Pixie Picnic (1948)
Article 5963 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-13-2021
Directed by Dick Lundy
No voice cast
Country: USA
What it is: Animated musical number

A bunch of pixies perform “The Thieving Magpie” in the woods.

Given the title, I’m guessing these little folk in the woods are pixies, though they look a lot more like dwarfs, and that rather encapsulates the fantastic content of the piece. It’s similar to the superior RHAPSODY IN RIVETS from Warner Brothers, though that one (in which the Hungarian Rhapsody is performed to the building of a skyscraper) has a many more novel gimmicks. This one is good but not great; the gags are okay and it’s amusing enough to pass muster. There are no real standout gags in this one.

The Pied Piper of Basin Street (1945)
Article 5961 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-12-2021
Directed by Shamus Culhane
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Walter Lantz Swing Symphony

The mayor of a rat-infested city hires the Pied Piper of Basin Street to rid it of the pests. But what will happen when the mayor tries to underpay the piper?

Despite the fact that it updates the story with a modern setting and swing music, this is more or less a straightforward rendition of the tale, and therefore has the necessary qualifications for inclusion in the reviews. One thing that is outstanding in this cartoon is the excellence of the animation which I attribute to the presence of Shamus Culhane at the helm. The music (which features the work of jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden) is also excellent. The gags are fairly run of the mill, though, and I’m not quite sure why they opted to give the mayor a Lou Costello voice when he doesn’t appear to be modeled off the comedian. In general, the cartoons that came from Walter Lantz were a mixed bag, but this is one of the better ones.

The Phantom of the Opera (1983)
Article 5960 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-9-2021
Directed by Robert Markowitz
Featuring Maximilian Schell, Jane Seymour, Michael York
Country: USA
What it is: Another classic remake

After he becomes disfigured while taking vengeance on the people who humiliated his wife and drove her to suicide, a conductor withdraws to the underground of the city and terrorizes the opera house.

Sometimes while watching remakes of this sort, I find myself wondering what exactly the motivation of the makers was in reviving the story for another production. I can understand it if they have a bold new vision for the story or if earlier versions had fumbled in their attempts, but I don’t see either of those motivations playing much of a role in this one. There’s some novelty value in shooting in on location in Hungary, I suppose, and there are a couple of moderately interesting and offbeat characters added to the mix, and there are some mildly arty touches to the proceedings, but these just don’t make up for the fact that this version is glum and necessary. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I like the versions of this story that save the phantom’s backstory for later in the movie; telling it in straight chronological order takes a lot of the mystery out of the proceedings. There’s one good plot twist near the very end of the movie, but that’s really not enough to compensate for the dreariness of this take on the tale.

Phantom Kung Fu (1979)
aka You ling shen
Article 5959 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-7-2021
Directed by Tso Nam Lee
Featuring Don Wong, Yi Chang, Chung-Kuei Chang
Country: Taiwan
What it is: You can hear every gesture

A ruthless killer is hired to quell a rebellion, and he uses his “hands of death” power to do so. But can he be defeated by Magic Spiritual Kung Fu?

I hemmed and hawed a bit about reviewing this one. I’ve become convinced that movie Kung Fu has about as much in common with real Kung Fu as movie hypnotism has with real hypnotism, so a few unbelievable stunts won’t automatically net a review. However, about two-thirds of the way through this movie the ghosts start showing up, so that’s enough to tip the scales. The main review on IMDB claims this is the best Kung Fu movie in every department, and though I disagree in several aspects (the soundtrack is quite annoying at times and the English dubbing is ridiculous), I will say it’s one of the more enjoyable examples of the Kung Fu genre. It’s also relatively coherent for the form and the characters are well-defined enough that I can usually tell them apart. Yes, there’s lots of sound-enhanced gesturing, smoking hands, incredible leaps, and a comic warrior who does a lot of boasting and then fails to live up to his claims in a cowardly manner; the latter is never really effectively woven into the plot. This one is a little like a Japanese ghost movie.

The Peachy Cobbler (1950)
Article 5958 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-1-2021
Directed by Tex Avery
Featuring the voice of Daws Butler
Country: USA
What it is: Tex Avery’s take on an old tale

A starving cobbler with more orders than he can fulfill is helped overnight by a group of elves.

Quite simply, it’s another version of “The Elves and the Shoemaker”, and since it’s a Tex Avery cartoon, it largely consists of a bunch of blackout gags centered around the concept. It’s an amusing cartoon; I’m particularly taken with the final take on a running gag involving an elf trying to thread a needle. Still, I do have to confess feeling a shred of disappointment with this one. It’s simply that Tex Avery’s name on the cartoon makes me expect more wildness than we really have here; the gags are good, but not particularly inspired. Still, it may be the most entertaining take I’ve seen on this particular story.

Pandora (1934)
Article 5957 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 3-28-2021
Directed by Frank Moser and Paul Terry
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Terrytoon entry

Two children are terrorized by a witch who leaves Pandora’s Box in their home. Can they resist opening it?

This cartoon has a pretty low rating on IMDB, but I have to admit I liked it a bit better than the usual run of cartoons from the studio. At least I got one good laugh from it; the box spewing out bottles of Castor Oil as part of the evils of the world I found pretty amusing. Still, I suspect this one was supposed to be scary, and it doesn’t quite pull it off. There are gags involving a dachshund, some snatches of operatic singing and a few touches of surrealness. All in all, this is a mixed bag.