Well, I've officially graduated from medical school this past weekend, so that would make me officially a doctor. I suppose it's weird thinking of myself that way, along with taking on the responsibilities of such a title, but it's something I've been working towards for almost ten years so it's something that I'm quite pleased about. Now I still have about a month before I have to start orientation for residency, but I have over 20 reviews to go, so I'll still have to work on reviews while I'm in residency. Hopefully I get enough of a queue that I won't have to take any more hiatuses.
Anyways, onto 1953, a full 60 years ago and the year of George Brett's birth. It must be a bit disconcerting for Kansas City Royals fan to think that their best player, the one that led them to seven playoff berths and one World Series title, is now 60 years old. That's the same age that legendary manager John McGraw was when he died shortly after retiring from managing in 1934, and nobody was saying he's a spring chicken (especially not after a 33-year managerial career that includes 2,763 wins - second of all time.) But hey, he still displays quite a bit of vitality for a guy his age. Anyways, the film that created the biggest buzz that year was the Christian-themed historical epic The Robe. It was significant not necessarily for its theme but that it introduced the new CinemaScope format whose 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio was almost double the old standard 1.33 : 1. It dazzled audiences and was nominated for Best Picture, but with only five nominations it trailed the Pearl Harbor romance flick From Here to Eternity (13 nominations), the Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy Roman Holiday (10 nominations), and the Western classic Shane (6 nominations) and was tied with the Shakespeare adaptation Julius Caesar. The two films also missed out on Best Director nominations, which was a much bigger deal back then than it is now, with their spots taken up by Charles Walters for the Leslie Caron carnival drama Lili and Billy Wilder for his escape classic Stalag 17.
The music awards began with Lili taking home the Best Score (Comedy/Drama) Oscar, Call Me Madam taking home Best Score (Musical), and Calamity Jane winning Best Original Song for "Secret Love" (although another nominee, Dean Martin's "That's Amore" is one whose fame lives on.) From Here to Eternity lost the award for its score but it made up for it by winning Best Sound. The Robe took home the Color Art Direction and Costume Design Oscars, but it lost the Color Cinematography award to Shane. The Black and White technical awards went to From Here to Eternity for Cinematography, Julius Caesar for Art Direction, and Roman Holiday for Costume Design. From Here to Eternity won Best Editing, while The War of the Worlds won Best Special Effects unopposed.
The writing awards went to From Here to Eternity for Best Screenplay, the 1953 version of Titanic for Best Story and Screenplay, and Roman Holiday for Best Story with the Oscar going to Ian McLellan Hunter, who wrote the screenplay, because the original storyman Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted. The Academy would change things shortly after Hunter's death and gave the Oscar to Trumblo, leaving Hunter as never having won an Oscar in the records.
The young Brandon de Wilde had captured the hearts of moviegoers for his portrayal of the young homestead boy that idolized the titular character in Shane, but he ended up losing the Oscar to a much more beloved actor in Frank Sinatra, whose gutsy performance in From Here to Eternity belied his charming persona. His co-star Donna Reed win Best Supporting Actress, but the three actors from the film nominated in the Leading categories weren't so lucky. Deborah Kerr lost to the young Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, while both Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift lost to William Holden in Stalag 17. Despite those losses, From Here to Eternity was doing well with six wins going into the final awards. It couldn't break the record held by Gone with the Wind with eight competitive wins, but it could surely tie it. And it did just that, with Fred Zinnemann winning Best Director, and going on to win Best Picture. It was a good night for a worthy film.
There were five other worthy films in the running for the Best Animated Short category. What were they, and which would come out as the winner?
