Take That, Walt!

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By 1944 Disney dominated the cartoon game.  Then a new player arrived, Tex Avery.  He was a director at MGM animations, and he fired the first major shot across Disney's bow.  The cartoon was 'Screwball Squirrel'.


This is Screwy and Sammy Squirrel.  Here is the clip:

https://youtu.be/u6OKK8lFd2M


Ha ha ha!  Sammy Squirrel is an effeminate super cute cartoon character who is completely self absorbed and lets us know in record time that he is the star of the picture. This does not sit well with Screwy, as we have seen.  Sammy is not very bright and shows up again at the end of the cartoon, where he gets 4 times the thrashing from the twin dogs and squirrels.


There is no clip of the actual beating but lots of stars and sound effects.


I think Screwball Squirrel is just as funny and elegant a creation as Bugs Bunny, but he did not catch on.  Names like 'Bugs' Bunny or 'Daffy' Duck indicate mental instability. 


The only two words for this squirrel are 'glory hole'.  But make up your own mind -


Can I call 'em or what?


Sammy was deliberately drawn to look like Thumper Rabbit, possibly the cutest anthro animal ever dreamed up.


Er..one of them, anyway.  This is somewhat offset by the voice of Bambi being that of a guy who became a Marine officer and was wounded and decorated in Vietnam.

https://misterscribbles.blogspot.com/2017/01/young-bambis-voice.html?view=flipcard


This just had to be done.


Frederick Bean Avery, 'Tex'.  We were born within a few miles of each other, so I got that going for me!

https://misterscribbles.blogspot.com/

Billy D Bunny.  Ruining your fondest childhood memories since 2012.

Comments

  1. Perfesser BearSeptember 12, 2020 at 6:52 PM

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    1. Billy D BunnySeptember 12, 2020 at 7:09 PM

      Yes, I ran into that as well. I would have preferred using a clip that did not have a voice over to make my point, but there just is not a lot to choose from.

      Delete
    2. Perfesser BearSeptember 13, 2020 at 1:07 AM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    3. Perfesser BearSeptember 13, 2020 at 1:11 AM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    4. Billy D BunnySeptember 13, 2020 at 9:27 AM

      I read that the copyrights to these were all over the place. How that happens I don't have any idea but a lot of cartoons will be spread out among several companies, as a result of mergers and sales over the years.

      Delete
    5. Billy D BunnySeptember 13, 2020 at 10:19 AM

      I found a French copy of the beginning of Screwball Squirrel, better sound but an awful picture, I decided to stay with the inaccurate voice over version.

      Delete

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