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American Experience: The War on Disco (2023)
"American Experience: The War on Disco" was an interesting look at the backlash against Disco's popularity in the late '70se
I finally got to watch this "American Experience" ep just now. In about an hour, it explored both how Disco music came to be and how the backlash against it led to an infamous event in a Chicago ballpark eventually known as "Disco Demolition Night". Among the people interviewed was the Indian (or in more modern terms "Native American") from The Village People. While I found the whole thing fascinating, I wish it had delved further into how Disco became more popular in the mainstream permeating more of the cultural scene as well as what other anti-Disco events led to that night in Comiskey Park. Events that I read on Wikipedia after watching this...
Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic (2023)
"Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic" was a fine tribute to a great entertainer
I finally got to see this great tribute to Dick Van Dyke who was about to celebrate his 98th birthday when his wife surprised him with this special with various celebrities who grew up with him giving him glowing tributes and performing many of his famous musical numbers from Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, and, of course, "The Dick Van Dyke Show". Some of the most moving tributes came from Rob Reiner, whose father Carl Reiner gave Dick his TV break, Carol Burnett who gave an anecdote about her and Dick playing old folks improvising on his variety show, and Julie Andrews who told of how charming he was in her first movie Mary Poppins. Those last two weren't there on stage, only video taped elsewhere. In other words, "Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic" was a Jolly Holliday!
Historical Reel: Broken Treaties (1941)
Broken Treaties was the second, and final, animated short in This Changing World series
This was the second, and last, in Paul Fennell's series of animated shorts in This Changing World banner. This one shows Adolf Hitler (voiced here by Mel Blanc) making deals with people like Russia's Josef Stalin who is seen with a bear which represents his country. The narrator tells of all the deals Hitler made that he later broke promises on. Adolf was depicted in the previous short in the series called How War Came but he's more showcased here. The countries he takes over is depicted with that Nazi symbol appearing on them. All this happened before the U. S. eventually entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Fascinating time capsule piece.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Who Bopped Bugs Bunny? (1990)
"Tiny Toon Adventures: Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?" completes my reviews of BB's Oscar journey
Having previously seen the Oscar-nominated cartoons for 1941 and 1958, of which both years had Bugs Bunny cartoons in the list as well as What's Cookin' Doc? Which had Bugs campaigning for that award using a clip from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt which lost the award to the Disney short Lend a Paw in '41, I decided to then watch this ep of "Tiny Toon Adventures" which has the students of Acme Looniversity, mainly Babs and Buster Bunny (no relation) trying to find Bugs after he disappears before an appearance on stage in which he was to get an honorary award. Daffy Duck is the main suspect since he's known for his jealous nature concerning the wabbit but another one is Sappy Stanley an elephant whose short lost to Bugs' Knighty Knight Bugs. Sappy Stanley is meant to be Silly Sidney the Elephant from Terrytoons whose Sidney's Family Tree was the actual short that lost to KKB. I'll just now say this was quite funny especially when familiar gags from WCD? Appeared. Mel Blanc had passed by this time so Jeff Bergman took over as Bugs and Daffy. I certainly couldn't tell the difference. So that's a recommendation.
Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)
Knighty Knight Bugs is the third Oscar-nominated cartoon of 1958 and eventual winner
This is my third review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1958 having previously done the same for Art Bartsch's Sidney's Family Tree and Les Clark's Paul Bunyan. When I was a pre-teen kid of the mid-'70s, one of the Saturday morning shows I enjoyed watching was "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour". And during the show's intro, the announcer would always say, "Starring that Oscar-winning rabbit Bugs Bunny". This was actually the first cartoon I saw on that program but it wasn't until years later that I found out this was what finally got Bugs his Academy Award after losing on his previous noms of A Wild Hare (which was Bugs' debut and directed by Tex Avery) and Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (which, like this short, was helmed by Friz Freleng). Anyway, Bugs is a court jester in King Arthur's court who reluctantly gets assigned to retrieve The Singing Sword from The Black Knight after Arthur's knights all literally chicken out. Yosemite Sam is The Black Knight and he has a dragon who keeps accidentally sneezing fire to Sam's consternation! I'll just now say this was very funny stuff and compared to the other nominees that year was the most entertaining. So Knighty Knight Bugs is most highly recommended. P. S. The man who accepted the award at the Oscars was John W. Burton who had succeeded Edward Selzer as producer at the WB cartoon studio. Selzer had accepted the other Oscars in previous years but this turned out to be the only time Burton did as no more WB cartoons won after this year and John would leave the studio a few years later to be an executive at Pacific Art and Title which was founded by Leon Schlesinger who was the founder of the WB cartoon studio when it was originally named after him.
