What day better than Saturday for a classic cartoon marathon? This past weekend, I got up while it was still dark out and, in an effort that would've made my 10-year-old self proud, extended a Saturday morning tradition well into the evening. I've been on a vacation from work this past week (it had been over a year since I'd taken more than four days off) and using the opportunity to catch up with many discs I've owned - in some cases for years - but never watched (as in never never - many were blind buys). Among these were four cartoon DVDs: Mickey Mouse in color & black-and-white, a Looney Tunes collection, and a cheapo anthology of 100 cartoons.
Since July I've been steadily making my way through these (see "100 Cartoons in 100 Images" from August) but I figured now was the time to finally plough through and finish 'em. So I did. There were some familiar favorites (including selections I hadn't seen since VHS tape in the late 80s - what an uncanny sensation to rewatch those!), several duds or weak efforts (I confirmed that I really tend to prefer 30s & 40s cartoons to those from the 50s & 60s), some fascinating oddities (including that cartoon with human lips Tarantino sampled in Pulp Fiction), and really revealing historical contexts.
In the latter category there was a slew of offensive racial imagery which I ended up not screen-capping even as an example (the Disney disc features Leonard Maltin nervously providing context before certain shorts - though the Warners and Fleischers cartoons I saw had more extensive stereotyping). Highlighting these is a worthy effort, but it didn't fit the tone of this lineup; perhaps in another post. On a more upbeat note, I also found these cartoons more culturally on-the-nose than many live-action features produced around the same time; somehow that vibrant, bouncy swingin' 30s & 40s energies is communicated more readily via animation.
Below are 90 screen-caps, including 3 from TV show (these appear smaller than the others and will not be included in the official #WatchlistScreenCaps directory). I've included a caption for each, usually a joke, alliterative description, or bad pun (though often, the opportunities for those were already taken by the toon's title) - although occasionally they express personal admiration especially for the dazzling accomplishments of Robert Clampett (the only linked title leads to a clip from my favorite film of his).
If you've seen any of these, or have any questions or comments, leave 'em below. Here we go...
