This is a cartoon in the Screen Songs series produced by Fleischer studio. There will be spoilers ahead:
This cartoon is a parody of burlesque theaters. Interestingly enough, for a Fleischer pre-code cartoon, particularly one focusing on burlesque, this short is comparatively tame, yet it still captures the essence of burlesque quite effectively.
While the animation is excellent throughout, the opening animation sequence is strangely flat and lacks the energy you might expect. There are a couple of good gags, the best being when the lead performer on the stage is strutting along, loosening floorboards as she goes while a stagehand follows behind her, nailing them back down as she moves. The best extended bit is a tap dancing cat, whose finish leads into the live action singalong.
The live act is The Watson Sisters, who are presented as an act in the show, appearing in front of a drawn backdrop. They are a comedy and singing act, a reasonably good one, if somewhat dated. I'd never heard the song before and it's not exactly memorable. To be truthful, I've never heard of the Watson Sisters either prior to this. The live action segment is long, roughly half of the ten minute length of the short.
Then comes a closing animated segment just over a minute long and fast-paced. The dancers come out and start kicking, with garters flying off their legs into the audience. One horse/donkey in the audience gets too excited and accidentally chokes an elephant, launching his teeth at a dancer, causing her legs to deflate.
This makes the dancers angry and they start launching garters at the audience, which begins using them as slings to fire things at the dancers. The ending is good, so I won't spoil it here.
This short deserves a wider audience. Recommended.
This cartoon is a parody of burlesque theaters. Interestingly enough, for a Fleischer pre-code cartoon, particularly one focusing on burlesque, this short is comparatively tame, yet it still captures the essence of burlesque quite effectively.
While the animation is excellent throughout, the opening animation sequence is strangely flat and lacks the energy you might expect. There are a couple of good gags, the best being when the lead performer on the stage is strutting along, loosening floorboards as she goes while a stagehand follows behind her, nailing them back down as she moves. The best extended bit is a tap dancing cat, whose finish leads into the live action singalong.
The live act is The Watson Sisters, who are presented as an act in the show, appearing in front of a drawn backdrop. They are a comedy and singing act, a reasonably good one, if somewhat dated. I'd never heard the song before and it's not exactly memorable. To be truthful, I've never heard of the Watson Sisters either prior to this. The live action segment is long, roughly half of the ten minute length of the short.
Then comes a closing animated segment just over a minute long and fast-paced. The dancers come out and start kicking, with garters flying off their legs into the audience. One horse/donkey in the audience gets too excited and accidentally chokes an elephant, launching his teeth at a dancer, causing her legs to deflate.
This makes the dancers angry and they start launching garters at the audience, which begins using them as slings to fire things at the dancers. The ending is good, so I won't spoil it here.
This short deserves a wider audience. Recommended.