things manga at AX, here's what CMX announced. Almost everything they mentioned had been announced before, but they had one new title:

Hana no Namae. 4 volumes, shoujo from Hakusensha's LaLa DX.

A brief Doctor Who post

2008-07-06T00:37:02Z

Spoiler cut (bad language/imagery warning, I'm not a happy camper):

First, the resolution of Rose, such as it was, reminded me a bit of Harry/Ginny fans at the end of Deathly Hallows. "Well, it was written poorly... but hey, they're together!" And it certainly wasn't written well. Hopefully she's gone now. I liked Rose once, but she's really been dragged through the mud lately.

As for the end of Donna's arc, well, I can see RTD was trying for a gut punch, fine. But to take a character whose entire point was "You are more than just a shouty girl who can't get anywhere in life, realize your true potential!" and take her back to where she started with no sign things will improve... there's tragedy and then there's fucking your fans in the eyesocket. It's sad when FANS of Donna are saying "It would have been better if she'd died." Yes, I know that if they want CT back, there are handwaves they can use, but I don't care. As a Donna fan, that ending insulted me.

I will grant them that DoctorDonna was fun, and I even found the technobabble amusing. And Dalek Caan was a giggle. Really, the episode was the usual frothy don't think too hard RTD fun until the ending. However, the ending soured me on the rest.

At least there's fixfic?

New Tokyopop licenses

2008-07-05T17:45:09Z

Yep, still licensing, even as they cancel a ton of titles.

Tsubasa wo Motsu Mono. 6 volumes, shoujo. From the Furuba creator, this was the series she did before Furuba. It also is Hakusensha, and ran in Hana to Yume.
Peacemaker Kurogane. A license rescue from ADV Manga. Mag Garden.
Senki Senki Momotama, from Mag Garden as well, the shonen Comic Blade anthology carries this.
Yume no Shiro from Hakusensha's LaLa. Short stories from the creator of Kare Kano.
NG LIFE. More shoujo from Hana to Yume, from the creator of Mugen Spiral.
Togainu no Chi, a yaoi title from Biblos's Magazine ZERO.
Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai, a seinen series from Hakusensha's Young Animal. Better known for its anime title, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!. More from Hakusensha, LaLa this time.
Demon Sacred, and yup, it's Hakusensha's LaLa once again.

Of those titles, clearly the Tsubasa and Yume ones were licensed on the basis of 'from the author of' appeal. The sheer number of Hakusensha and Mag Garden titles lets you know which publishers are still speaking to them and which aren't. Maid-sama has the best potential here, it's a fairly popular hit in Japan, right up there with Ouran and Vampire Knight in LaLa.

Other AX stuff

2008-07-04T23:52:22Z

Briefly...

Dark Horse had one new announcement:

Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Shonen Ace since 2005.

Right Stuf has announced the animes Gakuen Alice (one box for the whole series) and Toward the Terra (the old 1980s movie). They also plan to have an interview with Konno Oyuki, creator of MariMite, on a future DVD box. Fans can submit questions, more details later.

Bandai has licensed Gundam 00, which isn't a surprise, and Hayate the Combat Butler, which is.

New Viz licenses

2008-07-04T20:38:03Z

Some of these we knew about unofficially, but they are now official.

Oishinbo ('best of edition, 8 volumes'). Seinen. Serialized in Big Comic Spirits since 1984.
Fushigi Yuugi (VizBIG Omnibus). Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Shoujo Comic since 1992.
Hot Gimmick (VizBIG Omnibus). Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Bessatsu Comic since 2000.
Heaven's Will. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in ChuChu since 2006. (This is complete in 1 volume)
Romance From The Thumb. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Hana to Yume since 2004.
Otomen. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Bessatsu Hana to Yume since 2007.
Honey Hunt. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Cheese! since 2007.
Gestalt. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GFantasy since 1995.

That's it for manga. A Hot Gimmick omnibus? That must have sold REALLY well. Honey Hunt, btw, is from the same artist as Hot Gimmick. Viz said they're looking to older-skewed stuff (Honey Hunt is in Cheese!, which is practically josei). I fully understand why we aren't getting all 100+ volumes of Oishinbo, and find a best of pleasing.

Any other thoughts?

It had to be said...

2008-07-04T16:56:27Z

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-04/funimation-picks-up-over-30-former-ad-vision-titles

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-03/funimation-agrees-to-distribute-select-geneon-titles

I, for one, welcome our new Funimation overlords.

Manga the week of 7/9

2008-07-03T18:24:03Z

It's that time again, folks! Did you survive last week?

DC/CMX:
Variante Vol. 4 (Final Volume). Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Dragon Age since 2004.
Kikaider Code 02 Vol. 7. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialization unknown, 2001.

DEL REY:
Kagetora Vol. 10. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Magazine Special since 2002.
Gacha Gacha The Next Revolution Vol. 7. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Magazine Special since 2002.

DMP:
Kiss Blue Vol. 1. Yaoi. Taiyou Tosho, serialized in Craft since 2006.
Golden Prince and Argent King. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialization unknown, 2006.
Blue Sky. Yaoi. Ookura Shuppan, serialization unknown, 2004.

