Best cartoon title 'rip-offs'... [Archive]

Sogturtle

05-01-2003, 09:27 AM

Gotta have some fun with this one...instead of making this a poll, I ask this interesting question since we all live such 'interesting' lives...

...what is your favorite cartoon 'rip-off' title? Examples can be such as The Big Snooze (taken from 1945's The Big Sleep) and A Star Is Hatched (taken from 1937's A Star Is Born).

My favorite, since I'm bringing this up? No doubt it's Duck Dodgers In The 24 1/2 Century (a spoof from Buck Rodgers In The 25th Century). In my opinion, it's the best title out there.

Crazy Tom~

I don't know that I'd call them "rip-off" titles... They are a continuation of the pun titles begun with "Sinking In The Bathtub" of course for the song title "Singing...". There's a seeming gazillion darn-clever cartoon title puns, such as "My Favorite Duck" (for 1942's "My Favorite Blonde"), "The Case of the Stuttering Pig" (for "The Case Of The Stuttering Bishop") "A Message To Gracias" (for "A Message To Garcia"). "Kitty Foiled" (for "Kitty Foyle") blah, blah, blah... (Plus Clampett's Beany & Cecil ones). But my personal favorite is one that nobody to date has ever caught (that I know of) ;)

Daffyfan2003

05-01-2003, 09:34 AM

rodney

05-01-2003, 10:15 AM

The Case of the Screaming Bishop (Columbia)
A Hare Grows In Manhattan

Sogturtle

05-01-2003, 10:22 AM

Hmmm. I remember we had a thread like this a few months ago when I asked where the name "Rabbit Transit" came from. Let's see there was "A Streetcat Named Sylvester" (A Streetcar Named Desire) "Design for Leaving" (I think that's really something "for Living" I'm not sure.) I really can't think of too many of these right now.

Well Kenny, for cartoon title puns from movie-titles, 1954's "Design For Leaving" almost soitenly came from 1933's "Design For Living", while
"D' Fightin' Ones" (is punning "The Defiant Ones"), "Birth Of A Notion" of course is "Birth Of A Nation". Friz's "The Gay Anties" is biting at "The Gay Nineties". "Bacall To Arms" is calling out to "Call To Arms". "Peck Up Your Troubles" was for "Pack Up Your Troubles"... This list can get PRETTY LONG... But I should probably add that "Kitty Kornered" is for (what else) but "Cornered" (1945).

Jave

05-01-2003, 10:29 AM

I also like "A Star is Bored", "All This and Rabbit Stew" (All This and Heavens, Too) "Bars and Stripes Forever" (Stars and Stripes Forever) and "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs" (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Thad Komorowski

05-01-2003, 10:31 AM

"Clean Pastures" - GREEN PASTURES
"All This and Rabbit Stew" - ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO
"Alley to Bali" - ROAD TO BALI
"Of Mice and Magic"/ "Of Rice and Hen"/ "Of Mice and Menace" - OF MICE AND MEN

Sogturtle

05-01-2003, 11:48 AM

"Clean Pastures" - GREEN PASTURES
"All This and Rabbit Stew" - ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO
"Alley to Bali" - ROAD TO BALI
"Of Mice and Magic"/ "Of Rice and Hen"/ "Of Mice and Menace" - OF MICE AND MEN

And of course "Uncle Tom's Cabana" & "Uncle Tom's Bungalow" for "Uncle Tom's Cabin"... "Tugboat Granny" stands in for "Tugboat Annie"... "Brother Brat" for "Brother Rat". "Yankee Doodle Daffy" is "Yankee Doodle Dandy".

And unknown to most of us "Sniffles Takes A Trip" comes from "Topper Takes A Trip". Plus "The Wabbit Who Came To Supper" is feeding on "The Man Who Came To Dinner"...

How about this one... "The Leghorn Blows At Midnight" for... "The Horn Blows At Midnight"...

And a real beaut :bosko: (One of my all time favorites...)
"The Bird Came C.O.D." is for "The Bride Came C.O.D."(!!!)

David Gerstein

05-01-2003, 12:51 PM

I like MUZZLE TOUGH (Mazel Tov!). I'd love to say that I caught it thanks to being Jewish— but no, it took a goyishe cartoon fan like Jerry Beck to point it out to me. Oy!

rodney

05-01-2003, 01:08 PM

Ah! I never caught that one! Very interesting.

