This'll have to be a hastily done post. Workers are in the house tearing down a wall and with the din I can't think straight. Fortunately Milt recently gave me a couple of Xeroxes that readers might be interested in, so I don't have to appear empty-handed.
Sure, it could be a coincidence, but the likeness is so striking that I'm forced to consider another possibility, ie., that I'm a vampire who holds on to life by sucking the blood of others. I don't recall having done anything like that but, who knows?
Milt also gave me a copy (above) of Marlena Dietrich's scathing review of Snow White from 1937. He got it from a site called "Animation Anecdotes," which I bookmarked as soon as I got home. I don't agree with Dietrich's evaluation of the film, but you have to admit that it's funny.
Milt reminded me that caricaturist Al Hirschfeld also wrote a negative review of that film and I include it below.
Okay, that's it! I've gotta get out of the house!
Although many will probably disagree, I think Al Hirschfeld raised a few good points. It seems that he was critiquing the film from a cartoonist's perspective, rather than the myopic eyes of a normal film critic. Not many films like Snow White had been successfully made at the time, so Hirschfeld's criticisms don't negate that point.
ReplyDeleteHirschfelds review is fascinating, it reflects modern criticisms of Snow White which I assumed came from viewing it through the lens of time.
ReplyDeleteThe Dwarves, Bugs Bunny, Goofy and the rest are more convincing in their cartoony unreality than all the animated mannequins in the world.
The rotoscoped Hitler at the end of Commando Daffy (http://youtu.be/xQE8tvtXEtg) is weak and mushy compared to this caricatured cartoon Hitler performance in Russian Rhapsody (http://youtu.be/2NVqer0QyEw)
And a great point about the water! How much entertainment value does realistic water add up too? Imagine how much time they spent on the water in 'Ratatouille'
Darn, love that T. Hee drawing! Looking around, George Manuel was a Fleischer storyman who ended up at Disney at some point.
ReplyDeleteAnybody have a picture of Manuel so we can compare?
Hi Eddie -- Just testing to see if I can leave a comment through my computer. -- Milt
ReplyDeleteI can't help but add my two cents.
ReplyDeleteYes, Snow White has flaws but as a film it is a watershed of invention. I feel the singular power of it is the wedding of genres: it is a fairy tale, a comedy, a romance, a musical, and a horror film. Plus it is animated. Not a small feat for a first film. Echos if this followed most other features to the point of formula, but this was the first.