{"id":52845,"date":"2019-07-24T00:01:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T07:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=52845"},"modified":"2019-07-25T09:24:48","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T16:24:48","slug":"go-to-hades-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/go-to-hades-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Go To Hades &#8211; Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, the Devil\u2019s in the details.  Returning once again to the ethereal realm of devils and angels, we pick up where we left off last week, to see how the forces of good and evil coped with the outbreak of Axis hostilities and world turmoil &#8211; with a brief preliminary side-trip into a realm of pure fantasy.<\/p>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cThe Milky Way\u201d<\/strong> (MGM, 6\/22\/40 &#8211; Rudolph Ising, dir.) &#8211; This Oscar-winning cartoon properly belongs in the category of space travel, although by a unique juvenile method of propulsion &#8211; three balloons and a basket.  The three kittens, deprived of a dinner, set off for the Milky Way in search of a square meal.  En route, however, they see an unexpected glimpse of heaven, for at least one species, as they pass \u201cThe green cheese moon, where the good little mice all go\u201d &#8211; with each crater inhabited by winged angel mice strumming lyre harps. <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x5dyxaa\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cStop That Tank\u201d<\/strong> (Disney Army Training Film, March, 1942), features a short animated opening, with Adolf Hitler\u2019s tanks being repelled by allied anti-tank guns.  A direct hit reduces his command tank to rubble and launches Hitler down a crater, where he lands before a giant devil.  Hitler throws a temper tantrum on the ground while the devil attempts to translate his rantings for us, complaining that he\u2019s being oppressed because he can\u2019t win against our anti-tank guns.  At one point, however, the devil\u2019s translation is drowned out by Hitler\u2019s gibberish, prompting the devil to pull out a giant mallet, tell Hitler to shut up, and knock him out offscreen.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LLRtjnMhvEw\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>Three more wartime cartoons finish with similar endings, leading to hellish disaster for our primary character. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/BlitzWolf-poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-17243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/BlitzWolf-poster.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/BlitzWolf-poster-189x300.jpg 189w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/BlitzWolf-poster-94x150.jpg 94w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><strong>\u201cBlitz Wolf\u201d<\/strong> (MGM, 8\/22\/42 &#8211; Tex Avery, dir.), nominated for an academy award, presents Avery\u2019s second effort for his new home studio, where he would know his greatest string of successes.  A full-blown wartime spoof on Disney\u2019s \u201cThe Three Little Pigs\u201d (with Pinto Colvig hired to recreate the voice of the \u201cPractical\u201d pig), the Big Bad Wolf, who\u2019s now taken on the name of \u201cAdolf\u201d and bears a striking resemblance to the man America loved to hate, attacks Pigmania with militarized contraptions such as \u201cDer Mechanized Huffer und Puffer\u201d.  A battle royal ensues between wolf and pigs.  A bomber piloted by the wolf is finally hit by the pigs\u2019 secret weapon (a barrage of anti-aircraft shells packed with defense bonds).  Blasted from the sky, the wolf tries to cling to whatever debris is falling with him &#8211; and winds up clutching his own aerial bomb.  <\/p>\n<p>He (voiced by Bill Thompson of \u201cFibber McGee and Molly\u201d radio fame, who would later become regular voice for Avery\u2019s Droopy) utters a string of mock-German syllables to the audience, for which translation appears in subtitle on the screen: \u201cCall for Dr, Kildare!\u201d He crashes amidst the explosion of the bomb.  Suddenly, the background transforms to firey-red caverns and stalactites.  The wolf awakens amidst flames seeping from the ground around him.  \u201cWhere am I?\u201d, he asks.  \u201cHave I been blown to&#8230;&#8230;\u201d  His inquiry is answered by a group of fourteen devils on the other side of the cavern: \u201cUmmmm&#8230;.It\u2019s a possibility!\u201d  Nominated for an Academy Award.<\/p>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cSpies\u201d<\/strong>, (Warner, Private Snafu, August, 1943 &#8211; Chuck Jones, dir.) &#8211; an early entry in this<br \/>\nseries of \u201csoldiers only\u201d cartoons for the troops, scripted by Dr. Seuss, has Snafu bragging about knowing a pip of a military secret, but insisting his lips and brain have a \u201cchain and padlock\u201d so that no enemy agent will ever learn it.  Of course, a battery of spies are listening by every means imaginable, and plotting to make Snafu\u2019s resolve slip &#8211; which it does   Snafu\u2019s troop transport is eventually surrounded by German U-boats.  The ship pulls out fast &#8211; leaving Snafu in the water with an even dozen torpedoes converging.  The resulting crater leads Snafu straight into a boiling cauldron in the underworld.  Snafu speculates, \u201cNow who in hell d\u2019ya suppose it was that let my secret out?\u201d  A devil-version of Adolf Hitler appears, replying, \u201cWhat was that I heard you say, my little sauerkraut?\u201d  He answers Snafu\u2019s question by showing him his own reflection in a mirror &#8211; which morphs into a horse\u2019s rear!<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kwSHKIyQey4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cDraftee Daffy\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Daffy Duck, 1\/27\/45 &#8211; Robert Clampett, dir.), taken here out of time sequence, follows the same theme.  Daffy\u2019s a real flag-waver, until his number comes up with the draft board &#8211; then, he\u2019s the world\u2019s worst draft dodger.  