Matthew Hunter

05-01-2003, 02:52 PM

A couple or random ones I can think of:

of course there's "Tabasco Road" for "Tobacco Road", "Cat tails For Two" for "Cocktails for Two". "Aint She tweet" is based on a song called "Ain't She Sweet" (you hear it a lot on the Stalling musical scores.) "Hoppy Daze" is "Happy Days", "Bunny and Claude" is "Bonnie and Clyde". Better go to a mechanic if your car has "Injun Trouble" , and "Hopalong Casualty" is based on the Western character Hopalong Cassidy. "Kiss Me Cat" was "Kiss me Kate", "To Beep or Not To Beep" was "To be or not To Be". "A Scent of the Matterhorn" is a pun on the cartoon's plot, in which the characters ASCEND the Matterhorn mountain in the Alps.

But the coolest title I can think of wasn't really a parody that I know of...but pretty clever. "Hocus Pocus Powwow". Sounds cool, and gets magic (hocus pocus) and indians (powwow) in there.

-Matthew

Daffyfan2003

05-01-2003, 03:30 PM

"Hoppy Daze" is "Happy Days" Wasn't that cartoon from 1960? I didn't think "Happy Days" aired until 1974.

Matthew Hunter

05-01-2003, 04:38 PM

Well, not the show necessarily, just the saying "those were happy days", etc. There could very well be a connection with movies called "Happy Days", there were some in the 1930's. Anyway, those are the words played on, and probably had nothing to do with the show, or the Fonz :p
-Matthew

Thad Komorowski

05-01-2003, 07:40 PM

The cleverest title pun EVER is Woody Woodpecker in "Billion Dollar Boner". I know it's not intended, but still...;)

"Happy Days" was the title of a popular tune of the 1940s, used frequently by MGM (see "The Hungry Wolf", "The Lonesome Mouse", "The Truth Hurts").

Paul Penna

05-01-2003, 07:40 PM

A few years back I whipped up a list that I think I posted here, and tuco, the guy who runs the Looney Tunes Lists site, asked if he could put it up, and I see it's still there:

http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/lists/title.html

I've come across a few more since then, but haven't written them =down yet.

PorkyandDaffy

05-01-2003, 08:16 PM

I like MUZZLE TOUGH (Mazel Tov!). I'd love to say that I caught it thanks to being Jewish— but no, it took a goyishe cartoon fan like Jerry Beck to point it out to me. Oy!

I remember it took me forever before I found out what that title was a pun on.

Tintin

05-01-2003, 08:30 PM

That's a lot of my favorite title "rip-offs" for classics and recent series:

Hot Cross Bunny (Hot Cross Buns - child's song, i think)
Rabbit of Seville (The Barber of Seville - also used this title for a Woody cartune)
Sheep Ahoy/Shape Ahoy (Chips Ahoy!, cookies)
Mom and Cherie (by refering to Tom and Jerry series)
Puny Express (Pony Express)
A Star is Bored/A Star is Hatched/A Moon Star is Born (A Star is Been)
My Favorite Duck (My favorite Blonde or My Favorite Things)
You Ought to Be in Pictures/So You Ought to Be in Pictures (You Ought to Be in Pictures (a 1980's movie)
Much Ado About Baby Sitting/Much Ado About Nutting (Much Ado About Nothing)

Sogturtle

05-01-2003, 08:43 PM

I like MUZZLE TOUGH (Mazel Tov!). I'd love to say that I caught it thanks to being Jewish— but no, it took a goyishe cartoon fan like Jerry Beck to point it out to me. Oy!

Interesting David, I got that one from seeing "Fiddler On The Roof" long, long ago...

Annnnnnd continuing with JUST movie title puns...

"Snow Business" parodies "Show Business", while "A Mouse Divided" takes on "A House Divided" (which goes back to the words of Jesus' "A house divided against itself cannot stand"). Then there's always "Kit For Cat" and "Trip For Tat" from "Tit For Tat", while "The Pest That Came To Dinner" would annoy "The Man Who Came To Dinner". With a wicked grin we find "You Were Never Duckier" for 'You Were Never Lovelier". "Captain Hareblower" can only be "Captain Horatio Hornblower". How about "Daffy Duck Slept Here" covering "George Washington Slept Here"... And then there's "Hollywood Canine Canteen" for "Hollywood Canteen", likewise "Stagedoor Cartoon" stands in for "Stagedoor Canteen". Artie Davis' "The Stupor Salesman" is from "The Super Salesman". Likewise his "Two Gophers From Texas" comes from "Two Guys From Texas". Chuck's great "Mississippi Hare" MAY be paying homage to "Mississippi Gambler". Without a doubt Friz's "Rebel Without Claws" points straight to "Rebel Without A Cause", likewise for Clampett's "A Tale Of Two Kitties" from "A Tale Of Two Cities"...

How many more of these do you guys want??? ;)

J Lee

05-01-2003, 09:10 PM

I like MUZZLE TOUGH (Mazel Tov!). I'd love to say that I caught it thanks to being Jewish— but no, it took a goyishe cartoon fan like Jerry Beck to point it out to me. Oy!

