She Was An Acrobat's Daughter (1937) - Merrie Melodies Theatrical Cartoon Series

They DON'T make 'em like this anymore!

Writer Ben Harrison should have received an Acadamy Award nomination for this cartoon - the whole crew should have. A bonus 9 minutes in length, this is *non-stop* roller-coaster ride: Smiles, to guffaws, to out-louds to bellylaughs, and back down again - over and over. The context of this cartoon is best understood as a product of it's time - think "Laurel and Hardy" and you're in the ballpark. Every parody, tease, wisecrack and bigwig tweak they could cram into nine minutes is beautifully animated in lightning-paced style, and the "Pardon me - Excuse me" hippo is priceless (Gee - a cartoon with a subplot, even!!) Biggest kick of all is the sing-a-long, done in nickleodeon style: Each line is flashed on the theatre screen in sequence from a slide projector, and the audience dutifully sings along - as, no doubt, the theatre audiences of 1937 did too - then comes a "misplaced" fourth slide, and a sting on the whole audience! The first time I saw this, I actually fell off the couch I was sitting on, I laughed so hard. Haven't seen it now in 30 years - would give anything to see it again. If you haven't,
it would be the best-spent 9 minutes of your week if you ever get the chance. No matter how young you are, you will laugh - a lot - at this one, but if you're past the big "five-oh", it is twice as funny as the period references are half the fun of it.

Offbeat spoof about going to the movies. All the theatre gags are here- the distsorted view from in the front row, the "pardon me, excuse me" guy who steps over everyone, the silly newsreal, and the kid (here, a goose) who won't shut up. Later cartoons borrowed the same gags, so modern viewers may find the cartoon too predictible. The sing-along part is still laugh out loud funny.