"Porky's Preview" vs. "Cartoons Ain't Human"

[J Lee]

OK, here's a slightly different one -- Two B&W cartoons dealing with cartoon characters making cartoons using stick figure images. (If only Chuck Jones had made all of "The Weakly Reporter" using stick figure designs, we could have had three cartoons in this mix)

Avery's cartoon came out two years before Kneitel's, so it's obvious where the source is, but the latter has more of a plot than the former.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by J Lee
OK, here's a slightly different one -- Two B&W cartoons dealing with cartoon characters making cartoons using stick figure images. (If only Chuck Jones had made all of "The Weakly Reporter" using stick figure designs, we could have had three cartoons in this mix)

Avery's cartoon came out two years before Kneitel's, so it's obvious where the source is, but the latter has more of a plot than the former.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving John (and all!!)

I still like the out and out cheating use by Avery of the stick figures and can well imagine Tex saying ("Okay I have to go and make a couple of blankity-blankin' cheap black and white Looney Tunes... If it's cheap they want, then I'll show 'em"). Moral of story... Thou shalt not force things on a cartoon-genius.

[J Lee]

Tim --

On the other end, given the fact that "Cartoons Ain't Human" was the last Popeye in black & white, I wonder if the Famous crew didn't think "We better do this now, because Paramount will have our arses in a sling if we spend all that extra money for Technicolor processing and do a Popeye cartoon with stick figures."

On the other hand, given Kneitel's notorious cheapness, the stick figures could have been seen by him as another way to save money (though in 1943 Famous could still do that and make funny cartoons at the same time).

[DR. BELCH]

--"Cartoons Ain't Human". It's a hoot to see Popeye drawing, voicing, and scoring every character himself, esp. when he plays the piano, clarinet, and drums simultaneously. Plus the ending where the projector goes wild and starts moving all over the place, and Olive and the nephews are running all over the room chasing the image is one of the most hilarious.
What's the matter with stick figures? I'm a big believer in the minimalist approach. Come to think of it, one of Jones' best shorts, "The Dot and the Line", technically features a stick figure in the lead role, so technically it can go into this poll, right?