Fish Hooky

Absolutely hilarious installment of the classic Little Rascals series.

The classic children's comedies that spanned 20 years from the early 20's all the way to world War II, had different kids appear as others became too mature for the roles. This episode was a novelty that assembled some of the cast who had appeared in early episodes, with the kids who had replaced them by the early 30's. Now teens and adults, the older kids play foils for the younger kids, and the results make this one of the three best episodes of the Rascals.

Chubby and Farina tempt the kids into playing hooky from school to go fishing. Part of the conspiracy is to write phony sick notes from their parents, but little do the fish hooky conspirators know that two former Rascals are now their teacher and truant officer, respectively. These two smell a rat when they read poorly spelled and barely legible excuse notes declaring illnesses such as "he has the flu and broke his arm to make it fancy." Also, the hooky-playing guys don't know their class was being taken on a surprise trip to an amusement park. The teacher and truant cop hatch a scheme to scare the wits out of the hooky players, which sets up the good-natured chaos this series was so well known for. The Alcatraz description of reform school is priceless, but it's only the beginning.

The mock pursuit throughout the amusement park was simply brilliant. The sight gags and one-liners are placed with precision, every joke works, and the actors play their parts to the hilt. The sped up footage of the truant officer chasing Stymie throughout the old Long Beach Pike is the funniest bit of all.

This is one of the best short-subject titles of all time.