![\"little-cheeser-model\"](\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/little-cheeser-model.jpg\")
\nThe character’s name is a takeoff on Little Caesar<\/em> (1930), one of Warner Bros.\u2019 first sound gangster pictures, Little Cheeser<\/em> is far from seedy. Harman and Ising wanted to develop a recurring character in their Happy Harmonies<\/em>. The tough mouse from Alias St. Nick<\/em> evolved into a more curious rodent, better suited for audience appeal. Cheeser\u2019s voice was provided by Berniece Hansell, a \u201cmiddle-aged bleached blonde with this pure child\u2019s voice,\u201d as Bob Clampett described her. She regularly portrayed similar squeaky-voiced characters for Warner Bros. and Lantz during the 1930s. Such endearing voices for animated characters during this period were often performed in a falsetto, patterned after Walt Disney\u2019s own voice for Mickey Mouse. These voices were often interchangeable; Friz Freleng broke the mold when he depicted Porky Pig as a stutterer. Presumably to emulate this variation, Cheeser\u2019s voice has a slight lisp.<\/p>\n It\u2019s surprising to see Jim Tyer\u2019s name on the draft, credited in only two shots; one is an effects shot and the other contains a cuckoo clock gag. While subdued, it certainly displays his eccentric drawing style. Tyer\u2019s animation career began on the East Coast, animating for Fables Pictures and Van Beuren in the \u201820s and \u201830s. He moved to the West, hoping to improve his skill at Disney\u2019s around 1935 (Tyer is credited on two Silly Symphonies, Music Land<\/em> and Cock O\u2019 the Walk<\/em>.) Tyer\u2019s Disney stay was brief. He was mistreated at the studio, especially under supervisor Cy Young. Another factor was the prejudice against some of the East Coast animators, which led to Tyer\u2019s departure. <\/p>\n The box art for the Little Cheezer (sic) 16mm home movie release<\/p><\/div>According to animation writer Tom Minton, Paul Fennell (then a Warners animator) encountered Tyer at a Hollywood bar and suggested a job at MGM. Tyer replied: \u201cShit, momma, I can\u2019t dance!\u201d referring to their extravagant live-action musicals. He applied, and was hired as a story artist\/animator in Ising\u2019s unit. Tyer\u2019s animation is more evident in 1937\u2019s The Hound and the Rabbit<\/em><\/a> (specifically, the fox in the football scrimmage), which is strikingly similar to his funny animal comics from the early \u201840s. Unfortunately, no draft exists (thus far) for that title.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Musical composer Scott Bradley scored MGM\u2019s cartoons throughout their entire run (except for 1953\u2019s The Missing Mouse). Bradley wasn\u2019t particularly interested in composing a theme for the Happy Harmonies, since recurring characters rarely appeared. He recalled a new opportunity for their newest character in an interview conducted by the Pacific Coast Musician magazine on November 20, 1937. \u201cI concluded to surround him with character themes in much the same fashion as [Engelbert] Humperdinck*<\/strong> did in \u2018Hansel and Gretel.\u2019\u201d Bradley chose to use musical themes for Cheeser, for the devil (representing his bad inclinations) and the angel as his conscience. When the three are on-screen together, their themes are underscored in counterpoint, varying in accordance with the tone of each moment. Bradley explained, \u201cCheeser’s theme is a playful, active sort of thing, four bars long. The Devil’s, a sinister and menacing one, is three bars, and the Angel’s, a prayer-like affair of three bars.\u201d<\/p>\n *<\/strong>Not to be confused by the British pop singer, born in 1936.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Enjoy this week\u2019s breakdown video! Next week\u2019s breakdown will be its sequel, Little Buck Cheeser<\/em>…<\/p>\n![\"little-cheese-title250\"](\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/little-cheese-title250.jpg\")
Unlike the large number of animators credited in Alias St. Nick\u2019s<\/em> draft, Little Cheeser\u2019s<\/em> are divided in half, with about six animators. Jim Pabian and Bob Allen animate the first key sequences in the film: the little mouse\u2019s pride, as he proudly combats a punching bag (resembling a cat\u2019s head) and his being sent off to bed by his mother. Tired of being coddled and yearning to be \u2018a tough guy\u201d \u2500 and wanting to fight heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey \u2013 a devil mouse (also voiced by Hansell) encourages him to explore the human world upstairs. Jim Pabian draws Cheeser\u2019s head with a more pinched design, and often protrudes out his cheeks; in comparison, Bob Allen\u2019s scenes are less detailed, but aren\u2019t constricted within the design, and allows for a much rounder head and more expressive eyes. Later in the cartoon, Cheeser becomes intoxicated, and in his stupor, challenges himself to confront a cat. These scenes are similar to Disney\u2019s Silly Symphony The Country Cousin<\/em>, which coincidentally, was released a few weeks before.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/little-cheeser16mmfilmbox2.jpg\")
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