--------------------------------- Christopher Crumpet
An artist sits at his easel telling a story to his dog. Once upon a time there was an ordinary spoiled little brat named Christopher Crumpet who has an extraordinary power. He can turn into a chicken at his own whim. This superpower is great for tantrum, because the last thing his haggard father wants is a chicken for a son. And this time Christopher wants a real-life rocket ship. His father must find a way to satiate Christopher's insatiable greed, while his co-worker is trying to find a way to profit from Chistopher's superpower. Christopher Crumpet is a film by the famed UPA studio and is a showcase for their ability to tell a great story in the early years of the studio. Incorrigible spoiled brats are something that parents have dealt with for centuries, but giving the brat the ability to turn into a chicken is something quite novel. It makes for an interesting little film but also addresses the question of effective parenting. The film can be a good jumping-off point for discussions about what parents should do in this situation. Furthermore, this film (along with the film's sequel Christopher Crumpet's Playmate) is an interesting exploration of the power of imagination. Christopher turns into a chicken because he imagines himself as a chicken. This sort of transformative power of the imagination is an element that still appears in films and TV shows like Muppet Babies. The sideplot about the co-worker and the film's opening with the artist are a bit strange, but the latter sets up for a clever ending. Unfortunately, Christopher himself is an annoying little prick with his unreasonable demands. Seriously, if Christopher was my son, I'd have myself a nice chicken dinner (which is why I should never be a parent.) The animation is done in the limited format that UPA is known for, with no backgrounds and simple character design, since it is meant to be the work of the artist (which is animated differently with paper cutouts.) It is clean and quite effective. In spite of Christopher's despicable attitude, Christopher Crumpet is still a great film from the UPA studios. Where Can I Watch It?
While Christopher Crumpet's Playmate is regularly available online, the original is strangely missing. You will have to get it from the Jolly Frolics DVD collection.
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
It's a beautiful spring day. While all of the other kids are mindlessly memorizing their arithmetic without actually trying to understand the concepts behind addition, young Ralph Phillips is imagining himself flying through the sky as free as the blue bird he sees through the window. He is caught daydreaming and is told to do a difficult math problem on the board. Being the victim of an ineffective educational system he is unable to do the problems and imagines battle with the numbers. Ralph spends the rest of the day imagining himself in different situations to escape from the monotony of daily life. Well, here is another film with the power of imagination as a focus, this time from the mind of legendary animation director Chuck Jones. This time the focus is on the imagined situations rather than the repercussions of them, although there are some since Ralph can't make his imaginations real. The imaginations themselves are taken from various items or events from his everyday life and expanded into something in which he submerges himself. For example, he sees an aquarium during a boring geography lesson and imagines an undersea adventure. In another scene he is asked to deliver a letter, so he imagines himself as a rider on the Pony Express being chased by hostile Indians. These imaginary sequences are quite creative in how Ralph makes the associations, which is the film's highlight. They are also full of action. While they are lacking in the sort of slapstick that Warner Bros. is known for, it does capture the fanciful daydreaming that I'm sure we've all done as children. Especially considering the monotony of the school's lesson. There might have been some exaggeration at how repetitive the lessons are but from what I've heard from people that went to school around that time it may not be too much of an exaggeration. The animation is typical of Warner Bros., although each of the imaginary sequences have the vibrant design that is not found in the bland school setting. From A to Z-Z-Z-Z may not have the laughs of most Warner Bros. films at the time, it does capture the wonder of imagination that most of us have had while growing up. Where Can I Watch It?
Rugged Bear
The bears in the forest life a comfortable life, relaxing peacefully for most of the year, until it's hunting season. Unfortunately poor Humphrey the Bear was late in realizing it's that time of year and is unable to hide safely in the bear's cave. He rushes into a cabin before realizing that it's the rented cabin of a proficient hunter, who turns out to be Donald Duck. He tries running away but is unable to due to gunfire. In desperation he hides the bear hide rug and takes its place. Can he survive hunting season? Disney has some of the most recognizable mascot characters, and seven of them received the honor of getting their own series, where their faces would appear in the opening*. The last of these seven is one Humphrey the Bear, a big goofy bear who loves sleeping and getting food the easy way. Before he was given a chance to star in films like Hooked Bear and In the Bag, he cut his teeth starring in films opposite Donald Duck (although he is credited a making an appearance with Goofy in Hold That Pose when he looked and acted little like his future self.) Rugged Bear is one of those films. It is primarily a gag-based film with most of the gags centered around the various misfortunes that Humphrey must suffer through as he pretends to be Donald's rug. For example, a spark from the fireplace lands on his hip and begin to burn. The gags are mostly a mixture of slapstick and visual humor, but they are quite funny. Although you do start to feel sorry for poor Humphrey, since most of the laughs are at his expense, and since many of the things that happen to him would kill an ordinary bear. The ending is a hoot as well. The character animation is typical Disney, although the background has the strange perspectives that is typical of their later theatrical shorts. Rugged Bear isn't exactly the deepest of films, but it is hilarious, and helped establish Humphrey as a star. Unfortunately Disney's theatrical short animation days were coming to a close, and he didn't have much time to enjoy top billing. Still he'll always have those two films, and this nomination.
