The thing about the real world lately is that it’s been so…well…REAL.
Around every corner, the challenges of 2020 can be found and the heaviness of each day’s latest news reports can be a weight that is difficult to lift.
Thankfully, animation fans have a constant source of escape. This is particularly true of short subjects, which for ten minutes or less can remind us of simpler times, provide a brief respite from all that’s going on and make us feel good…
…and couldn’t we use just a little more of that right about now? In an effort to bring some lightness to these darker days, what follows is a list of some animated short subjects that all share a commonality: they make us feel good.
The list is by no means definitive and they are in no order other than chronological, but what follows are some short doses of “good”:
The Nifty Nineties, (Disney, 1941)
A seldom-discussed Mickey Mouse short subject that really doesn’t contain a story line, but instead is just the iconic Mouse and his best gal Minnie spending time in an idealized, “Main Street USA”-like turn-of-the-last-century.
Mickey and Minnie stroll the park, ride in a motorcar, attend a vaudeville show (where the performers are caricatures of legendary Disney animators Ward Kimball and Fred Moore) and even see Goofy, Donald, Daisy and their famous nephews riding bicycles.
The short is as light and breezy as a summer afternoon and as typically “Disney” as they come. As it ends, it’s hard not to be smiling as “In the Good Ol’ Summertime” floats across the soundtrack.
Red Hot Riding Hood, (MGM, 1943)
Director Tex Avery’s landmark, animated masterpiece, a re-telling of the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” with a contemporary (in 1940’s terms) setting. “Red” is now re-cast as a nightclub singer and the wolf as a Hollywood playboy.
The surreal, frenetic pacing, along with the exaggerated, eye-bulging, jaw dropping reactions became standard in many future animated cartoons, but are most closely associated with “Red Hot Riding Hood.”
To this day, the short not only still remains iconic and influential, it also elicits belly laughs, even after multiple viewings.
Ragtime Bear, (UPA, 1949)
Mr. Magoo’s very first cartoon short from the trend-setting United Productions of America Studio. In it, the near sighted Magoo mistakes a bear for his nephew Waldo while the two are on vacation at the Hodge Podge Lodge.
What follows are ingenious sight gags that would become hallmarks for the character of Mr. Magoo, as well as some solid cartoon humor (the bear’s love for playing Waldo’s banjo is a fun, recurring joke throughout that makes for a nice, ending punch-line).
This humor, coupled with stylized animation that was a trademark of UPA, makes “Ragtime Bear” a perfect glimpse into a unique moment in animation history.
What’s Opera, Doc? (Warner Bros., 1957)
In Jerry Beck’s 1994 book “The 50 Greatest Cartoons,” this short was voted number 1 by the author and other animation historians and twenty-six years later, no animation fan in their right mind would dispute this.
“What’s Opera, Doc?” combines everything we love about cartoon shorts. While parodying the seriousness of animation, such as 1940’s “Fantasia” and making us laugh, it’s also as beautiful to watch as Disney’s musical masterpiece.
With Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd starring, it also remains true to the character’s personalities and relationship, while placing them against a new backdrop.
And with cartoon comic mastermind director Chuck Jones at the helm, the timing and staging of “What’s Opera, Doc?” is a wonder to behold, no matter how many times you’ve…beheld…it.
Jones, interviewed for the “The 50 Greatest Cartoons,” even admitted his own affection for the film: “For sheer production quality, magnificent music and wonderful animation, this is probably our most elaborate and satisfying production.”
Knick Knack (Pixar, 1989)
The fourth animated short from Pixar, now one of the behemoths of the industry, not only reflects their modest early days, but also one of the Studio’s first examples of personality animation merging with advancing computer technology.
In “Knick Knack,” a snowman, trapped inside a snow globe, wants desperately to join the other souvenirs and knick knacks on a shelf, but he can’t escape his snow globe world.
The attempts and frustrations of the little snowman and the joke at the conclusion are not only ingenious, they also foreshadow the gamit of emotions that would be found decades later in Pixar’s blockbuster feature films.
The Wrong Trousers (Aardmann Animation, 1993)
The magic and wonder of stop-motion animation has been on full display in a number of films from Aardmann Animation, but this film truly is one of their masterpieces.
The second film for the team of inventor Wallace and his pet dog Gromit finds them up against a villainous penguin who is trying to use Wallace’s invention, “Techno Trousers” to steal a diamond. How’s that for an original, high-concept plot?
In fact, everything about “The Wrong Trousers” is high-concept, particularly a chase scene involving a model railroad, which is absolutely dizzying in it’s “how did they do that?” brilliance!
Get a Horse! (Disney, 2013)
One of the nicest surprises in cartoon shorts to come along in some time.
It starts off looking like a standard, black and white Mickey Mouse cartoon from the 1920’s, complete with recordings of Walt Disney providing Mickey’s voice, 2D animation that looks appropriate for the time period and co-stars like Minnie Mouse, Horace Horsecollar and Pete. This soon gives way to meta-wonder when the characters burst off the screen, coming to life in color and 3D computer animation.
The short then goes on to switch back and forth between the 2D and 3D worlds and leaves the viewer wanting to watch this one again and again (if for no other reason than the surprise cameo toward the end).
In six minutes, Get a Horse! manages to do what few films have: it bridges decades of animation history. (This is just an excerpt):
Any or all of these shorts (along with any or all of your personal favorites) do what animation always does: provides an escape from the real world and a chance to feel good. Turn off the news and Toon in!
