Inspiration by Trinity

Green on blue or
blue on green?
Is what you drew
what I am seeing?

Curves and lines
are clues to find
what might be happening
in your mind.

Where I see water
you see sand-
Where i see ocean
you see land.

I'm not right and
you're not wrong,
It's different words
but just one song.....

My granddaughter, Trinity, did the painting and I wondered what made her see what she saw. And this is what I saw. There's a lesson here....

Kites - A Family Tradition

This is me on November 11th, 1957 taking my first solo kite flight at Riis Park in Queens, New York. My Dad had the day off, back then it was a holiday that really meant something. The whole family went down to the beach, and though it was freezing, it is one of the warmest and earliest memories of my life. As you get older you want to pass on some of these memories, sometimes without success. But with kite flying it's just about a sure thing that you are going to capture the heart and mind of the one you're with.

Here I am, over 3 decades later, with my own daughter, an experienced kite flier by age 10, setting up on Myrtle Beach in 1998. The winds there are fantastic in the evenings. It was one of the most gratifying feelings to pass on my love of kiting to my daughter. She still kites, periodically, today. She still feels that connection to the earth as it whirls around and the wind as it whistles eerily through the string.

This is me yesterday, with my grandaughter Aliyah, showing her the ropes on a nylon rip stop box kite that hauls 80 MPH winds. We were only bucking gusts of 15 MPH or so. The look on her face changed from concern to joy as the kite took off and stayed aloft. This is the way the world feels when it turns, The kite helps you feel that connection. The drag on the line is surely caused by the spinning of the earth. I know this to be true because my Dad told me so, as his dad had told him.

So here she is, my grandaughter Aliyah, flying solo. Another tradition passed on. Hopefully she will remember the moment and pass it on to her children some day. Then her children will feel the turning of the earth through the pull of the wind on the kite and hear the sound of the wind whistling through the string. And maybe, just maybe, she will tell them of the moment we first flew together. I'd really like that.

"Red Hot Mamma" with Betty Boop (1934)

I’m not exactly sure of what Max Fleischer had in mind when he produced this cartoon, but it’s really quite good. It seems to involve our gal Betty trying to get some sleep on a cold winter’s night. She shivers herself to sleep; dreaming that she is surrounded by fire and warmth; only to discover that she is in hell.  

But devils and demons, along with a few dancing flames, prove no match for Betty’s cold shoulder and icy stare. And you know what? Before she wakes up, hell freezes over. About the only thing missing here is the devil ice skating.

"Susie the Little Blue Coupe" - (1951)

This cartoon is for you Aliyah and Trinity. Grandma Sue is visiting you guys and I thought since I can’t be there myself, I’d post this for you. I also sent some Grandpa hugs which you can collect from Grandma. I wonder if you will be able to tell the difference. Love to both of you… XXOO Grandpa Robert

I’m one of those people who believe that everything has feelings. Even inanimate objects can elicit feelings of sympathy from me. Take a car as an example. We use it all day, and then leave it alone in the night, subject to the cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. It may sound crazy, but this has always made me feel kind of bad for whatever car I have owned. They serve me so well, yet they get treated just like any other tool; used for a purpose and then tossed aside until needed again.

That’s what really caught my emotions in this Walt Disney cartoon from 1951. The title says 1952, but the copyright is 1951, so I’m going with that date. The story begins with a man enamored of the automobile he sees in the window at the dealership. It’s almost as if she is calling out to him to take a drive, which he does.

From there the cartoon takes off, showcasing each aspect of a car’s life as seen from an almost human perspective. I had never seen this cartoon before, but it could’ve been lifted right from my imagination. Enjoy the cartoon; I’m going to take my car out for a tank of Premium. If the adventures of Little Susie are any indication of reality, then my car deserves it!

Note: This cartoon has gotten more "hits" than all of the Popeye cartoons combined. Something about this cartoon hits a nerve with many people. They seem to identify with either the car, or the driver.

We all love our cars. It's one of the only times we really get to be alone. We listen to our music, think out loud, and sing aloud, basically getting to be ourselves in the privacy of our automobiles. Some of us even eat there, right behind the wheel!

