The Fighting 69½th

This is the story of red ants and black ants and their inability to get along. A simple picnic is what starts all the trouble. A red ant and a black ant both spot an olive from said picnic at the same time. This leads to war between the two colonies. The black ant even steals bugs bunny's famous "Of course you know this means war" line.

I've always felt that this cartoon was under rated. I love the plot and how it pokes fun at man's seemingly endless need to make war with one another. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc and Kent Rodgers. This cartoon was written by Jack Miller. What I have posted here is the unedited version. I don't believe in posting edited versions of cartoons. I'm not trying to offend anybody, I just think it's important to show the work the way it was originally presented.  

Saps In Chaps

Saps in Chaps was released on April 11, 1942. I can honestly say I have never seen this cartoon on TV. It appears to be pretty obscure. The director was of course Friz Freleng. It was written by Dave Monahan.  Mel Blanc was the voice of  the vulture, traveler, cat, villain, and horse. Billy Bletcher was the voice of Cactus Pete. Both men were uncredited.

The plot revolves around settlers moving west and towns springing up overnight. The only bit I saw worth mentioning in this short was when the villain enters a saloon, approaches the bar and repeatedly shoots a cowboy who laughs as if being tickled and says "Stop! You're killing me!,".

Dog Gone South

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Charlie's search for a master leads him to a plantation down South where Charlie tries to force himself on the owner, a Confederate Colonel. Unfortunately, the Colonel already has a pet bulldog named,  "Belvedere".

 As far as cartoons go, "Dog Gone South" is an all time favorite of many. Here is just a sampling of the many memorable quotes from this cartoon.

Charlie Dog: Plantation? Are you from the South?


Colonel Shuffle: Ah'm not only from it, sir. Ah'm in it.

Charlie Dog: Well shut mah mouth an' stuff me full o' chitlins! Ah'm from the South, too!

Colonel Shuffle: Oh, Belvedere. Come heah, boy.

Charlie Dog: Goodbye, Belvedere. If you're ever up dat way, say hello to my aunt in Boston.

Colonel Shuffle: Boston? Why you cotton-picking Yankee...

Charlie Dog: South Boston, Alabama.

Charlie Dog: You keep out'a this! You an' your 'Southern hospitality'!... and besides, my aunt lives in NORTH Boston - Massatuchetts!

Often an Orphan

The next two cartoons I'm going to post are going to focus on one of my favorite Looney Tune characters, Charlie dog. An early version of Charlie appeared in the 1941 short "Porkys Pooch". The dog in that cartoon was named Rover and Mel Blanc provided the Brooklyn like voice and accent which would later become Charlie's standard voice.

In 1947 Chuck Jones renamed the dog Charlie and transformed him into something new. Jones first used Charlie in Little Orphan Airedale.  The film was a success, and Jones would create two more Charlie Dog/Porky Pig cartoons in 1949: Awful Orphan and Often an Orphan. Jones also starred Charlie without Porky in a couple of shorts: Dog Gone South and A Hound for Trouble which sends Charlie to Italy where he searches for a master who speaks English.

In these cartoons, Charlie Dog is defined by one desire: to find himself a master. To this end, Charlie is willing to pull out all the stops, from pulling "the big soulful eyes routine" to boasting of his pedigree ("Fifty percent Collie! Fifty percent setter, Irish Setter! Fifty Percent Boxer! Fifty percent Doberman Pincher! Fifty percent pointer—there it is! There it is! There it is! But, mostly, I'm all Labrador Retriever!") when reminded by others that he is not a Labrador retriever, his response would be, "If you'll find me a Labrador, I'll retrieve it for you." —though in reality, he is just a slick-talking mutt who rarely realizes that his own aggressive obnoxiousness is sabotaging his appeal to any potential guardian.

Often an Orphan was the last cartoon Porky Pig starred in with Charlie. The cartoon deals with Charlie trying to get Porky to adopt him after his old owner dumps him at Porky's farm on a trip disguised as a picnic. Charlie instead irritates Porky and the short deals with him trying to get rid of the dog in various ways, but failing each time.

Droopys Good Deed

From May 5th 1951 it's MGM's "Droopys Good Deed". This cartoon was directed by Tex Avery and was one of the last cartoons Avery produced for MGM  before going on a self-imposed sabbatical from the MGM cartoon dept.

In this outing, Spike the vagrant comes across a boy scout camp when he is booted off a freight train. A competition is underway between Droopy and another scout for Best Scout. The prize? A trip to Washington to meet with the President! Spike sees this as his opportunity and takes the other scout's place. The remainder of the cartoon is a smattering of quick black-out gags as Spike does his best to eliminate his competitor, Droopy.

What I'm posting here is the uncensored version so to all you PC folks out there, you've been warned!
As an interesting side note there is an an error in geography in this cartoon. The cartoon ends with Droopy visiting the President. However, instead of visiting the White House, he visits Capitol Hill.

The Boys From Termite Terrace Part 3

Camera Three - The Boys From Termite Terrace Part 2