The \u201clittle man from the draft board\u201d &#8211; a personification of the Mr. Peavey character played by Richard LeGrand on \u201cThe Great Gildersleeve\u201d radio series &#8211; drives Daffy crazy with a relentlessness only matched by Droopy in pursuit of the Wolf.  Daffy finally launches himself from the roof with a skyrocket (\u201cUse in Case of Induction Only\u201d), but his trajectory is off, and he plummets headlong into the ground.  He too awakens in the land of fire and brimstone.  \u201cSay, this place looks like h&#8212;-&#8230;..Hey, it is h&#8212;-&#8230;.I am in h&#8212;-!!!\u201d  Spotting what appears to be the devil, Daffy\u2019s mood turns to braggart, saying, \u201cOh well.  Anyway, I sure put it over on that dope from the draft board!\u201d  But the \u201cdevil\u201d pulls off his horns, which are merely a costume hood, using Peavey\u2019s catch phrase, \u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t say that,\u201d It\u2019s the draft man again, who pursues Daffy into the depths of Hades, still determined to serve his draft notice.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x6jhvta\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_53557\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53557\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/double-chaser-300x240.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-53557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/double-chaser-300x240.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/double-chaser-150x120.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/double-chaser.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-53557\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Original background art from DOUBLE CHASER &#8211; via Ian Soden<\/p><\/div><strong>\u201cDouble Chaser\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Merrie Melodies, 6\/27\/42 &#8211; I. (Friz) Freleng, dir.) &#8211; In a quick wrap up to a dog-chases-cat-chases-mouse threesome, the mouse, with a can of black paint and an apple fallen from a tree, creates a fake cartoon bomb, and lights the apple stem with a match for full effect.<\/p>\n<p>\n<p>The dog and cat take one look and head for the hills.  The mouse, still holding the \u201clit\u201d apple, chuckles to the audience in self-satisfaction.  <\/p>\n<p>Surprise!  An explosion fills the view with smoke, dissolving to the mouse in halo, robe, and angel wings floating upwards through the clouds, holding a blown-apart applecore, which he turns to with a surprise-take as we iris out.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x3axelu\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cSeein\u2019 Red, White, and Blue\u201d<\/strong> (Paramount\/Famous, Popeye, 2\/19\/43, Dan Gordon, dir.) &#8211; Bluto tries draft-dodging here, too &#8211; but unlike the later Daffy episode, sees his duty by the end of the cartoon.  The odd moment for our purposes, however, comes in the middle of the film.  Bluto jumps from a high building to get disabled.  Popeye tries to catch him, but they both crash through the sidewalk inti a deep hole.  A ladder emerges from the pit, as a distant, complaining, little-guy type voice (Jack Mercer), growing ever closer, is heard from the hole: \u201cOh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  Imagine one\u2019s own home being cluttered up with a lot of strange people dropping in all over the place when you least expect them. And very uninvited, I might add.  By the way, who did invite you?  No, never mind that.  I\u2019ve never been so humiliated in all my born days.  Now get out.  Get out! Twenty three skidoo.  Out, out, out, out, out!  And I warn you.  If this incident occurs again, you\u2019ll have the devil to pay!\u201d  Popeye and Bluto emerge and exit, chased away by a puny devil in polka-dotted shorts!  Just for an added touch of oddness, an angel materializes from nowhere, kicks the devil back into his hole, tips his halo to the audience, and disappears.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x5mhg2r\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cRation Bored\u201d<\/strong> (Lantz\/Universal, Woody Woodpecker, 7\/26\/43 &#8211; Emery Hawkins\/Milt Schaffer, dir.) &#8211; Woody is pitted against a cop when he siphons gas from a police car for lack of a ration book.  A chase ensues amid garage supplies, with the cop hiding in a stack of tires &#8211; but ultimately winding up with a tire rolling on each arm and leg, and Woody riding him on his back as a human auto.  The one thing he doesn\u2019t have, however, is brakes.  They roll down a hill, straight into a large gasoline storage tank, and a shattering explosion.  The explosion dissolves to a scene of heaven, with an office made of clouds and a sign reading, \u201cWing Rationing Board\u201d.  The cop emerges from its door, dressed as an angel, and pleased with a small pair of golden wings on his back.  But another form emerges from the door &#8211; enveloped in huge wings ten times the cop\u2019s size.  The wings part, and it\u2019s Woody, spreading them wide in a showy display.  The cop gets angry again, and the two continue the chase, diving in and out of the clouds, to Woody\u2019s traditional laughter.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x2kw64d\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/the-green-line-mighty-mouse.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"298\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-53532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/the-green-line-mighty-mouse.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/the-green-line-mighty-mouse-101x150.jpg 101w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>Bill Tytla, a powerful director from Disney\u2019s ranks, would give us one off the best-known images of Satan in the \u201cNight on Bald Mountain\/Ave Maria\u201d finale to 1940&#8217;s <em>Fantasia<\/em>, which is so well known it virtually needs no description.  Less documented, however, is Tytla\u2019s move to the East Coast upon leaving Disney, doing stints at Terrytoons anonymously, and then gaining the director\u2019s chair at Paramount\/Famous.