This cartoon was done by Bill Peet for Walt Disney Studios in 1951. The release date is 1952, which explains the discrepancy in dates.

"Popeye the Sailor" with Betty Boop (1933)

I hurt my hand and cannot blog for a few days - Please excuse me while I heal and enjoy a couple of my old favorites...

What could be more entertaining than a classic cartoon featuring 2 of the most recognizable feature cartoon characters in it? In this 8 minute classic, Popeye the Sailor finds himself ashore after an ocean voyage. He elects to take Olive Oyl to the Carnival with predictable results, as he and Bluto compete in their never ending quest for her affections.

When the Hula Hula dancer (Betty Boop) makes her appearance and Popeye jumps on stage to perform with her, Bluto sees his chance and takes it; or rather, Olive; and kidnaps her with the intention of making her his wife whether she likes it or not.

By the way, while Popeye is dancing, at about 5 minutes into the cartoon, he encounters a snake on stage, and places his pipe under the serpents nose, quickly neutralizing the snake and calling into question just what was in that pipe? This is not the first time I have sensed that Popeye was a “smoker.” In several other cartoons he uses his pipe as a blowtorch to open the can and then inhales the “spinach” through the pipe.

Once Popeye realizes that Olive is gone and in danger, he jumps into “high” gear; and the chase is on to save the woman of his dreams. As in all of the old cartoons, everything works out in the end for Popeye and Olive. This is a unique cartoon in that it is the first one for Popeye and the only one in which he appears with Betty Boop. He also sings the entire theme song, which was composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for this cartoon. It was also a hit for Hoagy Carmichael, which I play in my car, much to most people’s disbelief.

Until this cartoon’s release in 1933, Popeye had only been in the funny papers since January of 1929, drawn by E.C. Segar for the Thimble Theater series. Segar had been working with King Features Syndicate since 1919. Riding the wave of success surrounding the Betty Boop cartoons, Max Fleischer decided to animate the cartoon strip, He chose a Betty Boop cartoon to do it in, figuring that if it failed to gain any traction, it wouldn’t be noticed for long. 

Of course, Betty Boop may have remained a staple in the world of classic cartoons, but Popeye went on to greater success in the 1950’s when King Features re-vitalized him in a new format featuring Brutus in Bluto’s place. Those cartoons never did measure up to the “trippy” style which rolled out of the studios during the 1930’s, making them a delight to watch even today, 80 years later.

Old Slides #2 - Learning How to Fly (1957)

Most photos have a “back story” to them; where and when the photo was taken being the least important of the details. What happened just before the shutter clicked can be very revealing in some cases. And that’s what makes the photograph above, which is one of a series taken on Veteran’s day 1957, so unusual. There is none.

As I sift through the old family photos I can find very few where there is not something else that has just occurred which mars the memory a bit. Behind most of the smiling faces there was either a very recent scolding, argument or some other stupid and unnecessary problem. No one is really to blame for that; it’s just the dynamics of an ordinary family living and growing; together or apart.

But, let’s get back to this photograph which was taken over 57 years ago. This one is of me and my Dad. I’m the little guy holding the string. He’s the big guy showing me how to fly the kite. It was one of those big paper kites; bright red and with a tail made of rags. We were at Riis Park; for some reason we were always at Riis Park; winter or summer. I’m not complaining; I loved the place!

Riis Park was named after Jacob Riis, the famous campaigner for decent housing and social reform. His photographs of the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20^th Century are iconic. He championed airways in the tenements and windows in every room. It was only fitting that a bright, sunny, public beach be named for him.

Once again; back to this photograph. In the years after this was taken; remember I said that every picture has a “back story”? Well, this one really has more of a “front story”, as it was taken less than 2 years before my mother began a long illness, which permeated my entire childhood. I didn't really mind, I just always hoped that she would get better; but she never did.

So, this photo is one of the rare ones in which my Dad is smiling and really means it. Life was good. He had just been through the only job “layoff” he would ever know, and also had pneumonia, one of the only times I had ever seen him ill. The other time was when he gave up smoking in 1962 or ’63 after the Surgeon General’s first warning about cigarettes causing cancer. He didn't even wait until the warning was on the pack. He just stopped. And was very ill; throwing up and bedridden for several days. It was cold turkey, just like heroin withdrawal. He may have lapsed once or twice in the first few years after, but never went back to smoking full time again. Instead he discovered M&M’s.

