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Reviews
The Twilight Zone: I Dream of Genie (1963)
Misunderstood and Underappreciated
No spoilers in this commentary but rather a reaction to the less-than favorable reviews to be found here. I suspect it's a matter of expectations, yet I just saw this for the first time as a fan and appreciator of both TZ and Howard Morris. Is it a bias against the hour long episodes that prompted the lack of love? I know not. I found I Dream of Genie to be straddling the realms of fable, allegory and satire among others and found the overall presentation more than effective. Then there's Howie: if one has any true appreciation for the scope of his talents, this is truly a must-see. Admittedly it took only a brief moment to look at that face and not see or hear Ernest T. Bass, Uncle Goopy--even Atom Ant or Mushmouse. The man shines and serves the script all too well while not betraying his Shakespearean roots. Bravo!
The Wacky Weed (1946)
One of Andy Panda's best...
"The Wacky Weed" combines all the best elements of the Walter Lantz studios' 1940s output in a fine cartoon featuring Andy Panda, a character whose lifespan on-screen endured for all of ten years.
Released in late 1946 and directed by Dick Lundy, "Weed" shows a further evolution of Andy in his orientation, personality and design. By this time Andy had progressed a bit beyond his origins as the mischievous little-boy personage of such early entries as "Life Begins For Andy Panda" and the 1940 short "Knock Knock" which marked the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker. Lundy, who had migrated to Lantz after many years at Disney played a major role in making Andy more of a Mickey Mouse-like character (along with the harder gags of Shamus Culhane's "Fish Fry" from '44). Here, the cartoon begins with a narrated horticultural tour filled with visual puns not unlike Tex Avery's early 50's "Farm of Tomorrow." Then, we hear the narrator addressing Andy, who's about to select a flower for his garden from a greenhouse.
All seems well for Andy and his anthropomorphic floral prize once she's taken home and transplanted. That is, until a truly wacky anthropomorphic cartoon weed appears. The fun and laughs come from the ensuing battle between the 'nasty 'ol weed' who can't seem to get enough of terrorizing the helpless flower, and Andy Panda.
Andy's appearance is more evolved than in "Fish Fry," yet not as refined as in his later cartoons, also directed by Lundy. The animation and gags are effective, and Darrell Calker's musical scoring is a delight as always, in the opening credits as well as the action.
Harlem Wednesday (1958)
A rarely seen entry from the Hubleys
"Harlem Wednesday" by the Hubley studio takes a technique utilized earlier by UPA to a greater extreme in that, for the course of this film, there is almost no animation as such. John Hubley's former colleague Bill Hurtz has remarked that in UPA's seminal short "Gerald McBoing Boing" characters were held in a static position while backgrounds dissolved behind them -- "camera tricks in lieu of animation" is how he termed it.
Fast forward seven years from "Gerald" to John and Faith Hubley's film of a series of paintings by Gregorio Prestopino and you are taken on a vibrant journey through the lives of the residents of the upper Manhattan neighborhood mentioned in the film's title. The contemporary (read non-literal) renderings are meshed with a marvelous jazz score composed and performed by Benny Carter to create a compelling short film that, while unique, is consistent with the aesthetic established by other Hubley films, particularly "Adventures of an * (asterisk)" John and Faith's first independent collaboration released in 1957.