Paul Bunyan (1958)
Paul Bunyan is the second of my reviews of Oscar-nominated cartoons for 1958
This is my second review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1958 having just done the same for Art Bartsch's Sidney's Family Tree. This one is another version of the Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan, the giant man who chopped lots of trees and helped log them with the help of his blue ox Babe. The story begins when he's a baby found on a beach with the town adopting him with everyone helping in sewing clothes for him as well as schooling him and him having fun at the swiming pool. As he grows, he gets an ax for a Christmas present and then moves out west after chopping trees at his hometown. In moving out, Paul meets Babe and...well, let's just say things get exaggerated concerning how certain natural wonders are formed. The animation is pure '50s with the typical limited backgrounds of the period but they're pleasing enough. Directed by Les Clark. Oh, and nice hearing the voice of Thurl Ravenscroft-best known as Tony the Tiger of the Kellog's Frosted Flakes cereal commercials-as the title character. Only one more nominee to go...
Sidney's Family Tree (1958)
Sidney's Family Tree was one of three Oscar-nominated cartoons for 1958
This is one of three cartoons that was nominated for an Oscar for 1958. Sidney is an adult elephant who has a childlike personality. In this one, he's looking for a mother to love him. A hippo and a giraffe both reject him but a monkey accepts his offer but her hubby wants to get rid of him right away! This was pretty amusing but did the Academy Award people really think of this as worthy of a nomination? Maybe this was one of the better of the Terrytoon ones as this short was made after founder Paul Terry retired and sold his studio to CBS which then installed Gene Deitch as the supervising director which is the credit he gets here. Actual director is credited to Art Bartsch. Only two more nominees to go...
What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)
Bugs Bunny campaigns for an Oscar in What's Cookin' Doc?
Well, having just seen all the 1941 Oscar nominees for Best Short Subject, Cartoon, I can now understand why that clip for Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt was shown in this one since this is one in which Bugs Bunny campaigns for the Academy Award. See, in this short Bugs believes he'll win one saying, "It's in the bag" nonchalantly but instead, it's given to James Cagney (this was the period in which he won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy). Never mind there's no way Bugs would be in that category, he still wants his Oscar so to demonstrate his worthiness, he shows a clip from that cartoon (retitled Little Hiawatha) I mentioned earlier in my review, which was directed by Friz Freleng and which lost to Clyde Geronimi's Lend a Paw starring Pluto and Mickey Mouse, and then does all the pandering to his audience to get it. "Shall we give it to him?" asks one audience member in a voice Mel Blanc would later use for Marvin the Martian. "Yeah, let's give it to him!" roars his fellow audience members. I don't want to reveal what happens after that so I'll just say I also loved the live-action beginning footage, the narration, and Bob Clampett's direction and most of Bob McKimson's animation. So that's a high recommendation of this short. By the way, Bugs would eventually get his Oscar when his 1958 short Knighty Knight Bugs got it. I'll review that and the other two nominees that year next...
Lend a Paw (1941)
Lend a Paw is my tenth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 and the eventual winner
This is my review of the tenth Oscar-nominated cartoon of 1941 having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, Jack King's Truant Officer Donald, Dave Fleischer's Superman, Paul Fennell's When War Came, and Friz Freleng's Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt. This was also the eventual winner of Best Short Subject, Cartoon award. And it deserved it! Directed by Clyde Geronimi, it has pet dog Pluto finding a kitten in the river. He picks it up and lets it go on it's way but that creature decides to follow the dog home where master Mickey Mouse makes it his new pet leading Pluto to get jealous. That also results in his good side (an angel version of him) and bad side (devil, natch) to appear in front of him. I'll stop there and just say there's both laughs and touching drama throughout with Geronimi handling both parts well. This nearly marked the end of Walt Disney Studios' dominance in this particular category of the Academy Awards. Starting the following year after next, M-G-M takes over with the Tom & Jerry series. It's also the only time a short starring Mickey & Pluto got the win. Since it's still a few days before the actual Oscars, I'll next review an animated short in which Bugs Bunny campaigns for the award. It's called What's Cookin' Doc?
