Moonlight for Two

Last updated

Moonlight for Two
Directed by Rudolf Ising
Produced by Hugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
Music by Frank Marsales
Animation by Isadore Freleng
Larry Martin
Color process Black-and-white
Color Systems, Inc. (1973 Korean redrawn three-strip color edition with stock music and sounds added)
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • June 11, 1932 (1932-06-11)(U.S.A.)
Running time
7 min.
Language English

Moonlight for Two is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. [1] The short was released on June 11, 1932, and stars Goopy Geer, one of the few recurring characters in the early Merrie Melodies series. [2]

Contents

Summary

The iris opens to a night-time scene, perhaps in the Ozarks or Appalachia, and the music of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain." Goopy Geer's nameless sweetheart comes out of a cabin scatting the music. Goopy himself stands by a tree unknowingly accompanying her on his harmonica before they meet. A songbird and her children trill a tune, "Moonlight for Two," which the happy couple pick up together, dancing about as the birds continue their accompaniment. The dancing ends when Goopy and the young lady hop onto a precarious wooden cart which, boarded, rolls down the hill at whose top it had been placed and through a cabin whose formation is confounded by the impact and whose logs, sent into the air, fall to earth again in a neat pile. The ungoverned cart crashes into a tree but reassembles into a perfect wheelbarrow, now bearing only the girl and pushed along by Goopy; across a plank bridge merrily they roll along, the bridge yielding to their weight not to the point of breaking but only bending enough that the happy couple are wetted by the shallow water beneath. We cut to a large cabin, where a square dance is taking place: amongst other partners, two donkeys dance, their tails joining to form a makeshift jump-rope for a kitten; a goat-like fiddler continually resins his bow between his toes.

Outside, our two darlings arrive; gentleman Goopy helps his lady out of the wagon and onto the porch of the cabin and he, ascending the steps, miraculously shrinks from his lofty height to a shape squat and round; this he amends by doffing his hat and pulling his long ears skyward. "Howdy, folks!" cries Goopy as he and his lady enter. The couple dance as the band play the title piece. The cabin's stove enters the number, dancing for a bit, then refreshing itself by quaffing coals. A canine couple caper excitedly; as they reach a table in the corner of the room, the boy takes a barrel of moonshine therefrom and, partaking thereof, finds his lanky body burnt, as a cigar, to a butt. Goopy Geer snaps his fingers madly, and produces a rhythm by pulling a lever on and thereby releasing the ash from his new dance-partner, the stove. A dishevelled villain enters with a shotgun; he lowers at Goopy's sweetheart, whereupon Goopy orders him to stand back. This challenge is met with shotgun bursts and our hero staggers back from the scene, stepping in a pair of spittoons and falling back on the table. He frees the spittoons from his feet, flinging them at the cackling cad. Goopy runs to his stunned foe and they rumble! Goopy at a disadvantage, the stove challenges the villain: it burns the brute's behind and breathes fire to the villain's slight retreat. The beast lowers at his adversaries; Goopy cleverly takes the lever of the stove and with it fires hot coals at the invader who, yelping with pain, retreats. Our hero and his helper shake hands. Victory!

Falsetto

Goopy Geer's speaking-voice in this cartoon is a falsetto, characteristic of Bosko (as played by Carman Maxwell), the star of the main star of the contemporary Looney Tunes series. This is interesting as, in the earlier Goopy Geer film, the voice of the character was deep and raspy.

This is reminiscent of Bosko's own change from the speech exemplified in Sinkin' in the Bathtub (the first Looney Tune) and Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid to the better-known falsetto that he uses from Congo Jazz onward. Goopy's singing voice remains much as it was in the earlier short.

Related Research Articles

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the Looney Tunes franchise and featured many of the same characters. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it was revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

Buddy (<i>Looney Tunes</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Buddy is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes series by Leon Schlesinger Productions. He was the second star of the series, after Bosko.

<i>Bosko the Doughboy</i> 1931 film

Bosko the Doughboy is a one-reel 1931 short subject animated cartoon, part of the Bosko series. It was directed by Hugh Harman, and first released on October 17, 1931 as part of the Looney Tunes series from Harman-Ising Productions and distributed by Warner Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goopy Geer</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Goopy Geer is an animated cartoon character created in 1932 for the Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. He is a singing, dancing, piano-playing dog who is considered to be "the first Merrie Melodies star", although he only starred in three cartoons.

