I'm interested in how we imagine as a society, so study movies. I'm increasingly convinced that many of the cleverest folding ideas were introduced first through shorts, specifically cartoons. They were cheaper to produce and wouldn't drag down the bill if they failed.
1944 is a bit late in the game for the history of folding, so the experiments have to be outrageous.
This is. Superficially, it is a chase cartoon where the plucky small creature outwits and pummels the bigger, dumber one. I understand that the form was mandated by funders. Ignore it.
Much more interesting is how Tex wrapped that in a selfaware perspective.
It starts with a fight for control of the cartoon, one character saying: "what kind of cartoon is this anyway?"
Midway in the chase, the little guy the squirrel asks what the next scene will be, and literally lifts the page to see the cartoon underneath.
Near the end, the big dumb guy says that he's had enough and the cartoon is over. That shrinking iris effect begins, but the little guy begs for some more time. He makes a promise which is of course broken.
At the real end of the thing, the little guy comes on stage to talk to the audience and reveals that he was able to perform all those tricks because he had a twin. The final joke is that the big dog had one too (about which the screwy squirrel was unaware.)
Important stuff. Funny, engaging.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
