Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol!

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most enjoy! The nostalgic goofiness of casting the irascible Magoo as Scrooge was inspired, and further transforming Gerald McBoing-Boing into a version of Tiny Tim a fantastic idea. 

There are more grandiose and more elaborate interpretations of the Charles Dickens holiday classic, but few that pierce the essence of the famous literary work with more precision or more fun than does this 1962 bit of witty animation. This is the one that kicked off the tradition of holiday-themed animation for television. 

Jim Backus is as always amazing as the myopic blundering Magoo. While once a radio, movie and television personality of some note, it's clear that Mr. Magoo has become his lasting legacy to us all. 

Certainly no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth, wealth accumulated at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.

A man we see and who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his vast wealth and relative if limited comfort.

He discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and they celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon the cold vagaries of the marketplace.

And of course, he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else. 

But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and every one of us choose each day to make a difference. It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.

So, you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! 

NOTE: This is an Annual Dojo Holiday Classic. Sword and Sorcery will resume tomorrow! 

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Mister Magoo's A Christmas Carol!

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol has long been the holiday special I most wanted to get my mitts on. For some reasons or other it has eluded me for years, until now. I picked it up the other day along with several other holiday hits like the venerable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (my childhood favorite) and the always surprisingly entertaining Frosty the Snowman.

Certainly no one needs to be told this story of a greedy miser who lives only for his wealth at the expense of all those around him and even, as he learns, himself.

A man who sees himself as a young boy and young man disappointed by those around him and who seeks solace in his accumulated wealth and relative comfort.

Who discovers that others enjoy the holiday despite their meager incomes and circumstances, and celebrate those parts of life which are not dependent upon the cold vagaries of the marketplace.

And of course he learns that he himself will die alone and little remembered at all, save as selfish old man who put himself above all else. 

But it is the miracle of this classic that Scrooge learns his lesson and changes his ways to become a different man who supposedly will live into a very different future. It is the kind of miracle that we can, each and every one of us choose each day to make a difference. It is a timeless tale, which speaks to all of us who get caught up in our own lives and forget that so many others in this world need our help and our attention.

So you've unwrapped your presents, now enjoy the day and see to it that others do likewise. I'm going to try to myself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! 

NOTE: I am happy to re-post this glance at the Mister Magoo classic, and I hope I remember to make it an annual tradition at the Dojo. Seeing Mister Magoo makes me laugh and seeing him change as Scrooge makes me happy. I hope it gives you a smile too. 

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Godzilla Versus Magoo!

I've spent more than a few hours this past summer viewing Godzilla movies and Mister Magoo cartoons, so I was more than entertained when I stumbled across the vintage ad above in which the powerhouses of media lock horns and compare their relative successes. Not much to say about it -- it's one of those things that just is.

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Magoo Goes Mad!

I've been reading MAD magazine collections and related material lately. And I've also been watching The Mr. Magoo Show from 1960 and 1961. So I was well and truly gobsmacked when these two things crashed into one another in the Magoo cartoon "Magoo and the Beanstalk".  As you can imagine from the title, the Magoo animators took the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk and slammed the myopic Magoo into it. Spoilers be below, so tread carefully.

We meet a forlorn giant named Alfred whose face we never see, but who is unhappy that no one has climbed a beanstalk and brought about fame and fortune for him as they did for his dad and mom. Immediately a beanstalk grows in Magoo's garden and the brash old Magoo rides it up into the clouds where he mistakes the giant's castle for his neighbor's house. He makes off with the giant's belt and we see that the giant is left alone once again where it is revealed that he is reading a MAD magazine, (issue twenty-six seen above) and that when his face is revealed he is Alfred E. Neuman and spouts his famous like of "What me worry?" when asked about what will happen next. It's a bit if a shocker really, to see such a specific reference to another character and publication.

I've been unable to find out much about it online, so if anyone can point me in a direction, I'd love to learn more about how this crossover came to be. Here's a little bit at the Big Cartoon Database.

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Total Dick - The Dick Tracy Show!

The Dick Tracy Show is an absolute riot! Marred in the modern day by some pretty outrageous ethnic stereotypes (what cartoon of early eras was not really) this show gets hammered out of all perspective in my opinion. For one thing, these little vignettes are often pretty funny, wild absurdist variations on classic crime tropes armed with a brisk pace and some sterling voice acting. Many object to Dick Tracy's cursory role in the show, often being only seen in the office issuing tasks to a team of subbordinates and then getting reports. Later episodes do show Tracy in the field but it's true he's never the focus of any single episode, save perhaps the one in which he's kidnapped.

A gaggle of classic Dick Tracy baddies are on display. Flattop, Stooge Viller, The Brow, Pruneface, Mumbles, Oodles, Sketch Paree, and the Mole among the lot. Usually the villains team up to create some hair-brained scheme which is often as stupid as it is outrageous and just as swiftly they are brought to justice when Tracy's selected agent lands on the job. The crimes range from classics like jewel heists and bank robberies, to more bizarre things like crooked chicken fights and toupee thefts.

The agents on call are where folks begin to have issues with the show. Of little complaint is Hemlock Holmes, a British Bulldog who leads a gang of inept human cops called "The Retouchables", a Keystone Cops gang who are fast but stupid. Hemlock himself sounds like Cary Grant but is the oddity in the show, a talking animal in a show which almost exclusively features human beings, albeit odd ones.

