Crazy Cruise
Encyclopedia
Crazy Cruise is a 1942 Warner Bros.
cartoon in the Merrie Melodies
series. It was directed by Tex Avery
and Bob Clampett
, whose names do not appear on the surviving print of the cartoon. Because Tex left the studio in September 1941 before production was completed (it was the last he worked on), Clampett finished it, and both names were officially left off the credits. The only credits given are the story by Michael Maltese
, animation by Rod Scribner
, and musical direction by Carl Stalling
.
) describes the action:
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon in the Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
series. It was directed by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
and Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
, whose names do not appear on the surviving print of the cartoon. Because Tex left the studio in September 1941 before production was completed (it was the last he worked on), Clampett finished it, and both names were officially left off the credits. The only credits given are the story by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
, animation by Rod Scribner
Rod Scribner
Roderick H. "Rod" Scribner was an American animator best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros.. His animation was one of the wildest things ever seen on screen during The Golden Age of American animation. He started as an animator for Ben...
, and musical direction by Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
.
Plot
This is one of the cartoons that Warner would occasionally produce that featured practically none of its stable of characters, just a series of gags, usually based on outrageous stereotypes and plays on words, as a narrator (voice of Robert C. BruceRobert C. Bruce
Robert C. Bruce, Jr. was a voice actor, and the son of Robert C. Bruce who was also an actor. He was the narrator for a number of Warner Bros. cartoons in the 1930s and 1940s...
) describes the action:
- On a southern plantation (The Sportsmen Quartet harmonize on "Swanee River" in the background), a tobacco worm is seen munching on a tobacco leaf. A rotoscoped hand holds a microphone near the worm. The worm launches into the fast-talking patter of a tobacco auctioneer, ending with "Sold to an American!" (parodying the tobacco auctioneer's famous chant, usually ending with "Sold to American!", meaning American Tobacco, in the Lucky StrikeLucky StrikeLucky Strike is a brand of cigarette owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco groups. Often referred to as "Luckies", Lucky Strike was the top selling cigarette in the United States during the 1930s.- History :...
cigarette commercials heard on radio's Your Hit ParadeYour Hit ParadeYour Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
) and expectorates the chewed tobacco into an off-screen spittoonSpittoonA spittoon is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor , although that term is also used for a type of spitting sink used in dentistry."Spittoon" can also be slang American English...
. - A map showing FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
also traces the path of a cruise vessel. It takes a straight line from the Gulf Coast to Havana for a stop at Sloppy Joe'sSloppy Joe'sSloppy Joe's Bar is a historic U.S. bar in Key West, Florida. It is now located on the north side of Duval Street at the corner of Greene Street, ....
bar (the one Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
frequently hung out at). It then takes a meandering series of aimless spirals, while "How Dry I AmThe Near FutureThe Near Future is the name of a song written by Irving Berlin in 1919. It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: "How Dry I Am"....
" plays in the underscore. - Now sailing along the ocean, the narrator points out the use of camouflageCamouflageCamouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
for a warship called the S.S. Yehudi (referencing one of Jerry Colonna's recurring jokes- "Who's Yehudi?"), which is invisible except for its crew, flags and the smoke billowing from its chimney. - Now soaring over the AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, a "low flying" airplane is seen skimming up and down the mountainsides like a skier. - Still in the Alps, a comic tripleTripleTriple, a doublet of "treble" or "threefold" , is used in several contexts:* Triple metre, a musical metre characterized by a primary division of three beats to the bar...
shows a St. BernardSt. Bernard (dog)The St. Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the Italian and Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its large size.-Appearance:The St. Bernard is a large dog...
dog with a small keg of ScotchScotch whiskyScotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
around its neck, followed by another St. Bernard with a keg of sodaSoft drinkA soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
, and finally a St. Bernard pup carrying a smaller keg, containing "BromoBromo-SeltzerBromo-Seltzer , is an antacid used to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. Originally produced by inventor Isaac E...
