Apparently this terrific short has not been given a proper release due to a squabble between Chuck Jones and Warner Bros. This is a shame, because this film is terrific.
This is a sequel to the classic, "One Froggy Evening", in which a poor demolition man finds a singing frog in the cornerstone of an old building. The only problem was that the frog would only sing for him, and no one else would believe that he had found such a rare animal. The man's life is eventually ruined and he puts the frog back into the cornerstone of a new building. Centuries later, when a space-suited demolition man is vaporizing the same building he comes across the singing frog and runs off with him, dollar signs floating over his head.
The new film depicts the adventures of "Michigan J. Frog" throughout history. We discover that his secretive vocal gifts and the human misfortune resulting from them have been repeated throughout the history of mankind. At each epoch of human civilization we see a dim-witted, would-be impresario trying to make money off of a frog that will sing only for him. A caveman, a Roman and even Robinson Crusoe all fall victim to greed upon discovering the frog with a taste for turn-of-the century songs. Each of them meets a fate similar to the poor schmuck from the first film. In fact, the money-mad characters in this film even resemble the character from the original.
The animation is first-rate, with none of the plastic-looking, digital sheen of recent Warner Bros. animation. It looks exactly like a classic 50's Warners cartoon short. Chuck Jones really outdid himself with the story, direction and animation found in this film. Even Michigan J. Frog sounds exactly the same as he did in the first film, although another actor must have sung the part, because this cartoon includes several all-new songs.
If Warners is not going to release this film in theatres they should at least put it out on video or give it a big build-up on the Cartoon Network. A hell of a lot of work obviously went into the making of it, and it shows Jones at the peak of is talent. Audiences would fall in love with this film; it really is that good.
