"Bosco's Picture Show" (1933)

Warner Brothers' first cartoon star--- slap-happy "Bosko"--- puts on a second-rate picture show, in this depression-era B/W cartoon parody of the movie-going experience. As the 'toon opens, Bosko proves to be a master of the organ, playing and singing the hit tune of the day, "We're in the Money" to warm up the unseen "audience" in the theater. Next, the projector plays a cornucopia of mediocrity: First up, a mock news-reel "Out of Tone News: Sees All, Hears All, Smells All!". Among the phony headlines: a clip featuring boxer Jack Dempsey, caricaturized as "Jack Dumpsey". The Marx Brothers turn up, running around as dog catchers for a few seconds. Next we're treated to "Famous Screen Lover on European Vacation" which shows Jimmy Durante being chased by Adolf Hitler in Vienna, in a now-unfunny bit. Bosko then preps the audience for a "Haurel and Lardy" comedy short, which lampoons Laurel and Hardy, right up to the that famous music. The last of the vignettes starts off with a belching, buffoonish MGM lion. We see the Marx Brothers again, as well as damsell in distress "Honey", voiced by the lovely Rochelle Hudson. She did the voice of "Honey" (Bosko's girlfriend) in all of the Bosko toons. The end title card displays "A Looney Tune" in big lettering as Bosko takes a final bow, signing off with "That's All Folks!" (which would later be Porky's famous catchphrase). Unbelievably, I found lots of information on this vintage toon on the web. Enjoy! IMDb post | Wikipedia post | Big Cartoon Database | Ironically, Rockin Ed at The Mystery Train Wreck Blog published a post on this toon days just a few days ago | Toon Zone Article

"Popeye's Twentieth Anniversary" (1954)

Hooray for Popeye the Sailor Man! In 1954, Parmount decided to celebrate 20 years of Popeye cartoons with a nonsensical "20th Anniversary" special cartoon (though they were a year late: the first Popeye cartoon came out in 1933). The toon features a testimonial banquet dinner in Popeye's honor; in attendance for this black-tie formal affair is Olive Oyl, Popeye's perennial love interest, and Bluto, Popeye's arch nemesis (bad idea to invite him-who's idea was this?)

The master of ceremonies? None other than Bob Hope himself (with an odd-sounding Southern accent). Also in attendance are stars from Paramount motion pictures, including Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Durante, and Bing Crosby.

Popeye shows clips from two of his cartoons, "Tops in the Big Top" and "Rodeo Romance" (in both clips, Bluto takes a beating!). All this is too much for Bluto to take, so he decides to smack Popeye with his Spinach trophy just after Bob Hope presents it to him. You'll have to watch the cartoon to see what happens, but you can be sure it involves spinach!

The caricatures only appear for a few seconds...the majority of the cartoon features the two Popeye clips. Watch it below:



Caricatures in order of appearance: Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Durante.

"Parade of the Award Nominees" (Disney)

1932 Parade of the Award Nominees (Disney cartoon)

This short Disney clip was only shown to Academy members at a banquet before the Academy Awards that year, a precursor to modern-day nominee-ribbing montages which have become a staple of Award shows today. Of all the actors caricatured here, only Jackie Cooper is still living. Each of the other six celebrities were all nominees for the top acting prize that year. (There were only three nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress back then)

The nominees:
Best Actor: Wallace Beery, "The Champ". Frederic March, "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde". Alfred Lunt, "The Guardsman".
Best Actress: Helen Hayes, "The Sin of Madelon Claudet", Marie Dressler, "Emma". Lynn Fontanne, "The Guardsman".












The following video clip contains a good introduction by Leonard Maltin, who mentions Disney animator Joe Grant. After doing some research, I found out that Joe Grant really did work in the Disney animation department right up until he died in 2005.

The caricatures don't appear for some time; we first see a parade with Mickey Mouse and friends.




List of caricatures in order of appearance:

1. Wallace Beery (as "The Champ") - Won Best Actor (tied with Frederic March)
2. Jackie Cooper ("The Champ") (nominated the year earlier for "Skippy")
3. Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt (both nominated for "The Guardsman")
4. Helen Hayes ("The Sin of Madelon Claudet") - Won Best Actress
5. Frederic March ("Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde") - Won Best Actor (tied with Wallace Beery)
6. Marie Dressler ("Emma") - Nominated for Best Actress

"Hollywood Canine Canteen" (1946)

Directed by Robert McKimson. WW2-era short from Warner Brothers paying homage to the famous Hollywood Stagedoor Canteen, a free entertainment club open to servicemen during WW2. (A feature-length movie "Hollywood Canteen" with Joan Leslie and an all-star cast was released by Warners two years earlier). This cartoon may appeal the most to hard-core celebrity aficionados; most of the celebs here were radio variety performers. The clip you're about to see came from Cartoon Network, but I can't imagine any little kid knowing who any of these people are supposed to be. And they're all drawn as dogs - so you have to look really close at the faces and know the mannerisms of some of the performers. Certainly I didn't get who some of the celebs were supposed to be and why they said and did what they did. For example, the rotund dog who says, "Oh Stop lookin!" ---who was that, I wondered? I found out through some research that it's supposed to be Joe Besser - a bald, whiney comic with a high-pitched voice and precious mannerisms who was, for a time, one of the post-Curly Three Stooges. Catchphrases "Not so fa-fa-fa-fast" and “Ooohhh, you craaaazy!” (delivered with a flip of the wrist) was his trademark; on the radio he appeared on the Jack Benny Show and others.

