From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

This Oscar-nominated short directed by Chuck Jones is one I can relate with. In school while I'm usually the talkative/class clown type. There are times when I doze off and daydream about fantastic adventures and places and people. So in a way I can relate to this short and it's leading character. And this short is based on Chuck Jones' childhood daydreams. So I guess we have something in common.

I would have given "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z" a higher grade had it not contained a scene stereotyping Native Americans. But other than that, it's a good look at school life. I mean, how many of us didn't daydream in class like Ralph Phillips does here? Especially with the rote learning portrayed in the cartoon. Yes, he may be self-indulgent, but he has his reasons. And it probably would be fun to do some of what he imagines.

So, although I prefer Chuck Jones's cartoons portraying Bugs Bunny and that crowd, this one has its merits. Worth seeing.

Did Gen. MacArthur ever say that?

While Chuck Jones has been given his just desserts as an animator he is awfully underrated as a filmmaker and should be considered as one of the top directors of all-time regardless of medium. Not only have his works inspired the likes of Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus and Joe Dante but his characters were always human.

In this short we get the most rounded character Chuck Jones ever created not only because he was "Flesh and Blood" but because he (Ralph Phillips) went through a range of emotions (boredom, whimsy, regret, anger, self-indulgence, loneliness) than most of his characters ever did. This film is a testament to Jones's art. In just 21 minutes Chuck Jones created a character who doesn't shine as brightly but is just as memorable as Bugs Bunny.

10/10

Nominated for an Oscar, this cartoon is a takeoff on Walter Mity, with a small boy named Ralph Phillips surpassing Mitty in inventiveness. Thoroughly engaging and extremely hilarious, the situations Ralph imagines are wonderful and so off-beat (particularly his bout with mathematics!) that the cartoon can be watched again and again without getting old or growing flat. Most highly recommended.

Young "Ralph" takes exactly the same view as most of us did at school when we were children. We were usually bored - especially when it came to arithmetic. Those repetitious times tables, or improbably complex calculations that brought on an ennui - before we even knew that was a word - that just encourage day dreaming. This young lad has quite a vivid imagination that seems to tap into what ever punishment the teacher has for his lack of attention, especially when she decides to put him in the corner and he turns into Jack Dempsey. It's good fun this with our hero, despite his grade "C", proving he is much more of the Errol Flynn than the model student and maybe, just maybe, educating people, parrot-fashion isn't the best of techniques.