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe Green Line\u201d<\/strong> (Terrytoons\/Fox, Mighty Mouse, 7\/7\/44 &#8211; Eddie Donnelly, dir.), gives him his closest chance to recapture the \u201cBald Mountain\u201d vibe.  A tale of a curious village, divided by a painted green line on the street.  On one side live nothing but mice &#8211; on the other, cats. As long as property rights are observed, there is peace &#8211; well, sort of.  A few renegade cats watch for any possible slip of a mouse over the line, which would render them \u201cfair game\u201d for the cats\u2019 appetites.  But even when in tipsy condition from a trip to the local cocktail bar (in a scene currently censored from the CBS version), the mice may wobble &#8211; but still are too crafty to give the cats their chance for a conquest.  A frustrated cat fresh from the same bar smashes on the ground a bottle of \u201cspirits\u201d &#8211; and out pops a devil cat.  \u201cHow long is this going to go on?\u201d, he demands to know.  (Be patient, Devil &#8211; the cartoon only runs six minutes!)  Anyway, he tempts the cat to break the rules and help himself.  But the minute the cat crosses, he finds the mice are militarized, shooting little machine guns from mouseholes and under manhole covers.  Total war breaks out.  Mighty flies to the rescue.  However, just as he seems to have the cats subdued, he is surrounded by a wall of thrown pitchforks.  The devil cat, resembling for all intents and purposes his Fantasia counterpart, stands majestically on a rooftop, pitching away.  As Mighty frees himself and flies toward him, the cat breathes fire at him like a dragon.  Finally, the cat sprouts the same bat-like wings as Disney\u2019s Satan, and engages Mighty in a furious aerial battle. (There\u2019s an amazing shot during this scene of Mighty flying straight at the camera, filling the screen with his face in the most evil sadistic grin of his career &#8211; he\u2019s getting as much of a charge out of this as the cat did with his evil schemes!)   But ultimately, Mighty deals a telling blow, sending the spirit into a dive like a crippled airplane and crashing into the ground in flames.  The cats and mice kiss and make up, and everybody\u2019s happy. <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ok8yve2yO6E\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>           <strong> \u201cBook Revue\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Daffy Duck, 1\/6\/46 &#8211; Robert Clampett, dir.) &#8211; A return to the bookshelf in the same manner as \u201cGood Little Monkeys\u201d (reviewed last week), but with souped-up \u201840&#8217;s timing.  Daffy (doing for no apparent reason his best impression of Danny Kaye), has gotten the Big Bad Wolf arrested for menacing Little Red Riding Hood.  The Wolf rips out of a cover marked \u201cEscape\u201d.  However, he trips over Jimmy Durante\u2019s nose, protruding from the cover of \u201cSo Big\u201d(a 1924 Edna Ferber novel).  He slides down another book cover, marked \u201cSkid Row\u201d, and struggles not to fall into the flaming cavern on the cover of the next book &#8211; \u201cDante\u2019s Inferno.\u201d  But just as it seems he will get out &#8211; someone holds up a singing Frank Sinatra in front of him.  Like a \u201cbobby soxer\u201d, he swoons from the music, and faints right into Hades.  Daffy and Little Red celebrate with a victory dance, only to have the wolf reappear out of the cavern to complain, \u201cStop that dancing up there! &#8211; &#8211; you sillies\u201d, for the final shot.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F__4Jm2bh8A\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cBack Alley Oproar\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Sylvester the Cat\/Elmer Fudd, 3\/27\/48 &#8211; I. (Friz) Freleng, dir.) &#8211; a dressed-up-for-Technicolor remake of Porky Pig\u2019s \u201cNotes To You\u201d (1941), but with a better ending.  Sylvester is an endlessly-singing alley cat, serenading in the back yard, while Elmer tries desperately to shut him up to get some sleep.  As Sylvester engages in a mock Spike Jones number (punctuated with pistol shots, exploding firecrackers, breaking bottles, etc.), Elmer sneaks up behind and attempts to blow Sylvester up with dynamite.  But the fuse is too short, and it goes off instantly as Elmer lights it.  Elmer finds himself floating on a small cloud in a heavenly pink sky, with robe, halo, and angel wings.  \u201cOh well,\u201d he observes, \u201cAt weast now I can get some west and welaxation.\u201d  Not for long, Elmer.  A chorus of voices rises from below.  Sylvester has kicked-the-bucket too &#8211; but has divided into nine separate numbered \u201clives\u201d, all singing a massed version of the Sextet from Lucia Di Lammermoor.  Each floats upwards past him on separate clods, one stealing his halo.  Having nowhere else to turn, Elmer jumps off his cloud and is heard crashing back to Earth, as the chorus concludes its finale. <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/xhm7d3\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cWild and Woody\u201d<\/strong> (Lantz\/United Artists, Woody Woodpecker, 12\/31,48 &#8211; Dick Lundy, dir.) &#8211; Woody Woodpecker starred in the most Westerns of any theatrical character (by the 1960&#8217;s, it had become a positive rut).  In his first (and possibly best) Western epic (only rivaled by 1953\u2018s \u201cHot Noon, or 12 o\u2019Clock for Sure\u201d), Woody traps outlaw Buzz Buzzard in a pot-bellied stove and tosses in a crate of dynamite.  The blast obliterates the stove, and transforms Buzz into a transparent spirit, who flits effeminately over to one end of the saloon, where Woody appears dressed as a hotel bellboy before two elevator doors.  He clicks a clicker, and the first elevator opens &#8211; run by a little angel who asks, \u201cGoing up?\u201d   Obviously not, as Woody slams the door in her face.  He clicks for the second elevator &#8211; opened by a large devil, who announces, \u201cGoin\u2019 down!\u201d Woody pushes Buzz in, clicks his clicker, and the door closes, taking Buzz you-know-where.  