I saw that in a theater in Syracuse one time -- the people in the audience got the title, which is the only time I've ever heard an audible groan from the crowd due to the 'punniness' of the situation.

comicfan

05-02-2003, 12:43 AM

Whereas it's not a "rip-off" of any one movie/book/etc. title, my favorite cartoon pun would probably have to be the Tom and Jerry's "Posse Cat".

Pietro

05-02-2003, 06:25 AM

"Clean Pastures" - GREEN PASTURES
"All This and Rabbit Stew" - ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO
"Alley to Bali" - ROAD TO BALI
"Of Mice and Magic"/ "Of Rice and Hen"/ "Of Mice and Menace" - OF MICE AND MEN

WB did a title spoof of "Road to Bali" as well with "Road to Andalay."

Also don't forget "Confusions of a Nutzy Spy" and "Confusions of a Nazi Spy."

-Pietro:D

Larry T

05-02-2003, 07:09 AM

absolutpaul

05-02-2003, 12:43 PM

"Life begins for Andy Panda" is a take off on "Life begins for Andy Hardy"

"Life with feathers" - Life with father

"The Ant from U.N.C.L.E." - (I like that one!) The man from U.N.C.L.E.

"Dumb Patrol" must be a parody of some title - but what???

Pietro

05-02-2003, 03:01 PM

"Dumb Patrol" must be a parody of some title - but what???

It's a take on "The Dawn Patrol."

Also, some of the more interesting title spoofs include those that take on everyday phrases such as "Slay It with Flowers" with the Fox and Crow.

-Pietro:D

Cartman

05-02-2003, 04:04 PM

A Tale of Two Kitties -- A Tale of Two Cities

Cannery Woe, Canary Row -- Cannery Row

Tintin

05-02-2003, 04:16 PM

A Tale of Two Kitties -- A Tale of Two Cities

Cannery Woe, Canary Row -- Cannery Row

Also from "A Tale of Two Cities", A Tale of Two Springfield

Cannery Rodent was also from "Cannery Row"

Jave

05-02-2003, 04:45 PM

The Famous Popeyes have some of the cleverest puns in titles, mostly based on phrases. These are my favorites:

- Cookin' With Gags (Cooking With Gas)
- Abusement Park (Amusement Park)
- I Don't Scare (I Don't Care)
- Pre-Hysterical man (Prehistorical Man)
- Snow Place Like Home (No Place Like Home)
- Lumberjack and Jill (Jack and Jill)
- Tots of Fun (Lots of Fun)
- Taxi Turvy (Topsy Turvy)
- Pop-Pie a la Mode ({Insert Name of any fruit here}-Pie a la Mode)
- For Better or Nurse (For Better or Worse)
- I'll be Skiing Ya (I'll be Seeing You)
- Wotta Knight (What a Night)
- How Green is my Spinach (How Green is my Valley)
- Ancient Fistory (Ancient History)
- A Haul in One (A Hole in One)
- Happy Birthdaze (Happy Birthday)
- Bride and Gloom (Bride and Groom)
- Swimmer Take All (Winner takes All)
- Friend or Phony (Friend or Foe)
- Child Sockology (Child Psicology)
- Car-azy Drivers (Crazy Drivers)

Paul Penna

05-02-2003, 07:38 PM

WB did a title spoof of "Road to Bali" as well with "Road to Andalay."

Actually, the spoof there is on the (then) well-known song, "The Road to Mandalay."

Paul Penna

05-02-2003, 07:46 PM

My Favorite Duck (My favorite Blonde or My Favorite Things)
You Ought to Be in Pictures/So You Ought to Be in Pictures (You Ought to Be in Pictures (a 1980's movie)

My bet on "My Favorite Duck" is the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film "My Favorite Wife," which was pretty well-known. I think it's one of the film titles Grant rattles off in "Hollywood Steps Out."

"You Ought to Be in Pictures" was the title of a well-known 1934 popular song which would still be being whistled in 1940.

Sogturtle

05-02-2003, 08:22 PM

My bet on "My Favorite Duck" is the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne film "My Favorite Wife," which was pretty well-known. I think it's one of the film titles Grant rattles off in "Hollywood Steps Out."

"You Ought to Be in Pictures" was the title of a well-known 1934 popular song which would still be being whistled in 1940.

Paul~

It's almost a flip of the proverbial coin whether 'My Favorite Duck" was shooting at "My Favorite Wife" which was already then two plus years old, or the very recently released "My Favorite Blonde". The Schlesingerites would have seen "...Wife" but also known of the title of "...Blonde" months before it was ever released through the trade mags and scuttlebutt. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice...;)

Matthew Hunter

05-02-2003, 09:01 PM

Jack

05-02-2003, 09:15 PM

There's a title I'm not sure about. "Tweet, Tweet Tweety" (1951). I seem to recall hearing of a title to some song called "Toot Toot Tootsie", but I'm not sure of its date or if that's the basis of this title.

