After having reviewed the 1933 and the 1934 Oscar Cartoons in my previous blog posts, I will review here the 1935 Oscar winner and nominees cartoons: The Tortoise and the Hare, Holiday Land, and Jolly Little Elves. Why Cartoons? Because I LOVE cartoons as much as I love movies. Because they are ENTERTAINING at all ages. Because they are CREATIVE. Because they are always YOUNG. Because they are QUALITY. Because I HOPE to find many others who think alike. What Is A Cartoon? It’s a ‘movie’ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It’s a ‘film’ (Collins Dictionary). It’s a ‘film or program that shows pictures (…) that seem to be really moving’ (Longman Dictionary) How to Review? A ‘review’ is an ‘examination’ or ‘a study’ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), or a ‘report in the media in which someone gives their opinion of something such as a book or a film’ (Collins Dictionary). For the Longman Dictionary, a review is an ‘article in a newspaper or magazine that gives an opinion about a new book, play, film, etc.’ Therefore, a 1935 Oscar cartoon review can be a blog post on this Writing Blog, at the section ‘Reviews’ where old movies and, newly, cartoons are examined with the purpose to study them and practice the review writing genre. In other words, it is a short report that includes the author’s opinion that is directly expressed through words (as I do for the movies) or mostly through tone (as I do for the cartoons). So far, so good. But how to review cartoons because there is not any matrix for it? How? Well, from my point of view, the best answer is ‘with heart.’ And it is with all my heart that I invite you to read my reviews of the 1935 Oscar Cartoons.
During the race, the tortoise ran slowly and steady, it never stopped, and it never lost sight of the goal—that of winning the race. The hare, instead, paused, had fun, took a nap, always confident that it can catch up and win the race. But it is the tortoise who won.
The life morality is that natural talents are not enough, but we also need to work to improve them and to be perseverant, even with small steps, and to never lose sight of the final goal. 2. HOLIDAY LAND Producer: CHARLES MINTZ The Holiday Land is an 8-minute cartoon made in 1934 and a nominee in the 1935 Academy Awards. Its main character is a schoolboy who just wanted to stay longer in bed rather than to wake up and go to school. And as he took five more minutes to sleep in the morning, he wished that every day to be a holiday. He had a beautiful dream about how this should be: Christmas, New Year, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. For each of these holidays, the boy was taken by hand by the protagonists of each of the holidays: Santa, bunnies, etc. It’s a creative and joyful cartoon, with many toys to play at leisure that he had to leave behind, woke up and rushed to school. 3. JOLLY LITTLE ELVES Producer: WALTER LANTZ The Jolly Little Elves is a 4-minute film made in 1934 and a nominee at the 1935 Academy Award. It’s a beautiful and intense story of a shoemaker and his wife struggling with poverty and making shoes and with finding clients for the few shoes he was still having the strength to make. One night, an elf came to their window. He was cold and hungry. The shoemaker welcome him and shared the only donut he had. But it is very interesting the way they divided the donut with the elf guest: 50% to the guest, and the rest was shared by the shoemaker and his wife. Did the elf repay them for their kindness? How did they repay? It is all in the cartoon. Enjoy it! [1] A fable is an allegoric short story whose main character are, usually, animals illustrating a life moral. OTHER LINKS: The Academy Awards (Oscars) 1935, https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1935 The Animated Cartoons Review Series: 1934 Oscar Cartoons. What Is A Cartoon? https://lauralai.weebly.com/review/animated-cartoons-review-series-1934-oscar-cartoons The Animated Cartoons Review Series: 1933 Oscar Cartoons. Why Cartoons? https://lauralai.weebly.com/review/animated-cartoons-review-series-1933-oscar-cartoons
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Film’s Title: Reefer Madness
Cast: Dorothy Short (Mary), Kenneth Craig (Bill), Thelma White (Mae), Lillian Miles (Blanche), Patricia Royale (Agnes), Joseph Forte (Dr. Carroll), Carleton Young (Jack), Dave O’Brien (Ralph Wiley), etc. Director: Louis J. Gasnier Genre: Drama The movie Reefer Madness is a black and white old movie whose original title was ‘Tell Your Children.’ This movie is a drama and presents the story of two teens, Mary and Bill, who got lured into drugs. The movie shows the drug addicted outside world when dealing with dealers and inside world when analyzing the negative consequences on the brain. This movie is only 1h08-long, but the marijuana-story behind this story is longer. The movie starts with a 200-word prologue that, here, is called ‘foreword’ that clearly settles the purpose of this movie and the negative consequences of marijuana consumption for the teens and the negative impact their consumption has on the American society: 'The motion picture you are about to witness may startle you. It would not have been possible, otherwise, to sufficiently emphasize the frightful toll of the new drug menace which is destroying the youth of America in alarmingly increasing numbers. Marihuana is that drug—a violent narcotic—an unspeakable scourge. The Real Public Enemy Number One! Its first effect is sudden, violent, uncontrollable laughter, then come dangerous hallucinations, space expands—time slows down, almost stands still… fixed ideas come next, conjuring up monstrous extravagances—followed by emotional disturbances, the total inability to direct thoughts, the loss of all power to resist physical emotions… leading finally to acts of shocking violence… ending often in incurable insanity. In picturing its soul-destroying effects, no attempt was made to equivocate. The scenes and incidents, while fictionalized for the purposes of this story, are based upon actual research into the results of Marihuana addiction. If their stark reality will make you think, will make you aware that something must be done to wipe out this ghastly menace, then the picture will not have failed in its purpose… because the dread Marihuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter… or yours… or YOURS!' Then the movie shows a series of five newspaper titles: Police Wage War on Narcotic Ring!, Dope Peddlers Caught in High School, Police Raid Marihuana Flat, Federals Aid Police in Drug War, School-Parent Operations Join Dope Fight. And the entire movie envisaged the story told by Dr. Carroll to a school-parent meeting that took place in Truman High School Auditorium. The subject of this fictional meeting is ‘Tell Your Children’ – which explains the original title of the movie. And this may also explain why the prologue is called, here, foreword. This movie is a piece of art that reached its purpose: it is an invitation to think about the effects of drug addiction and it raised awareness of the drug issue. Actually, it raised such an awareness that it is still played today for information and educational purposes. The actors in old movies are as talented as those of the modern cinema. Therefore, the cast of this movie embodied with lots of talent all the symptoms of marijuana consumption as mentioned in the prologue. It starts with the common beginning—usually, a question coming from the entourage—such as ‘you’re afraid?’ Then the subject took his first cigarette and first puff of marijuana. This was the beginning of turning a brilliant student into a drug addicted and a murderer. The actors played all the other symptoms: the burst into the uncontrollable and hysterical laughter, the dissociation of ideas, etc. I found this movie informative and educational. I found it successful in reaching its goal through the cinema art. Enjoy the movie! OTHER LINKS: Laura Lai, From Vaping to Smoking, or from Smoking to Vaping: Positive Results, December 6, 2019 |
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