Woody trademark laughs for the iris out.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TsIG_29NntE\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mutt-rur.jpg\" rel=\"prettyphoto[52845]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mutt-rur-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-53534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mutt-rur-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mutt-rur-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mutt-rur.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><strong>\u201cA Mutt In a Rut\u201d<\/strong> (Paramount\/Famous, Noveltoon, 5\/27\/49 &#8211; I. Sparber, dir.) &#8211; This unassuming, lacking in finesse Noveltoon, featuring a character called \u201cDog Face\u201d who appeared in only one other film, <em>A Self Made Mongrel<\/em> (1945), turns out to be of some influence to at least two other cartoons, who built on the ideas with more aplomb.  It itself is derivative, taking a heavy leaf in plot setup from <em>Pluto\u2019s Judgment Day<\/em> (also reviewed last week).  Dog Face is forced to share his home with a homeless kitten taken in by his owner on a snowy night.  Despite several mean tricks by him, the kitten stays, and the owner reprimands him.  Angry at his lot, Dog Face mutters, \u201cI wish I was dead.\u201d  The kitten chooses this opportune moment to knock a heavy vase over, konking the dog and knocking him out.  His transparent soul departs.  It would be hard to believe that anyone by this time would remember Terry\u2019s <em>Golf Nuts<\/em> from 1930 (see last week)  &#8211; but somehow Famous comes up with the same idea of a shaftless elevator (this time with flapping wings) as a means of transportation to the afterlife.  Dog Face disembarks atop a cloud, and spies the towering gates to \u201cDog Heaven\u201d.  Looking through the gates, he sees several dogs with wings flying and playing harps.  <\/p>\n<p>One dachshund is too long, and has to have his flight assisted by a balloon tied to his rear end.  A carousel offers other dogs various comforts &#8211; like robotic hands for a back scratcher, sprays of scented flea powder (sending the fleas floating skyward as miniature angels too), and a bone dispenser in the manner of a carousel \u201cbrass ring\u201d chute.  Dog Face comments, \u201cDog gone, what a wonderful life.  It\u2019s sure the cats &#8211; without cats.\u201d  Digging his way under the gate with his paws, he tries to get in on a free meal, piling up steaks from a giant tower of them just being served.  But a police bulldog angel stops him, inquiring, \u201cWhere are your wings?\u201d  He is brought before judge St. Bernard, and charged in a string of gibberish double-talk with \u201cFelineous assault\u201d upon the kitten.  In a straight lift from <em>Pluto\u2019s Judgment Day<\/em>, an all-kitten jury unanimously rules him guilty.  A horned, toothed elevator appears, swallowing him, and taking him down below.  A cat devil puts him on furnace duty, with flames from the furnace door getting him in the rear end between each scoop.  A \u201cGood Rumor\u201d cat (wordplay on \u201cGood Humor\u201d ice cream\u201d) appears, and Dog Face begs him for something cool &#8211; but the \u201cice cream\u201d stick is actually red hot.  Spotting a fire hydrant, he attempts to open it\u2019s valve &#8211; but it develops a face and the personality of Jimmy Durante, yelling \u201cLet go of my shnozzola\u201d.  The valve cap finally pops &#8211; and he\u2019s got fire inside too, imitating Durante\u2019s signature line, \u201cHot &#8211; cha, cha, cha, cha, cha!\u201d  Finally, a giant cat dressed as a chef flattens Dog Face with a spatula on a huge grill, morphing him into a hot dog.  At last, Dog Face awakes in the same manner as Pluto in \u201cJudgment Day\u201d, with a fireplace ember burning his rear end in the living room.  As with Pluto, he befriends the cat, rocking him in a cradle while feeding him on each side between each rock.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KB8Gv0GaxUw\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cMouse Mazurka\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Sylvester the Cat, 6\/11\/49 &#8211; I. (Friz) Freleng, dir.) &#8211; Set in the mythical land of Slobovia, Sylvester pursues a Russian-style mouse.  The mouse gets an idea to spook Sylvester, emptying a bottle of nitro glycerin from a shelf and filling it with tap water.  He then reveals himself on the shelf, casually tossing the bottle with one hand up and down in the air.  Sylvester cringes at every throw.  A high toss, however, lands the bottle on another shelf above &#8211; and dislodges a second bottle, filled with real nitro glycerin.  The mouse now tops his psych-out of Sylvester by drinking the entire contents of the bottle &#8211; then proceeding to launch himself off the shelf in swan dive.  Sylvester has to dive in with a feather pillow for a life-saving catch.  The moue, however, devotes the remainder of the cartoon to placing himself in hair-raising peril, leaving Sylvester to be his rescuer.  Finally, the mouse breaks into a Russian-style bouncing dance, take one powerful bounce &#8211; and is blown to kingdom come!  We see the mouse transformed into an angel with robes, wings, and halo, floating among the clouds, completely at a loss as to how he got there, and shrugging his shoulders to the audience.  Back on Earth, a narrator goads Sylvester that now, he\u2019ll never catch that little mouse.  Sylvester snidely laughs back, \u201cThat\u2019s what you think!\u201d, and runs to the bottle shelf, finding another bottle of real nitro glycerin.  Swallowing the contents, he duplicates the mouse\u2019s dance &#8211; and is blown up too!  In heaven, a new arrival materializes, to the mouse\u2019s shock, as Sylvester, an angel too, chases and pounces at the mouse from cloudbank to cloudbank.  <\/p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p><strong>\u201cHeavenly Puss\u201d<\/strong> (MGM, Tom and Jerry, 7\/9\/49 &#8211; William Hanna\/Joseph Barbera, dir.) &#8211; Combining elements of \u201cA Mutt in a Rut\u201d and \u201cPluto\u2019s Judgment Day\u201d, Hanna and Barbera transcend from mere borrowing into creation of something memorable, lasting, and liberally nuanced with personality and new twists.  