Foxy (<i>Merrie Melodies</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Foxy is an animated cartoon character featured in the first three animated shorts in the Merrie Melodies series, all distributed by Warner Bros. in 1931. He was the creation of animator Rudolf Ising, who had worked for Walt Disney in the 1920s.

<i>Sinkin in the Bathtub</i> 1930 film

Sinkin' in the Bathtub is the first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short as well as the first of the Looney Tunes series. The short debuted in April 1930, at the Warner Bros. Theater in Hollywood. The cartoon features Bosko, and the title is a pun on the 1929 song Singin' in the Bathtub. The film was erroneously copyrighted under the same title as the 1929 song. It is now in the public domain in the United States as the copyright was not renewed.

Beans (<i>Looney Tunes</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Beans the Cat is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Cartoons series of cartoons from 1935–1936. Beans was the third Warner Bros cartoon character star after Bosko and Buddy. He was voiced by Billy Bletcher. He was created by director Friz Freleng. The character was featured in nine cartoons made in 1935 and 1936.

<i>Congo Jazz</i> 1930 film

Congo Jazz is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Warner Bros.' first cartoon star, Bosko. The cartoon was released on August 9, 1930. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and The Vitaphone Corporation. Congo Jazz was the first cartoon to feature Bosko's falsetto voice that he would use for the bulk of the series' run. It has the earliest instance of a "trombone gobble" in animation.

<i>Hittin the Trail for Hallelujah Land</i> 1931 Merrie Melodies cartoon

Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land is a 1931 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on November 28, 1931, and stars Piggy.

<i>Goopy Geer</i> (film) 1932 film

Goopy Geer is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Rudolf Ising, featuring the first appearance of the title character. The short was released on April 16, 1932, alongside the feature film The Crowd Roars.

<i>Robin Hood Makes Good</i> 1939 film

Robin Hood Makes Good is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Dave Monahan. The short was released on February 11, 1939.

Buddy's Trolley Troubles is an American animated short film. It is a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Buddy, the second star of the series. It was released on May 5, 1934 and is the third cartoon supervised by Friz Freleng. Musical direction was by Norman Spencer.

Bosko the Musketeer is an American animated short film. It is a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Bosko, the first star of the series. It was released on August 12, 1933, although some sources note September 16 as a date; this is problematic, as that would imply that the last films featuring Bosko as the star of Warner Bros. cartoons were released after the first film featuring Buddy, the second star of the series. It was, like most Looney Tunes of the time, directed by Hugh Harman; Frank Marsales was the musical director.

<i>Boskos Holiday</i> 1931 film

Bosko's Holiday is a one-reel 1931 short subject animated cartoon, part of the Bosko series. It was directed by Hugh Harman, and first released on July 18, 1931 as part of the Looney Tunes series from the Leon Schlesinger animation studio and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film score was composed by Frank Marsales.

Big Man from the North is an American animated short film. It is a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Bosko, the first star of the series. It was released in January 1931, although some sources give an unspecified date in 1930. It was, like most Looney Tunes of the time, directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising; Frank Marsales was the musical director.

<i>The Trees Knees</i> 1931 film

The Tree's Knees is a 1931 one-reel short subject featuring Bosko, part of the Looney Tunes series. It was released in August 1931 and is directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, the last cartoon in the series to be directed by the two. Every Looney Tunes cartoon after this was directed by Hugh Harman until 1933, and every Merrie Melodies cartoon was directed by Rudolf Ising until the aforementioned year. It is also the last Bosko cartoon to not feature the main character's (Bosko's) name in the title. The short is also notable for the extensive use of footage from the earlier short Ain't Nature Grand! that it reuses, in particular a scene of Bosko happily and innocently pursuing a butterfly.

Pagan Moon is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on January 31, 1932.

Bosko in Person is an American animated short film featuring Bosko. It is a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Bosko, the original star of the series. It was released on February 11, 1933, though one source claims the release date is April 10, 1933. Like most Looney Tunes of its day, it was directed by Hugh Harman; its score is by Frank Marsales. The film features Bosko and Honey in a vaudeville-act. This is the second cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.

<i>Bosko the Lumberjack</i> 1932 film

Bosko the Lumberjack is an American animated short film, released September 3, 1932, though one source gives only an ambiguous release date of 1931–1932. It is a Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Bosko, the original star of the series. Like most Looney Tunes of its day, it was directed by Hugh Harman; its musical direction was by Frank Marsales.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 11. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 88. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.