Ein Besuch im Zoo

This is a mass of puns, related to the animal kingdom. We are taken on a trip to the zoo where each animal represents a stereotype or plays into an obvious pun. Because it is fast paced and full of colorful vignettes, it works very well. It also includes on ongoing event. A little man with a stick is taunting the lion in his cage. The narrator warns him over and over. We all know what will happen, but it doesn't matter. A lot of fun. I remember this particular cartoon from when I was very young.

A Day at the Zoo (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Tex Avery directed short gives us exactly as the title says. The narrator introduces us to various animals at a local zoo but there's often a twist in the story.

A DAY AT THE ZOO is a rather clever short from Avery who, as you'd expect, gives us the high quality animation but he mixes it with a certainly smart aleck attitude that is rather funny. There's a running gag throughout the running time dealing with a man who keeps picking on a lion. The narrator warns him to leave the lion alone several times but the pay off is rather funny. There are also a few nice gags aimed around people feeding the monkeys including one poor woman who should have listened to the sign. Fans of Avery's humor will certainly get a kick out of this one.

A Day at the Zoo is a typically amusing Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Fred "Tex" Avery. You'll see pink elephants, a pack of camels smoking cigarettes, a monkey admonishing a lady trying to feed him when the sign says not to, and a human baboon switching places with an actual one. Some gags are now too dated (like the two panthers walking around and constantly saying, "Bread and butter", or two (human) Elks greeting each other), and the typical speed of Avery has not been fully developed yet (that would come when he moves to MGM). However, there is a historical interest here as this has a recurring gag appearance of Egghead, a precursor to Elmer Fudd, who keeps teasing a caged lion even after the narrator tells him not too. Egghead keeps saying, "I'm a bad boy" impersonating it's originator, Lou Costello. So to any fan of Avery and Warner cartoons, A Day at the Zoo is worth a look.

A nice little set of jokes concerning various animals at the zoo. For example a Rocky Mountain wildcat that is upset for missing a prize on "bank night" (hence his behavior). Or a pair of well behaved elks (who are two gentlemen - obviously members of the "Elks" Lodge - who are greeting each other (and both are named Bill). A monkey is surprised at his resemblance to a man at the zoo, and convinces the zoo keeper that there must be a mistake here. And another monkey gets angry about a woman who disobeys a simple zoo regulation on a sign. There is also a running joke, with overtones of Lou Costello's running tag line on radio "I'm a baaad boy!" dealing with "Egghead" (the predecessor of "Elmer Fudd") and a Lion. An easy to take cartoon. One problem about using the "You Tube" versions (which, for all I know, is true about the quality of the actual cartoons) is that the sound track is not in sync with the cartoon images. Hopefully someone can fix that.

Avery's spot gags tend to be hit or miss. While the idea of coming up with a short with a series of blackout gags centered around a theme without a plot was certainly novel, some of them wear thin after a while. True of any formulaic series.

This energy in this title is really lacking. There are some funny gags, but they come off as too dry. Gil Warren's narration reflects this. Compare to Norman McCabe's WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO, which is also not a great cartoon, but has much better execution.

There are some interesting pop culture references, which requires the viewer to become well versed in to understand, such as Bank Nite and the bread and butter superstition.

The proto- Elmer again serves as the running gag. As usual, his voice and mannerisms are much different than his other appearances. Here he quotes and sounds like Lou Costello.

I wonder if there were any scenes cut from the blue ribbon release. There's an abrupt cut to black as well as the soundtrack prior to the scene with the rabbits.

Not one of Avery's best shorts. It's public domain status and frequent appearance on unofficial videos in poor quality further reduced its value.