We sense things will be a little bit different in this episode, as the mood begins with somewhat more ominous tone.  Tom\u2019s in an unusually sinister vein today &#8211; as he greets Jerry\u2019s morning attempt to snitch a cracker by almost taking his arm off with a carving knife.  Jerry flees up a flight of stairs &#8211; but Tom pulls up the stairway carpeting from its tacks and starts yanking the rug to bring Jerry down.  As Jerry runs furiously to keep pace with the moving rug, he reacts in shock at what\u2019s above &#8211; Tom is inadvertently pulling with the rug an upright piano on the next floor, rapidly approaching the staircase.  Jerry just manages to dart out of the way as the piano whooshes down the staircase.  Tom reacts too late, and has nowhere to run.  The piano top smashes him into the wall.  The piano rolls back a few feet, and its lid pivots open &#8211; revealing Tom stuck to it, flatter than a pancake.  He collapses on the floor &#8211; and his transparent soul rises up, as the entrance to an escalator (a new twist on Dog Face\u2019s elevator) dissolves into view in the wall.  <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/220px-Heavenly_Puss_poster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"332\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-53536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/220px-Heavenly_Puss_poster.jpg 220w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/220px-Heavenly_Puss_poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/220px-Heavenly_Puss_poster-99x150.jpg 99w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/>Tom steps onto the escalator &#8211; a towering golden structure spiraling endless stories tall, leading up into the stratosphere (beautifully animated in perspective).  At its top, Tom finds a gated golden train station, with sign reading \u201cHeavenly Express.\u201d  At an information booth, a gentle-voiced old conductor cat checks reservations of the day\u2019s arrivals.  First in line: Tom\u2019s old rival Butch, as to whom the conductor reads, \u201cCause of decease &#8211; lost fight with bulldog.\u201d  Butch is permitted to board &#8211; wearing bandages, an arm sling, and with a set of bulldog dentures still embedded in his tail.  Next applicant: \u201cStruck with flatiron while singing on a backyard fence\u201d &#8211; and he has the head lump to prove it.  The next cat \u201cdidn\u2019t see the steamroller coming\u201d, and walks past in flattened condition.  \u201cFluff, Muff, and Puff\u201d turn out to be three kittens emerging from a water-filled sack, leading the conductor to comment \u201cWhat some people won\u2019t do.\u201d  Now it\u2019s Tom\u2019s turn.  He tries to sneak by unnoticed, but the conductor quickly points out his record &#8211; whole life spent persecuting an innocent little mouse.  He is denied passage, but told that the Express doesn\u2019t leave for an hour.  Given a blank \u201cCertificate of Forgiveness\u201d, he is informed that if he can obtain Jerry\u2019s signature on same within the hour, he\u2019ll be permitted to pass.  If not &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; the conductor demonstrates on a heavenly tv screen.  A picture of torrential flames appears on the set, clearing to a view of a huge devil bulldog with pitchfork and a boiling cauldron, shouting to the camera, \u201cLet me have \u2018im!.  Send him down.  Give him to me now!\u201d  Tom\u2019s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets in terror.  Reminded again he has only an hour, Tom is setnt back to earth in a puff of smoke.<\/p>\n<p>A celestial clock only Tom can see ticks off his time.  Tom prepares a large cake, reading, \u201cTo my pal\u201d, and presents himself at Jerry\u2019s mousehole.  Before he can even fill Jerry in on the setup, Jerry devours the cake.  Tom grabs him back out of the mousehole, insistently presenting him with the certificate and a pen.  Without even reading the document, Jerry squirts ink into Tom\u2019s face, and runs back into the wall.  Seeing he\u2019s getting nowhere, Tom hatches a desperation plan.  Hiding behind a chair, he practices writing Jerry\u2019s name on the carpet, then is about to commit a forgery on the document.  But a heavenly light shines upon him, and the conductor\u2019s voice cautions him, \u201cUh uh uh uh!  It\u2019s back to Jerry.  Tom knocks at his hole again, offering a slice of cheese, but clearly pointing out the paper as a condition.  Jerry stops and reads it &#8211; and realizes he\u2019s being offered a bribe.  In moral outrage, he tears up the paper!  Tom is furious, and grabs a fireplace poker to smash Jerry with.  Seen only to Tom, a blast of red smoke appears behind him &#8211; the devil bulldog appears, sadistically encouraging him: \u201cAtta\u2019 boy, Tom!  Hit him and lets go!\u201d  Tom trembles and shakes his head no, and the devil fades away.  Tom runs offscreen with the paper bits &#8211; and returns a moment later with the paper patched together with Scotch tape.  He engages in a desperate display of visual pantomime to tell Jerry of the consequences if he doesn\u2019t get his signature, and pleads for mercy.  <\/p>\n<p>After several moments of jaundiced deliberation, Jerry finally relents, and starts to sign &#8211; but the pen seems to have no ink left.  Meanwhile, the celestial clock is striking, and a voice from above shouts \u201cAll aboard!\u201d  Tom grabs the pen, shakes it vigorously, and gets its ink flowing again in a massive blot and streak all over the wall.  Jerry finally signs, and Tom whisks up the document and races for the escalator, overshooting its steps before he can board.  But he gets only about five steps up when the whole thing disappears, and a trap door opens in the floor below him &#8211; a one-way path to the \u201cother place\u201d.  Tom waves us a timid \u201cbye bye\u201d, and falls &#8211; down, down &#8211; and right into the boiling pot.  The devil holds Tom inside the pot with his pitchfork and laughs uproariously.  