Techno-Cracked | |
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Directed by | Ub Iwerks |
Produced by | Pat Powers |
Music by | Carl Stalling |
Animation by | Shamus Culhane |
Color process | Black and White (black-and-white) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Techno-Cracked is a 1933 Celebrity Productions, Inc. animated short, directed by Ub Iwerks and featuring Flip the Frog. [1]
In this satire of the Technocracy, Flip the Frog is nearly killed by a menacing robot he builds to work for him.
Flip would rather not mow the lawn. He reads an article from "Unpopular Mechanics" entitled "Technocracy: Why be a Slave - The Mechanical Man Works While You Sleep". Flip makes his robot out of household parts but gives it a Jack-o'-lantern for a head. The mechanical man cannot follow directions and begins mowing down everything in sight. Flip blows up the robot with a stick of dynamite and finishes the lawn by himself.
When the robot mows the welcome mat it reveals the word Nerts, a possible reference to either the card game or to a popular expression of the time -- "nertz". Some have speculated that Techno-Cracked may have been photographed in two-strip Technicolor.
Ubbe Ert Iwerks, known as Ub Iwerks, was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in general, and for having worked on the development of the design of the character of Mickey Mouse, among others. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious relationship with his father, who abandoned him as a child. Iwerks met fellow artist Walt Disney while working at a Kansas City art studio in 1919.
One Froggy Evening is a 1955 American Technicolor animated musical short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn. The short, partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time involving a dancing caterpillar in a small box, marks the debut of Michigan J. Frog: an anthropomorphic frog with a talent for singing and dancing that he demonstrates for no one except whoever possesses the box wherein he resides. This popular short contained a wide variety of musical entertainment, with songs ranging from "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry", two Tin Pan Alley classics, to "Largo al Factotum", Figaro's aria from the opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia. The short was released on December 31, 1955, as part of Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.
Flip the Frog is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Ub Iwerks. He starred in a series of cartoons produced by Celebrity Pictures and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1930 to 1933. The series had many recurring characters, including Flip's dog, the mule Orace, and a dizzy neighborhood spinster.
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