Pagan Moon

Last updated

Pagan Moon
Directed by Rudolf Ising
Produced by Hugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
Music by Frank Marsales
Animation by Rollin Hamilton
Norm Blackburn (credited as "Drawn by")
Color process Black-and-white
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
January 31, 1932 (U.S.A.)
Running time
7 min.
LanguageEnglish

Pagan Moon is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. [1] The short was released on January 31, 1932. [2]

Contents

Summary

The iris opens to two Polynesian natives, a boy and a girl, on a beach at dusk; the boy sings the title song and accompanies himself on a ukulele before switching to scatting; occasionally, the camera cuts to two older ukulelists. The island joins in the musical number: a monkey perched atop a palm tree plays cocoanuts, his drumsticks bones; a larger primate, angry at being disturbed by the percussion, emerges, but his scolding is cut short when the monkey knocks the reprehending ape out with one of the bones; another palm tree dances excitedly to the tune; on the branch of another tree, three little birds and their parent dance.

The boy, again at his ukulele, ends the number after jumping onto what he believes to be a safe stretch of land but is, in fact, a crocodile; astonished, the boy leaps up and away, dropping his instrument, which falls into the great reptile's maw. Unable at first for fear to attempt the beast's mouth, the clever boy offers a sturdy stick, which the animal is all too willing to swallow: the little hero places the stick upright in the crocodile's dilated jaws and, in the resulting reprieve, reaches down his throat and fetches the lute; this done, the boy taunts his foe with a few carefree plucks of the strings.

He then dances across some pond rocks, ending upon the shell-back of an unamused turtle, who carries the boy to land and curtly drops him off. The boy then skips over some more rocks to meet his sweetheart, who sits in a small boat; he fools around with his ukulele and drops it into the water. He dives down to rescue it, avoiding a rather menacing-looking fish, swimming past some smaller fish flopping melodically upon a submerged piano, and using the same instrument to entertain a disgruntled octopus, all without rising for breath!

A fish-trumpeter joins in his number, as do a family of anchovies in a pair of fishing boots, a trombonist (whose instrument's slide is operated with the help of a wrecked ship's steering wheel), and another fish that may be a clarinetist. A spontaneously gathered fish-audience applaud after the performance, but the now docile cephalopod interrupts them to play a tune on the piano, scatting as he plays. The boy and the fishes clap and cheer until the great fish from a few moments ago appears again; the other sea-creatures having escaped, the boy runs to a large piece of pipe suspended in the sea-floor.

Blowing into the pipe, he produces a bubble large enough to carry him: now sliding through the pipe, the boy places himself within the nascent bubble. Releasing itself from the pipe, the bubble floats to and well past the surface: high in the air, a sharp-beaked bird toys with boy and bubble for a bit, then pops it, the explosion denuding the creature of his feathers. Seeing her sweetheart falling out of the sky, the girl rows in his direction, spotting a pelican as she does so: abandoning her little ship, she boards the bird, which, having been ordered forward, catches the boy in his beak, where the hero and the girl embrace, eyes rolling affectionately, as the iris shuts.

Reused animation

The dancing palm tree from the first musical number in the cartoon appears to be recycled from the Bosko short "Congo Jazz."

When underwater the boy hides from a big fish which had been used in the cartoon "Bosko at the Zoo", released a couple of weeks before this one.

Home media

The cartoon is available on laserdisc in Volume Three of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes.

Related Research Articles

<i>Porky in Wackyland</i> 1938 animated short film directed by Bob Clampett

Porky in Wackyland is a 1938 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short film, directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on September 24, 1938, and stars Porky Pig venturing out to find the last do-do bird, which he finds in Wackyland, a land that makes no sense located in Darkest Africa.

Bosko Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series, and was the star of 39 Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros. He was voiced by Carman Maxwell, Johnny Murray, and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas during the 1920s and 1930s, and once by Don Messick during the 1990s.

<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 cartoon features Bosko, and the title is a pun on the 1929 song Singin' in the Bathtub. The short debuted in April 1930, at the Warner Bros. Theater in Hollywood.

<i>Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid</i> 1929 film

Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid is a 1929 live-action/animated short film produced to sell a series of Bosko cartoons. The film was never released to theaters, and therefore not seen by a wide audience until 2000 on Cartoon Network's television special Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons. The film was produced on May 29th, 1929 and directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising.

<i>Congo Jazz</i> 1930 film

Congo Jazz is a Looney Tunes cartoon starring Warner Bros.' first cartoon star, Bosko. The cartoon was released in September 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.

Hold Anything is the third short in the Looney Tunes series from Warner Bros., released to theaters in October 1930. Featuring Bosko, it is loosely based on the lost film Hold Everything, one of whose songs, "Don't Hold Everything," features prominently in the cartoon. It was directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, and animated by Isadore "Friz" Freleng and Norman Blackburn.

<i>The Booze Hangs High</i> 1930 film

The Booze Hangs High, released in December 1930, is the fourth title in the Looney Tunes series. The short features Bosko, Warner Bros.' first cartoon character.

This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1930 and 1939, plus the pilot film which was used to sell the Looney Tunes series to Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros. A total of 270 shorts were released during the 1930s.

Ride Him, Bosko! released in 1932, is a Western animated short film in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes series. It features Bosko, Warner Bros.' first cartoon character and his sweetheart Honey in the Old West.

<i>Horton Hatches the Egg</i> (film) 1942 film

Horton Hatches the Egg is a 1942 American animated short film by Leon Schlesinger Productions, based on the 1940 book by Dr. Seuss, and released as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series. The short was directed by Bob Clampett.

<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.

Bosko Shipwrecked! is a 1931 one-reel short subject featuring Bosko; part of the Looney Tunes series. It was released on September 19, 1931 and is directed by Hugh Harman. This is the first Looney Tunes short to only have one director. The film score was composed by Frank Marsales.

<i>Boskos Store</i> 1932 film

Bosko's Store is a 1932 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Hugh Harman. It was released on August 13, 1932, and stars Bosko, the first star of the series. As is the case with most Looney Tunes of its time, it was directed by Hugh Harman and its music scored by Frank Marsales.

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

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 first cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.

<i>Battling Bosko</i> 1932 film

Battling Bosko is an American animated short film. 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; Frank Marsales provided musical direction. The film was released in 1932, though one source gives an ambiguous date of 1931–1932.

Big-Hearted Bosko is a 1932 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring Bosko, the original star of the series. It was released on March 5, 1932, although one source offers for it only an ambiguous release date of 1931–1932. It was, like most Looney Tunes of its time, directed by Hugh Harman; its musical direction was by Frank Marsales.

<i>A Great Big Bunch of You</i> 1932 short film

A Great Big Bunch of You is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on November 12, 1932.

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. 9. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. 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.