We would go grocery shopping on Thursday nights when my mother wasn't in the hospital; and my Dad would buy a box of Peanut Chews, or a 1 pound bag of M&M's, which we would eat before getting home.When my Mom was in the hospital, either my brother or I would pick up what was necessary ourselves. We used a pull along type folding “shopping cart” to wheel the groceries home. My brother was not fond of this chore; I think he found it embarrassing for some reason; so I was usually the one “bringing home the bacon.”

So, this is a picture of my father before all the bad times began. It’s also part of a set of 14 photographs taken that day. My Dad’s teaching me how to fly a kite, a skill which I have passed on to my daughter and 2 of my granddaughters. And whenever I look at this photo I remember what it was like to have my parents and my brother, before all the bad times began.

"Donald's Diary" - Donald Duck (1954)

In this 1954 cartoon Donald is a happy bachelor looking for love and finds that true love is more than he bargained for. But before he realizes that truth, he must go through all of the “honeymoon” phases attendant to any loving relationship.

With the standard cast of Donald, Daisy and Huey, Dewey and Louie it is hard to imagine that this was the last feature which would have Daisy Duck in it. She is, after all, the main character in this cartoon, which is a wonderful send up of a typical marriage.

The cartoon begins in what appears to be San Francisco, with Donald strolling the hilly streets in search of love. Daisy hears him whistling down the street and dons a beautiful dress in the hopes of snaring a mate. She does all of the atypical things that women in the movies do; she drops a handkerchief; goes into a faint; even pretends to drown, but Donald seems oblivious to her. But Daisy has a few tricks up her sleeve and the two are soon dating.

Their courtship consists of all the usual things; a drive-in movie; eating at a diner; and they even carve their names on a tree trunk. (The trunk actually has all of Daisy’s previous prospects names on it.) It is at this point that they kiss and “fall in love.”

The next logical step is for Donald to meet Daisy’s family. Huey, Dewey and Louie play Daisy’s brothers and they give Donald the welcome you would expect in a Donald Duck cartoon. He then meets her deaf mother, who is an exact replica of Whistler’s classic painting. After meeting her father, a crazed photographer, Donald is entranced with the idea of entering the state of Holy Matrimony.

He goes to the jewelry store and buys the requisite ring in order to propose to Daisy. He arrives back at the house and the stage is set for him to pop the question. But, while Daisy is upstairs getting ready; which takes several hours; Donald falls into a deep sleep, dreaming of married life.

After Daisy accepts his proposal in the dream the two start out life as a happily wedded couple. But happiness seems to elude Donald at every turn as he deals with his in laws and all of the responsibilities which go along with wedded bliss. Clearly, Donald has made a mistake.

When Daisy comes downstairs to wake him up, expecting him to propose, Donald screams in horror and runs out of the house screaming, leaving a hole in the door which he neglected to open while making his escape. The wedding is, apparently, off.

When we next see Donald he is sitting in a sparsely furnished room writing in his diary. As the cartoon comes to a close Donald writes his summation of what he has almost been through. “"It was a narrow escape. Though I was born when I kissed her, I died when we parted."  

A bugle is then heard playing in the background and he rushes out the door to take his place along the ramparts of a desert fort flying the French tricolor. The last thing he says as the cartoon comes to a close is, "But I lived for a little while".

This is the original 1954 movie poster for "Donald's Diary"

"Jack Frost" - A UB Iwerks Cartoon (1934)

It’s the dead of winter and everyone is hibernating except for the baby bear. When he runs away from home he finds that Old Man Winter has some wicked things in store for him. But, by chance; or maybe something more; Jack Frost comes to his rescue, saving the little bear from the ravages of the cold.

Cartoons like these were a mainstay when I was a kid. You actually learned something from them. In this one the lesson is clear; don’t bite off more than you can chew. But if you do, it’s okay; there is someone who cares enough to help you.

Is that unrealistic? I don’t know; perhaps in some ways it is. But the greater good is in the hope that these cartoons engendered in the hearts and minds of those who watched them, heeding their siren like call. And these lessons, once learned, never leave the mind, holding one in good stead during the darkest of times.

