Oddball Films and curator
Kat Shuchter present The Cartoon Genius of Chuck Jones, a night of cartoon hilarity
from the brilliant mind of 4-time Oscar-winning animator Chuck Jones with some
of his greatest shorts from the 1930s-1970s. From iconic characters to
esoteric flights of fancy to wartime propaganda, this program offers a mere
sampling of Jones' prodigious career spanning 7 decades and over 250 films.
Chuck's first Oscar was rewarded for the stinky love story of Pepe Le Pew
and Penelope Pussycat, For Scent-imental Reasons (1949). His third winner The
Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1965) is a love story
of a more geometric sort and call for creativity and individuality. One
of his first shorts Naughty But Mice (1939) features a very drunk
mouse (Sniffles) and his wild drug store hallucinations. Bugs and Daffy get
into semantics and Bugs slips into ladies' clothes in one of the best Bugs
Bunny shorts, Rabbit Seasoning (1952). Jones helps fight malaria
in the wartime propaganda piece Pvt. Snafu vs. Malaria Mike
(1944). Henery Hawk may only be a baby chicken hawk, but he won't be
satisfied until he's got his chicken dinner in The Squawkin' Hawk
(1942). One adorable squirrel must match wits against a coconut in Much
Ado About Nutting (1952). Ralph Wolf is no match for Sam Sheepdog
in Sheep Ahoy (1953). Herbie and Bertie make Claude the Cat
think he is dead in Hypo-Chondri-Cat (1950). Charlie the Dog
heads to Italy and sings for his dinner in A Hound for Trouble (1951). Is it
mass-hallucinations or is it really the world's tiniest elephant in Punch
Trunk (1952)? Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian square off
in outer space in Duck Dodgers of the 24 1/2th Century (1952). In
Is There a Doctor in the Mouse (1964), Jerry has invented a
super-speed formula and Tom must film him in the act to discover his speedy
secret. And speaking of speed, no Chuck Jones show would be complete without a
zippy (and Oscar nominated) entry from Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, Beep
Prepared (1961) featuring a delightfully strange arsenal from Acme.
Come early for the enduring tale of a brave mongoose; Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
(1975). All films will be screened on 16mm prints from the archive and we'll be having a raffle for Chuck Jones goodies courtesy of the Chuck Jones Foundation!
Date: Friday, September 26th, 2014 at 8:00pm
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to RSVP@oddballfilm.com or (415) 558-8117
Web: http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-cartoon-genius-of-chuck-jones-fri.html
Featuring:
For Scent-imental Reasons (B+W, 1949)
“It is love at first sight, is it not?” asks Pepe Le Pew of his tortured love object in this early entry in the beloved Merrie Melodies cartoon series. The distraught Penelope Pussycat flees Pepe’s unabashed advances until a change of heart turns the tables on our odorous friend. Oddball’s print of the film includes an often-censored sequence of Pepe threatening suicide! With the iconic voice work of Mel Blanc, the cartoon won legendary animator Chuck Jones his first Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Another Oscar winner narrated by Robert Morley about how love and self-discovery always has its own unique geometry. A real departure from Jones' animal cartoons, this poetic and unique piece only features lines dots and squiggles as its characters.
Naughty But Mice (Color, 1939)
Sniffles the mouse, in his first appearance in a Warner Bros. cartoon, goes to a drugstore and gets drunk on a cold remedy, then befriends an electric razor and gets it drunk as well. One of the first films directed by Jones for W@rner Brothers.
Rabbit Seasoning (Color, 1952)
Daffy Duck tries to match wits with Bugs Bunny as they debate whether it’s rabbit hunting season or duck hunting season. Elmer Fudd is totally witless in the exchange, especially when Bugs employs some tried-and-true cross-dressing to throw the hunter off his trail.
Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike (B+W, 1944)
Keep those pants up, Private Snafu! A cunning mosquito is loaded with malaria and he’s eying your USDA choice rump! The witty Private Snafu series was designed to convey vital information to servicemen who had wildly varying levels of education and literacy skills. Made by the folks who brought you Looney Tunes, this one was written by Theodore Geisel, a/k/a Dr. Seuss!
The Squawkin’ Hawk (Color, 1942)
Henery Hawk (who is called "Junior" in this cartoon) wants a chicken for dinner, saying that he is a chicken hawk. His mother refuses to give him chicken, insisting he eat a worm, or he will get no supper. Henery refuses, much to the worm's relief. Henery's mum put him to bed and tell him to "straight to sleep". Henery sneaks out his house at bedtime, then goes to the chickenhouse to find himself a chicken, but runs into the chicken's huge rooster husband who gives Henery a run for his money!
Much Ado About Nutting (Color, 1952)
A squirrel in the New York City doesn't know what to do when confronted by the seemingly insurmountable task of getting a coconut into his home, much less crack it. He starts looking at peanuts, then walnuts, then brazil nuts, but when he sees the coconuts, he is determined to take one home and eat it somehow. He even tries climbing up the Empire State building and throwing it off to break it open, all to no avail. Will he ever get his tasty coconut treat?
Sheep Ahoy (Color, 1953)
The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (Color, 1950)
A Hound For Trouble (Color, 1951)
Charlie dog, who is always looking for a master, tries to find one in Italy. In a restaurant where he tries to help with the customers including a hilarious song and dance routine. The owner gets rid of him by telling him to right the leaning tower of Pisa.
Punch Trunk (Color, 1952)
The world's tiniest elephant wreaks havoc in the city when no one can believe their eyes and mass-hysteria breaks out.
Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century (Color, 1952)
Is There a Doctor in the Mouse? (Color, 1964)
Jerry has a secret potion that makes turns him into a hyper-fast mouse. In fact, he's so quick Jerry is able to grab food from Tom’s mouth without his noticing! Puzzled and famished, Smart-cat Tom comes up with the idea of filming Jerry and then projecting the film in slow motion...
Beep Prepared (Color, 1961)
For the Early Birds: (starting at 7:45pm)An iconic cartoon rendering of Rudyard Kipling's story of a brave mongoose pitted up against the king of the snakes. Narrated by Orson Welles.
For more about Chuck Jones' Legacy:
http://www.chuckjones.com/about-chuck-jones/
Kat Shuchter is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Film Studies. She is a filmmaker, artist and esoteric film hoarder. She has helped program shows at the PFA, The Nuart and Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater and was crowned “Found Footage Queen” of Los Angeles, 2009.
About Oddball Films
Oddball films is the film component of Oddball Film+Video, a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Summer of Love, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educational films, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educational films, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.