How's It Hold Up?

There are many Looney Tunes director that are well known and spoken of today, be they Chuck Jones, Tex Avery or even Bob Clampett. But there are also less-discussed directors whose work was no less interesting and important in pushing the series into the force it would become. Enter Frank Tashlin, a man whose appreciation of live-action cinematic techniques was brought with him into his cartoons, bringing them an extra flair. How's this earlier short of his hold up? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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We've covered films by Studio Ghibli's second-most famous director twice before, though one of those times it we were discussing a pre-Ghibli work of his. But today we have Isao Takahata's swan song, the last movie he ever made, and one of the most eye-catching, to boot. It's a new take on an old tale, and it's quite unlike the more quirky and off-beat films of his that we've watched before now... How does it compare, and more importantly, how does it hold up?

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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The series of Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons started out featuring Peg-Leg Pete as an antagonist, and in this cartoon that antagonism continues in color! ...Sort of! Pete is here, at least, but notably missing is his peg leg! From here on out Peg-Leg Pete just becomes Pete, at least as far as the classic era is concerned. The peg-leg aside... how's the cartoon? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 59sec)

It's time for more sequels to Don Bluth movies that have no involvement from Bluth himself or any of the other original creators for that matter! Except unlike most such sequels, this one ended up spawning a long-running franchise with well over 10 films and even a tv series under its belt as of 2024. The Land Before Time franchise is a bit infamous for its length and how it changed the series to a musical format... but still, were the sequels ever any good?

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Oswald is a character originally created by Walt Disney, but who has long since been run by other directors, still creating shorts right alongside the much more popular Mickey Mouse series. Like Mickey, Oswald's design has changed with the times, but unlike Mickey that change at this point is so drastic that Oswald is hardly identifiable as the Mickey precursor that he started out as. All that said... this Oswald cartoon is also something of a 1920's throwback, with its mixture of live-action and animation. Does 1936 Oswald have what it takes to compete with 1936 Mickey? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 41sec)

The second of the two Don Bluth and Steven Spielberg collaborations, The Land Before Time would also go on to become the premier children series about dinosaurs for the better part of two decades. While those later films (and tv series!) have a reputation all their own, this first one is the only film in the series to have Bluth and Spielberg's touch, and it therefore has a vibe all its own. Is it a good vibe? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Another Betty Boop cartoon, here in the era where her shorts are mostly not her own, but rather a vehicle for her dog, Grampy, or some other even less interesting character! This time Betty wants to take some kid to the carnival, but the weather isn't permitting. But good ol' Grampy cooks up an indoor carnival, with an impressive finale flourish! It might be one of the best Betty Boop cartoons of the year... but still, is it actually worth watching? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 33sec)

Disney films are often retroactively classified into various 'eras', with the period between Walt Disney's death and the start of the Renaissance often referred to as 'the Dark Ages'. Despite this ominous moniker, many fan-favorite films exist in this time period, including this very film! But this film is also infamous for its cheap nature, including multiple scenes in which animation from earlier films is reused and traced over. How heavily does this detract from the film, and does the whole thing manage to come together to create a satisfactory package? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Walt Disney famously hated sequels, though this wasn't an opinion he always held. At one point in time he was all for creating sequels to the hit cartoon Three Little Pigs, but when each short proved to be diminishing returns (at least financially), it contributed to his dislike of the concept of sequels. But looking back at this, the 2nd sequel in the series, were audiences right to dismiss it? Or should we be sad that Three Little Pigs never evolved into a long-running series? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 42sec)

Today we cover another movie from Cartoon Saloon, creators of The Secret of Kells and also a lot of other things, some of which - like a short for the Star Wars anthology series Visions - have come out since we covered their first film. Their studio only continues to put interesting and beautiful works out, only continues to become more and more prominent, and yet still it feels like if one were to say the studio's name or the name of one of their movies to a random layperson they'd receive only blank stares in return. They definitely deserve to be better known than they are... but does this particular film support that idea, or is this one a rare dud? Listen to find out!

The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Kool Kats Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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