As Tom struggles, the scene dissolves &#8211; to find Tom on the carpet in the living room in front of the fireplace, pantomiming running in his sleep.  In a direct lift from \u201cPluto\u2019s Judgment Day\u201d, an ember from the fire pops onto his tail, causing him to awake with a shriek.  He looks around, and realizes it was only a dream.  Tom races to Jerry\u2019s mousehole and knocks, and when Jerry pops his head out, Tom grabs him up in his arms and begins kissing and hugging him.  The iris out freezes in place to focus on Jerry, who can only look at the audience with gestures as if to say, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d  Hanna and Barbera would remember this film in their television days, loosely reworking it (with a borrow or two from \u201cSatan\u2019s Waitin\u2019\u201d, discussed below) into Pixie and Dixie\u2019s <em>Heavens To Jinksy<\/em>, for the Huckleberry Hound show.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x6h13xo\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cMice Capades\u201d <\/strong>(Paramount\/Famous, Herman and Katnip, 10\/3\/52 &#8211; Seymour Kneitel, dir.) &#8211; Written about recently in a couple of articles on this website (and starting to get the attention it has long deserved), this debatably best of the Herman and Katnip series centers on another well-thought out psych-out of the fiendish but gullible cat.  As in \u201cMouse Mazurka\u201d, it involves a bottle &#8211; this time full of vinegar.  But Herman switches labels, applying one marked \u201cPoison\u201d over the original one.  While Katnip is out cold, Herman tips the bottle on a shelf above and pours its contents into Katnip\u2019s open mouth.  Katnip sputters to life, reaching for the dripping bottle &#8211; and faints dead away when he reads its label.  Donning some powder and a fake halo and robe, Herman appears above his head, announcing himself as one who has come to lead Katnip to greener pastures.  Katnip, convinced he\u2019s deceased, allows Herman to shut his eyes, as the mice load Katnip into a dumbwaiter, and lift him into the attic.  Upstairs, the mice have all donned angel costumes, layered the furniture and trunks upstairs with cotton batting as makeshift clouds, and strung up wires so they can appear to fly past playing little harps.  As Katnip emerges from the dumbwaiter, he sees a fake entrance the mice have built to the \u201cPearly Gates\u201d.  <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katnip-heaven.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"173\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-53538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katnip-heaven.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katnip-heaven-150x115.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>One mouse greets him solemnly, \u201cPeace, brother.\u201d   Katnip informally replies, \u201cDuh, likewise I\u2019m sure!\u201d  Seeing mice \u201cflying\u201d, Katnip becomes anxious to try too &#8211; but crashes onto an old chest, realizing he hasn\u2019t got wings.  From a high podium, Herman suddenly appears in judgment over Katnip: \u201cNo wings for you, cat.  For you \u2014 the Fiery Furnace!\u201d Other mice open a floor grating, inviting Katnip to \u201cStep down.\u201d  Below, other mice are stoking a fire in a real furnace, whose flames are distantly visible to Katnip.  The cat pleads for mercy, and Herman agrees to give him one more chance to return to earth and atone for his sins against the mice (similar to the \u201cforgiveness\u201d angle of \u201cHeavenly Puss\u201d), and tells him \u201cAnd if you feed them, you shall win your wings.\u201d  Katnip joyously leaps back down the dumbwaiter, and immediately starts laying out a feast for the mice.  Unfortunately, he runs across the bottle &#8211; with the \u201cPoison\u201d label now starting to peel off, revealing the \u201cVinegar\u201d label below.  Katnip morphs into a giant lollipop, marked \u201cSucker.\u201d  As the mice remove their costumes and prepare for the feed, Katnip greets them &#8211; with a double-barreled shotgun.  They dart back into their hole, Katnip aiming the rifle inside at them.  In a feat of super strength, the mice bend the gun barrels into a \u201cU\u201d to point back at Katnip inside the wall.  Katnip fires &#8211; and blasts himself.  Lying prone on the floor, Katnip\u2019s real, transparent angel emerges from his body &#8211; and is still vengeful, grabbing up Herman in his paw.  But Herman reminds him, \u201cUh Uh!  Remember the fiery furnace!\u201d  Katnip panics, seeing only image of himself standing in flames trying to cool himself with a small fan.  Remembering Herman\u2019s words on how to win his wings, Katnip is finally seen as ghostly slave to the mice, who get their feed after all and ad-lib commands to the cat (\u201cThis spoon is dirty!\u201d), while Katnip races around to wait on them hand and foot. <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ulORixwqAos\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>           <strong> \u201cPill Peddlers\u201d<\/strong> (Terrytoons, Fox, Heckle and Jeckle, 4\/1\/53 &#8211; Connie Rasinski, dir.) &#8211; A nice surprise throwaway gag here, in one of the best Heckle and Jeckles.  Vitamin pill hawkers H&#038;J vie for customers against a champion bulldog running a gymnasium.  The gym is in the lower floors of a tall skyscraper, and H&#038;J race for the elevator.  Missing the car, the bulldog jumps in the next adjacent elevator.  The lights of the elevator cars are first seen through the windows of the skyscraper, both heading up &#8211; but suddenly start zigging and zagging sideways, diagonally, and across-each other\u2019s paths in an impossible race.  Inside their car, H&#038;J watch the light panel as the lights progressively blink red for each floor in a downward descent.  However, when the last floor\u2019s light is reached, the red indicator does not stop, but keeps dropping lower and lower, disconnected entirely from the wall, until it hits the floor.  The door of the elevator flies open.  There, amidst a background of flame, is Satan.  