Now Hear This

As a youngster I always eagerly looked forward to a Warner Bros. cartoon coming on TV but I was always disappointed when the opening titles featured, in place of the classic concentric circles, the angular, modern titles that became synonymous with the deeply inferior, latter day Warner shorts. These jutting triangles, accompanied by an ugly re-imagining of the Merrie Melodies theme, almost always signified the arrival of a dreaded Speedy and Daffy cartoon. However, there was always the slimmest of slim chances that you might luck out and instead be rewarded with Chuck Jones's 'Now Hear This'.

'Now Hear This' was the cartoon which first introduced the modern title sequence which would go on to be defiled by the Depatie-Freleng monstrosities. The most abstract cartoon Warner Bros. ever released, 'Now Hear This' is a clear forerunner for any number of surrealist animations from 'Yellow Submarine' to Bob Godfrey's superb 'Do-It-Yourself Cartoon Kit'. Having experimented with just about ever visual and narrative device available, with 'Now Hear This' Jones turns his attention to sound. The visuals here are minimalist, with highly stylised characters performing against a backdrop of nothingness. The cartoons begins with a frustrated devil searching for his missing horn (he wanders through the opening credits, showing a demonic contempt for convention). The horn is discovered by a stuffy English man (recognisable as English by his monocle and moustache even before the confirmation of a 'Keep Britain Tidy' sign and a burst of the British national anthem) who swaps his battered old ear trumpet for this new discovery. Thus begins his descent into aural hell! There is very little logic to the events of 'Now Hear This' but the images flow so beautifully that questioning them seems churlish. The impeccably chosen and synchronised bursts of sound (courtesy of genius sound man Treg Brown) are at once extraordinarily disturbing and this eerie edge to the cartoon cannot have escaped the attention of children's programmers since 'Now Hear This' was rarely seen on kid's TV. It is far more akin to the sort of cartoon I used to discover on TV at about 1am and then be haunted by for weeks for some indistinguishable reason. Like all such cartoons, 'Now Hear This' is utterly compelling and unpredictable. Testament to Chuck Jones's ongoing crusade to keep imagination alive, 'Now Hear This' is both a visual and aural treat.

It's hard to deny that Chuck Jones was truly one of the geniuses of animation. His short "Now Hear This" seems a little bit like a precursor to the psychedelic era - which would hold sway within a few years - as a slightly deaf Brit picks up what he thinks is a hearing aid (actually one of Satan's horns) and it amplifies every sound into total wackiness.

What's the point of the cartoon? Why ask? This cartoon has as its purpose total abstraction, and it achieves that. "Now Hear This" certainly deserved its Oscar nomination (too bad that Chuck didn't win more during his lifetime). As the cartoon's not readily available on video or DVD, you can watch it on YouTube.

As beloved as animation pioneer Chuck Jones was in artistically revolutionizing the Warner Bros cartoons, he did lend towards pretension a lot in many of his later efforts. In the case of his one off experiment Now Hear This, it was a fascinating attempt at trying out something new with the media of animation and sound design. Despite the short being nominated for an Oscar, it has now been regarded as somewhat of a polarizing picture in its own regard. Considering that Jones himself admitted that he didn't understand what he was trying to achieve, perhaps looking at this short should be taken under face value.

The basic premise follows an elderly British man who mistakes one of Satan's horns as an ear trumpet and proceeds to fall into hijinks and chaos. With the right comedic timing and all the sound effects courtesy of legendary LT editor Treg Brown, this short could easily be a delight throughout. Unfortunately, what bogs it all down is how sluggish and labored the pacing becomes, making a lot of the surprises feel more off putting than funny. Outside of the variety of sound effects which do at least convey a lot in how they're utilized, much of the humor is executed through eye popping pop art, making the short feel too dated for its own good. As a result, much of what happens as a result of the hellish horn feels as made up as it goes along, with the so-called wacky nonsense feeling all over the place. Unlike any other cartoon where you empathize with the unfortunate victim in this circumstance while also being entertained by all the inventive trickery on screen, the short makes you feel sorry for the old man and wish he could get out of this nightmarish predicament.

