IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
The story of a little boy who would only talk in sound effects.The story of a little boy who would only talk in sound effects.The story of a little boy who would only talk in sound effects.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
- Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins total
Marvin Miller
- Narrator
- (voice)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
In my opinion, this is the best cartoon ever made. It has terrific animation and a charming story, it is witty and lively, and of course has a "moral" in that you don't have to be the same as everybody else to succeed as the title character ends up in a wonderful job, despite his "disability."
10johnl3d
MCBOING BOING is one of the cartoons that have stuck in my head over the years and finally decided to look into it as was pleasantly surprised and was also surprised on the people involved with the production. If I remember correctly we had to watch it on a UHF station and this meant using a converter in those days UHF not part of regular TV to tune in the local station to watch the cartoon a big deal in those days which made the show even more mysterious. I remember all the sound effects that Gerald used to talk. A great memory from 50+ years ago. I'll have to see what other memories might be hiding on the web. By the way I try to do computer animation thats where the johnl3d comes into the picture
The story of a little boy who would only talk in sound effects. With story by Dr. Seuss (and Bill Scott of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) this cartoon won the Oscar for best short subject (animated) for 1950.
Some people seem to give this short a hard time. And I suppose the animation is not that incredibly amazing. But keep in mind this is 1950, making it one of the earliest (if not the first) Dr. Suess cartoon. And there is no denying the rhyme and story are quite original and clever.
This is no Pixar or anything too deep. But worth checking out if you area fan of Dr. Suess, because this story gets overlooked compared to the Grinch or Cat in the Hat.
Some people seem to give this short a hard time. And I suppose the animation is not that incredibly amazing. But keep in mind this is 1950, making it one of the earliest (if not the first) Dr. Suess cartoon. And there is no denying the rhyme and story are quite original and clever.
This is no Pixar or anything too deep. But worth checking out if you area fan of Dr. Suess, because this story gets overlooked compared to the Grinch or Cat in the Hat.
This Oscar-winning adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book focuses on a boy whose speech consists entirely of sound effects. It initially looks as if the tyke is going to spend his whole life as an outcast, but there's something else in store. "Gerald McBoing-Boing" hilariously reminds us that we don't all have to be the same; even a person who "talks funny" still has value as an individual. I will say that the UPA cartoons (known for limited animation) aren't as impressive as, say, the Bugs Bunny cartoons, but on its own, this one is a fine piece of art. I wouldn't expect anything less from a Dr. Seuss book. I just hope that they don't try to butcher it with a feature adaptation like they did with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Cat in the Hat".
10tavm
If there's one cartoon that helped to put UPA on the map more than any other, It's Gerald McBoing-Boing. This tale of a little boy who only speaks in sound effects has kept its charm for the last 57 years. Besides the effects, loved the music, the abstract animation and backgrounds, the narration by Marvin Miller, pretty much everything. And it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short of 1950. Glad to have seen it on YouTube after reading about this Dr. Seuss story for so many years. And Rocky and Bullwinkle creator Bill Scott also contributed, how awesome! Hope to see the subsequent shorts made in the series, if not on YouTube, then maybe in a DVD collection. Now I guess I'll watch another UPA short there...
Did you know
- TriviaIn a 1994 poll of animators, film historians and directors (conducted by the animation historian Jerry Beck), this film was rated the ninth greatest cartoon short of all time.
- GoofsAt about five minutes the man from the radio station plays the three note NBC theme on a set of chime bars with three notes. When he strikes the bells, he goes from high to low in descending order, rather than playing the lowest, then the highest followed by the center bell. He repeats this about fifteen seconds later.
- Quotes
Narrator: This is the story of Gerald McCloy, and the strange thing that happened to that little boy. They say it all started when Gerald was two. That's the age kids start talking, least most of them do. Well, when he started talking, you know what he said? He didn't talk words, he went...
[boing, boing]
Narrator: ... instead.
- ConnectionsEdited into Columbia Pictures Cartoons: Volume 3 Gerald McBoing-Boing (1983)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Gerald McBoing Boing
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 8m
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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