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Cartoon comedy: "Cellbound"

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In  Cellbound  (MGM, 1955), directors Tex Avery and Michael Lah, and writer/story artist Heck Allen, created a great comic setpiece. An escaped prisoner (that bulldog with the pseudo-Irish accent from a lot of Tex Avery's cartoons) has hidden inside a hollowed-out TV, only to find that it has just been purchased by the prison warden who had been guarding his cell for the past several years.   In order to avoid being caught, he has to act out various TV shows convincingly enough that the warden will believe he's watching the real TV shows and won't get suspicious. The comedy comes from his desperation at this challenging task.  If he could just do like so many cartoon characters do and produce props and backdrops by reaching off-screen, behind his back or into a pocket that they couldn't possibly fit in... then his task would be easier, and less entertaining for us. Avery and co. make it clear in advance what limited resources the bulldog has.  As he escapes...
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Cartoon comedy: "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century"

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Cartoon violence doesn't need to be "mindless."  Sometimes it can be skilfully integrated with witty wordplay and creative jokes about fictional technology. Director Chuck Jones and writer/story artist Michael Maltese demonstrate this in their classic cartoon Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (Warner Bros., 1953). In this cartoon, Daffy (as Duck Dodgers) and Marvin are rival claimants, on behalf of Earth and Mars respectively, for Planet X and its precious resources (Illudium Phosdex, the "shaving cream atom", if you're curious). Marvin has Daffy at ray-gun point with an "A-1 Disintegrating Pistol" (A-1 is evidently the Martian counterpart of Acme), but Daffy isn't bothered, as he's wearing a "disintegration-proof vest".  This is a funny "technology" gag in itself: the idea of a futuristic version of a present-day item (a bullet-proof vest), and the idea that you could protect yourself from disintegration the same way yo...
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Cartoon storytelling, part two: "The Unbearable Bear"

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The Unbearable Bear  (Schlesinger/Warner Bros., 1943), directed by Chuck Jones Here's the scenario. A cock-er-ney rogue of a fox is trying to rob a bear couple's house.  Mr Bear, a "bloomin' copper", is out, while Mrs Bear complains about him in her sleep. One by one, more characters will join the story, changing the scenario and sometimes altering the dynamics of the other characters, keeping the cartoon fresh and entertaining. First, a talkative little mouse named Sniffles, who catches the burglar trying to crack a safe.  To stop him from alerting Mrs Bear, the fox convinces him that he's Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor.  (Sniffles gets in a great bit of bad logic here: "If you say you're Robin Hood then you must be Robin Hood, 'cause Robin Hood wouldn't tell a lie!") So here's the new scenario.  The fox is trying to rob the house without waking Mrs Bear.  Although Sniffles is on his side, he's still makin...
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Cartoon storytelling, part one: "Porky's Party"

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Despite its seemingly loose and unfocused story, Porky's Party  (1938) is a very well-structured cartoon.  Let's take a look at it. Bob Clampett and his team take a few seconds to establish the setting, then approximately the first third of the cartoon (two and a half minutes) to set up the three main elements. The setting: Porky Pig's birthday party.  Element 1: Porky gets a silkworm as a present, who will make clothes whenever you instruct him to "sew".  Sometimes these clothes are embarrassing. Element 2: Porky's dog, who, as Michael Barrier puts it in Hollywood Cartoons , is "ridiculously and thus appropriately" named Black Fury, gets drunk on hair grower after watching Porky applying some to his scalp. Element 3: Porky's two party guests are a gluttonous penguin and a goofball goose. Each element is introduced in a separate sequence, but they flow together nicely.  They are also set up in advance - Black Fury is around from the start of the ...
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