I'm back with reviews! It's been a while and I've found I miss having a chance to ramble a bit about various movies, shows and shorts that I've been watching. Today will have two posts since I was late in getting this one up last night.
I'm not too sure about who Calvin and the Colonel are, or their a history aside from the fact that it was made in Black and White and has a slightly dated feel to things. The following four 'shorts' are actually about 25 minutes long each and follows two friends Calvin and Colonel who are a bear and a....rat? respectively. Also constantly seen are Calvin's waitress friend, a Judge who gives bad advice to Colonel as well as Colonel's wife and sister-in-law.
So, first up Colonel's wife and sister-in-law decide it's time he had a job and promptly force him to work in television repairs. Colonel of course is less than pleased at having to work, but makes the best of it because he knows how much trouble he will be in if he gets fired. Of course, the dimwitted Calvin comes along to help out which only ensures things will go downhill. After getting an address mixed up, the pair wind up at the wrong house to pick up a television and wind up breaking it. Deciding to lay low, Colonel lets Calvin take the fall but soon gets what's coming to him for letting his friend take the blame.
Our second 'short' featuring the pair revolves around Thanksgiving when Colonel promises his 36 relatives that they can all come to his place for a turkey dinner in one year. Of course, he had hoped they would all forget about it after a year since he can't afford to feed that many people. When the dinner must go on, Colonel turns to his friend Calvin for money, but since he is just as broke they soon turn their eyes on a new plan. Having seen an advertisement where you get a free dinner if you buy a freezer, Colonel decides to take up that offer by writing a phony check with the intent of returning the freezer before it can bounce while still keeping all the free food. The store owner of course has other ideas and threatens to call the police if the food is not also returned, prompting Colonel to try and get the food back in time.
Our last two 'shorts' are pretty similar to each other in a way and revolve more around the sister-in-law who finds a man to marry in both shorts. In the first, Colonel becomes rather curious when his polka dotted sister-in-law starts going out every night, and soon learns that a 'polka dot bandit' is on the loose and quickly assumes it's the sister-in-law. Meanwhile, the sister-in-law gushes to Colonel's wife on how she has a man and that he will be coming over that day to see her. Things soon take a turn for the worst when it's revealed that the man is actually the polka dot bandit. The second short follows Colonel as he learns that the sister-in-law has a new man and that they want to marry, after figuring out he will get the spare bedroom to use however he wants, Colonel all but supports the marriage. Eventually, Colonel learns that if she get married he will lose out on the rent money she's been paying him, thus requiring him to go and get a job. Not wanting to work, he sets out to sabotage the wedding with the aid of Calvin, the Judge and a few friends. After successfully sabotaging the wedding before it can even start, Colonel's wife reveals that they would still have received the money regardless as the short ends.
Calvin and the Colonel isn't one of the worst series of shorts I've ever seen, however there's a slight feeling that I've seen this all done before and likely done better. The animation is pretty simple and the characters don't really have a whole lot to them.
Showing posts with label Black and White. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black and White. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Cinderella's Blues
Yet another adaptation of Cinderella, this one has the leading lady and her prince as...cats. This is the second of ten Aesop's Fables. This one is also quite old and is presented in Black and White. There's some grain issues and a little bit of wear quite evident.
The story itself is pretty straightforward and simple, we meet Cinderella who is quite upset as her stepmother yells at her....sort of. The rest of the short plays out as the Fairy Godmother makes it possible for Cindy to head off to the ball where she enjoys a dance with he prince, and a game of hide and seek behind some rather thin trees. After having to run away from the ball at midnight, her prince gives chase and the short ends as they fly off in a helicopter of sorts.
The entire thing is pretty...weird. If you want to see the story of Cinderella there are many other variations that work far better, partly in thanks to bigger budgets and longer run times to really tell the story and flesh the character.s
The story itself is pretty straightforward and simple, we meet Cinderella who is quite upset as her stepmother yells at her....sort of. The rest of the short plays out as the Fairy Godmother makes it possible for Cindy to head off to the ball where she enjoys a dance with he prince, and a game of hide and seek behind some rather thin trees. After having to run away from the ball at midnight, her prince gives chase and the short ends as they fly off in a helicopter of sorts.
The entire thing is pretty...weird. If you want to see the story of Cinderella there are many other variations that work far better, partly in thanks to bigger budgets and longer run times to really tell the story and flesh the character.s
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Animal Fair
The age of this short is rather evident in a few ways. For one, it's in Black and White which can often be an indicator of how far back you are going. The one thing that actually gives it away a bit more is the fact that music plays so heavily into the short to tell the story, more so than dialogue itself.
The short itself is largely a series of random encounters and gags that go on at a large fair full of animals. There isn't a whole lot to say about the short itself, the episodic nature without a main character to at least follow makes it a bit boring. Perhaps the only interesting gags are the father and son who cheat at one of the fair games, and the piano players near the end. Aside from this the entire thing is rather mediocre and there was little attempt at restoration from what I can gather given how many artifacts were littered through the short.
