A Star Is Hatched

This wonderful Warner Bros. cartoon from 1938 is featured as a bonus on the "Bringing Up Baby" DVD in a beautiful print. It's a hilarious spoof of the old chestnut of a star-struck girl who goes in search of stardom in Hollywood - only this time the girl is a scrawny hen!! Our heroine has plastered her chicken coop/apartment with pictures of movie star(among them Claudette Colbert, Dorothy Lamour, Cary Grant, and Janet Gaynor) and dreamily reads movie mags and envisions her future as an actress. And who should happen to drop into town at the local filling station but a world-famous movie director (who happens to be a rooster) who sees star potential in this chick and gives her his business card. Our girl goes to Hollywood - where W.C. Fields is a traffic cop, Freddie Bartholmeow is the newspaper boy and Clark Gable a streetcar conductor (we also see caricatures of Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, John Barrymore, Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson, and others) - will she become a star or lay an egg? This is a hilarious cartoon that will greatly appeal to old movie buffs as well as cartoon fans.

This cartoon is from Looney Tunes during the period just before they became one of the best (if not the best) cartoon studio in the world. Because of the time in which this was made, most of the familiar characters hadn't yet been created and most of the cartoons then were either Porky Pig films or featured various no-name characters. There is one of those 'no-namers', as it's the story of a chicken who meets a chicken film director (with a voice like Cary Grant). When he encourages her to go to Hollywood, she rushes there. Much of the cartoon consists of various not particularly funny imitations of various famous movie stars that most will not recognize today. After all, how many kids today will recognize Dick Powell? For older fans of Hollywood's Golden Age, it's a treat. For others, it's a bit of a chore, as the film isn't great. However, regardless of your age, you can enjoy the final scene that seems to advocate proactive parenting (watch it and see what I mean).

By the way, another film with a similar style is Disney's "Autograph Hound"--and it's a much, much better film. Donald tries to sneak in to the studio to bother celebrities for autographs. See this one...skip "A Star is Hatched" unless you are a die-hard fan.

By the way, this short is included on the 2-disk DVD set for "Bringing Up Baby"--a marvelous Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn film.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

'A Star is Hatched' is not one of Friz Freleng's best cartoons and he was yet to be in his full prime, but for a relatively early effort from him it's a very solidly made and interesting one. For Freleng during this particular period in his career, the premise is something that one associates more with Frank Tashlin. With that being said, Freleng does handle it very well and one can see his style, which is not subdued here (instead there is a subtle irony and wit), coming through.

The basic story is fairly flimsy and younger audiences may not get all the references and caricatures, on first viewing when much younger a couple did go over my head when names like Dick Powell and W.C. Fields were unfamiliar to me. Still, 'A Star is Hatched' is a sheer delight for classic film/Golden Age Hollywood fans, and is very likely to interest younger audiences into getting into this period.

Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading, vibrant in colour and very meticulous in detail. The story may be predictable, but it's beautifully paced with never a dull moment and strongly structured.

Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.

It's a never less than amusing cartoon, has some very inspired and delightful to spot caricatures (a huge part of the fun is recognising them) and the pacing never lets up while having enough room to breathe.

Energy throughout is full of liveliness and the voice acting is stellar.

Overall, very well made and enjoyable poultry Golden Age caricature cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox