This is a typically excellent Fleischer Screen Song from the period. This time it is about the novelty song as performed by Artie Dunn and Les Reis, two performers I have not heard of before. They sing the first verse and the chorus two or three times, filling in the spaces with mugging. One puts on a mustache and does an Italian accent, the other a hat and a Jewish accent.
The animated story that precedes and follows the performance is a fine little one-shot, about three hungry kittens who wander around trying to eat birds. Dave Fleischer liked to stuff a lot of gags into his cartoon, and here the visceral nature of the jokes stands in fine contrast to the mildly saccharine lyrics. As usual, the arc of action -- it's a little overblown to refer to what goes on as a plot -- speeds up nicely throughout. Fans of the series will have a great time and people who don't know the Fleischer Screen Songs will smile broadly.
The animated story that precedes and follows the performance is a fine little one-shot, about three hungry kittens who wander around trying to eat birds. Dave Fleischer liked to stuff a lot of gags into his cartoon, and here the visceral nature of the jokes stands in fine contrast to the mildly saccharine lyrics. As usual, the arc of action -- it's a little overblown to refer to what goes on as a plot -- speeds up nicely throughout. Fans of the series will have a great time and people who don't know the Fleischer Screen Songs will smile broadly.
