{"id":74219,"date":"2022-08-16T00:01:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T07:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=74219"},"modified":"2024-05-31T18:32:34","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T01:32:34","slug":"max-and-dave-color-classics-1937-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/max-and-dave-color-classics-1937-38\/","title":{"rendered":"Max and Dave: Color Classics 1937-38"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the late 1930\u2018s, almost every cartoon studio felt they had to keep up with the Disneys. That meant one thing – C-O-L-O-R. Color cartoons didn\u2019t seem to go in for as much of the anarchic humor or the black and whites. Instead, most studios that produced them went in for fairy tales and other ootsy-cutesie settings. Where they didn\u2019t succeed in this genre was in standing behind what they sold. There was a certain sincerity to Disney\u2019s product, even if it was cute and cherubic. Others took some time to figure this out – witness some of the embarrassing efforts of Charles Mintz at Columbia. And so it was with Max Fleischer\u2019s studio, who also walked the precarious line between \u201ccute\u201d and house style. Occasionally, the old spirit would slip through, and Fleischer sometimes scored slightly better than some of his competitors – though getting nowhere close to the success ratio of the Warner Brothers. While Fleischer attempted to spice up his color efforts with a string of original songs, they did not cross over to the hit parade, and produced little, if any, saleable material. Not that there might not have been possibilities. Imagine if the Sons of the Pioneers had issued a version of Hunky and Spunky\u2019s theme, \u201cKeep a\u2019 Goin\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

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A model sheet from “Chicken Ala King”<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chicken A La King<\/strong> (4\/16\/37) – A rooster is enjoying the company of his flock, repeatedly commanding \u201cOn with the dance\u201d, in all the regal manner of an Arabian sultan, and with his bevy of hens in the outfits of harem dancers. One fat hen makes the attempt, and falls flat on her face, allowing the sultan rooster to do his best impression of Major Bowes, banging gong and calling out, \u201cAll right, all right\u201d. The dance exhibition is interrupted by the arrival of \u201cDuckie Wuckie\u201d, a buxom duck who sashays in true Mae West style. The rest of the hens cluster in \u201chen talk\u201d, likely consisting of juicy gossip, about this interloper, while the rooster\u2019s head is decidedly turned to focus only on those inviting curves. However, there is no peace for the rooster, as a scimitar-wielding male mallard arrives, wanting to claim Duckie for himself. A whirlwind battle ensues between the rivaling royalty, while the hens take sides in favor of the jealous suitor. The rooster is put in his place and takes a licking, but keeps on ticking after Duckie is spirited away by the winner – returning to his plush palace cushions, and again ordering \u201cOn with the dance\u201d. The hens, however, respond with theme and variation on \u201cOh, yeah?\u201d, and take after him en masse, armed with rolling pins, delivering a more forceful onslaught that the rooster has ever faced before. Songs: an original song for \u201cDuckie Wuckie\u201d, presumably by Timberg and Rothberg, who receive screen credit for music, plus \u201cVisons of Salome\u201d, \u201cFrankie and Johnny\u201d, \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d, and the Valse Chaloupee (Apache Dance) by Offenbach.<\/p>\n