Highlights in this clip include Sinatra & Crosby crooning, and Lou Costello yelling, "Im a baaad boy!!" which always cracks me up. Note: I apologize for the poor quality of this cartoon; I couldn't find a better copy to post at the moment.

Celebrities in order of appearance:

Sitting at table: Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Durante, Ed Wynn, Monty Wooley, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Laurel and Hardy. In the Canteen: Bing Crosby. Bob Hope, Jerry Colona, Carmen Miranda, Abbott and Costello (I'm a baaad boyy!), Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead, Laurel and Hardy, Bing Crosby (singing "When My Dreamboat Comes Home.."), Dorothy Lamour, Frank Sinatra (singing, "Down Where The Tradewinds play"), Professor Kay Kyser, Ish Kabibble, Joe Besser (Tuba-playing pooch who says, "Oh I hate youuu!!" Stop lookin!!), conductor Leopold Stokowski, and those Kings of Swing Harry James, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Lionel Hampton

"The Coo-Coo Nut Grove" (1936)

Hard to believe this classic from Warner Brothers is almost 75 years old now, a fun parody of the 1930s Hollywood nightclub, The Coconut Grove. Though it seems a bit bizarre to see some celebs caricatured as animals while others are traditional "human" caricatures, it's still a hoot (pun absolutely intended!). It gets better toward the end: the show stopper is Helen Morgan singing a torch song on a piano, while other tough guy celebs cry like babies, such as Wallace Beery and Edward G. Robinson. Must be seen to be believed!

Note: There are quite a few "blink-and-you'll-miss-'em" shots of celebs. You may need to pause the video.





Celebrity caricatures, in order of appearance:

In the very beginning, seated at tables: Charles Laughton, Joe E. Brown, Bette Davis, a man sitting in table behind her (?), Fred Astaire, Jean Arthur (?), Lionel Barrymore. Ben Birdie: Bandleader Ben Bernie; Walter Windpipe the mouse: Columnist Walter Winchell; Happy man: Hugh Herbert; Pig: W.C. Fields; Horse (Miss Heartburn): Katharine Hepburn; Grouchy man: Ned Sparks ("I Never have any fun"); Tarzan and date: Johnny Weissmuller and Lupe Velez; The "Profile": John Barrymore; Man chasing woman: Harpo Marx; Turtle and Chickadee: George Arliss and Mae West; Monkey and Pig: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; Clark Gable, Greta Garbo and John Barrymore again. Old lady dancer: Edna May Oliver; "Pixillated" man: Gary Cooper ("He's pixilated" comes from of course Capra's "Mr. Deeds" from '36); Singing children: the Dionne Quintuplets Read More about them from Wikipedia); "Woman" being chased: Groucho Marx; Torch Singer: Helen Morgan; Man eating banana: Wallace Beery; Tough guys: Edward G. Robinson and George Raft (crying like babies!!)

Read more about this cartoon from these other great sites:

Wikipedia Post
Celebrating 70 years of this cartoon.
Cartoon Database
Warner Bros. Cartoon Filmography
IMDB Trivia

"Racketeer Rabbit" (1946): Bugs Bunny Meets Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre

A silly Bugs Bunny cartoon from Warner Brothers. Two gangsters end up hiding out in the same abandoned house as Bugs, and they get more than they bargained for as they put up with Bugs' zany antics. Only two caricatures in this one, rather amusing: Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre. I can't recall if these two actors appeared together in a picture; I don't recall if they did.

"Slick Hare" (1947) Bugs Bunny meets Bogart & Bacall

This is a hilarious Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoon from 1947. The caricatures this time include Frank Sinatra, Carmen Miranda, and The Marx Brothers. (Back in August, David from the blog The Marx Brothers published a post on this cartoon. Read the post)

Celebrity caricatures, in order of appearance:

1. Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne ("Love Affair") Joan Crawford & Raymond Massey ("Possessed") 2. Leopld Stokowski, conductor. 3. (Eating steak) Gregory Peck (as his "Spellbound" character) 4. Ray Milland and Howard DaSilva (in a parody of "The Lost Weekend"). 5. Frank Sinatra 6. Humphrey Bogart (To Elmer the waiter: "Cut the gab and bring me an order of fried rabbit!") 7. Marx Brothers (Bugs as Groucho). 8. Sidney Greenstreet 9. Carmen Miranda. 10. Lauren Bacall.

Read Wikipedia entry: "Slick Hare" now.