VIZ:
Yakitate Japan Vol. 12. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 2002.
Togari Vol. 7. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 2001.
Switch Vol. 3. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GFantasy since 2002.
Red River Vol. 22. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Shoujo Comic since 1995.
Inu-Yasha Vol. 34. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 1996.
Bastard!! Vol. 17. Seinen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump and Ultra Jump since 1988.

And that is it. An awesomely small second week! Good, as I still have stuff from last week I didn't get as last week was so expensive. >_> Nice to see another Bastard!! coming out, as well as the retro-Egypt fantasy shoujo Red River.

Kodansha US go!

2008-07-01T19:39:17Z

Still getting info on this, but it looks like Kodansha *is* setting up a distributor to put out its manga through its own name in the US. It's not known how this will affect Del Rey. Likely it won't affect it much, as the distributor for Kodansha in the US looks to be Random House, who own Del Rey as well. Future Del Rey licenses may be affected, but current ones should be fine.

Tokyopop and Dark Horse, the news isn't as good. Dark Horse had to cancel their planned reprint of Akira, owing to Kodansha taking back the rights. Likewise, TP has cancelled Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad for the same reason. So who knows what will happen with other Kodansha titles. (I suspect DH will be allowed to keep Oh My Goddess, a cash cow for them).

Couple things

2008-06-30T22:59:35Z

First off, the new Perfect Girl Evolution manga chapter has the most adorkable Ranmaru you have ever seen.

Second, the 2nd Collection Sixth Doctor comics collection is out this week from Panini. The price is a bit steep, but the 6th Doctor comics were the highlight of the entire run, with some truly deft writing and art. It also contains The World Shapers, the final 6th Doctor comic, which was written by a young guy named Grant Morrison. Whatever happened to him?...

"Obviously, I am dealing with inferior mentalities!"

2008-06-29T14:50:21Z

It's hot and humid and I feel like a limp rag. Clearly time to watch 11 WB cartoons and tell you about them. This is the first third of 1948:

Gorilla My Dreams. Bugs Bunny cartoons really don't come much better than this, a Bob McKimson masterpiece of animation and timing. Bugs is traveling by barrel across the ocean. Meanwhile, on J. Random African Island, Mrs. Gorilla moans that the stork hasn't brought them a baby. It could be because her husband Gruesome is a nasty jerk who hates kids. The wife goes off to sob and finds Bugs, deciding he'll make a perfect kid. He protests, but when she cries he gives in, and soon finds himself in bonnet and diaper. She takes him home and he romps all over Gruesome, who quickly decides to 'play with Junior'. The rest of the cartoon is the gorilla trying to kill Bugs, and Bugs outsmarting him. Eventually Bugs is cornered, and the gorilla starts to beat him to death, but is so exhausted after chasing him around he can't do it. This was on the 2nd LT DVD collection.

Two Gophers From Texas. The over the top theatrical dog from The Goofy Gophers is back in this Art Davis cartoon, and he's even zanier. Still trying to get the gophers, who have settled into their Alphonse and Gaston schtick by now quite nicely. He reads a book on how to catch gophers, and tries various methods. They have no effect. Eventually he tries soothing them with music, to a fantastically over the top Sweet Georgia Brown, which ends with the dog trapped inside the piano having his butt beaten with hammers. Watch this for the dog's pure weirdness.

A Feather In His Hare. Bugs Bunny takes on a goofy, bespectacled Indian in this rarely seen Chuck Jones cartoon. It's rarely seen as there's lots of Indian gags that are pretty racist (though it's still seen more than cartoons like Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips or Which is Witch, mostly as the Native Americans have a less vocal pressure group). As with the best Bugs vs. villain cartoons, Bugs occasionally trips up, but mostly runs rings around his opponent. In the end, the Indian notes that he's Last of the Mohicans, to which Bugs notes there are storks bringing little Indian braves in the sky. The Indian faints, and Bugs laughs, till he sees hundreds of storks following, carrying rabbits. He then faints as well!

What Makes Daffy Duck? One of Art Davis's best, this has Daffy trying to survive during duck hunting season, and Elmer Fudd and an unnamed fox attempting to catch him. Daffy, naturally, makes them fight each other while making wacky comments. Daffy is at his cleverest here, and does a great rendition of King For A Day. Watch for Daffy mentioning taking a female duck (Elmer in disguise) up to his apartment to see his 'etchings'. In the end, a ranger puts up a fox hunting sign, and tally ho, Elmer is off hunting foxes. The ranger is, of course, Daffy, who delivers the line that's the title of this post.

What's Brewin', Bruin? The Three Bears from the Bugs Bunny cartoon 4 years ago are back, this time with Papa voiced by Billy Bletcher. This makes a unique series, then, in which Mel Blanc does no voices whatsoever (Junyer Bear is Stan Freberg). Of course, he gets the only credit, cause that's what's in his contract. But hey. Pa, Ma, and Junyer are settling in to hibernate. But Junyer creaks, and Ma snores, and there's a pesky drip, and an open window, and... it's all Chuck Jones slow burn humor at its finest, and pulled off with panache.

