In the early 1960s, Chuck was creating some of the most ground-breaking films of his career. Even though Warner Bros. was well on its way to shutting down the cartoon studio, the creative talents of Chuck and his long-time team that included Maurice Noble, Ben Washam, Phil Deguard, and Treg Brown were in full swing.
For me, this film is the epitome of how great character is developed in such a short time and the twists and turns of the story keep coming.
Now Hear This is a true favorite of mine.
Let me know what you think…
Craig
I like it, although it took me a wee while to get into it. Thanks for posting
Great stuff. I remember seeing this as a kiddie. See some UPA influence.
I also remember seeing this as a kid, at the old Holiday Theater in Park Forest, Illinois. I couldn’t really follow it, but it was so different from the other cartoons that I was seeing at the time, that it stuck in my memory (although I always assumed it was entitled “Silence Is Golden”).
Seeing it again after more than 45 years, I’m struck by the mix of the old and new in the cartoon. Some things, like the “going for a ride” gangster cliches, are a standard part of the Warner Brothers cartoon gag world. The elderly gentleman is a lovely sample of the sort of character animation I expect in a Warner cartoon.
At the same time, Jones, Noble and company seemed determined to break their own molds, to deliberately discard the structures and conventions of their usual work. The limited-for-effect animation, abstract and constantly changing settings (one thing I really remembered from my childhood viewing of this film was the vast expanses of white, which I rarely saw in cartoons), the one-after-another sound gags, even that the little green guy who seems to have no clear motivation for his actions — these all go against what Warner and other Hollywood animation studios usually delivered.
Watching it now, I feel divided — at times the gags seem a little too precious and self-indulgent. But I also enjoyed the variety of the various tricks employed.
And even though there was a clear setup at the beginning, I wasn’t expecting the payoff gag with the devil’s missing horn!
Just Brilliant! SO inventive, clever, subtle, yet outrageously funny! I love the simplicity of the drawing, combined with such variety of sound, to create quite an impact! Neat display of credits, always having fun with the colors and text.
Thank you for your post, I just started teaching video and animation to high school students, I will be sending them here to learn from your blog.