How do I know this for a certainty? Easy; when I was a kid my Mom was very ill; frequently in the hospital for months at time. There was never a year in which this did not occur. That was my “Old Man Winter." Cartoons, books, movies and music; these things all became my own personal “Jack Frosts’.” That’s why these cartoons were so special to me then, and continue to be so now.

"Christmas Comes But Once A Year" - Max Fleischer (1936)

Once again I am going to post a cartoon from Christmas past in the final days leading up to the holiday. I always loved this old classic cartoon in particular, and I posted it last year. I’m posting it again because it’s a great example of the quality of the animation in the 1930's. And, Max and Dave Fleischer were two of the best.

They often worked separately on various projects, though their best works are probably the collaborations they produced with the Popeye cartoons and Betty Boop series. They also made a boatload of feature cartoons like this one, which is a wonderful little story about an orphanage on Christmas morning. If you have seen this before, I hope that you enjoy it again this year.

Note: A Very Happy Birthday to my friend Eddie Ray. He's the youngest person I know …

_____________________________

A Picture from Israel

This is a photo of the moon setting over Massada in Israel the other morning. It was taken by my daughter who is on a trip to the Holy Land. She's 26 years old, exactly the same age I was when I made my first "aliyah". Forgive me for being so proud of her...

"The Fresh Vegetable Mystery" - Max Fleischer (1939)

It seems there is a never ending treasure trove of Max and Dave Fleischer cartoons which I have never seen. All I have to do is browse You Tube for them. In this classic from 1939 the vegetables have all gone to sleep for the night, with mama Carrot laying her babies to sleep on a bed of lettuce.

The Potato Cop has just left the potato sack Precinct and has a free beer form the mouse hole saloon before he begins his patrol. It isn't long before things start to go wrong on what should be an ordinary night.

Some of the vegetables have been menaced by what appears to be a giant cockroach and the Potato Cop is at his wits end. But, when the baby carrots fall victim to a kidnapping all hands pitch in to solve the crime, fearing the worst for the little ones.

In classic Fleischer form the mystery is soon solved and the answer to the puzzle concerning the giant cockroach is revealed. A very clever and fun cartoon, this offering is a good example of just how far the Fleischer studios were able to push the boundaries of imagination.

"Neptune Nonsense" - Felix the Cat (1936)

We all tend to think of Felix the Cat in terms of the 1950’s cartoons we saw on television. But Felix had a long life before that incarnation. He actually dates back to the days of silent films. He is also the first cartoon character to ever have a fan base of his own, preceding even Mickey Mouse in that regard.

Felix’s real background is somewhat obscured, with ownership being claimed by  an Australian cartoonist named Pat Sullivan. He claims to be the original creator of Felix. An American animator named Otto Messmer, who worked for Mr. Sullivan, has also been created with Felix’s birth. But, since Sullivan did have the Felix character in a newspaper comic strip prior to the partnership with Messmer, so I suppose he is the original, although even in that endeavor he had a partner named Joe Oliolo.

Felix was so popular during the 1920’s that he spawned a whole line of products, ceramics, postcards and even stuffed toys. He was also the subject of several jazz songs of the time, the most notable being Paul Whiteman's "Felix Kept on Walking".

When sound arrived in the theater, Sullivan was at first against giving his character a voice, but within a year had caved into the change. For whatever reason, the cartoon failed against the newer characters coming from Disney and others. There was a short time in the 1930’s when Felix enjoyed a short resurgence, and this cartoon is from that period with the Van Beuren Studios.

The Felix cartoons on American TV in the 1950’s, with which most of us are familiar, were the product of Sullivan’s old partner Joe Oriolo. He reintroduced Felix in an altered form with new characters, and a "Magic Bag of Tricks".  And of course there was that theme song…

In this 1936 offering, Felix decides that his fish is lonely and goes in search of a companion for it. A delightfully silly plot and great animation make this one a keeper, as well as a doorway into Felix’s past.

