Greedy Humpty Dumpty

I love animation from Fleischer Studios, along with Disney, Rankin/Bass, Hanna-Barbera, and Studio Ghibli, and this is a great short. It is also one of my favorites from Fleischer's "Color Classics" series. I love it when all the Mother Goose characters warn King Dumpty that his greed will cause him big trouble. I always remember it. I also love the clever rhyming that was used too: "If you value your lives and also your health, do as I bid, for I want more wealth!"

You know, I have heard some negativity about the "Color Classics." But personally, I think the "Color Classics" are great cartoons.

I saw this cartoon accidentally on television one night when I couldn't get to sleep. It didn't help in the slightest. I found myself staring up at the ceiling, trying to forget that face. I could quite happily never see this cartoon again, simply because of that face.

Now, don't get me wrong - I love fairy tales and nursery rhymes as much as anyone. But this twisted and terrifying rendition simply is disturbing. It is mainly the cruel laughter, and the exaggerated features that terrify me, and I still have nightmares because of it. Please, I urge you not to allow your children to see this. It is far, FAR too scary. Please, I pray you, keep it away.

Although the copy of this cartoon that I saw recently on the Classic Arts Showcase (ARTS) was somewhat faded, it did show the artistic and technical skill for which the Fleischers were justly famous. It also shows the weird streak that runs through many of their films.

In this cartoon, Humpty Dumpty is not just the chatty fellow who fell off the wall, but a tyrannical king who has an insatiable appetite for gold, constantly bellows a sinister laugh, and turns cruel at the drop of a hat. He reminds me a lot of Tybo the Carrot Monster from the "Lost In Space" episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion."

Little wonder that the Fleischers later produced "Superman" cartoons with larger than life villains and outlandish situations.

This is more of a comment than a review. I vividly remember this as 5 or 6 year old in the 50's. For me then, it was compelling and also somewhat scary and surrealistic. The message certainly got across though!

I'm only 16 years old but for some strange reason when I was really young we had a collection of cartoons from earlier decades, including this movie.

I have no idea why we had them, but anyway my brother and I used to watch this short, along with numerous others (I don't know their names I just remember the plots) almost every single day. For some reason it didn't scare me.

It was great, even though I vaguely remember it. Kind of twisted, probably not great for little kids. It teaches a good lesson though! You're never going to find me building weak infrastructure..