The short itself is largely a series of random encounters and gags that go on at a large fair full of animals. There isn't a whole lot to say about the short itself, the episodic nature without a main character to at least follow makes it a bit boring. Perhaps the only interesting gags are the father and son who cheat at one of the fair games, and the piano players near the end. Aside from this the entire thing is rather mediocre and there was little attempt at restoration from what I can gather given how many artifacts were littered through the short.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Plane Crazy
Plane Crazy, perhaps one of Disney's biggest achievements considering it was animated by Ub Iwerks almost entirely. This was largely due to the fact that Walt and his remaining crew worked in secrecy on the debut of their brand new character: Mickey Mouse.
The short itself is relatively simple, Mickey Mouse is fascinated by Charles Lindbergh and sets out to fly in a plane of his own. He enlists the aid of the barnyard animals to help him build a plane, though this one fails. His second however, made out of a car and turkey feathers works much better and he even manages to get Minnie Mouse to come flying with him. Things however go wrong when the plane begins to go out of control and crashes.
Despite such a simple plot, this short is still rather amazing because of the fact that Ub Iwerks was singled out as the animator for it in the title credits, something which Disney would not do later on. But wait! There's more! The short itself is a step up from the previous Oswald shorts in a couple ways at the least, not only are the backgrounds more detailed but also in how the point of view is always changing. This is most evident when Minnie is alone in the plane when things change from side to side, also later on when the plane begins to spiral down the POV shifts to look straight at the ground and spins about during that sequence.
One last thing to really make a note of here is that Mickey is still far from the mascot that we know today, or even knew twenty years ago. His appearance is more oval shaped and he has spindle limbs, as well his personality far more mischievous as he forces a kiss from Minnie. Quite the change would be made to him, and Minnie over the coming decades.
The short itself is relatively simple, Mickey Mouse is fascinated by Charles Lindbergh and sets out to fly in a plane of his own. He enlists the aid of the barnyard animals to help him build a plane, though this one fails. His second however, made out of a car and turkey feathers works much better and he even manages to get Minnie Mouse to come flying with him. Things however go wrong when the plane begins to go out of control and crashes.
Despite such a simple plot, this short is still rather amazing because of the fact that Ub Iwerks was singled out as the animator for it in the title credits, something which Disney would not do later on. But wait! There's more! The short itself is a step up from the previous Oswald shorts in a couple ways at the least, not only are the backgrounds more detailed but also in how the point of view is always changing. This is most evident when Minnie is alone in the plane when things change from side to side, also later on when the plane begins to spiral down the POV shifts to look straight at the ground and spins about during that sequence.
One last thing to really make a note of here is that Mickey is still far from the mascot that we know today, or even knew twenty years ago. His appearance is more oval shaped and he has spindle limbs, as well his personality far more mischievous as he forces a kiss from Minnie. Quite the change would be made to him, and Minnie over the coming decades.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Steamboat Willie
Perhaps Mickey Mouse's most famous cartoon short, Steamboat Willie is also one of the Disney companies oldest fully animated shorts, losing out by just a hair to "Plane Crazy."
Now, the one thing to note about Mickey is that in the older Black and White days, he was.....crazy. Not quite the Mouse we know today, Mickey was much more cheeky and full of energy, constantly using his surroundings to make music in the shorts whether it's an inanimate object or a living animal.
Steamboat Willie follows Mickey Mouse as he works on Pegleg Pete's boat, though the latter character takes a backseat this time around. Noticing Minnie as she rushes to catch up to the boat for a ride, Mickey helps her on board and what follows is a series of gags that starts with a goat eating Minnie's sheet music for "Turkey in the Straw." As Minnie uses the goat to play the music by cranking it's tail, Mickey runs around the boat using everything possible to play the song in time. I do mean everything. A cat is thrown around, pots and pans banged on, a duck, piglets and the mother pig are all used to play along in time to the music. It was sort of disturbing to see Mickey Mouse of all people being so abusive towards animals, yanking on their neck, tails and using the one pig as an accordion, all with a smile on his face.
The short itself holds up pretty good considering just how old it is. While it doesn't have the same charm as later Mickey shorts, it has it's own unique charm in it's zany pace. Of course, the animation is rather crude but from here out things can only look up for Disney as it's animators refined their technique which we will see tonight with the review of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Now, the one thing to note about Mickey is that in the older Black and White days, he was.....crazy. Not quite the Mouse we know today, Mickey was much more cheeky and full of energy, constantly using his surroundings to make music in the shorts whether it's an inanimate object or a living animal.
Steamboat Willie follows Mickey Mouse as he works on Pegleg Pete's boat, though the latter character takes a backseat this time around. Noticing Minnie as she rushes to catch up to the boat for a ride, Mickey helps her on board and what follows is a series of gags that starts with a goat eating Minnie's sheet music for "Turkey in the Straw." As Minnie uses the goat to play the music by cranking it's tail, Mickey runs around the boat using everything possible to play the song in time. I do mean everything. A cat is thrown around, pots and pans banged on, a duck, piglets and the mother pig are all used to play along in time to the music. It was sort of disturbing to see Mickey Mouse of all people being so abusive towards animals, yanking on their neck, tails and using the one pig as an accordion, all with a smile on his face.
The short itself holds up pretty good considering just how old it is. While it doesn't have the same charm as later Mickey shorts, it has it's own unique charm in it's zany pace. Of course, the animation is rather crude but from here out things can only look up for Disney as it's animators refined their technique which we will see tonight with the review of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
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