1938 cartoon: Katnip Kollege
Two things to like about this 1938 Merrie Melodies cartoon, "Katnip Kollege": 1) The music and animation are of the first water, and 2) the quality of the video is remarkably good for a YouTube video. Kudos to the uploader. (Via Ursi's Blog)
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Uhoh, look out, furry enablers! 9.9
Wow, that actually was pretty good quality for a YouTube video, awesome. I really liked how -fluid- the animation was, too - it was just plain -nice- to look at.
Not to mention - I just love that you guys post a relatively healthy dose of cartoon/animation-based entries (many of which aren't even John K-focused, wonder of wonders! ;) They are much-appreciated - please keep 'em up! =)
this is awesome! i totally remember watching this when i was a little kid (i'm 54 now, and it was one of the saturday morning cartoons when i was under 10 or so). these old cartoons were the best.
What is that strange dance the cats keep doing where they hold their hands out, palms up, and bob their heads like pigeons?
It happens often enough that it's gotta be a reference to something popular of the day, but I have never seen actual humans dance like that, to my knowledge...
Is the teacher supposed to be a caricature of a celebrity of the day? His voice and mannerisms sound like he's imitating a popular radio announcer or show host.
Love these old jazz-age cartoons.
"of the first water"... never heard that phrase before. I like it.
"Meaning
Of the highest quality.
Origin
From the gem trade. The clarity of diamonds is assessed by their translucence; the more like water, the higher the quality. "
-- http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/137550.html
Shakespearean in origin, too boot.
I'd say the reason that the quality is good is that "Katnip Kollege" is readily available on DVD (Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 2).
We should save YouTube for the "not available anywhere else" Looney Tunes -- like Clampett's "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs" -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=kGbqBxXckJU
If we put up the Golden Collection stuff, Warner going to have much more incentive to come in with takedown notices.
"it's as easy as rolling cigarettes..." great line.
If I am not mistaken, the teacher is modeled on Kay Kaiser, of "Kay Kaiser and his College of Musical Knowledge" radio game show.
Couldn't tell you abou the odd dance moves, however, novelty dances were not the exclusive domain of the 50s or 60s.
I liked the dig at the Fleischer Studios' / Betty Boop when the "uncool" cat start's quoting from their cartoons when he tries to do his "assignment".
I like the Fleischer animation even better though myself, though they are both great.
An excerpt from Betty Boop and Cab Calloway Minnie the Moocher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaZOXF83zBg
i think the hands out & head bobbing thing is not any particular dance, it's just them hep cats jivin' to the groove, ya dig?
Josephine Baker, the great
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFf04zGVhKo
#4, #11:
The hands out head-bobbing thing is called 'pecking', and you see more of it in dancing from that era. You can see a (delightfully) cheesy demonstration of it here, at about 2:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJG0ZM-2HP4
I would argue that falling off a log is SIGNIFICANTLY easier than rolling a cigarette, especially for cats (or children, for that matter).
Man, cartoons just ain't what they used to be....
Does anybody know of a good resource for this kind of stuff online?
This kind of stuff meaning awesome old cartoons.
Lovely bit o' swing. Thanks for posting.
"I love to singa" is quite sweet also
http://youtube.com/watch?v=28hk97-vZdQ
Pecking shows up in the Blues Brothers' street scene outside Ray Charles' axe 'n wax, except I think there it's called the chicken.
#15, here's a bunch to download:
http://www.archive.org/details/classic_cartoons
ah the good old days of cartoons when they had eyes that look like they're on drugs