The Old Shell Game

Sid Raymond uses a small variation of his Katnip voice as a starving wolf tries to cook a turtle in this fine Noveltoon from Famous Studios.

Noveltoons was Famous Studios marque for their non-series offerings, usually one-shots that might yield a character that would become a regular series. As such, they were not locked into the formulas that afflicted their regular efforts: Popeye was among their worst offenders, or would become so within a year of this. Instead, we are offered a lovely series of beautifully executed gags as the wolf tries to get into that shell to the turtle's meat, ending in the sort of absurd cartoon logic -- if it's not on screen, anything is possible -- and a silly capper gag. Highly recommended.