Cuckoo Murder Case

Ub Iwerks's Flip the Frog series of cartoons was short-lived, only lasting from 1930 to 1933. On the most part the Flip the Frog cartoons are not great or cartoon/animated masterpieces and it is sort of understandable as to why Flip didn't make it bigger. However they are far from terrible ones either and do hold some interest.

Despite not being historically significant like 'Fiddlesticks' was, 'Cuckoo Murder Case' for me is among the best Flip the Frog cartoons and easily the best up to this very early stage of the series. It is not a masterpiece and it is not perfect, but there are things here that improve quite a bit and done much better than many other Flip the Frog cartoons.

A lot of good things in 'Cuckoo Murder Case'. The animation is good enough, with beautifully detailed backgrounds, nice shading and characters that aren't drawn too crudely. The music makes even more of an impact, it is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, full of lively energy and not only adds brilliantly to the action it enhances it.

There are more sight gags than the previous Flip the Frog cartoons, like 'The Village Barber', and they are surprisingly funny. There is a nice natural charm, some zest and it does a much better job than most Flip the Frog cartoons in not falling into sentimentality or cutesiness. Really liked the lively supporting characters and the suitably eerie mystery atmosphere, the mystery element of the story is involving. It's not a dull cartoon either.

However, 'Cuckoo Murder Case' does for my taste take a little on the long side to set up, the start could have been shortened and the cartoon could have gotten more to the point a touch earlier.

Flip himself while a little stronger to usual is still not the most compelling or memorable of characters, while serving his purpose in the cartoon well.

Overall, very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A film-noir in a 1930 cartoon? Yup, at least that's how this looked to me. A number of scenes in here featured stark shadows and figures in the night creeping about. It was all good stuff.

The story begins with a gun firing and a cuckoo, who had just emerged from the clock, getting shot through the stomach. The bird examines the big hole in him, peeks in and around it, and then drops dead. We see animation from the clock, the hands, the telephone on the wall - all inanimate objects, which is typical of cartoons, especially in the 1930s. Some of the humor is really clever.

The rest of this cartoon is this crazy crime where detective Flip The Frog races to the scene of the crime and tries to solve it. Along the way, we get some good gags with Flip's car (which tiptoes through puddles and does other crazy human-like things), the police car and its feline siren, and the haunted-type house where the crime was committed. It's all good fun and a visual treat as well. I had to laugh at the ending with The Grim Reaper. It's a very strange finish to a cartoon.

One thing that shocked me: the telephone in Flip's office said, "Damn!" I played it back again to make sure I heard right, and I did. This cartoon, of course, was made for the Hays' Code was instituted. As fans of animation know, there were some language and sexy scenes even in cartoons back in the early '30s. More than likely it would be a topless female but once in a while a swear word would pop up. Having seen hundreds of Looney Tunes, Disney and Pink Panther cartoons, etc., it's still a shock to hear because you don't expect it in 7-minute cartoons.

Whatever, I did enjoy this cartoon for its zaniness and it's terrific black-and-white artwork.

Much of the enjoyment of this film is heavily determined by whether or not you find many of the visual gags to be funny or the atmosphere palpable since both seem to be the main attraction. Personally thought the atmosphere does a solid job at setting the mood while still keeping the tone relatively light, with harsh shadowy moments still having their cartoony eyes present for example. The beginning sets up plenty of material in how easily distracted but well meaning the character is, in a way that feels like all signs are blatantly guiding him in the correct direction. Everything serving as an obstacle plays well with the idea of him being diligent and leaves so many possibilities open for future gags. Personally thought that the pacing slowed towards the end, mainly due to many gags repeating themselves or feeling like a deescalation of previous moments. This could also be a common sign of cartoons of this style, but the ending felt incredibly abrupt and rather inconclusive. Like it provides a great idea for the reveal of the mystery, but only seems to serve as a punchline that lasts too long to have an impact on me personally, while cutting just short of delivering much for other humor potential. Even with the issues, this was still a rather charming and quirky short that delivers plenty of fun gags with a great foundation.

Cuckoo Murder Case (1930)

*** (out of 4)

In a dark and creepy house a murder occurs so Flip the Frog is called in to do the investigation.

This early Flip short from Ub Iwerks is a pretty good entry for the series, although it plays out a lot differently than most that would follow. If you're familiar with the director's THE SKELETON DANCE then you'll recognize the creepy setting, the various ghouls and of course the thunderstorm that is pretty much the music for all the creepy stuff. I found the animation to be extremely good as usual for a Iwerks film and the story itself was also rather catchy.