"Trick or Treat" with Donald Duck (1952)

Donald Duck gets a hard lesson from his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie when he tries to cheat them out of a bit of candy for Halloween. We all had neighbors like this when we were kids. They’d either not answer the door, or throw a penny or two in your bag at best. Chalk was invented for people like that.

Of course my favorite Halloween memory involves hurling an egg 5 stories up from the center of Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn, where it sailed perfectly into an open kitchen window. No one stuck their head out to yell, and maybe nobody was even home. If not they must have wondered how the egg got out of the refrigerator in the first place. But, I digress.

With the aid of a witch, Donald’s nephews literally are able to make their Uncle dance to their own tune. And before it is over he will learn to respect the yearly tradition of trick or treating. The cartoon was produced by Disney Studios and released via RKO in time for Halloween 1952. There was even a poster for the release, which I have shown below.

Jack Hannah directed this cartoon. The title song, “Trick or Treat” was written by Paul J. Smith and is performed in that perfect 1950’s harmony by a group called the Mellowmen. Clarence Nash is the voice of Donald, and his nephews; while the voice for Hazel is provided by June Foray.

"Old Mac Donald Had A Farm" - Screensong (1947)

Beginning around 1929 the “bouncing ball” type of cartoon began to rise in popularity. This was to be expected with the advent of sound in films. But I don’t think that anyone really saw the potential that these cartoons had in the way of becoming classics, evoking a long gone time and all the social gentilities which went along with it.

Think about it; does anyone ride along in the car doing family sing a longs of the old standards anymore? I doubt it. The rise of earphones, I-pods, and all the other electrical gadgets have rendered the family car time a void; with each person plugged into their own spheres. I doubt that any of today’s kids know the words to songs like “The Old Gray Mare” or “Shine on Harvest Moon”, or even “Old MacDonald”, which is the main event in this cartoon from 1947.

I know I sound old and curmudgeonly when I talk like this; but I can’t help but feel sorry for the kids growing up in today’s high tech world. I remember, with nostalgia, riding in the family car listening to AM radio all the way down to Florida before 95 was complete. Passing through so many small towns and catching the local radio stations, complete with farm prices. It was magic. 

"Music Land" - Silly Symphony's (1935)

Here's a perfect example of the quality in the old cartoons. Millions of baby boomers grew up watching these things on television, introducing us to classical music and everything else, including some jazz and swing music thrown in. If you listen to this cartoon you can here the orchestra riffing on such classics as Beethoven's "Eroica" and Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries", which was later used in the film  "Apocalypse, Now" in the 1970's. If it sounded familiar yo your ears, you probably first heard it in this cartoon.

Mixed in with the classical music are a myriad of popular tunes of the day, all performed by the same orchestra in one continuous piece. The characters in this cartoon speak only in musical tones, with each one being based upon a particular instrument. This made the cartoon was very educational in introducing young children to the different musical instruments in an orchestra.

The actual plot concerns the Land of Symphony, and what happens when the Violin Princess gets bored and sneaks out to the Isle of Jazz, located just across the Sea of Discord. The place is a veritable Jazzland, with dancing and partying all night long.

The Alto Saxophone Prince, who goes looking for the Princess, arrives in Jazzland, but is bored with it all. When war ensues, and the Prince is locked in a tower, all stops are let loose his father, a Tenor Saxophone enlists the aid of his friends to free his son.

The Princess rises to the occasion, calling for an end to the war. Her efforts are rebuffed, and after she falls into the ocean; with the Prince quickly following to save her life; the two sets of parents are forced to accept the love of the two youngsters and let the two be wed. The wedding takes place on the Bridge of Harmony which connects the two islands for ever after.

Supposedly, the cartoon is based upon the dilemma of the 1930's, when parents were despairing of their children's choice of jazz over the classics. The cartoon is meant to show that the two genres are closely related, separated only by tempo and timing. The same thing happens with each generation; out goes the old, and in comes the new. But, you have only to look at the basics of any genre to see that all music; and all generations; are really very closely related. It's in "how you swing that thing."

"Butterscotch and Soda" with Little Audrey (19 )

I have a lot to learn about being a grandfather to 4 girls. I post cartoons here each weekend, thinking that they might enjoy them. It turns out that I have been picking some of my favorites; like Popeye, or the Road Runner, and Betty Boop; thinking that my granddaughters would of course like the same cartoons which I enjoyed as a kid. Man, was I ever wrong!

