Cartoon Burials

I have been in Cleveland for the last week, and have been lazy as hell. Nothing much to report on. I am taking a short break from Parasite's Delight. I should be back to animating by January 4th, at which I will be back at the Pratt studios in Brooklyn.

In the meantime, I have started watching a couple of (so-called) cartoon burials. First off is Private Snafu, a series of instructional films made by Warner Bros. during World War II. Although they were never meant for general audiences, I find them to be very impressive. And they are quite funny too (in a sick and offensive way). They are currently available as special features on the recent Looney Tunes Golden Collections (since volume 3).





The one below is entitled "Spies," and I consider it to be a perfect introduction to the series. I believe this one is directed by Chuck Jones, although I can't be too sure. I say that because I know Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel wrote most of these, and worked closely with Jones. The one I really want to post is called "Rumors," but I can't find a good copy of it, and I don't like the YouTube version.



I am also struggling to watch the 1972 made-for-TV film Yogi's Ark Lark. So far, I have only seen the first 12 minutes of the 43 minute film, but I can certainly vouch for its mediocrity. But, in saying that, I can not deny that I have a soft spot these Hanna Barbera all-star shows, and watching them is something of a guilty pleasure. It's still better than the mushy Smurfs or Snorks.






I have another schizophrenic post coming up soon.

Emmett's Birthday and the discovery of TOP CAT

As usual, my birthday this year just happened to fall upon Thanksgiving, so my family and I had a double celebration. My sister, who is a culinary student, took charge of my birthday treat shown below. All I asked was no chocolate this year, and in turn, I got a lovely collection of cream-filled, sugar glazed pastries (I can't remember what the dish is called, but it was still great).


What did I do on my birthday besides eating? I discovered Hanna Barbera's Top Cat for the first time in my life. Although I had discovered many HB characters when I was a little kid (through one of our local video stores), I never found anything on Top Cat, even though the character popped up in HB images every so often. I found myself attracted to it, which is I guess isn't too sup rising. I find HB's characters to be among the most appealing, right up there with Looney Tunes characters and others.




Along with Top Cat, I also watched a Looney Tunes DVD with my Grandmother. She's getting up there, and it was wonderful to see her laughing. I showed her Bob Clampett's Book Revue with Daffy Duck (one of my favorites). And not only was she laughing, but she was excited to pick out all the celebrities parodied in the cartoon. A true classic.



I would like to wish whoever reads this blog a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.