Also, "Transylvania 6-5000"...wasn't there a TV show with a similar name? I forget what that was.

-Matthew
Toot Toot Tootsie (http://www.rienzihills.com/SING/tootsie.htm) is a very old song from 1922 (I'm trying to remember if it was sung in the Jazz Singer or not). It was usually connected to Al Jolson. Mel Blanc re-recorded a comedy version of it impersonating Jolson that's rather funny.

Pennsylvania 6-5000 was a popular song (by Glenn Miller I think?). Phone numbers used to start with words, the first two letters of which stood for numbers (and Pennsylvania 6-5000 was and still is a real phone number to a New York hotel). There was also a movie called Transylvania 6-5000, and its title was also a play off the song.

Jack :bosko:

Cartman

05-02-2003, 10:09 PM

Sock A Doodle - Cock a doodle

Crockett Doodledoo - Cock a Doodledoo

Unsure Runts - Insurance

Tea for Two Hundred - Tea for Two

Tintin

05-02-2003, 10:56 PM

More titles was titled "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo"

Sock-A-Doodle-Do (WB, 1952)
Cock-a-Doodle-Dog (MGM, 1951)

Also from "Rock-a-Bye Baby"

Rocket-Bye Baby (WB)
Wacky Bye Baby (Lantz)
Sock-a-Bye Baby

Bobby B

05-03-2003, 04:15 AM

Alona On The Sarong Seas (Alone on the Sarona Seas)

Actually, this is a pun on the Paramount feature "Aloha of the South Seas", one of Dorothy Lamour's many "island girl" pictures.

Crazy Tom

05-03-2003, 08:17 AM

"The Ant from U.N.C.L.E." - (I like that one!) The man from U.N.C.L.E.

Now if you want to get a little Tom and Jerryish, don't forget The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R.

2 other Tom & Jerry ones from the 1960's: O Solo Mio, a very popular Italian opera piece, used in the 1960's Roy Orbison hit "It's Now Or Never", was O-Solar Meow, plus Of Human Bondage (1964 movie) was Of Feline Bondage in 1966.

Plus, Bad Day At Cat Rock also is a parody title of an MGM film, but I'm not sure what it is.

Sogturtle

05-03-2003, 08:40 AM

Now if you want to get a little Tom and Jerryish, don't forget The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R.

2 other Tom & Jerry ones from the 1960's: O Solo Mio, a very popular Italian opera piece, used in the 1960's Roy Orbison hit "It's Now Or Never", was O-Solar Meow, plus Of Human Bondage (1964 movie) was Of Feline Bondage in 1966.

Plus, Bad Day At Cat Rock also is a parody title of an MGM film, but I'm not sure what it is.

Crazy Tom~

Yep you're right... (though Elvis' version of "It's Now Or Never" is the remembered one).

Anyway... "Bad Day At Cat Rock" is from "Bad Day At Black Rock" (1955). Likewise the Droopy toon "Blackboard Jumble" (1957) is for "Blackboard Jungle" (1955)...

Sogturtle

05-03-2003, 06:24 PM

Actually, the spoof there is on the (then) well-known song, "The Road to Mandalay."

Paul~

Also "The Road To Mandalay" had been a Lon Chaney feature film back in the Silent Era (1926).

Paul Penna

05-03-2003, 07:29 PM

Also "The Road To Mandalay" had been a Lon Chaney feature film back in the Silent Era (1926).

Of course, the whole shootin' match traces itself back to the most frequently-quoted line from Kipling's 1890 poem "Mandalay."

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

Unless Rudyard cribbed that from someone else, I think that's as far back as we can go with this one.

Mike

05-03-2003, 07:49 PM

I always liked these titles:

Saturday Evening Puss (Saturday Evening Post)
Fin N Catty (Finn & Hattie)
Mexican Joyride (Mexican Hayride)
The Scarlet Pumpernickle (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
As The Crow Lies (As The Crow Flies)
Alona On The Sarong Seas (Alone on the Sarona Seas)
Service With a Guile (Service With a Smile)

A couple that popped in my head: "The Iceman Ducketh" (take-off on popular play "The Iceman Cometh") and "The Unmentionables" (the TV show "The Untouchables"). Chuck Jones' 1960s Tom and Jerrys had titles that were sometimes funnier than the cartoon itself: "The Brothers Carry-Mouse-Off" (title parodies the novel and movie "The Brothers Karamozov"), "Of Feline Bondage" (the movie "Of Human Bondage), "Much Ado About Mousing" ("Much Ado About Nothing"), and more. Even song titles were aimed at: "Ah, Sweet Mouse-tory of Life" ("Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life") and I'm just wild about Jerry" ("I'm Just Wild About Harry") are examples. And, of course, who could forget "The Mouse from HUNGER"? (The Man from UNCLE)

Mike

Bobby B

05-03-2003, 11:07 PM

Now if you want to get a little Tom and Jerryish, don't forget The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R.