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941)
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is the ninth Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 I'm reviewing here
This is the ninth Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 I'm reviewing on this site, having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, Jack King's Truant Officer Donald, Dave Fleischer's Superman, and Paul Fennell's How War Came. In this one Bugs Bunny is reading a poem about Indian (or Native American) Hiawatha rowing his boat searching for a forest rabbit before realizing he's such a creature and Hiawatha finds him! In other words, it's another version of Elmer Fudd. Many funny gags abound courtesy of writer Michael Maltese with mostly excellent direction (or "supervision" as the credit was at the time) from Friz Freleng who was credited as I. (for Isadore) Freleng during this period. This was his first Bugs cartoon. It was also the second one nominated for the Academy Award of which the first was Bugs' debut in A Wild Hare. I'm not sure it was that good but hey, it's entertaining enough. Only one more nominated cartoon to go and it's the one that won...
How War Came (1941)
How War Came is the eighth Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 I'm reviewing on this site
This is the eighth Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 that I'm reviewing on this site having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, Jack King's Truant Officer Donald, and Dave Fleischer's Superman. This one begins with live-action footage of commentator Raymond Gram Swing as he starts to tell how various conflicts involving Japan, Italy, and Germany would lead to what became World War II. This is illustrated by various maps of the countries being shown with certain images of what's going on. We also get moving animated footage of soldiers walking to invade certain areas. All this while Swing continues to explain what's happening. Since this was made before December 7, 1941, the only time the U. S. is mentioned as a possible participant is at the end when the narrator suggests how that country could take part in helping their allies fight the good fight. Quite interesting. This was one of only two shorts in Paul Fennell's This Changing World series. The other one, Broken Treaties, I'll review soon after I review the rest of these Academy Award nominees for Best Short Subject, Cartoon. Only two more left to go for this particular year...
Superman (1941)
Superman is the seventh of my reviews of Oscar-nominated cartoons for 1941
This is the seventh of the Oscar-nominated cartoons of 1941 I'm reviewing on this site, having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, and Jack King's Truant Officer Donald. Like The Night Before Christmas, I had actually reviewed this before here under my previous username tavm. It's just as exciting as before and producer Max Fleischer and his brother Dave put together quite a fine start to the superhero cartoon series though despite Dave's director credit, the real work credit of that position should go to head animator Steve Muffati. So this historic short is highly recommended. Only three more of these nominees to go...
Truant Officer Donald (1941)
Truant Officer Donald is my sixth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941
This is my sixth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941, having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, and Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas. In this, one of two Walt Disney Studios entries, Donald Duck is indeed a truant officer who eyes his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie having fun swimming thinking they're skipping school. So he takes them any way he can but those three manage to find ways to elude him everytime. At least until they go to their clubhouse. I'll just now say this was quite a funny cartoon nearly from beginning to end. Resident Duck director Jack King really brings the laughs throughout. Only four more Academy Award nominated animated shorts to go...
The Night Before Christmas (1941)
The Night Before Christmas is my fifth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941
This is my fifth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 having previously done so for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, and Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear. I had actually reviewed this short under my previous username tavm back in 2006. I had praised the direction of William Hanna & Joseph Barbera and their gags for the cat-and-mouse team so I suggest you read that review for my overall impression. I'll just now add this was a worthy nomination from the Academy Awards committee. They previously nominated Puss Gets the Boot considered the first of the Tom & Jerrys though the cat is named Jasper and the mouse is unnamed in that one. For the rest of the '40s through the early '50, Hanna-Barbera would mostly dominate the awards.
The Rookie Bear (1941)
The Rookie Bear is the fourth Oscar-nominated cartoon from 1941 I'm reviewing here
This is my fourth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, and Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B. In this one, Rudolf Ising's Barney Bear finds himself drafted in the Army. Plenty of funny gags involving induction and walking far distances. Barney Bear is one of the more obscure cartoon characters from the M-G-M lineup compared to Droopy and especially Tom & Jerry but I always liked his shorts when I originally watched him with those other characters during the late '70s when I was a kid watching "The Tom & Jerry Show" on TV in the late afternoon. So on that note, I recommend The Rookie Bear.
