Mother Goose Goes Hollywood

I am not one for "political correctness" and don't think any film should be banned just because it offends. However, because of some offensive imagery of Blacks in this cartoon, you're not likely to find it except on the Internet. However, before you rush off to find it, I warn you--not so much because of the racially insensitive material (and it is offensive) but because the movie itself is pretty insipid and unfunny. Just a couple years earlier, Disney made a similar film that was littered with cartoon images of famous actors (MICKEY'S POLO TEAM), but it was a good bit funnier and more likable. Plus, this time it all seems a bit more forced. If you do see this cartoon, don't see it because it's anything special--see it because it's a good case of a film that has been shelved because of changing tastes and mores.

This was a wonderful idea for a Disney (or non-Disney)cartoon. It was very creative to portray the latest Hollywood stars as characters from the classic nursery rhymes. I was reading someone else's comments and they mentioned that understanding this short's humor would take a lot of knowledge of the Hollywood stars of the 30's. I do agree with them. Many of those stars were unknown to me, but I could identify quite a few of them. Let's see! There was Katherine Hepburn portrayed as Little Bo Peep. W.C. Fields is portrayed as Humptey Dumpty with the puppet Charlie McCarthey making clever jokes about him. In the nursery rhyme about the seesaw, there was Edward G. Robinson and Greta Garbo going up and down. Simple Simon was portrayed by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was the pieman. The scene at the beginning is humorous where Mother Goose takes the place of the MGM lion. Then, there is a disclaimer that reads: ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONALITIES PORTRAYED IN THIS PICTURE, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

This Disney animated short puts Hollywood stars of the 1930's into roles from Mother Goose stories. For example W.C. Fields is Humpty Dumpty and the Marx Brothers are the fidlers three. I'm sure much of this film's humor depended on a knowledge of the stars of the day. Today it's just not as amusing. Still, the animation is wonderful. Donald Duck does make a cameo appearance. The version Disney shows on TV has obviously had pieces edited.

This was a rather boring cartoon where we see caricatures of famous Hollywood actors during the Golden Era. No plot and not much laughter - just appearances of a bunch of actors.

Donald Duck makes a cameo appearance, which I thought I was the highlight of the cartoon, along with the pie-in-the-face of the Bo-Peep character.

Grade D+

I just recently (as of today) discovered a blog devoted to Cab Calloway called The Hi-De-Ho Blog. One section showcases caricatures of the legendary entertainer in various cartoons from Max Fleischer (whose shorts Cab actually was involved in), Warner Bros., M-G-M, and this one from Walt Disney in which Mother Goose characters are depicted as Hollywood celebrities. Mr. Calloway is one of the "four blackbirds in a pie sequence" and while that may have an unfortunate stereotypical connotation (which may be true of some of the white celebrities too), seeing "Cab", "Fats", and "Louis" do their musical stuff was enjoyable. The only real negative portrayal of an African-American here was that of the lazy, shiftless, Stepin Fetchit character. Other depictions of celebrities I liked were that of W.C. Fields with Charlie McCarthy with Fields as Humpty Dumpty, The Marx Brothers sans Zeppo as the Fidlers Three (Harpo appears here as a redhead and not a blonde), and Laurel and Hardy as Simple Simon and the Pieman with welcome use of Marvin Hatley's L & H musical theme "The Cukoo Song (Dance of the Cukoos)". If there's one celebrity that may be obscure even to old movie buffs, it might be that of Joe Penner whose catchphrase "Wanna buy a duck?" anticipates a very familiar Disney character. So despite some negative stereotypical characterizations, I recommend Mother Goose Goes Hollywood for any animation buff especially those of old-time movie star caricatures.