The Tree's Knees | |
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Directed by | Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising |
Produced by | Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising Leon Schlesinger |
Starring | Johnny Murray (uncredited) |
Music by | Frank Marsales |
Animation by | Isadore Freleng Rollin Hamilton |
Production companies | Harman-Ising Productions The Vitaphone Corporation Leon Schlesinger Studios |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. The Vitaphone Corporation Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:02 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Tree's Knees is the twelfth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko and Honey. [1] It was released as early as May 16, 1931. [2] [a] It was the last cartoon in the series to be directed by both Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. [3] 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. The film score was composed by Frank Marsales.
Bosko wanders through the forest with an axe, and finds a tree, but the tree turns out to be alive and the surrounding saplings (presumably its children) beg Bosko not to chop it down. Bosko then engages in a song-and-dance routine with the trees, until he is distracted by and follows a butterfly, leading him into another song-and-dance routine with several other living trees and the animals of the forest.
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 thirty-nine Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros. He was voiced by Carman Maxwell, Bernard B. Brown, Johnny Murray, and Philip Hurlic during the 1920s and 1930s and once by Don Messick during the 1990s.
Isadore "Friz" Freleng, credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In total he created more than 300 cartoons.
Hugh Harman was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons studios and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the Golden Age of American animation.
Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team and company known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. In 1929, the studio was founded under the name Harman-Ising Productions, producing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Leon Schlesinger from 1930 to 1933. From 1934 to 1938, Harman-Ising produced the Happy Harmonies series, with William Hanna as their employee.
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.
Rudolf Carl "Rudy" Ising was an American animator best known for collaborating with Hugh Harman to establish the Warner Bros. and MGM Cartoon studios during the early years of the golden age of American animation. In 1940, Ising produced William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's first cartoon, Puss Gets the Boot, a cartoon featuring characters later known as Tom and Jerry.
Piggy is the name of two animated cartoon characters in the Merrie Melodies series of films distributed by Warner Bros. The first character was a fat, black pig wearing a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front, and his first film was You Don't Know What You're Doin'!
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. The character is notable for his resemblance to Mickey Mouse, a similar character created by Disney in 1928.
Sinkin' in the Bathtub is the first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short as well as the first of the Looney Tunes series. The short was released on April 19, 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.
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 29, 1929 and directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising.
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.
Congo Jazz is the second title in the Looney Tunes series starring Bosko. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and The Vitaphone Corporation. It was released as early as July 26, 1930. 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.
Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land is the fifth title in the Merrie Melodies series, and stars Piggy. This was Piggy's last theatrical appearance. It was released on November 14, 1931. It was directed by Rudolf Ising.
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 from 1929 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.
Bosko's Holiday is the eleventh title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko and Honey. It was released as early as May 2, 1931. It was directed by Hugh Harman, and the film score was composed by Frank Marsales.
Ain't Nature Grand! is the seventh title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko. It was directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. It was released as early as December 13, 1930.
Ups N' Downs is the eighth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko. It was released as early as January 31, 1931. It is directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, while the film score was written by Frank Marsales.
Dumb Patrol is the ninth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko, Honey, and an unnamed enemy. It was released as early as February 28, 1931. It is directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, while the film score was composed by Frank Marsales.
Yodeling Yokels is the tenth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko and Honey. It was released as early as March 21, 1931. It is directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, and the film score was composed by Frank Marsales.
Bosko Shipwrecked! is the thirteenth title in the Looney Tunes series featuring Bosko It was released on September 5, 1931. It is directed by Hugh Harman, and is the first Looney Tunes short to only have one director, as well as the first short to not be directed or co-directed by Rudolf Ising. The film score was composed by Frank Marsales.