Michael Lyons is a freelance writer, specializing in film, television, and pop culture.He is the author of the book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney’s Animation Renaissance, which chronicles the amazing growth at the Disney animation studio in the 1990s.In addition to Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research, he has contributed to Remind Magazine, Cinefantastique, Animation World Network and Disney Magazine.He also writes a blog, Screen Saver: A Retro Review of TV Shows and Movies of Yesteryear and his interviews with a number of animation legends have been featured in several volumes of the books, Walt’s People. You can visit Michael’s web site Words From Lyons at: Words From Lyons at: www.wordsfromlyons.com
Toon In and Feel Good!
The thing about the real world lately is that it’s been so…well…REAL.
Around every corner, the challenges of 2020 can be found and the heaviness of each day’s latest news reports can be a weight that is difficult to lift.
Thankfully, animation fans have a constant source of escape. This is particularly true of short subjects, which for ten minutes or less can remind us of simpler times, provide a brief respite from all that’s going on and make us feel good…
…and couldn’t we use just a little more of that right about now? In an effort to bring some lightness to these darker days, what follows is a list of some animated short subjects that all share a commonality: they make us feel good.
The list is by no means definitive and they are in no order other than chronological, but what follows are some short doses of “good”:
The Nifty Nineties, (Disney, 1941)
A seldom-discussed Mickey Mouse short subject that really doesn’t contain a story line, but instead is just the iconic Mouse and his best gal Minnie spending time in an idealized, “Main Street USA”-like turn-of-the-last-century.
Mickey and Minnie stroll the park, ride in a motorcar, attend a vaudeville show (where the performers are caricatures of legendary Disney animators Ward Kimball and Fred Moore) and even see Goofy, Donald, Daisy and their famous nephews riding bicycles.
The short is as light and breezy as a summer afternoon and as typically “Disney” as they come. As it ends, it’s hard not to be smiling as “In the Good Ol’ Summertime” floats across the soundtrack.
Red Hot Riding Hood, (MGM, 1943)
Director Tex Avery’s landmark, animated masterpiece, a re-telling of the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” with a contemporary (in 1940’s terms) setting. “Red” is now re-cast as a nightclub singer and the wolf as a Hollywood playboy.
The surreal, frenetic pacing, along with the exaggerated, eye-bulging, jaw dropping reactions became standard in many future animated cartoons, but are most closely associated with “Red Hot Riding Hood.”
To this day, the short not only still remains iconic and influential, it also elicits belly laughs, even after multiple viewings.
Ragtime Bear, (UPA, 1949)
Mr. Magoo’s very first cartoon short from the trend-setting United Productions of America Studio. In it, the near sighted Magoo mistakes a bear for his nephew Waldo while the two are on vacation at the Hodge Podge Lodge.
What follows are ingenious sight gags that would become hallmarks for the character of Mr. Magoo, as well as some solid cartoon humor (the bear’s love for playing Waldo’s banjo is a fun, recurring joke throughout that makes for a nice, ending punch-line).
This humor, coupled with stylized animation that was a trademark of UPA, makes “Ragtime Bear” a perfect glimpse into a unique moment in animation history.
What’s Opera, Doc? (Warner Bros., 1957)
In Jerry Beck’s 1994 book “The 50 Greatest Cartoons,” this short was voted number 1 by the author and other animation historians and twenty-six years later, no animation fan in their right mind would dispute this.
“What’s Opera, Doc?” combines everything we love about cartoon shorts. While parodying the seriousness of animation, such as 1940’s “Fantasia” and making us laugh, it’s also as beautiful to watch as Disney’s musical masterpiece.
With Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd starring, it also remains true to the character’s personalities and relationship, while placing them against a new backdrop.
And with cartoon comic mastermind director Chuck Jones at the helm, the timing and staging of “What’s Opera, Doc?” is a wonder to behold, no matter how many times you’ve…beheld…it.
Jones, interviewed for the “The 50 Greatest Cartoons,” even admitted his own affection for the film: “For sheer production quality, magnificent music and wonderful animation, this is probably our most elaborate and satisfying production.”
Knick Knack (Pixar, 1989)
The fourth animated short from Pixar, now one of the behemoths of the industry, not only reflects their modest early days, but also one of the Studio’s first examples of personality animation merging with advancing computer technology.
In “Knick Knack,” a snowman, trapped inside a snow globe, wants desperately to join the other souvenirs and knick knacks on a shelf, but he can’t escape his snow globe world.
The attempts and frustrations of the little snowman and the joke at the conclusion are not only ingenious, they also foreshadow the gamit of emotions that would be found decades later in Pixar’s blockbuster feature films.
The Wrong Trousers (Aardmann Animation, 1993)
The magic and wonder of stop-motion animation has been on full display in a number of films from Aardmann Animation, but this film truly is one of their masterpieces.
The second film for the team of inventor Wallace and his pet dog Gromit finds them up against a villainous penguin who is trying to use Wallace’s invention, “Techno Trousers” to steal a diamond. How’s that for an original, high-concept plot?
In fact, everything about “The Wrong Trousers” is high-concept, particularly a chase scene involving a model railroad, which is absolutely dizzying in it’s “how did they do that?” brilliance!
Get a Horse! (Disney, 2013)
One of the nicest surprises in cartoon shorts to come along in some time.
It starts off looking like a standard, black and white Mickey Mouse cartoon from the 1920’s, complete with recordings of Walt Disney providing Mickey’s voice, 2D animation that looks appropriate for the time period and co-stars like Minnie Mouse, Horace Horsecollar and Pete. This soon gives way to meta-wonder when the characters burst off the screen, coming to life in color and 3D computer animation.
The short then goes on to switch back and forth between the 2D and 3D worlds and leaves the viewer wanting to watch this one again and again (if for no other reason than the surprise cameo toward the end).
In six minutes, Get a Horse! manages to do what few films have: it bridges decades of animation history. (This is just an excerpt):
Any or all of these shorts (along with any or all of your personal favorites) do what animation always does: provides an escape from the real world and a chance to feel good. Turn off the news and Toon in!