Less annoying to critics is Heap O'Calorie, an Irish cop stereotype who steals apples and other fruits from local vendors and consults a beatnik named "Nick" (perfect) who never talks but uses only bongo drums to send Heap crucial data. Heap sounds like Andy Devine.

And then there's Go-Go Gomez. His full name is Manuel Tijiuana Guadalajara Tampico Gomez Jr. but Tracy calls him "Go-Go" because he's super-fast. He is often compared to another problematic Hispanic character by the name of Speedy Gonzalez. Go-Go is a stereotype of the apparently lazy Mexican who is actually quite effective, though he keeps his skills hidden until needed. He lounges in a hammock a lot and appears unusually interested in lovely ladies.  Go-Go shows up half-way in the series, pretty much taking the place of Heap O'Calorie who falls into obscurity.

Likewise with an eye for a beautiful dame is my favorite of the agents -- Joe Jitsu. Joe is a a Mr. Moto type, a painful buck-toothed Japanese stereotype so common in popular entertainment. He's smart and skilled in martial arts when needed and also has some special mental powers on occasion. His banter is among the funniest of the agents and that's why he's my fave, despite the problems with is look and manner.

The cartoons have a rigid structure in the early days, the call comes in from the Chief to Tracy to calls an agent who enters the fray and quickly gets into trouble. On the edge of danger, the agent then calls a halt and time stops as he calls Tracy to report. Then time restarts and eventually the tables are turned and the crooks are captured with a final report to Tracy to wrap it up. The utter predictability of these might annoy some, but I found it nifty as the writers kept finding small ways to reinvent and re-imagine the strict storytelling frames. Later the stories become a little looser.

I found the cartoons like potato chips, breezy and entertaining in their own way but so briskly paced that even the weaker ones ended before any real sense of boredom could set in. It's the pacing and wonderful voice work that makes these really click, though I personally found the designs and limited animation generally effective too. Telling a tale on the cheap takes no small skill and the makers of these cartoons were well able to make the most of the meager cartooning they had.

I recommend these, but not to those who have a low threshold for insult. There is not doubt these cartoons would not be made today and that's for the better I guess, but for a fan of funny cartoons, I'm personally glad they were made a long time ago.

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By George, That's A Corker!

To be honest I've been getting a little education on the significance of the mighty Mister Magoo.  Magoo for me was just a rather weird TV cartoon character, one of many, and he stood out because he was an irascible old codger in a universe filled with cute tykes and cute pups and such. That said, his role in the theater and the development of UPA (United Productions of America) as an alternative animation house to the mighty Disney was stuff I knew almost nothing about. Mr. Magoo - The Theatrical Collection 1949-1959 has all of Magoo's theatrical cartoons (including the feature length 1001 Arabian Nights in a separate case). It's a true bargain.

Mister Magoo was something of a powerhouse, an adult cartoon targeted at adults with both barrels. He was a human being in a universe of critters, living in a recognizable world in which his myopic antics seemed bizarre and peculiar and otherworldly but not utterly and completely impossible, though the adventures get broader as the cartoons develop. I learned in watching these vintage cartoons and the extras that Magoo was the barometer of cartoon comedy for the industry, a Magoo cartoon being used to calibrate the humor of test audiences. That's pretty impressive stuff, since that's not about art but money and Hollywood rarely diddles about with the bottom line. Also while at times some of the antics can get a bit repetitive, you can always look forward to the credits on these cartoons which can have their own delightful artistic qualities.

I've developed an appreciation for Magoo and am looking forward to moving into his first TV series, featuring more limited animation. I've been a fan of his Christmas Carol for many years, now I'm a fan through and through. Give me more Magoo.

Here are some fabulous Dell Comic book covers featuring Mr.Magoo and another UPA star, the sound-effects uttering Gerald McBoing Boing.

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Magoo's Arabian Nights!

Mister Magoo is a great character -- a near-sighted cantankerous coot who blunders through world in full confidence that he has the complete picture when clearly he doesn't. UPA had a hit on their hands with the myopic animated star and they sought to capitalize not only with well-crafted short films, but a feature-length animation in the manner of Disney. So they took their star Magoo and blended him with the well-trod yarns of 1001 Arabian Nights and give us a diverting film which beautifully done and beautiful to watch.

The story is a simple one really, the handsome youth Aladdin falls in love with the Princess Yasminda who sadly is pledged in marriage to the wicked Wazir so that the kingdom can pay its debts. The Wazir in an attempt to get power learns that Magoo the uncle of Aladdin can lead him to a magic lamp and the jinni inside. Later the Wazir uses Aladdin to find the lamp but loses it and Aladdin himself gets control of the Jinni. It's helter-skelter from there and if I told you it had a happy ending, I'm sure you wouldn't be too surprised.

Aside from the antics of Magoo (my favorite moments are his entanglements with the thread of a flying carpet) we have a standard love story filled with magic. The real allure of this movie though is the animation style, which in the manner of UPA is less rendered than Disney or Warner Brothers and more stylized. The backgrounds are gorgeous pageants of color and line. This is the elegance of the movie which has great movement, but even better composition. Also a curiosity in this one is that the actress who performs the voice of Princess Yasminda was Kathryn Grant (Crosby) who had already portrayed Princess Parisa in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad the year before.

Highly recommended.  Here are some more images.

More Magoo to come tomorrow.

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