Music Instruments Revolt in Bars and Stripes (1931)
A very rare Krazy Kat cartoon that Charles Mintz
did for Columbia
release, being part of offerings in Thunderbean's Attack Of The 30's Characters
DVD. Mintz was infamy behind Disney's loss of Oswald, and would stay with
animation wherever deals could be cobbled, until his passing in 1940 (one IMDB
commenter posted, I hope he's in Hell!). Mintz regarded cartoons as pure
merchandise, so Bars and Stripes comes with low expectation, but what surprise
to find it a sprightly reel with clever bits revolved round Krazy's duel with
musical instruments he's made enemy of. Someone was really trying here, if not
Mintz. Krazy Kat was by now just a brand name applied to a standard issue character,
being in few ways adapted from the comic strip that still boasts a loyal cult.
It paid to have a known from other media figure as stalking horse (or cat) for
your cartoons; helped get bookings. I'm sad that old black-and-whites like this
don't get TV exposure anymore; there are, after all, so many of them.
All together the Krazy Kat series ran strong until 1935 when crews were shuffled to the Color Rhapsodies (while others left) leaving Scrappy & Krazy in the control of lesser folks for years there after. BARS AND STRIPES isn't even among the best of 'em but it's still pretty good. Taken as an inkblot character at the mercy of bizarre environments, in the manner of Bimbo, over Herriman's esoteric creation is the key to enjoying these. Better than they are given credit for...
1 Comments:
All together the Krazy Kat series ran strong until 1935 when crews were shuffled to the Color Rhapsodies (while others left) leaving Scrappy & Krazy in the control of lesser folks for years there after. BARS AND STRIPES isn't even among the best of 'em but it's still pretty good. Taken as an inkblot character at the mercy of bizarre environments, in the manner of Bimbo, over Herriman's esoteric creation is the key to enjoying these. Better than they are given credit for...
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