H&#038;J react in shock, Heckle shouting, \u201cWhoops! Too Low!\u201d, and slam the door quickly to go back the other way.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/blZFCriImM8\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cSatan\u2019s Waitin\u2019\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Tweety and Sylvester, 8\/7\/54 &#8211; I. (Friz) Freleng, dir.)  A direct homage to \u201cHeavenly Puss\u201d &#8211; but reversing the destination.  Sylvester chases Tweety on power wires over the streets, then up the fire escape of a tall building.  He catches Tweety, then tries to skid to a stop &#8211; but overshoots the roof ledge, finding himself standing on air twenty stories above the street.  He tries to clutch Tweety for support &#8211; but only gets his tail feathers, then plummets.  In desperation, he flaps the two small feathers with each hand &#8211; and begins to rise.  Back on the roof, Tweety sees Sylvester\u2019s hands rising above the ledge &#8211; and thinks Sylvester came back to return his feathers.  He grabs them back out of Sylvester\u2019s hands, and the helpless cat lands flattened on the sidewalk pavement.  His soul rises up.  In a clever tweak of the \u201cHeavenly Puss\u201d idea, two escalators appear &#8211; one going up, the other down.  But the \u201cup\u201d escalator has a velvet rope across it &#8211; so Sylvester has to take the other one.  In another reversal of the \u201cHeavenly Puss\u201d sequence, Sylvester travels down, down a long red spiraling escalator path, arriving before a devil bulldog at a judge\u2019s bench.  Looking up his record, the dog remarks, \u201cMy, we\u2019ve been a BAD pussy cat, haven\u2019t we?\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>However, he advises Sylvester\u2019s soul that it\u2019s too bad cats have nine lives, and he\u2019ll have to wait on a bench until the other eight show up &#8211; but the Devil assures him that \u201cI\u2019ll hurry them along!\u201d  Back on Earth, the remaining portions of Sylvester are finally reviving.  The devil appears to him, congratulating him on having nothing to worry about, as he still has eight lives left.  Encouraged, Sylvester resumes the pursuit of Tweety.  A series of misadventures ensue, as the devil goads Sylvester to take more and more risky chances, including several at an amusement park, each resulting in one or more lives joining life one waiting below.  Finally, Sylvester gasps in realization that he has only one life left.  He finally ignores the devil, refusing to chase Tweety &#8211; \u201cI don\u2019t want him!\u201d he shouts, and runs for his life.  In a final scene, he plans the remainder of his days, storing supplies to lock himself in the night into a bank vault &#8211; the safest place he can think of.  But later that night, a pair of bank robbers show up, one cautioning the other on being careful with the nitro glycerin to blow the safe.  The nitro is ignited &#8211; to a tremendous explosion.  We return to the escalators of hell, with the bank robbers riding it.  \u201cYou used too much, Muggsy\u201d, says the first one to the other.  Right behind them, also riding down, is Sylvester\u2019s ninth life, disgustedly remarking, \u201cNow he tells him!\u201d  Later poorly reworked  (with the forced addition of new cast members to pose in the Tweety and Sylvester roles) as a Dogfather Cartoon, <em>Deviled Yeggs<\/em> (Depatie-Freleng, UA, 1974).<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x3oztbh\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cThe Hole Idea\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, 4\/16\/56 &#8211; Robert McKimson, dir. and animator)- This cartoon, about a nutty little professor\u2019s invention of the \u201cportable hole\u201d, has been extensively reviewed in a \u201cBaxter\u2019s Breakdowns\u201d article on this website.  Only the ending fits our present trail.  Nagged by his irritating wife for the unpteenth time, the professor lets one of his portable holes land directly in the path of his wife.  She falls in &#8211; and seems to take an exceptionally long time to land.  \u201cMy that was a deep one, wasn\u2019t it!\u201d quips the professor.  But in similar fashion to \u201cSeein\u2019 Red, White, and Blue\u201d, a commotion is heard within the hole, followed by a roar of flame, and the wife is tossed out by Satan himself, who begs the professor, \u201cIsn\u2019t it bad enough down there without her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x86eu4\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cHis Better Elf\u201d<\/strong> (Universal\/Lantz, Woody Woodpecker, 5\/19\/58 &#8211; Paul J. Smith, dir.) &#8211; In a rare fantasy-themed episode, Woody meets a little green version of himself &#8211; a woodpecker leprechaun.  Promised three wishes, Woody, tired of his humble surroundings, wishes for \u201cGold, gold, GOLD!\u201d The leprechaun says he\u2019ll find his gold at the end of the rainbow, and flies him there in a scene that, at first, makes you wonder if you\u2019re watching a Little Audrey dream from Famous Studios.  But this is a Woody cartoon, and there\u2019s one snag.  He finds gold all right, but when he takes it outside, realizes he\u2019s exiting a bank &#8211; with the alarm sounding.  A police chase ensues, with Woody eluding the cops for several minutes, but finally winding up in handcuffs between two minions of the law.  Woody whispers to the floating leprechaun that he wishes he was out of there.  Wish 2 is fulfilled by substituting in place of Woody in the cuffs &#8211; a skunk.  The officers are so panicked, they can\u2019t seem to find their keys, and run crashing and bumping into each other with the skunk in tow down the street.  Back home, Woody is no better off than before, and the leprechaun prepares to take his leave.  \u201cJust a minute, gnomey!\u201d says Woody, reminding him that he has one wish left.  \u201cOut with it, my boy\u201d, encourages the leprechaun.  With sadistic glint in his eyes, Woody shouts, \u201cGO TO BLAZES!!\u201d  The leprechaun\u2019s face falls into a dour, pathetic stare, as the background instantly morphs into a descent of the leprechaun into the bowels of Hades.  