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company 'B' (1941)
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B is the third of the Oscar-nominated cartoons I'm reviewing from 1941
This is my third review of a cartoon nominated for an Academy Award for 1941 having previously done so for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks and Friz Freleng's Rhopsody in Rivets. In this one, a black trumpeter gets drafted in the Army and is made to play "Reveille" every 5 am to the consternation of his fellow recruits. But then he gets a magic instrument that lets him play it Big Band-style to the delight of everyone within listening distance. Of course, the title song that was made famous by The Andrews Sisters is warbled by the enlisted men. The depiction of the black men with big lips isn't too offensive to me but I did cringe when one of them showed a pair of dice as part of his teeth! Nice gags throughout and Walter Lantz really keeps things moving so that's a recommendation of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.
Rhapsody in Rivets (1941)
Rhapsody in Rivets was the second Oscar-nominated cartoon from 1941 I'm reviewing
This is my second review of a cartoon nominated for an Academy Award for 1941 having previously done so for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks. It depicts a dog construction crew performing Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhopsody # 2" with their tools. Director Friz Freleng does the gags justice when done in tune here. That particular piece of music would appear in other cartoons over the years including Freleng's Rhopsody Rabbit starring Bugs Bunny. I thought the whole thing was hilarious from beginning to end. Freleng always knows how to make entertaining musical cartoons, that's for sure! So on that note, Rhapsody in Rivets is highly recommended.
Rhythm in the Ranks (1941)
Rhythm in the Ranks is the first of my reviews of Oscar-nominated cartoon shorts for 1941
With the Oscars coming up a few days from now, I thought I'd review some animated shorts that were nominated for that award for the year 1941 culminating in the winner. This was the first George Pal Puppetoon to get the nod. In this one, there are toy soldiers in formation of which one of them is in charge of bringing the cannon for a drill. That one soldier gets distracted by a girl figure skating while pulling his arsenal so they spend some time together. There's a few more things that go on but I'll just say that I liked most of it especially with the choice of music playing throughout. There's actually more than the usual five that were listed among the nominees for the Academy Award so I'll try to get to all of them before the ceremony begins next Sunday...
About My Father (2023)
I was pleasantly surprised by About My Father
Mom and I checked two DVD's from the library to watch today: Book Club: The Next Chapter and this one which I hadn't heard of previously. It was co-written by and stars Sebastain Maniscalco partly based on his life with his father and wife's family. Robert De Niro plays the father who brings quite a lot of funny methods to the table as does the rest of the cast which include a few more familiar players to me like Leslie Bibb and Kim Cattrall. There are both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar elements to the narrative but I was laughing so much it didn't matter after a while. Mom seemed to enjoy it as much as I did to on that note, we say give About My Father a look.
Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)
Book Club: The Next Chapter was a nice sequel watched by my mom and I
My mom and I went to the library today to check out two DVD's of which this was one of them. We had previously watched The Book Club and remembered enjoying that one. This was enjoyable too though I smiled more than laughed at many of the lines and scenes. But it was nice to see Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candace Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen play those characters again as they tour Italy for a bachelorette trip for Ms. Fonda's character before she gets married to Don Johnson. Nice to also see Craig T. Nelson, Andy Garcia, and Johnson back as well. Mom and I really liked this so on that note, we say Book Club: The Next Chapter is worth a look.
The Making of 'American Graffiti' (1998)
The Making of American Graffiti was a worthy doc of the movie on the DVD
Having rewatched American Graffiti two weeks ago, I thought I'd now watch the making of documentary that's in the DVD of the movie. Director/co-writer George Lucas tells of how he used parts of his life to create many of the characters in the film with the exception of the Steve one that Ron Howard played. Besides Howard, most of the other actors are interviewed including Suzanne Somers who just died a few days ago, just before her birthday the day after. She mentioned that she was in a room full of blondes and when she met Lucas, he only asked her if she could drive which she replied in the affirmative. Many of the actors mentioned George encouraging improvision as well as letting mistakes end up in the final product. Charles Martin Smith, for instance, tells of how he messed up riding his moped in the beginning scene and that became the printed take. This doc has so much information that it lasted an hour and 18 minutes which was time well spent. So that's a recommendation of The Making of American Graffiti.