2 other Tom & Jerry ones from the 1960's: O Solo Mio, a very popular Italian opera piece, used in the 1960's Roy Orbison hit "It's Now Or Never", was O-Solar Meow, plus Of Human Bondage (1964 movie) was Of Feline Bondage in 1966.

Plus, Bad Day At Cat Rock also is a parody title of an MGM film, but I'm not sure what it is.

Also the subtitle "Science on a Wet Afternoon" (from "Guided Mouse-ile") is a play on the film "Seance on a Wet Afternoon".

Sogturtle

05-04-2003, 02:15 AM

Of course, the whole shootin' match traces itself back to the most frequently-quoted line from Kipling's 1890 poem "Mandalay."

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

Unless Rudyard cribbed that from someone else, I think that's as far back as we can go with this one.

Paul~

(giggling) Excellent, excellent point!! So we can now say that "Road To Andalay" is a pun on a song title which was based on a movie title which was borrowed from Kipling!!

Paul Penna

05-04-2003, 11:46 AM

Paul~
(giggling) Excellent, excellent point!! So we can now say that "Road To Andalay" is a pun on a song title which was based on a movie title which was borrowed from Kipling!!

Actually, the song is second in line:

Poem 1890
Song 1907
Film 1926

For such an old and seemingly quaint song, it's interesting to note that both Sinatra and Count Basie recorded it. In fact, the latter is the only version I have at present.

Sogturtle

05-06-2003, 09:21 AM

Actually, the song is second in line:

Poem 1890
Song 1907
Film 1926

For such an old and seemingly quaint song, it's interesting to note that both Sinatra and Count Basie recorded it. In fact, the latter is the only version I have at present.

Paul~

Thanks for the sequence correction! By the way when were the Sinatra and Count Basie versions recorded/released? It'd be intriquing to figure out whether Friz was thinking of the silent movie based on the Kipling quote (which he would have seen as a young animator) or one of the recordings which he undoubtedly heard, or all of the above...

Additionally it should be pointing out that "Road To Andalay" started out having a title punning another movie altogether... It's announced working title was indeed "Tequila Mocking Bird" (which I'm really fond of as puns go) and was of course a pun on "To Kill A Mocking Bird" (1962)

absolutpaul

05-06-2003, 09:36 AM

"Bad Day at Black Rock" is the movie you're thinking of...

Sogturtle

05-06-2003, 10:38 AM

Additionally...

The Iceman Ducketh [already mentioned for its pun on the play "The Iceman Cometh", the play was finally made into a film in 1973]

A couple of MGM's...

Northwest Hounded Police - 1946 (Northwest Mounted Police - 1940)
Sheepwrecked 1958 (Shipwrecked - 1926)

And a number of others which would never enter our wee little minds as movie references or puns, but which actually were... Plus some things which are in truth out and out "rip off" titles...

Bosko Shipwrecked (Shipwrecked - 1926)
Ride Him Bosko - 1932 (Ride Him Cowboy - 1932)
Bosko's Holiday - 1931 (Holiday -1930)
Beau Bosko - 1933 (Beau Geste - 1926)
Battling Bosko - 1932 (Battling Butler - 1926)
Bosko The Doughboy - 1931 (Doughboys - 1930)
Buddy's Lost World - 1935 (The Lost World - 1925)
Bosko The Speed King - 1933 (The Speed King - 1923)
Viva Buddy - 1934 (Viva Villa! - 1934)
Bosko the Drawback - 1933 (The Quarterback - 1926)

and then of course "Buddy Of The Apes" - 1934 spoofing the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, (filmed back in 1918)

Paul Penna

05-06-2003, 12:15 PM

Paul~
Thanks for the sequence correction! By the way when were the Sinatra and Count Basie versions recorded/released? It'd be intriquing to figure out whether Friz was thinking of the silent movie based on the Kipling quote (which he would have seen as a young animator) or one of the recordings which he undoubtedly heard, or all of the above...

The Sinatra recording dates from 1957. While I don't have it, I see it was arranged by Billy May, so it undoubtedly swung. Indeed, it's generally accepted that May, along with Nelson Riddle, are the guys who taught Sinatra how to swing, advancing him from the dreamy boy crooner version of himself that's parodied in cartoons. Basie's was recorded in 1963, for the album "Basie Plays the Hits of Frank Sinatra," as a matter of fact.