But this is no new experience to the leprechaun, whose face changes expression to grumpiness, as he is met by a large devil-woodpecker, who cheerily greets him, \u201cWelcome back, O\u2019Toole!  So I see you wore out your welcome again!\u201d<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/his-better-elf600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-53528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/his-better-elf600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/his-better-elf600-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/his-better-elf600-150x85.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cNow Hear This\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, 4\/27\/63 &#8211; Chuck Jones, dir.) &#8211; Debatably the most eccentric of all Warner Brothers\u2019 cartoons &#8211; literally defying verbal description.  What is perhaps oddest is that the explanation for the whole affair is hiding in plain sight.  Buried in a bizarre presentation of credits is a walk-on by a devil &#8211; with only one horn.  We get so many zonked-out graphics in the opening sequence that we don\u2019t even give this sight a second thought.  Suddenly, in overly thick modern outlines with hardly any backgrounds, we meet an old-time Britisher, holding a bent green ear trumpet to one ear to listen through.  He comes across a new looking bright red trumpet on the ground.  Pooh poohing his old appliance, he tosses the green one over his shoulder, where it neatly lands in a trash can marked \u201cKeep Britain Tidy\u201d (a play on then prevalent anti-littering campaign slogan, \u201cKeep America Clean\u201d).  From the minute he begins using the new horn, the Britisher\u2019s life becomes a surreal nightmare of outlandish Treg Brown sound effects and impossible happenings, leaving the old man anything from frustrated to devastated.  By the end of the film, he rediscovers the wastebasket, dumps the red horn on the ground, and retrieves his old beat-up green one, happily limping off while listening to the strains of \u201cRue Brittania\u201d through it.  Suddenly a spurt of flame erupts from the ground.  It\u2019s the devil again, looking all around, then finally spying the red horn.  Picking it up, he screws it into the socket where his \u201chorn\u201d was missing, smiles, then disappears.  A \u201cmystery man\u201d who\u2019s randomly appeared all through the picture presents a sign with a moral: \u201cThe other fellow\u2019s trumpet always looks greener.\u201d   <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x3axqh6\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cDevil\u2019s Feud Cake\u201d<\/strong> (Warner, Bugs Bunny, 2\/9\/63 &#8211; Friz Freleng, dir.), is a blatant \u201ccheater\u201d integrating old clips into some new wraparound loosely based on \u201cSatan\u2019s Waitin\u2019\u201d.  A \u201cparachute\u201d turns out to be a plain old knapsack, causing Yosemite Sam to crash from a plane escape through the ground, and into the same escalatored Hades Sylvester visited previously.  \u201cWhat the devil is your name?\u201d asks Satan.  Yosemite answers, and begins bawling.  Looking up Sam\u2019s record, Satan announces he could use a man like Sam, to capture a certain rabbit he\u2019s long wanted to have down there, and if he captures Bugs, he\u2019ll be set free.  Of course, the old clips show Yosemite always losing, but Satan keeps giving him just \u201cone more chance\u201d, until Yosemite gets fed up, telling Satan, \u201cget him yourself!\u201d  Exiting the shot, he returns in a devil suit, and announces, \u201cI\u2019m stayin!!\u201d  The whole thing got redone in even more extended use of clips, as the first part of <em>The Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie<\/em> (1981).<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/embed\/video\/x2pmoa8\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<hr style=\"color: #000000; background-color: #000000; height: 2px; border: none;\" \/>\n<p>            <strong>\u201cPink Panzer\u201d<\/strong> (Depatie-Freleng\/UA, Pink Panther, 9\/15\/65 &#8211; Hawley Pratt, dir.) &#8211; A tale of neighborly escalation, as Pink and a human neighbor are goaded on by an omniscient voice (Paul Frees) into battle, building from a minor squabble over a borrowed lawn mower into militarization with cannons, tanks, and integrated live action footage of military artillery.  Amidst the shot and shell materializes the goading voice &#8211; the devil himself, dancing with glee,, who turns to the audience and says, \u201cYou know, it might be a good idea to return that lawn mower you borrowed!\u201d <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VLhfnfiS-7A\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\n<p>            While angels haven\u2019t made the scene much in recent animation, Disney provided us in 1997 with a feature appearance for the Lord of the Underworld, in \u201cHercules\u201d, where James Woods gave us a sterling performance as the frustrated ne\u2019er-do-well of the gods, Hades, non-ably assisted by his bumbling sidekicks, Pain and Panic.  Woods continued his role in the subsequent television series of the same name &#8211; continuing to impress with his wit and timing.<\/p>\n<p>This concludes our little jaunt into the afterlife.  Now to get back to enjoying some life in the present tense. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Returning once again to the ethereal realm of devils and angels, we pick up where we left off last week, to see how the forces of good and evil coped with the outbreak of Axis hostilities overseas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":53540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2305],"tags":[2327,83,84],"class_list":["post-52845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation-trails","tag-heckle-jeckle","tag-mighty-mouse","tag-tex-avery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52845"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53560,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52845\/revisions\/53560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}