"Mickey's Polo Team" (1936)

(7 minutes)Dir. David Hand. First released: January 4, 1936. Features a game of polo between Mickey/Donald/Goofy/Big Bad Wolf and Laurel & Hardy/Harpo Marx/Chaplin. Spectators incl. Disney characters and some film actor caricatures, incl. Shirley Temple and Clark Gable (who seems to be in every one of these). Donald steals the show, and ends up riding a jackass.

This short does not have as many celebrities as the previous cartoons I've posted so far.

In order of apperance:
"Referre" Jack Holt (more about Jack Holt), Shirley Temple, Laurel and Hardy, Charles Laughton (dressed as Henry VIII), Eddie Cantor, Harold Lloyd, WC Fields, Greta Garbo, Harpo Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Edna May Oliver (seated next to Max Hare), Clark Gable (sitting next to Clarabell Cow)

"The Autograph Hound" (1941) Donald Duck meets Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, Greta Garbo and more!

"The Autograph Hound" (1941)

Another in a series of cartoons featuring caricatures of classic celebrities of the day. In this classic, Donald attempts to get autographs from popular celebs of the day, including Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, Greta Garbo, Sonja Henie and more.

Read a great blog post on this cartoon from the 2719 Hyperion blog.






Celebrities, in order of appearance:
Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney
Henry Armetta. Sonja Henie.
The Ritz Brothers. Shirley Temple
Greta Garbo and Clark Gable.
Charlie McCarthy, Stepin Fetchit, Roland Young.
(War scenes, Western scenes)
Joe E. Brown, Martha Raye.
Hugh Herbert, Irvin S. Cobb, Edward Arnold.
Katherine Hepburn, Eddie Cantor Slim Summerville,
Lionel Barrymore, Bette Davis, Groucho and Harpo Marx,
Mischa Auer, Joan Crawford, Charles Boyer

"Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (1938)

Another classic cartoon loaded with celebrity caricatures.

This Walt Disney short mixes Hollywood stars of the late 30s with with nursery rhymes. (Katherine Hepburn is Little Bo Peep). Among the movies parodied are "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Captains Courageous". Featuring caricatures of Laurel and Hardy, Spencer Tracey, Clark Gable, Eddie Cantor, and Stepin Fetchit.

Read a great blog post on this cartoon from the 2719 Hyperion blog.

There are a few scenes which may be offensive, because of the black stereotyping; one scene where Katherine Hepburn starts talking with a black dialect after she gets a pie thrown to her face. A recent commentary (Oct 2009) by Mark Sawyer from CNN online goes into the topic of blackface comedy and the modern audience. Read Article





In order of appearance:
1. Katherine Hepburn. 2. Hugh Herbert (King)
3. Marx Brothers. 4. Ned Sparks (Jester)____Who is portrayed on the figurehead of the rattle held by Ned Sparks? 5. Joe Penner
4. Donald Duck. 5. Charles Laughton. 6. Spencer Tracy
7. Freddie Bartholomew. 8. WC Fields. 9. Charlie McCarthy
10. Laurel and Hardy. 11. Greta Garbo. 12. Edward G. Robinson
13. Eddie Cantor. 14. Cab Calloway. 15. Wallace Beery
16. Fats Waller 17. Stepin Fetchit. 18. Trio of Trumpet players: (L-R: Edna May Oliver, Mae West, ZaSu Pitts 19. Flute: Clark Gable. 20. Sax: George Arliss.
21. Fats Waller. 22. Fred Astaire. 23. Joe E Brown & Martha Raye

"Hollywood Steps Out" (1941) Tex Avery Cartoon

This is a first in a series of classic cartoons featuring caricatures of Hollywood celebrities from the 1930s and early 1940s. See how many you can recognize!



Celebrities, in order of appearance:

First tables: Claudette Colbert & Don Ameche, Norma Shearer & Adolph Mejou
Cary Grant & Greta Garbo ("Cigarette Girl")
Edward G. Robinson & Ann Sheridan
Henry Binder & Leon Schlesinger (Warner Bros. producers)
Johnny Weissmuller ("Tarzan")
Cagney, Bogart, and Raft
Harpo Marx
Clark Gable
Bing Crosby & Leopold Stokowski
Dorothy Lamour & Jimmy Stewart
Tyrone Power & Sonja Henie
Frankenstein monster
Three Stooges
Oliver Hardy
Caesar Romero & Rita Hayworth
Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland
Lewis Stone (Andy Hardy's dad from "Andy Hardy" series)
Sally Rand
Prof. Kay Kyser and "Students" (William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Gilbert Roland, Errol Flynn. Sitting: Wallace Beery and C. Aubrey Smith)
Peter Lorre
Henry Fonda
J. Edgar Hoover ("G-man")
Boris Karloff, Arthur Treacher, Buster Keaton, Mischa Auer
Ned Sparks
Jerry Colonna
Harpo Marx
Groucho Marx

Source: Wikipedia post ("Hollywood Steps Out").

Read Rob's great blog post on the background artwork in this cartoon.