Lemon Popsicle 9: The Party Goes On (2001)
Lemon Popsicle 9: The Party Goes On wasn't really necessary as far as reboots go
Thirteen years after the last of the Lemon Popsicle entries was made, someone in Israel must have thought it was time for a reboot, that is, basically bringing back the characters of Benzi, Momo, and Yudale-as portrayed by younger actors who probably weren't even born when the original LP was made-from the late '50s/early '60s and put them in new sexual adventures of that time period. And they do with gratuitous nudity of various female bodies for nearly every minute of this film. Also back is the original Yudale, Zachi Noy, as the manager of the malt shop hangout of those boys. His is a welcome presence especially when he does some of his humiliating sequences. But the rehash of various escapades from the various Lemon Popsicle films seem inserted in with no real reason for being, just an excuse for nostalgia purposes, maybe. After a while, I got tired of recognizing where certain sequences were originally placed. Oh, and as in the first one, Benzi falls for a girl who prefers the more rough-edged Momo. Though I suppose the addition of a near-rape scene of her by an even more tough hood scores this reboot entry a point for originality. But, really, I felt this one was just going through the motions of what went before with the thought of the producers thinking lightning would strike twice. By the point of when this was made, in America there was a teen sex comedy called American Pie that did blockbuster business a couple of years back, so much so that the same year as this movie, a sequel to AP was made which was also successful leading to two more follow-ups. But in Israel, this marked the end of the Lemon Popsicle series, once and for all. P. S. I only managed to find a Hebrew language version online but I understood most of what was going on.
Summertime Blues: Lemon Popsicle VIII (1988)
Summertime Blues marked the official last entry in the Lemon Popsicle series
In what turned out to be the last in the Lemon Popsicle series, there's a change of attitude and some characterizations. Way past high school age, Huey (Zachi Noy), Benji (Yiftach Katzur), and Bobby (Jonathan Sagall) decide to rebuild a long-dilapidated bar. They enlist the daughter of the landlord who's not the usual sex symbol or ethereal beauty that permeate these movies for help running the place. Her name is Polly (Elfi Eschke) and she has a massive crush on bad boy Bobby who actually seems interested in her too which is unusual for him. I'll just now mention that this seems like a Cinderalla tale but there's some twists that one may or not be able to predict if one is familiar with certain movies. This time, while there's some nudity, there are no sex scenes despite the presence of some of the women from previous entries. Oh, and I should also mention that I couldn't find an English-dubbed version so I settled for the German language one so despite that I noticed some visual gags, some of which were funny. Star Noy thought up the story and so it's mainly about him. Also, this film seemed more dramatic than usual for the series. With all that, I quite enjoyed Summertime Blues. A little more than a decade later, an attempted reboot happened called The Party Goes On which I'll review next...
Ahava Tzeira (1987)
Young Love was a so-so Lemon Popsicle entry
After sitting out the last Lemon Popsicle entry, Jonathan Sagall returns as Bobby along with Yiftach Katzur as Benny (instead of Benji though he's referred to as that at least once), and Zachi Noy as Huey. Huey wrecks his car so to get money to fix it, he and his friends take a job at a hotel. At that place, an old girlfriend of Benny's named Sandy (Sonja Martin) also appears though she's not too thrilled about that. She was previously Renee in Private Popsicle. Sibylle Rauch from Hot Bubblebum also appears though not as completely naked as before. To tell the truth, the situations here are perhaps a bit more silly, too much so for my own tastes. And the romance isn't as compelling as much, either. At least the music score moves beyond the usual '50s and '60s tunes to the early '70s. So on that note, Young Love is worth a look and not much else.
Porky's Revenge (1985)
Porky's Revenge wasn't a bad final entry in the series
Creator of the original Porky's, Bob Clark, was offered to write a third installment of the series but was busy working on something else and wanted more time. That wasn't granted so the producers get somone else to write the screenplay and got TV sitcom producer James Komack to helm what turned out to be the final one. It's the senior year for the gang at Angel Beach High and they're in a championship basketball team. Porky's has something riding on them but it's not for winning, that's for sure! We find out he has a not-very-attractive daughter who's crazy about Meat. Ms. Balbricker, previously an object of ridicule, gets a more sympathetic treatment here which was a nice change of pace, especially concerning a certain student and how she treated him during a certain shower scene from that first entry. There's a gorgeous Swedish exchange student at school. Oh, and yes, Porky has a new riverboat establishment that begs for destruction and gets it! This entry avoids any messaging that permeated the second one which was a good choice. Oh, and Wendy is no longer with Pee Wee who now has the hots for that Swedish girl. This was quite an enjoyable back-to-basics entry. So I say Porky's Revenge is worth a look.