Monday, March 28, 2011

The 50 Greatest Cartoons: 41, 40

41. Rooty Toot Toot

is a 1951 United Productions of America animated short film, directed by John Hubley. In 1994 it was voted #41 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1951, but lost out to Tom and Jerry's 6th award winning cartoon The Two Mouseketeers.



The short retells the classic popular song "Frankie and Johnny". Frankie is on trial for the murder of her piano-playing lover, Johnny. The prosecuting attorney accuses her of shooting Johnny "rooty toot toot/right in the snoot." Nellie Bly the singer ("She's no singer!" shouts Frankie) claims she witnessed the shooting. The case is looking bad for Frankie until her lawyer, Honest John the Crook, spins a wild story about involving innocent Frankie, a jealous Johnny, and an incredible ricochet. The jury convenes and finds Frankie "not guilty." Frankie is thrilled, until she sees Honest John dancing with Nellie Bly. She quickly picks up Exhibit A (the gun) and shoots Honest John "rooty toot toot/right in the snoot" in front of the entire court room.

40. Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth is a one-reel 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short directed by Hugh Harman, about a post-apocalyptic world populated only by animals.

Two young squirrels ask their grandfather on Christmas Eve who the "men" are in the lyric "peace on Earth, good will to men." The grandfather squirrel then tells them a history of the human race, focusing on the never-ending wars men waged. Ultimately the wars do end, with the deaths of the last men on Earth, two soldiers shooting each other. Afterwards, the surviving animals discover a copy of the Bible in the ruins of a church. Inspired by the book's teachings, they decide to rebuild a society dedicated to peace and nonviolence (using the helmets of soldiers to construct houses). The cartoon features an original song written to the tune of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

According to Hugh Harman's obituary in the New York Times and Ben Mankiewicz, host of Cartoon Alley, the cartoon was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. However, it is not listed in the official Nobel Prize nomination database.[3] Mankiewicz also claimed that the cartoon was the first about a serious subject by a major studio. In 1994, it was voted #40 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. It was also nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Short Subjects (Cartoons). It did not claim that honor (which instead went to Walt Disney's Silly Symphony The Ugly Duckling).



Enjoy :)

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