So, I went looking at the Dora the Explorer cartoons, but just couldn’t even understand them, let alone want to post them. You’ll have to look elsewhere to see what I mean. In my mind; which is quite a disordered place, I admit; these aren’t even cartoons at all.

Stuck for an idea I googled the phrase “classic cartoons for girls” and came up with this character, Little Audrey, and I actually remember seeing a few seconds of these on TV when I was a kid. They were the ones that came on when I went to get a snack. Being a boy I wasn’t interested in Little Audrey, but now that I’ve taken a look at one of these cartoons, I’m a bit intrigued.

   

Little Audrey is actually based upon the Little Lulu comic strip character created by Marjorie Henderson Buell. These cartoons came about between 1947 and 1958 when Paramount decided not to renew the Little Lulu series. Little Audrey’s voice is done by Mae Questel, who also did almost all of the other major female cartoon characters for Paramount, including Betty Boop and Olive Oyl.

The plot of this cartoon, which was the first of the Little Audrey releases, is fairly simple. Audrey can’t stop eating candy and her Nanny is at her wits end concerning what to do about it. In desperation she finally searches the entire house, discovering Audrey’s hidden stashes everywhere and destroying them all. When Audrey discovers her candy missing, she goes into shock and enters a dreamland of; you guessed it; Candy!

But even enough of a good thing can become too much and Audrey ends up locked in a dream world where the very things which she craves all seem to turn against her, singing out their warnings to her in a very clever song “Tummy Ache Blues”, written by Winston Sharples and Buddy Kane. When Audrey finally comes to, she is met by the face of her Nanny; who thought she was dying; but now holds out a box of chocolates, telling Audrey that she can have all the candy she wants.

These cartoons were the product of Seymour Kneitel and illustrators Al Eugster, Bill Hudson and Irving Spector. Though the Nanny character is a stereotype; just as the character of Little Audrey is; the Nanny is clearly the wiser of the two. Now, I wonder how this one will stand up next to Dora the Explorer?

"Educated Fish" - Max and Dave Fleischer (1937)

This is a “Stereoptical” cartoon, which was the name of a process meant to give greater clarity to the cartoons of the era. Max and Dave Fleischer had been toying with this process for a few years, and they produced some wonderful cartoons with the process. This is one of those.

Basically the plot revolves around Tommy Cod, who decides to play hooky from the A.B. Sea School, after being thrown in the closet for misbehavior. While out on his own he meets a pretty little worm whom he invites to play “hooky” with him. She readily agrees, but there’s a hook to it, as she takes the term literally. Tommy, predictably, soon finds himself “hooked” and in a struggle for his very life.

Using all the tricks he can think of to elude capture, he soon finds himself in the boat with the fisherman who caught him. But, slippery as he is, he manages to get away, flopping back into the ocean where he makes a beeline for the A.B. Sea School. Once there, he vows to never be a problem again. And even to  this very day, I have never heard a bad word about him.

___________________________________________

Seamus Heaney 

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney 1939–2013

Between my finger and my thumb  

The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound  

When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:  

My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds  

Bends low, comes up twenty years away  

Stooping in rhythm through potato drills  

Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft  

Against the inside knee was levered firmly.

He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep

To scatter new potatoes that we picked,

Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.  

Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day

Than any other man on Toner’s bog.

Once I carried him milk in a bottle

Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up

To drink it, then fell to right away

Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods

Over his shoulder, going down and down

For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap

Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge

Through living roots awaken in my head.

But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests.

I’ll dig with it.

                                                                                 

"Somewhere In Dreamland" - Max Fleischer (1936)

I love this cartoon. But be careful, it just might make you cry. The story concerns 2 poor children who live with their mother. There is no father in evidence. The children’s lives are chiefly concerned with gathering the necessities of life; wood for fire, and anything edible. Their mother does all she can do to provide for them, but with limited resources, there is not much that she can do.