I'm strongly disposed to think that just about all references to "Mandalay" spring from familiarity with either the poem or the song (the song is, in fact, a setting of Kipling's words). Remember that back in the old days memorizing and reciting poetry was an everyday part of elementary school education. Not the abstruse "a rose is a rose is a rose" kind of poetry, but the more accessible, narrative kind which has long since fallen out of favor. Think of the cartoons which depict a nervous school kid standing up in front of the class, sweating bullets, trying to recite a poem and getting the words screwed up. Many of the cutural icons referenced in cartoons spring from poetry that had been drilled into the heads of both the cartoon makers and their audience: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, the Charge of the Light Brigade, etc. Those who hadn't been forced to memorize these things almost undoubtedly knew someone who had, or at least had to read them themselves. At any rate, this goes a long way toward explaining why poetic references were so much more a part of the fabric of popular culture then than now.

The song itself was popular and well-known, perhaps more so in the first two decades of the century than later on, but that's when our cartoon-making friends were growing up and acquiring their pop-cultural literacy. While the Chaney film may have played some part in maintaining the reference's currency, my bet is that the "Mandalay/Andale" pun stems more from, if not the song or poem directly, a general familiarity with the phrase.

Sogturtle

05-06-2003, 12:39 PM

Paul~

Thank you for the musical info on the recordings, you're a good man!! Billy May's work that I know happens to be from his time with Mel Blanc on the various Capitol records!!! And yeah I am acutely aware of the now lost art of school poetry recitation. My very tiny mother still can come out with a long recitation taught to her by her mother, and one by an uncle (which can't be repeated due to its sensitive subject matter).

As I've researched cartoon titles over and over I've been struck by the not only very current film puns, but also by the number that hark back to films (and literary/musical references) when Harman, Freleng, and the others were quite young.

Paul Penna

05-06-2003, 02:47 PM

More title puns & references, some perhaps obvious, other not so:

The Tree's Knees (Warner 1931): The bee's knees, a 20s-era catch phrase roughly translatable to today's "cool."
Ups 'n' Downs (Warner 1931): Epsom Downs, famous British racetrack, site of The Derby.
The Coo Coo Nut Grove (Warner 1936): The Cocoanut Grove well-known Hollywood night club and ballroom.
Milk and Money (Warner 1936): The land of milk and honey, Old-Testament biblical reference to Israel.
Toy Town Hall (Warner 1936): "Town Hall Tonight", radio variety show hosted by Fred Allen (who's caricatured in the cartoon).
Westward Whoa! (Warner 1936): "Westward Ho." It seems a number of books relating to the exploration of, or expansion of civilization into, previously unchartered lands have used this phrase as a title. At any rate, it came to symbolize the American conquest of The West.
Cracked Ice (Warner 1938): Plays off the cracking of the skating pond ice vs. the caricatured W.C. Fields' fondness for drink, presumably chilled by cracked ice cubes.
Chicken Jitters (Warner 1939) Chicken fritters, popular dish of Southern cuisine.
Dangerous Dan McFoo (Warner 1939): Dangerous Dan McGrew, character in the poem by Robert W. Service "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" ("A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute Saloon..."), of which the cartoon is a parody.
Hare-um Scare-um (Warner 1939): Harum-scarum, phrase meaning reckless, lacking responsibility.
Land of the Midnight Fun (Warner 1939): Land of the midnight sun, popular, rather poetic, way of referring to lands north of the arctic circle, specifically Alaska in USA parlance.
Africa Squeaks (Warner 1940): "Africa Speaks", 1930 film was the first sound documentary shot on that continent. Startled audiences of the time with such real scenes as a native crewman being attacked and eaten by lions!
Ali Baba Bound (Warner 1940): "Alabammy Bound", popular Henderson/DeSylva song from 1924. (My favorite is Bobby Darin's swingin' 1962 recording with Billy May.)
Confederate Honey (Warner 1940): I'm going to guess this refers to Confederate money, then a popular way of saying "worthless." As it grew increasingly bankrupt, the Confederacy spewed out untold reams of essentially valueless paper money. Well into the 1900s many people still had collections of these impressive-looking, but totally worthless, bills.
We the Animals - Squeak! (Warner 1941) We, the people, speak, then as now a popular slogan of civic consciousness.
Aloha Hooey (Warner 1942): "Aloha Oe", quintessential Hawaiian song. One of two ditties Carl Stalling used whenever a character was taking leave, the other being "California Here I Come."
Double Chaser (Warner 1942) Popular hangover remedy.
Eatin' on the Cuff (Warner 1942) Speaking off the cuff, phrase meaning speaking talking extemporaneously.
Fox Pop (Warner 1942): vox pop, shorthand for the Latin phrase "vox populi," meaning popular opinion. You'd see the phrase more commonly used back then in newspapers, when referring to the views of John Q. Public.
An Itch in Time (Warner 1943): From the old proverb "A stitch in time saves nine", meaning deal with a small problem now before it gets a lot bigger.
Pigs in a Polka (Warner 1943): Catchphrase a pig in a poke, meaning something that's offered in a way that conceals its true nature.
From Hand to Mouse (Warner 1944): catchphrase from hand to mouth, meaning getting along with just the bare essentials.
I Got Plenty of Mutton (Warner 1944): Song "I Got Plenty o' Nuthin'", from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."

