Movie Mad

This is an early, almost plotless (even for a Flip the Frog short) that goes over almost the same ground as Felix in Hollywood, but not nearly as well. Visually grea with a magnificent imitation of Charlie Chaplin and a few good sight gags (mostly chases), but largely pedestrian plotting make it average at best otherwise. Still nicely animated and worth having in print. Worth watching. Recommended.

Movie Mad (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Flip the Frog falls in love with the movies so he attempts to walk onto a movie lot but he's stopped by the security guard. Determined to get in Flip gets creative to find his way on the lot.

MOVIE MAD isn't the best film in the series but there are enough charming moments to make it worth watching. I think the highlight of the film happens early on when Flip tries to hide inside the shadow of a large man who's walking into the studio. The second portion of the short is rather creative but I honestly didn't find it all that funny or even all that entertaining. There's a nice gag wrapped around a Western setting. As usual, the animation is very good throughout and there's no doubt that Ub Iwerks managed to bring his sense of style to the picture.

I came across this old cartoon as a surprise extra on a public- domain copy of a Charlie Chaplin VHS tape, and it was good for a snicker or two.

The short animated piece, MOVIE MAD, starred a long-forgotten character (I'm guessing, as I have never heard of him) called FLIP THE FROG, who is basically a walking, talking, white glove, bow- tie & short-pants wearing little black frog. In this outing, Flip is introduced to us as he is reading up on how to become a movie director, which essentially comes down to dressing up like Charlie Chaplin! He then goes on to read about acting and eventually finds himself in front of a old-time movie studio where lots of other cartoon animals are auditioning. Attempting to "break in" to the business, and the madness that subsequently ensues, particularly with the studio security-dog (type-casting if I ever saw it!) is what makes up the loose plot from there on in.

What struck me first about MOVIE MAD, and Flip the Frog, were the similarities to early Disney characters and animation; black, ropey arms and legs, white gloves, and a similar fluidity in motion (much better than many cartoons today I might add). I found out later that that can be accredited to the Director/Animator, Ub Iwerks, who honed his craft at Disney Studios before venturing out on his own to try his hand at it.

Although there isn't anything wrong with MOVIE MAD, it doesn't really go anywhere, either with regards to building an engaging character in Flip the Frog, or in creating a compelling reason to cheer him on in his endeavours to make it in show-biz. Maybe that's asking a lot of a simple ten minute cartoon, but it has been done better probably both before and since. It's still a cute little piece though.

6/10. A nice watch................. but I don't expect too many cartoon frogs will pay homage to Flip in years to come.

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.

The series started off with three watchable but average cartoons in a row with the historically significant 'Fiddlesticks', 'Little Orphan Willie' and 'Flying Fists', before getting stronger with 'The Village Barber' and particularly 'Cuckoo Murder Case', both among the stronger Flip the Frog cartoons. Again, after another brief spout of good cartoons, 'Movie Mad' sees the series go backwards and back to the not bad but nothing special standard of the first three Flip the Frog cartoons.

Not bad at all by all means. 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.

'Movie Mad' does mildly amuse and charm in places, with some nicely engineered and amusing gags. Not a dull or completely humourless cartoon. The supporting characters are nice enough The chemistry between the characters does have a little charm and tension. There is a great corridor sequence and the highlights are the Charlie Chaplin impersonation and the Laurel and Hardy caricatures.

However, Flip doesn't really have a very interesting or compelling personality which is a very big problem in general in the series. Willie Whopper who came later was an even more short-lived character and to me while also limited he was a much better character. There are actually more gags than usual, and while there are amusing parts others veer on the childish. With Iwerks, there was the danger of having too much sentiment and, while other Flip the Frog fare worse in this regard, 'Movie Mad' is at times too cutesy, which makes things feel a bit bland and forgettable.

Also problematic is the very thinly plotted story, which actually is not much of one at all and is very predictable, taking a fairly familiar premise and doing very little if anything new with it. Structurally, it also feels very cobbled together, like an episodic series of events that's not always cohesive and occasionally it's on the dull side with some draggy pacing. The cartoon definitely could have done far more with its Hollywood setting.

Overall, average but not a bad cartoon. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Flip The Frog has a book about being an actor. That's his goal in this cartoon. The funniest part of the eight minutes is the opening, I thought, when Flip pictures himself as Charlie Chaplin. He does a good Chaplin imitation and it led me to believe the rest of this cartoon might be really a good one. It wasn't.

It was okay, but nothing "to write home about." Basically, it's a two-part story: Flip trying to get into the studio and then the things that to him once he's in.

There was a clever gag in the first part when he hides under a fat man's shadow. The parts inside the studio were tons of slapstick stuff that mainly didn't draw a lot of laughs, at least from me.