As the children go gathering firewood one day, they are mesmerized by all of the things in the shop windows of the town in which they live. But, they realize that none of these beautiful, and delicious, things are meant for them. They were for other, more fortunate folks. Remember, this cartoon was created during the middle of the Great Depression, so there were likely many kids who saw this cartoon and identified with the plight of the two children.

That night they go home and give their Mother the firewood they have gathered and she serves them a very sparse meal. They allude to all of the things they have seen that day, which only breaks their Mother’s heart, as she cannot afford to feed them well, let alone provide them with such luxuries. The children reassure her of their love and then turn in for the night, singing the song “I’ll See You Tonight in Dreamland.”

Their dreams are filled with every sight and smell which they have coveted for so long. They play in their dream with all of the toys they don’t have, and eat of the foods that they can only wish for. And then it’s morning.

Waking up and looking at their tattered clothes, they realize that it was all a dream; until they look out from their bedroom and see everything that was in their dreams assembled in the usually sparse living room. It seems that all of the town’s merchants have been watching these two children as they toiled daily to help provide for them-selves and their mother. And, as the children slept, these same merchants were preparing a veritable Christmas for them. This is a beautifully crafted and wonderfully conceived cartoon from the Fleischers. The message is pretty clear; every day is Christmas if you just help it along. 

"Snow White" with Betty Boop (1933)

One of the most remarkable things in this cartoon is the performance by Cab Calloway of “St. James Infirmary Blues.” The story is about Betty; who finds herself having to deal with her evil step-mom, the Queen. The Queen spends her time gazing into a looking glass, assuring herself that she is the most beautiful woman around. That is, until Betty shows up.

When the Queen’s magic mirror, along with all of the servants, declare that Betty is the “fairest in the land”, the Queen is horrified and orders Betty put to death. But the royal subjects all have other plans for Betty, and they fake her execution and burial, much to the delight of the Queen. But where has Betty really gone?

With the help of the Queen’s knights, and even the tree to which she is bound in a snowstorm, Betty is frozen into a block of ice and placed in a coffin constructed by the Seven Dwarfs. But the Queen grows wise to the deception and goes after the culprits, which now include her mirror, which has turned against her. KoKo and Bimbo accompany her on her journey to find Betty, and destroy her for good, to the tune of “St. James Infirmary”, swung by Cab Calloway and his famous orchestra. (That's a pun, not a typo.)

A very imaginative cartoon like this, with a fantastic performance of the old blues standard by one of the greatest jazz musicians of his time, make this one worth watching; or even listening to; a real treat.

"Keep In Style" - Betty Boop (1934)

A very special hello to Aliyah and Trinity in Texas. This is an extremely funny cartoon which, in the end, pokes fun of it's own theme; keeping in style; when everybody takes Ms. Boop's advice to heart. The results are satirical as everyone from man to woman, and even beasts, attempt to "keep in style" with the latest whimsical fashion.

These old cartoons are so well made, and the messages in them still so applicable, making them all the more worth while watching. With the usual direction of Dave Fleischer and his team, the cartoon flows like no other cartoons; including Disney's "big screen" epics, ever have, or will.

With the usual combination of wit and art, along with a bit of song, Betty has everyone filling the movie house for the show; a one week engagement from May 31st through July 31st; and then afterward, trying to live out their fantasies through the "style" she has displayed. Gee, sounds like real life...

"I Heard" with Betty Boop" - Dave Fleischer (1932)

In this 1932 classic from Dave Fleischer, Betty is the waitress at a mining camp. The cartoon begins with real life band leader Don Redman and His Orchestra performing the soundtrack for this entirely musical cartoon. 

Great animation, as always with a Fleischer production, make the machinations of the mine almost life like. And, at the end of the shift, the workers all repair to Betty Boop’s Saloon for some food and entertainment.

Through the dumbwaiter, Betty finds herself down in the mine where she sees not only the workers in action, but runs across some other worldly creatures in the process. With the assistance of Ko Ko and Bimbo, along with some dynamite, she is able to escape the mine, while at the same time planting these other wordly characters back where they truly belong; in the grave and not just underground.

The delightful soundtrack of this cartoon is pure swing, with that big band sound, lending even more fluidity to Mr. Fleischer’s visual efforts. These cartoons are like gems. There is really nothing like them around anymore. That’s why I love You Tube.