Wondering about peoples opinions of "Little Buck Cheeser"...

[Sogturtle]

Just curious about folks impressions and feelings about the Harman-Ising/MGM (Rudy Ising) "Little Buck Cheeser"...

In your opinion does this seem like a standard Ising outing??? Or does it feel somehow different???

[Pilmedium]

I think it is kind of standard. It feels the same to me as some other Happy Harmonies.

[rex racer]

Hello Tim,

Thought this release was actually a break from H an I s' more prosaic sentimental tones. It's almost pure fantasy, with a few unique touchs not used in previous Happy Harmonies. I'd rate it in the top ten produced between 1934-1938.

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by rex racer
Hello Tim,

Thought this release was actually a break from H an I s' more prosaic sentimental tones. It's almost pure fantasy, with a few unique touchs not used in previous Happy Harmonies. I'd rate it in the top ten produced between 1934-1938.

Hi Rex~

Thanks for the reply... Most of our folks just want to dismiss all the !934+ HI's. As for "Little Buck..." does the name --- ---- explain anything?? ;)

[rex racer]

Well, I'm not certain if you are referring to the title or perhaps to someone who worked in creating this cartoon. I'd assume by the theme and title of the cartoon that it was a fantasy for H & I's character "Little Cheeser" to dream of adventures such as "Buck Rodgers" had in the very popular sci-fi serial, or at least the comic book.

Anything you'd care to add ?, I'm curious... The Happy Haromonies series from my vantage point reached it's peak about 1935 to 36. My faves include "Toyland Broadcast" actually a beautiful reworking of "Shanty" material from their WB days, "Honeyland", fantastic animation and use of color, "To Spring" to my mind equal to the best "Silly Symphonies", and this release. Not certain, probably many reasons, but the 1937 and early 1938 releases seemed to drop a notch from the qualitys of the preceding year.

I do have the LD box set, but doubt this series will ever make it to DVD. Jerry Beck informs me the box set sold very poorly, and a planned Volume 2 never materialized, probably because the people just didn't have enough familiarity with the series.

[PorkyandDaffy]

Standard MGM Harman/Ising cartoon, meaning I don't like it.

[Do-Do]

To quote Mr. Horse from Ren and Stimpy,
"No sir, I don't like it".

[Pietro]

It's okay, but CN keeps on playin' it on "The Acme Hour" over and over.

-Pietro:D

[redhotrider]

I may be confusing it with something else about a bunch of cute mice fighting off some sort of evil cat/dog/ect for what seemed like 20 minutes-while traveling in space (Another H/I toon)-
granted H/I had quite a few cutesy toons about small creatures fighting off scary things over way too long of a period.


In all honesty-I've just never been the biggest H/I MGM fan. There cartoons were beautifully drawn and animated, yet to me a majority were just dull

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by Pietro Shakarian
It's okay, but CN keeps on playin' it on "The Acme Hour" over and over.

To be honest, I haven't seen "Buck Cheezer" on Acme Hour in awhile (or any other H-I Happy Harmony, for that matter). A quick seach revealed "Cheezer" was last seen on the AH in July! Believe it or else. :p


-Jon

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by rex racer
Well, I'm not certain if you are referring to the title or perhaps to someone who worked in creating this cartoon. I'd assume by the theme and title of the cartoon that it was a fantasy for H & I's character "Little Cheeser" to dream of adventures such as "Buck Rodgers" had in the very popular sci-fi serial, or at least the comic book.

Anything you'd care to add ?, I'm curious... The Happy Haromonies series from my vantage point reached it's peak about 1935 to 36. My faves include "Toyland Broadcast" actually a beautiful reworking of "Shanty" material from their WB days, "Honeyland", fantastic animation and use of color, "To Spring" to my mind equal to the best "Silly Symphonies", and this release. Not certain, probably many reasons, but the 1937 and early 1938 releases seemed to drop a notch from the qualitys of the preceding year.

I do have the LD box set, but doubt this series will ever make it to DVD. Jerry Beck informs me the box set sold very poorly, and a planned Volume 2 never materialized, probably because the people just didn't have enough familiarity with the series.

Rex (and all)~

I actually have a great deal of respect and love for the HI output of 1934-38 (unlike most on this board). It is all the more fascinating since it is the laboratory for a scenario of the Warner cartoons without Friz and the rest of great directors... Of course in reality the Harman-Ising studio had split in two by late 1933, half trekking back to Leon's and half staying loyal to Hugh and Rudy, with both halves bringing in new animators or promoting from within. Annnnd H & I were rid of Schlesinger AND the Warner's musical catalog (*to their detriment). In a post the other day I said something like H & I really didn't make a fine MGM cartoon till 1936... I honestly don't feel that to be the case, the animation improved at a very rapid pace, and they were setting the stage for greater things. The 1937 Bosko musicals show a fine directorial hand coupled with an infectious jazz score of villains singing in the voices of the great Black singers of the day... Iffffff the 1937-early 38 cartoons seem to suffer some then it might be for this reason... That by the time of the break with MGM in 1937, Metro actually SUED Harman-Ising to wrest the last unfinished cartoons from them. Under those conditions the studio started hemorrhaging fine animators, storymen, and layout artists like someone stabbed in a knife-fight.

Returning to the real subject... "Little Buck Cheeser"... This was a follow-up cartoon to the earlier Rudy Ising produced "Little Cheeser" (of course a pun on the 1930 gangster classic "Little Caesar". "Little Buck Cheeser" though features a title that is a pun not only on its parody-subject-matter, "Buck Rogers" (and yet again on the aforementioned "Little Caesar"). But on another American classic altogether nothing less than... "Little Black Sambo"!! (Animated a scant two years before by former H-I associate, the legendary Ub Iwerks). The cartoon is memorable indeed as a delightful fantasy sci-fi excursion, all beautifully animated, right down to outer-space special effects. What might draw the attention of any number of board regulars is that the cartoon strongly appears to have been written, and perhaps partly animated by and possibly directed by one of the most esteemed East Coast animators (rather than by Rudy Ising)... Bill Hanna commented that "To Spring" (by himself and Paul Fennell) was permitted by Harman and Ising to HELP them catch up on their cartoon workload!! And what is more is that he then stated that others at the studio were then given the same chance!!!

If you don't think it deserves some interest and respect for the previous reason, then it might on this basis... It is in some ways the cartoon that paves the way for "Duck Dodgers In The Twentieth Fourth And Half Century"...

[rex racer]

Thanks Tim,

As always your insight and knowledge have added to my own. I wish I'd viewed more of the Bosko and Honey cartoons from the 1937-38 period, Bosko's Easter Eggs remains the only one I've seen, and its pretty pedestrian , IMHO. However a favorite HH released in 1937 is "Swing Wedding" which may actually be considered a "censored" cartoon as it's chock full of black stereotype characters / entertainers such as "Step n Fetchit" ,(playing Smokey Joe!) Fats Walther, Cab Calloway etc. only marginally altered into frog like characters. It's not hard for me to imagine the Bosko villains musical portrayals at all.

I think "Little Cheeser" actually first appeared in the 1935 "When the Cat's Away"release. My recollection is he does a song bit about " until the stork came round once more, and now we number 94!" He's a little rounder in appearance, but has the same blue overalls on.