Cockatoos for Two

This Columbia cartoon was produced during a period of chaos at the Screen Gems cartoon factory -- a condition that had applied, really, since the late 1930s during the decline of Mintz' studio and despite frequent abortive attempts to revive it.

When COCKATOO FOR TWO was begun, Leon Schlesinger's old partners were in charge of the studio and they recruited the great Bob Clampett. By the time it was finished, Clampett was long gone and Bob Wickersham was the director. As a result, this story of a pigeon who takes the place of a rare bird delivered to be eaten by a Peter Lorre character (voiced amusingly by a very young Stan Freberg) shows its provenance in the story and gags, but not in the execution -- the animation is certainly competent, but uninspiring Still, the gags and situation, as well as the voice work is pretty good. Although this cartoon won't be at the top of anyone's list, it provides an amusing six minutes.