". - An agile mountain goatMountain goatThe Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
springs from peak to peak, finally diving over a cliff and out of frame to a funny sound effect. - In the "Sahara Desert", a number of pyramidPyramidA pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
s appear, the narrator talking of how ancient they are - including stone renditions of the Trylon and Perisphere, which originally appeared at the 1939 New York World's Fair1939 New York World's FairThe 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. - The SphinxSphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
is seen next, with the narrator describing how the stone figure just sits there, century after century. The Sphinx (Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
) then speaks to the camera, doing another Jerry Colonna schtick: "Monotonous... isn't it?" - An oil well somewhere in Europe is about to yield a "gusher" for an axis of the United States. After some rumbling and pressure buildup, the well erupts - emitting just one large drop of oil, which lands in a spittoon (this one on-screen).
- Deep in the jungle, an insect-eating plant (Eatimus Abuggus) is about to consume a "poor little" bumblebee. The plant chomps down on the bee, which then buzzes furiously inside the plant's mouth. In yet another spit joke, the plant finally expectorates the bee with a loud (voiced by Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
) "OUCH!" and the bee walks away smugly. - A group of African animals is lined up at a "water hole", which turns out to be a functional drinking fountain, with an adult zebra holding a young zebra up to it.
- Flying over an African landscape, the narrator describes the features, reporting their possibly-nonsense names, leading up to a female-shaped body of water called Veronica LakeVeronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
, suggesting the age of that joke that was later recycled frequently by Rocky and Bullwinkle. - A pair of caucasian safari hunters, dressed in white, led by a typical stereotyped pygmyPygmyPygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
guide, are in search of giant cannibals. The trio disappears behind some trees. After a silent pause, a loud clatter is heard. The pygmy runs out from behind the trees and (voiced by Blanc) shouts excitedly to the camera, in a mixture of pseudo African double-talk and the words of the "The Hut-Sut SongThe Hut-Sut SongThe Hut-Sut Song is a novelty song from the 1940s with nonsense lyrics. The song was written in 1941 by Leo V. Killion, Ted McMichael and Jack Owens. The first and most popular recording was by Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights....
". Pan to the left and the giant cannibals are holding the seemingly tiny (and now stunned and disheveled) white men, who resemble rolled up cigarettes. The cannibal holding the taller of the two men remarks, "King-Size!" - Three cute little grey-and-white rabbits are playing in the jungle. The narrator's voice turns from softness to shouting panic as a vulture appears in the sky. The fearsome-looking bird, with a JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese stereotyped face and Japanese flags on its wings, dives toward the bunnies. They run behind some weeds, which fall away revealing an anti-aircraft gun and the rabbits wearing Civil DefenseUnited States civil defenseUnited States civil defense refers to the use of civil defense in the history of the United States, which is the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack...
white helmets. They fire loud volleys at the bird, which is blown away (off-screen). The rabbit that had its back to the audience turns and is revealed to be a grinning Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
(also voiced by Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
), who faces the audience, gives the thumbs up sign with both hands, and says, "Eh, t'umbs up, Doc! T'umbs up!" At iris-out, only Bugsy's ears are still on-screen, which spring into a "V for VictoryV for VictoryFor information about the victory sign, see V sign#The V campaign and the victory/freedom sign.V for Victory is a series of turn-based strategy games, set during World War II.Four games were produced in the series:* V for Victory: D-Day Utah Beach...
" sign, as "We Did It Before (And We Can Do It Again)Charles Tobias-Biography:Born in New York City, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and Henry Tobias, also songwriters.He started his musical career in vaudeville. In 1923, he founded his own music publishing firm and worked on Tin Pan Alley...
" plays in the underscore.
Censorship
- Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's airing of this cartoon cut the entire part with the Caucasian hunters (who are caricatures of WB Studio staffers Friz FrelengFriz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
and Tedd PierceTedd PierceTedd Pierce , was an American animated cartoon writer, animator and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at...
) getting captured by the African cannibals, and edited out the actual shot of the Japanese vulture swooping down on the rabbits (though the shot of the vulture was seen in the ToonheadsToonHeadsThe TV series ToonHeads is an animation anthology series consisting of uncut Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Warner Bros. cartoon shorts, with interesting background information and trivia, prominently by animators and voice actors like: Mel Blanc, Tex Avery, Hugh Harman, Rudy Ising, David H. DePatie, Friz...
special about World War II-era cartoons).
Availability
- This cartoon can be found, uncut, uncensored and digitally remastered, on the 5th volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.
See also
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
- List of Bugs Bunny cartoons
- Looney Tunes Golden CollectionLooney Tunes Golden CollectionThe Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...