As the Childhood Films countdown at Wonders in the Dark winds down to a close in the next couple of weeks, there are a number of beloved, brilliant films comprising the top twenty of the list. Among them is a longtime favorite of mine–at #17, it’s Steven Spielberg’s 1982 masterpiece E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: To say that E.T. had…
This week, I bring you an animal edition of Maudlin Monday. I can be deeply moved by films about wars or tragic romances, but few things disturb me greater than stories about innocent, loving animals that lose their lives. Animals have brought me so much joy in life, whether I’m running in the yard with…
Ralph Phillips is bored, bored, bored. While his schoolmates mindlessly chant their math lesson (“Two and two is four. Four and four is eight …”), Ralph stares dreamily out the classroom window, imagining himself as a bird, flipping and flying freely through the sky–until his reverie is rudely interrupted by his teacher. She, for some…
After Warner Bros. terminated his long-term contract in 1962, Chuck Jones moved on to MGM, producing a series of cartoons featuring that studio’s famed pair, Tom and Jerry. Jones’ time wasn’t completely consumed by the antics of the cat and mouse, however; the animator/director worked on several other projects for the studio, one of which–The…
“Oh, I dream about being Bugs Bunny, but when I wake up, I’m Daffy Duck.” –Chuck Jones In Chuck Jones’ hands, the Daffy Duck of the 1930s and 40s–loopy, zany, whooping loudly, flipping out–went through a bit of a personality overhaul in the 50s. The zaniness was still there, to be sure, but this Daffy…
Seven years before Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd dueled their way through a hilarious take on the music of Wagner in What’s Opera, Doc?, the duo tackled Italian composer Rossini in 1950’s Rabbit of Seville. Rabbit of Seville is the brainchild of director Chuck Jones, writer Michael Maltese, and frequent Warner Bros. composer Carl Stalling. Stalling was,…
The ongoing Comedy Countdown at Wonders in the Dark is in full swing, and my second contribution to the event is now up on the site! By sheer coincidence, number 69 on the countdown is the 1955 animated short One Froggy Evening, directed by none other than the subject of our week-long animation celebration, Chuck Jones!…
Carrie’s choice: National Velvet (1944) Airing at 7:30AM EST This is the third time I have attempted to post about National Velvet. The first time was a few months ago when TCM had it on. That time, I think I wrote it all in my head, but neglected to actually put it in a post.…
True Classics 