Daffy Duck Slept Here. An oddly paced McKimson cartoon, which feels like it may have had chunks cut out of it for time. Porky is looking for a hotel vacancy, and finally finds one, but has to share the room. Turns out his roommate is Daffy, who turns up drunk and with an invisible kangaroo, in a shout out to the play 'Harvey' (two years till they did the movie). After we get rid of the kangaroo, there's standard 'trying to sleep but bedmate is noisy/obnoxious' gags. One nice one has Porky explaining that Buenos noches is Spanish for Bon soir, and that Bon soir is French for Buenos noches. In the end, there's a terrific gag which has Daffy tricking Porky into getting on a 'train' that's actually the 30th floor window, then being surprised to see Porky actually leaving on a train! Daffy being insane, of course, it doesn't bother him TOO much. This was on the 3rd LT DVD collection.

A Hick, A Slick, And A Chick. This all-mouse Art Davis cartoon has the dopy country boy going off to see his girl, only to find she's taken up with a city slicker. The slicker is better than the hick at virtually everything, and is also rich, so gives her a fur coat. The hick vows to go find an ermine to give to her, even if he doesn't know what that is. After accidentally getting drunk, he spots a cat named Herman, and decides that must be it. A battle ensues, at the end of which the girl has her furs and goes off with the hick, and the slicker is left to discover the fur was taken from the cat's rear end. Cute cartoon, but it had a flavor of having been done too many times.

Back Alley Oproar. Friz Freleng remakes his 1941 Porky Pig cartoon Notes to You with Elmer Fudd and Sylvester. This version is superior. Elmer is trying to get some sleep. Sylvester is on the alley fence, singing the Warner Brothers music library. Jokes ensue. One of my favorite gags has Sylvester put grease on the steps and thumbtacks on the ground. Elmer slips down the steps with a hammer, steps across the tacks ouching, then returns, going back across the tacks and sliding up the stairs, and grabs his gun. Then slides BACK down the stairs and AGAIN across the tacks. Oh Elmer, your stupid is so awesome. He eventually blows Sylvester up, taking himself out as well. Sadly, Sylvester's 9 lives sing an oratorio with each other as they ascend to heaven, leaving Elmer's spirit to plummet down to avoid them. This was on the 2nd LT DVD collection.

I Taw A Putty Tat. The 2nd Tweety and Sylvester cartoon, and a semi-remake of Frank Tashlin's 1943 Puss 'n Booty. The opening and ending are the exact same, with the woman of the house ordering a new canary, oblivious to the fact that Sylvester's eaten them all. This one's Tweety, though, and he's still in his 'bastard' phase rather than his 'cute and helpless' phase. He proceeds to wreak havoc on Sylvester. One gag mostly cut from TV prints had Sylvester grab some dynamite instead of Tweety, which then explodes. You guessed it, blackface. In the end, Tweety gets Sylvester killed by the local bulldog, then grins as the housewife orders another cat. A lovely and nasty Tweety cartoon. It's not restored for the DVD sets yet, but a nice uncut version can be found on the Bugs Bunny Superstar movie that's an extra on the 4th set.

Rabbit Punch. One of Chuck Jones' all-time best Bugs Bunny cartoons. This is a typical Bugs vs. Huge Nasty Guy, but allows Bugs to get clobbered a fair amount of the time, so the battle doesn't look like it's over before it begins. (Bugs, as I've noted before, gets far too smug in his later cartoons). The huge Champ is fighting a schlub challenger in the boxing ring, when he hears Bugs booing him. Presto, Bugs is now his opponent! Bugs outthinks the champ, but the champ outmuscles Bugs. They're quite evenly matched. In the end, the champ ties Bugs to a train track and runs a train down through the arena to crush him... except the film breaks. Or does it? (snip snip) This cartoon was on the 3rd LT DVD collection.

Hop, Look and Listen. We open at a zoo, with the elephant (and his trunk) and the laughing hyena getting the opening gags. But then we see a mama kangaroo and her baby, and we know another minor WB star is getting introduced here. Bob McKimson's Hippety Hopper quickly hops over the cage and out into the town. He ends up at Sylvester's, who's complaining that the mice are too small to eat these days. Well, we know what's coming. Giant mouse! This first runaround is actually quite well done, as Sylvester gets the crap kicked out of him. The house bulldog is ashamed of Sylvester, getting beaten by a mouse, and keeps tossing him back in there. Eventually mama arrives and puts Hippety back in her pouch, just as the bulldog arrives. Upon seeing a giant, two-headed mouse, the bulldog takes Sylvester and says they're both going on the water wagon.

These are the classic years, folks. Next time, we finally hit that gap between the pre-48s (syndicated, old) and post-48s (Saturday morning TV, new). Bugs takes on Pirate Sam, Cowboy Sam, Marvin the Martian, and a quack doctor; Daffy babysits and joins a beauty pageant, and Porky battles Indians.

Doctor Who 4-12

2008-06-29T01:11:42Z

OK, they got me. I was not expecting that.

We'll see what happens next week. :)