*The other six are a who's who of Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n' Dale...and Figaro, the adorable little kitten in Pinocchio.
Where Can I Watch It?
The Tell-Tale Heart
A "madman.........who, like all of us, believed that he was sane" sits and tells us his story while being bothered by an albino moth. He once lived for a time with an old man who happened to have suffered an eye injury some time in the past and now has a "vulture-like eye". The eye irritates the narrator and he plots to destroy the eye, which he finally does after eight days of watching and waiting. However while the eye is gone he is bothered by the old man's heart, so he kills the old man and hides him under the floorboards. Things seem to go to plan, until the cops come to investigate. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous American writers, and arguably the most famous alumni of my alma mater the University of Virginia (although he never graduated). His tales of suspense and horror have entertained readers for 150 years. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is one of his most famous stories, and it gets the adaptation treatment from UPA Studios. The short story has been analyzed to death, but one of the simplest analysis is that the story is about the meaning of insanity; the contradiction between how the narrator claims that his rational planning is evidence of sanity yet he still obsesses over something harmless. UPA takes the insanity concept and incorporates it into the film's design. The film is full of weird angles, distorted perspective, and staring eyes in the second half to symbolize the man's fractured sense of sanity. Furthermore, the film uses largely still images, slow and calculated camera movements, frequent use of dissolves, and noir-ish use of light and shadow to create a chilling feel. This feeling of dread is compounded by the moody music by composer Boris Kremenliev and the narration by James Mason, whose serene voice clashes with the off-kilter imagery. The narration doesn't include the compete text of the short story, but it does include most of the important plot points in the film. The Tell-Tale Heart is a great adaptation that elevates the idea of what could be done with animation in building plot and suspense. Where Can I Watch It?
The film is part of the Jolly Frolics DVD collection, and in there you can really see the brilliant design in the way it was meant to be seen. Unfortunately, the ones that are online were not taken from the DVD and don't have that sharpness of the image, but it'll do.
Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom
Professor Owl is running late. After drinking his coffee on the run, he rushes into the schoolhouse after all of the students arrived. He ignores the awkward entrance and proceeds to introduce the day's lesson on musical instruments. He explains how all instruments can be split into four different types of sounds: a toot, a whistle, a plunk, and boom. The histories of each of those type of instruments can be traced back to the days of the cavemen, and he proceeds to explore the evolution of each type of instrument from the prehistoric days to modern times. If you're a child of the late 1980s and early 1990s like me then chances are you might have seen the Disney Sing-a-Long videos before. And if you have, chances are you were wondering where exactly the character of the Owl Professor came from. Well, Professor Owl and his ragtag gang of students had appeared in two films from 1953 titled the "Adventure in Music" series: Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom.Both films fit in with the edutainment genre. Melody introduces the concept of melody and was Disney's first foray into 3D. This particular film introduces the different types of musical instruments and is Disney's first film in full Cinemascope. Extreme aspect ratio aside, the film does a great job in introducing the core types of musical instruments - horns, woodwind, strings, and percussion - and how they evolved. Unfortunately only the "toot" section has any actual didactic explanation. The rest explains the concepts more through visuals, which are filled with a lot of visual humor. In one memorable sequence the evolution of stringed instruments is tracked from the ancient Greek time until today, and in almost all of the examples the strings snap with disastrous results. The film is also noteworthy for using a more limited style of animation than what Disney was known for doing in the 1930s and 1940s. While it doesn't get to the bare bones level of UPA films, it does feature more monochroem backgrounds and coarse character designs. There are a few stereotypes that look ugly today (showing Chinese people as ugly Mandarins doing barbaric things with katakana sound effects is not cool), but that's a product of the times. The animation works because the film is more of an auditory experience anyways. Bill Thompson is great as Professor Owl, and the film is full of wonderful musical compositions. Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom is a great film that was informative and showed that Disney could evolve with the times. Where Can I Watch It?
