House of Magic (1937)
Article 5869 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-25-2020
Directed by Walter Lantz
No voice actors
Country: USA
What it is: Walter Lantz cartoon

Three monkeys try to get out of a thunderstorm by ducking into a house of magic. They try to sleep, but are bothered by the magical items in the store.

During the mid-thirties, it looks like a real attempt was made to make Meany, Miny and Moe (the three monkeys in the cartoon) cartoon stars; I gather that they didn’t really make it big, as no further cartoons were made featuring them after 1937. I don’t know how they were in the other cartoons, but I didn’t think they were all that bad here; they had a certain degree of personality, and the gags are okay. I also like that there’s no talk in the cartoon; everything is told visually. It’s no classic, but I found it amusing enough.