Phew! It seems that the cartoon title that isn't a pun or reference of some sort is the exception. Perhaps I'll post more as time and energy permits.

Matthew Hunter

05-06-2003, 04:08 PM

Fox Pop (Warner 1942): vox pop, shorthand for the Latin phrase "vox populi," meaning popular opinion. You'd see the phrase more commonly used back then in newspapers, when referring to the views of John Q. Public.

Now THAT one I never would've gotten. Thanks for clearing that up.

Here are some others....

"Stupor Duck": parody of "Superman", 'stupor' meaning a daze or idiotic state of mind.

"Duck Dodgers": parody of a 1930's movie called "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century".

"Fresh Airedale": Fresh air, with "Airedale" being a breed of dog.

"Little Orphan Airedale": "Little Orphan Annie", once again the airedale dog gets in there.

"What Price Porky"? I assume it's "What Price Beauty" (1925) but there are any number of "what price?..." movie titles before this toon.

"One Froggy Evening" I guess it happened one FOGGY evening, huh? :p

"Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" "Snow White and the seven Dwarfs" (Disney)

"Tweety Pie" the term of endearment "sweetie pie"

"A Gander At Mother Goose" A "gander" is a goose, a male goose to be precise. "Take a gander" can also mean "take a look"...double entendre there.

"Mexican Boarders" Referring to the Mexican border, which for the most part is the Rio Grande river in south Texas. But "boarder" is a live-in guest, and Slowpoke is Speedy's guest, so....

"Backalley Oproar" "oproar". An uproar is chaos, a lot of noise, etc...but by putting "op" in the word, they are referencing "opera", which is what Sylvester is essentially conducting.

"The Scarlet Pumpernickel" The Scarlet Pimpernel, a swashbuckler novel by Alexandre Dumas (hence why Daffy says his middle name is Dumas here.)

"The Cat's Bah" well, what would you title a cartoon with a cat being chased through the Casbah?

"Bugs Bunny Rides Again" "Buck Benny Rides Again"(1940), a movie starring Jack Benny and the actors from his radio show.

"Assault and Peppered" Daffy assaults the mice, and the title comes from "salt and pepper".

"Daffy's Inn Trouble" daffy's in trouble with inns!

-
Matthew

Thad Komorowski

05-06-2003, 05:01 PM

The Beary Family cartoon, "Guest Who?" is a parody on Woody's famous catchphrase.:p

Crazy Tom

05-06-2003, 05:15 PM

"Daffy's Inn Trouble" daffy's in trouble with inns!

Is it Daffy's Inn Trouble, or is it simply "Daffy's IN trouble?" That is one of the more clever LT titles out there.

After all, Daffy always seems to get in trouble.

Paul Penna

05-06-2003, 10:14 PM

"What Price Porky"? I assume it's "What Price Beauty" (1925) but there are any number of "what price?..." movie titles before this toon.

The most likely suspects are "What Price Glory," a 1925 all-star WWI epic, or "What Price Hollywood" from 1932, a precursor to "A Star Is Born" in its various incarnations.

Paul Penna

05-06-2003, 11:54 PM

A few more before bedtime. As I mention somewhere below, I can't always be sure whether or not some of these references might still be familiar, so anyone who cares to respond, "Well, duh!" may feel free.

