FELIX THE CAT / Going Fishing with Vavoom - 1961

Here's an adventure where Felix takes his little pal Vavoom on a fishing trip to show him how to fish but things quickly go south ...

Felix and Vavoom are on their way through the woods to a small lake at a dam near a small town.

They come to a stream and there's no way to cross, so, Vavoom with his special talent, yells 'VAVOOM!!' and solves the problem.

His yell knocks over a big old tree and they drive through to the other side of the stream.

They drive down the mountain on a narrow winding road to the little lake near the Old Rock Dam, with the town to the right. Wow, the dam looks in bad shape.

Felix and Vavoom start their fishing, when, the dam springs a leak!

Felix tells Vavoom to run to the town and go get some help, NOW!

Vavoom can only say one thing.. Vavoom. He runs to a policeman who asks him what the problem was, we'll, you can see there in the pic what happens.

So, Vavoom darts into the restaurant and sounds the alarm.

The people in the town start chasing the little loud mouth, but...

He blows away the mob!

They eventually corner the little guy. They tie him up and take him to the jail and lock him in a cell thinking that's the end of the ordeal.

But Vavoom's on a mission and there's just no stopping him!

The mob is chasing him again, so Vavoom plows his way through the mountain using the magic word... VAVOOM!!

But he's trapped after he gets through and gets his mouth roped shut,! Huh?

By now the crack is getting bigger, Felix grabs a rock and jams it into hole, then runs to Vavoom's aid. Then the dam bursts wide open.

Vavoom unleashes his yells which bring down tons of broken rocks that roll into place and... Viola, a new dam!!.. Daaaamn!

Of course Vavoom is the hero, but this was one of the weirdest Felix cartoons in the series. Hope you have a good day...

THE MAGIC FLUKE - "The Universe Is Laughing Behind Your Back!" (1949)

 

This week's Weird Wednesday featurette is a1949 Fox and Crow cartoon! I love how they made this look like it was done by a five year old with crayons.

It's called "Magic Fluke," and that's actually a title that makes sense for this cartoon!

As a kid's cartoon, I'm not quite sure this imagery would be acceptable by today's standards, in fact, I know it wouldn't, but in 1949, it was just fine!

The dictionary defines fluke as 'an unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck,' but that's kind of a double entendre in this situation!

 

 

The Fox and The Crow are a classic combination of societal mores. The Crow does all the work............

...................And The Fox gets all the credit!

The Fox gets his big break!

And he's willing to leave his long time friend in the dust! After all, he is a sly fox!

While The Fox is drinking champagne, poor Crow doesn't have a gig anymore, and is totally down on his luck!

The Crow just happens to stumble on the place where The Fox is now conducting as Foxini.

The Fox's baton cannot be found, and he is unable to go on as planned.

The Crow sees what's going on, and goes out and snags a baton from a magician performing nearby.

This is where The Crow is seated. Talk about nosebleed seats! He can barely even hear the music from this distance!

Since it's actually a magician's magic wand instead of a conductor's baton, coupled with the fact that this is a cartoon, all kinds of bizarre things start happening during the performance!

A few balloons always add depth to any show!

The more The Fox waves the magic wand around, the krazier things get! 

The rabbits are more than just out of the hat!

They've taken up half of the orchestra!

The show must go on, but The Fox loses the battle to keep his sanity.

Lucky for The Fox, his buddy The Crow is able to save him!

 

When things get tough, just remember, You are a "Fluke of the Universe!"

THE TWILIGHT ZONE / "Kick The Can" - 1962

I thought it'd be cool to include that hypno-dealie thing at the beginning of the episode.

The story takes place here, at the Sunnyvale Rest, Home For The Aged...

In the background there is a choice 1953 Ford. David Whitley is there to talk to his dad, Charles, about moving in with him and his family. Charles packs up and is ready to go with his son when he finds out that the answer is no, the place is too small and they are expecting a new baby. Charles gets out of the car and waves bye to his son. Then he notices some children playing Kick The Can (a version of Hide And Seek) across the street.

The others at the home watch as Charles gets shut down.

Charles, played by the talented Ernest Truex, is nostalgic about his youth. He goes over and picks up the can and has a sit under a tree. A little fun fact, his son David was played by his real son, actor Barry Truex.

Long intro!

At the home with Charles is Ben, played by Russell Collins, his best friend since their childhood. Charles talks about how he thinks the the secret of youth is actually in the form of children's games. Ben keeps telling him that's silly, there is no way to stop aging. But Charles insists and starts acting out in children's antics.

Ben is concerned and goes to see Sunnyvale Superintendent Cox about how Charles is starting to act The Supe tells Ben that Charles is getting senile and if it doesn't stop acting out, they will have to isolate him. Ben goes back and tells his friend that he needs to straighten up and fly right or he'll be asking for trouble...

But, Charles struts around like a 10 year old and goes into the yard and runs through the sprinkler. Look at the faces on his room mates!

I like this shot of all the residents sleeping in one big room.

Anyway, Charles starts quietly waking up the sleepy heads, he has something very important to tell them.

So, they all meet (except Ben) and Charles brings up all the games they used to play when they were young. Eventually, they all agree to a plan Charles has proposed.

Charles goes back and begs Ben to join their game, but Ben just can't believe what he's telling him and will not participate...

The gang quietly comes out of the room and notice the night nurse downstairs.

Acting like kids, they create a diversion! These firecrackers will work, just drop them out the window to the ground, and...

The Night Nurse hears the noise and runs outside, the gang piles out of the building.

Ben goes to the Superintendent and they run outside. There they only see children running around, but where are the residents?

One kid comes out to kick the can and Ben recognizes him, it's Charlie, his best friend from their youth. Ben calls to him.. Charlie, don't you recognize me? It's Benny, remember? Please, take me with, please, take me with you! But Charlie doesn't understand and runs away, back to his friends playing games. Poor Ben.

It's a fanciful story to be sure, but, there's something to be said about being a child. I remember playing Hide And Seek with like 15 cousins (early fifties) in the country, one of my fondest memories of when I was a kid.