Greedy Humpty Dumpty (1936)
Article 6011 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-30-2021
Directed by Dave Fleischer and Dave Tenlar
Featuring the voices of Jack Mercer, Gus Wickie and Mae Questel
Country: USA
What it is: Message cartoon

Humpty Dumpty is the greedy king of Mother Goose Land. When he grows to believe that the sun is made of gold, he enslaves the others to build a wall to reach to the sun so he can get it.

In this Fleischer cartoon, the four line nursery rhyme is transformed into a moral fable of the folly of greed and hubris, combining it somewhat with the story of the Tower of Babel. As you might expect from the Fleischers, it’s an impressive looking cartoon and there’s plenty going on; the highlight is the sequence where we see the wall being built. Of course, you know how it will end if you know the rhyme, but it certainly takes an elaborate route to get to that ending.