Behind the Meat-Brawl (Warner 1945) Behind the eight ball, term from the game of pool, meaning being in a position from which escape is highly unlikely.
Wagon Heels (Warner 1945) "Wagon Wheels", popular 1934 film western and/or roughly contemporaneous song of the same name.
Holiday for Shoestrings (Warner 1946) "Holiday for Strings", 1943 hit tune by David Rose, later used as the theme for Red Skelton's TV show, for which Rose was the musical director.
Of Thee I Sting (Warner 1946) Of thee I sing, line from the patriotic song "America," also the title song from Gershwin's 1931 musical.
Quentin Quail (Warner 1946) Another one of those "You mean you're showing these things to KIDS?!?!?!" cartoon references. Quentin quail was a slang term for an underaged girl, since you could wind up in prison for... er, uh... romancing her.
Along Came Daffy (Warner 1947) "Along Came Jones", 1945 comedy western starring Gary Cooper, and the novel upon which it was based.
Catch as Cats Can (Warner 1947) Catch-as-catch-can, phrase meaning making do with whatever means are available. "He made a catch-as-catch-can living by doing odd jobs."
Gorilla My Dreams (Warner 1948) "Girl of My Dreams". A couple familiar popular songs had this title.
Kit for Cat (Warner 1948) I don't always know whether or not something that's utterly familiar to someone of my generation is similarly second nature to younger whippersnappers, so here goes: it's tit for tat, a catchphrase meaning a one-for-one retaliation.
Bye Bye Bluebeard (Warner 1949) "Bye-Bye Black Bird", 1926 Ray Henderson/Mort Dixon popular song.
Frigid Hare (Warner 1949) Frigidaire, the common refrigerator brand.
Boobs in the Woods (Warner 1950) A babe in the woods is a completely inexperienced or totally naive person.
A Bird in a Guilty Cage (Warner 1952) "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" sentimental Victorian ballad everyone would have heard their aunt play on the piano out in the parlor.
Deduce, You Say(Warner 1956) "The deuce, you say!" is (or was) a common Britishism meaning "You don't tell me!" or "Well I'll be darned!"
Mixed Master (Warner 1956) I dunno, do people still refer to kitchen blenders generically by the brand name MixMaster?
Rocket Squad (Warner 1956) Then-popular TV detective show "Racket Squad". Great cool-jazz musical score it had, BTW.
Weasel Stop (Warner 1956) Whistle stop, a term from the days when travel by train was more common. A small town at which the train would only stop if signalled. Later, a political campaign term originally referring to a candidate's appearance on the back platform of a train that stopped briefly at some minor burg.
Tweet Zoo (Warner 1957) "Sweet Sue", familiar jazz-age popular song written in 1928.
Hare-Way to the Stars (Warner 1958) "Stairway to the Stars", another popular song.

Bobby B

05-07-2003, 12:12 AM

"My Pop, My Pop" (Fleischer, 1940) came from "My Son, My Son", a 1940 United Artists feature.

Paul Penna

05-07-2003, 09:37 PM

MGM didn't seem to go in for either the quantity or quality of title puns that Warner did, until Jones, Levitow and others of the old Warner bunch migrated there in the 60s:

The Cat Above, The Mouse Below (1964) "The Sky Above, the Mud Below", 1961 feature film documentary about native New Guinea peoples.
Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse (MGM 1964) "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", Broadway musical and its 1964 film version.
Ah, Sweet Mouse Story of Life (1964) "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life". Big tune from Victor Herbert's 1910 operetta "Naughty Marietta," it became the stereotypical Jeannette McDonald/Nelson Eddy duet when they filmed it in 1935. Then again, there's "When I'm Calling Youuuu-oo-oo-ooo-oo-oo-ooooo" from "Rose-Marie" (1936), but now we're getting off the track.
Of Feline Bondage (1965) "Of Human Bondage", the 1915 novel by Somerset Maugham, and the 1934 film of it.
O Solar Meow (MGM 1967) "O Sole Mio" Italian song most people associate with Venetian gondoliers. Later became the tune for Elvis's "It's Now or Never."
Purr Chance to Dream (1967) Phrase from Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy: "To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay there's the rub..."

FAMOUS STUDIOS managed to get in a few good ones:

The Island Fling (1946) The Highland Fling, typical Scots dance, with bagpipes squealing and much spinning around with kilts awhirl.
There's Good Boos Tonight (1948) "There's Good News Tonight". Most everyone around the country from the 30s to the 50s would be familiar with radio newsman Gabriel Heatter's daily opening line. BTW, you can hear, but not see, Heatter as one of the radio voices in the classic 1951 SF film "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Now on DVD!
How Green Is My Spinach (1950) "How Green Was My Valley", Academy Award Best Picture 1941.
Tarts and Flowers (1950) "Hearts and Flowers" This old melody is used over and over again in cartoons to depict the utter depths of sadness or tragedy, frequently when the character is attempting to elicit undeserved pity.
Ups and Downs Derby (1950) Like the early Warner cartoon "Ups 'n' Downs," a play on the famous English racetrack Epsom Downs.
Boos in the Night (1950) "Blues in the Night", well-known Harold "Over the Rainbow" Arlen/Johnny Mercer song. "My Mama done tol' me...."
The Voice of the Turkey (1951) "The Voice of the Turtle", broadway play and later 1947 Ronald Reagan film.
Boo Moon (1954) "Blue Moon", 1935 song by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
Fido Beta Kappa (1954) Phi Beta Kappa, society founded in 1796 for recognition of academic excellence and scholarly achievement. To be awarded its symbolic "key" is a high honor indeed.