ThadBlog

Rodney posted that he doesn’t really like Carl Barks’ infamous 1952 “Omelet” tale, so to supplement it, I am posting the remake Barks did in WDC&S #204 (Sept. 1957). When Barks usually remade a tale, most of the punch was taken out (thanks to growing editorial pressure due to complaints from overbearing mothers), but that’s not the case here. It’s significantly improved with better staging and having the disaster caused by Donald happen in present day.

(Thumbnails work! Yay!)

Billy Wilder’s cult classic Ace in the Hole was on this morning. I only caught about twenty minutes of it (I own the DVD already), but even that segment reminded me of how powerful a film can be as social commentary, only magnifying the shallowness of the coolest animated flick in town, Wall-E.

Ace had a lot going for it commercially: a big studio backer, a very popular and talented director (Wilder was just given praise the year before for Sunset Boulevard, so it’s not like cynicism was unexpected), and an effective (though limited) lead with Kirk Douglas. Jaime already pointed out why the film isn’t for everyone, but I think the real reason it bombed is that 1951 was not the time in America to make a film that criticized society in any way or form. (Though the film lacked any McCarthy metaphors, the Hollywood Reporter still made borderline Red allegations: “… is nothing more than a brazen, uncalled-for slap in the face of two respected and frequently effective American institutions: democratic government and the free press.”)

It seems that the current environment in America, the one Wall-E was made in and the kind that such a film as Ace could easily be critically acclaimed in if it were new, just inspires laziness. I have a feeling that most of the films made in this era that are hailed as wonderful pieces of social commentary (and I include the hackneyed films of Michael Moore too) are going to be real embarrassments down the road. (Though what do I know. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is still branded as a modern classic rather than just simple-minded polemics.)

While I’ll be inevitably criticized for doing so, I don’t see why comparisons can’t be drawn between Wilder’s film and the new Pixar one. Both attempt to bear a message on the faults of humanity (consumerism is one in both films), with Pixar’s even trying to grasp a bigger piece of subject matter. The only difference is that in Wall-E, the issues of the environment and mass consumption are placed in to the hands of incompetents, who fumble with them, unable to create a film that can support them.

I know that it would be impossible to make a prolific film at any of the Hollywood animation studios, but that’s still no excuse for what’s been delivered. As Mark Mayerson said to me, “Wall-E is [Andrew] Stanton’s version of Bakshi’s Wizards, another film that tries to be profound but fails.” The only thing this film bears is stupidity.

Figuring the inflation, Wall-E still cost about twelve times as much to make as Ace in the Hole did. If Wilder’s film was a critical bomb, Wall-E is an intellectual one.

Well, not really, but that’s the gist of this recording of Paul Frees auditioning for the roles of the Dodo and the White Rabbit in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. It seems they were hunting for unsung (at the time) cartoony personalities to do voices in the film (Daws Butler and Stan Freberg were actually cast in a scrapped sequence). It’s fairly obvious that they made the right choice casting Bill Thompson in these roles.

(Thanks, Dan.)

I know it’s common knowledge that most grown men who collect Barbie dolls are probably on the local area’s list of sexual predators, but seeing how I love the film, this one might be worth getting, for its sheer WTF value alone… Maybe we’ll see a Frenzy Barbie next, complete with tie?

(Thanks, Ivan G.)

For Kevin and all the “Skrewy” fans out there. From Our Gang #12 (July-August 1944). Art by Carl Buettner. There were only three stories featuring Avery’s character (the other being in #13). The strip was dropped in favor of the long-running Wuff the Prairie Dog (who as far as I know appeared in no MGM cartoons) for reasons unknown.