If there is one notable quality that does actually pay off in the cartoon's favor, at least controversial musical composer William Lava made the most with the material. Lava's work in the later WB cartoons paled in comparison to the likes of Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn as his trademark style favored experimental cutting edge tracks over classic vaudeville or jazzy bands. That being said, as this short goes all over the place in its execution, it actually allows for a lot of free range in the usage of musical instruments, conveying the tone a lot better than any of the writing or animation does. As mechanical and alienesque as Lava's work tended to sound in the later WB shorts, this one fully displayed his talent through careful planning and pay off. Also, the pantomime acting Chuck Jones was known for in a lot of his best work like Feed the Kitty and Mouse Warming lends itself well in how much emotional turmoil the old man is going through. Even at a time when the UPA influence in animation was still at play, albeit not so effectively, Jones was still able to lend his solid tropes well.

So despite an interesting concept and some fine details sprinkled throughout, Now Hear This fails as an experimental piece by indulging too much in its minimal grandeur. It should go without saying that while any animated short film has the right to go outside what is expected from casual viewers, it should at least understand what it's trying to accomplish while entertaining whoever is interested in it. If it's supposed to be for a niche market, it should at least know what is to be expected in the long run. Perhaps recommending this short is up to whoever lies in that type of field.

This cartoon can easily be told as a Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Chuck Jones in two ways: 1. It is drawn in his artistic style and abstract design. 2. It features all the famous trademark Warner Bros. cartoon sound effects, as well as some vocal effects by Mel Blanc. Although this cartoon is almost silent, the only line of real dialogue is during the beginning, when a guy yells "QUIET!!!" The unique combination of Treg Brown and the Warner Bros. Animation sound effects department, as well as William Lava's music, makes for a great cartoon. The animation is simple at times, and is slightly similar to UPA, but this wasn't really done because of low budgets, but to make it really artistic. This film is also hard to describe, but some highlights include an egg coming out of the old man's "hearing horn," and then Morse code writing appears around, followed by the sound of a saw. Then legs pop out from the bottom of the egg (wearing Marvin the Martian-style tennis shoes), and then the front of the egg cracks open and a giant trombone begins playing "Yankee Doodle" as the background flashes red, white and blue! Quite odd for a cartoon that takes place in England. I can understand that this cartoon could easily be mistaken for a post-1964 Warner Bros. animated film because of how it opens and closes with the really weird, stylized and "modern" Looney Tunes title sequences (with swirling lines coming toward you and a large, purple abstract "WB," all to a bizarre rendition of the Looney Tunes theme song), seen on all mid-to-late 60s WB cartoons. However, this film was actually the first use of these Looney Tune logos. I bet Chuck Jones never dreamed that his logo creation would wind up becoming the official Warner Bros. Animation opening and closing titles! (This happened when DePatie-Freleng took over production for the Looney Tunes.) However, this cartoon is so good (it even got nominated for an Oscar,) it DEFINITELY belongs on one of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets! Overall, a great cartoon and you should check it out!

UPDATE: Well, Warner Home Video must've read this comment. They have now released "Now Hear This" on the sixth and final Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set. They did an EXCELLENT job restoring this cartoon to its original brilliance! If you ever get a chance to see this cartoon, try to see it on DVD for a pure pristine-quality Chuck Jones work of art!

This cartoon, which was nominated for an Oscar (losing out to the remarkable short, The Hole), is an exceptional use of limited animation. In order to compensate for the drawbacks inherent in limited animation, something else isneeded to counterbalance the lack of motion. Through very creative use of color and sound (as well as a fascinating and thought-provoking idea), Chuck Jones manages to turn a weakness into a strength and the result is truly inspired. This runs relatively often on Cartoon Network on the weekends and doubtless will run on the Chuck Jones Show eventually, if it hasn't already. Most highly recommended.