Farm Frolics

In the late 30s and into the 40s, Looney Tunes made quite a few cartoons that were almost documentary-like in style. Each had a narrator and they took on a variety of topics...and in this case animals living on a farm. Unfortunately, the cartoon has a much lower than usual ratio of good jokes to ones that fall completely flat. In fact, all of them were pretty lame. So, despite some nice animation, this is a very, very weak entry for the studio.

By the way, the woman's voice at the end was an imitation of Zasu Pitts....if anyone really cares.

Usually, when you see the date of a Looney Tune as being very early 1940s and you immediately hear the voice of narrator (usually Robert Bruce) you almost can be assured it won't be the normal wild, wacky and humorous cartoon you're expecting. They were very corny in the early '40s and most of the humor just isn't there as it was by the mid '40s and the end of World War II.

There is no central character, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Porky Pig in these above- mentioned type of 'toons. They are usually are just a series of quick gags on a subject: fairy tales, different places in the world or - such as in this one - life on a farm. I would this one, however, better than the others I've seen. At least the gags had some humor, enough to at least produce a few smiles.

The rural scenes are beautifully drawn and look great on this "restored" Golden Collection Volume Five DVD set. Also, some of the gags - if you know classic-era performers - aren't bad, such as a horse imitating Eddie Cantor or a dog reading Dick Tracy in the Sunday newspaper comic strips or the birds building a FHA-approved house.

One of the many early Merrie Melodies cartoons existing pretty much as an excuse for a series of narrated sight gags, Bob Clampett's "Farm Frolics" is noticeably tamer than "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" or "A Day at the Zoo", but still provides its fair share of laughs. It's pretty much the same kinds of jokes as Clampett's "Crazy Cruise" the following year. Granted, the jokes are fairly hokey. In my opinion, Tex Avery was the master of spot gags, and Bob Clampett reached his all-time apex with "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery".

Still, you gotta imagine how this stuff must have seemed the first time that moviegoers ever watched it. I figure that they very likely cracked up (or at least guffawed). And you'll probably at least chuckle at the gags. Worth seeing. Just came out on DVD on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5.

Except for the weasel attacking a nest full of chicken's eggs, there wasn't much to recommend this. We look at the various farm animals, from the trusty dog to the cat and mouse, to horse who does Eddie Cantor. I guess it is pretty dated, but the humor is still lacking. There were a lot of these things with the pompous narrator taking us on a little journey.

Farm Frolics (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Robert Clampett directed this narrative short, which takes us to the farm where we learn about the various animals and going-ons.

There were quite a few of these types of shorts that were released during this period. Tex Avery was a master at them but other director's also did well within the sub-genre. This short benefits from the excellent animation that you've come to expect but there are also a few funny stories along the way. One prime example is the trusted old farmer's dog who gets the newspaper everyday but not for the reason you might expect. There's also a funny bit dealing with some baby pigs gathered around a clock as well as the "quiet" sounds of a mother ant. If you're a fan of these narrative shorts then this here is certainly one of the better ones.