---------------------------------
So, these are the five nominees, and I'd have to say they're all very good. I'd even go as far as to say that even of the worst ones are better than any of the nominated films that came in the rest of the decade*. Rugged Bear is my favorite because not only was it a film I saw numerous times as a child, but also because it is the only nominee with humor as a focus and it succeed very well. Yet I must admit that with its lack of depth it doesn't quite match up with the two films that stand out: The Tell-Tale Heart and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. The former is a thrilling example of animation being used for something other than child's entertainment, a struggle that is still being played out today. The latter is a film that is both entertaining and educational. I'd have to say that I feel The Tell-Tale Heart is better with its great use of animation for atmosphere. And while the film was touted by Life magazine as the "leading candidate for the cartoon Oscar" (I didn't think Life magazine would care about this category), the Academy decided to go with Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom, possibly due to its use of Cinemascope. It's a shame that two much inferior UPA film would win the Oscar in the next three years, but you really can't go wrong with any of these films.
CHRISTOPHER CRUMPET UPA seemed to do rather well with topics like parental troubles with children such as in this film, or in others like Gerald McBoing Boing, The Family Circus, Bringing Up Mother and such. I never thought the subplot or the bridging bits witht he cartoonist telling his 'dog' the story was strange at all, simply because I felt the entire thing was meant to act as a moral lesson in telling the kid how he or she can't always get what they want or have it their way so cut it out, and we see a boy who doesn't let go of that and turns into a chicken as the ultimate disgrace.
The minimalism is surely at it's limit here too with it's uncolored characters, sparse outlines and simpler color scheme at play. This cartoon could easily work on a black and white TV set of the era if it wasn't made to be screened theatrically based it's design aesthetic. TV commercials in those early days would take a lesson or two from UPA in how to economize their animation to be not only simple but readible on early cathode-ray sets.
I tend to favor "Christopher Crumpet's Playmate" more myself, if only because it does have a happier ending for not only Chistopher but for his family too (now that the dad was promoted by his boss, leaving his co-worker holding the bag).
RUGGED BEAR I just reminded myself of the fact the cartoon origianally had a title sequence that was themed to the cabin in the short. It began with Donald's head shown in a picture frame just above the mantlepiece of the fireplace, the camera pans down to the fireplace where the usual "DONALD DUCK" title cards and credits were shown before it pans down again to show the "Rugged Bear" title over a bear rug. Unfortuantely it's rather difficult to see this anymore as it only showed up once on a video tape that Disney released in the 80's (forgot which title it was right now). For most airings or releases of this cartoon past the 50's, new re-release titles were prepared (namely to remove the "RKO Release" captions that had been there before) and it generically changes the opening to a more typical look of the Disney shorts anyway.
"Unfortunately Disney's theatrical short animation days were coming to a close, and he didn't have much time to enjoy top billing. Still he'll always have those two films, and this nomination."
And if you go by the fact that all those cartoons were directed by Jack Hannah, he would take the bumbling bruin over to Walter Lantz with him where he went by the slightly-different bear named "Fatso". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatso_the_Bear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpcQk6_6Mus
"*The other six are a who's who of Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n' Dale...and Figaro, the adorable little kitten in Pinocchio."
And if you want to count The Three Little Pigs, they had a headshot too (though they only had one cartoon to their name outside the Silly Symphonies)! http://cartoonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3pigs344.jpg
THE TELL-TALE HEART I have nothing to say here since you've said all there needs to be said for it.
"The film is part of the Jolly Frolics DVD collection, and in there you can really see the brilliant design in the way it was meant to be seen. Unfortunately, the ones that are online were not taken from the DVD and don't have that sharpness of the image, but it'll do."
At least the one you linked to has some decent contrast to it, most others I've seen were really too dark to enjoy those subtle qualities.
TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM "If you're a child of the late 1980s and early 1990s like me then chances are you might have seen the Disney Sing-a-Long videos before. And if you have, chances are you were wondering where exactly the character of the Owl Professor came from."
Not me, I actually saw this one in school before all that, or they played the cartoon on Disney Channel, take your pick!
"(showing Chinese people as ugly Mandarins doing barbaric things with katakana sound effects is not cool)"
And yet I use to like watching that part. We just never know.
It's a shame that two much inferior UPA film would win the Oscar in the next three years, but you really can't go wrong with any of these films.
The Academy were stuck-up snobs!
And yes, The Unicorn in the Garden badly needed to be here too.
CHRISTOPHER CRUMPET
ReplyDeleteUPA seemed to do rather well with topics like parental troubles with children such as in this film, or in others like Gerald McBoing Boing, The Family Circus, Bringing Up Mother and such. I never thought the subplot or the bridging bits witht he cartoonist telling his 'dog' the story was strange at all, simply because I felt the entire thing was meant to act as a moral lesson in telling the kid how he or she can't always get what they want or have it their way so cut it out, and we see a boy who doesn't let go of that and turns into a chicken as the ultimate disgrace.
The minimalism is surely at it's limit here too with it's uncolored characters, sparse outlines and simpler color scheme at play. This cartoon could easily work on a black and white TV set of the era if it wasn't made to be screened theatrically based it's design aesthetic. TV commercials in those early days would take a lesson or two from UPA in how to economize their animation to be not only simple but readible on early cathode-ray sets.
I tend to favor "Christopher Crumpet's Playmate" more myself, if only because it does have a happier ending for not only Chistopher but for his family too (now that the dad was promoted by his boss, leaving his co-worker holding the bag).
RUGGED BEAR
I just reminded myself of the fact the cartoon origianally had a title sequence that was themed to the cabin in the short. It began with Donald's head shown in a picture frame just above the mantlepiece of the fireplace, the camera pans down to the fireplace where the usual "DONALD DUCK" title cards and credits were shown before it pans down again to show the "Rugged Bear" title over a bear rug. Unfortuantely it's rather difficult to see this anymore as it only showed up once on a video tape that Disney released in the 80's (forgot which title it was right now). For most airings or releases of this cartoon past the 50's, new re-release titles were prepared (namely to remove the "RKO Release" captions that had been there before) and it generically changes the opening to a more typical look of the Disney shorts anyway.
"Unfortunately Disney's theatrical short animation days were coming to a close, and he didn't have much time to enjoy top billing. Still he'll always have those two films, and this nomination."
And if you go by the fact that all those cartoons were directed by Jack Hannah, he would take the bumbling bruin over to Walter Lantz with him where he went by the slightly-different bear named "Fatso".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatso_the_Bear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpcQk6_6Mus
"*The other six are a who's who of Disney characters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n' Dale...and Figaro, the adorable little kitten in Pinocchio."
And if you want to count The Three Little Pigs, they had a headshot too (though they only had one cartoon to their name outside the Silly Symphonies)!
http://cartoonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3pigs344.jpg
THE TELL-TALE HEART
I have nothing to say here since you've said all there needs to be said for it.
"The film is part of the Jolly Frolics DVD collection, and in there you can really see the brilliant design in the way it was meant to be seen. Unfortunately, the ones that are online were not taken from the DVD and don't have that sharpness of the image, but it'll do."
At least the one you linked to has some decent contrast to it, most others I've seen were really too dark to enjoy those subtle qualities.
I know the Rugged Bear opening you are referring to, since my parents got the tape. Unfortunately, I don't know where the tape is anymore. Sadness. :(
DeleteI probably still have that tape anyway.
DeleteTOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM
ReplyDelete"If you're a child of the late 1980s and early 1990s like me then chances are you might have seen the Disney Sing-a-Long videos before. And if you have, chances are you were wondering where exactly the character of the Owl Professor came from."
Not me, I actually saw this one in school before all that, or they played the cartoon on Disney Channel, take your pick!
"(showing Chinese people as ugly Mandarins doing barbaric things with katakana sound effects is not cool)"
And yet I use to like watching that part. We just never know.
It's a shame that two much inferior UPA film would win the Oscar in the next three years, but you really can't go wrong with any of these films.
The Academy were stuck-up snobs!
And yes, The Unicorn in the Garden badly needed to be here too.
Can you do Animated Short Film Snubs ?
Delete