Rapsodia de remaches

While classical music (as well as this particular tune) has long been used in cartoons, I can't say I've ever seen it used like it is in "Rhapsody in Rivets". It's darned clever and made incredibly great use of the music--integrating it into a film that is simply a delight to watch.

This film begins with the foreman on a construction job overseeing it just like the conductor of an orchestra. As he gesticulates, the characters working on the bridge do so in perfect unison with the music--or when they don't the foreman becomes very angry. Seeing hammers, jackhammers and the like perfectly times with Liszt's 'Hungarian Rhapsody Number 2' was pretty amazing. And, I am not surprised that this one ending up getting nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short. For kids, I'd score this one a 6, as kids want more humor and characters bonking each other on the head. But for older audiences, it deserves at least a 9, as there is nothing quite like it!

This is my second review of a cartoon nominated for an Academy Award for 1941 having previously done so for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks. It depicts a dog construction crew performing Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhopsody # 2" with their tools. Director Friz Freleng does the gags justice when done in tune here. That particular piece of music would appear in other cartoons over the years including Freleng's Rhopsody Rabbit starring Bugs Bunny. I thought the whole thing was hilarious from beginning to end. Freleng always knows how to make entertaining musical cartoons, that's for sure! So on that note, Rhapsody in Rivets is highly recommended.

When the foreman steps from his office, his entire construction workforce is poised to embark on what is an entertaining exercise in humorous synchronicity as Franz Liszt provides the music and a myriad of enthusiastic workers set about building, drilling and cementing their way up, and up, and up - all whilst plenty of slapstick humour sees comedic injuries and disaster ensue. It's end to end stuff this with some finely drawn characterisations giving us an idea of just how complex building a building can be, especially when some of your colleagues are half asleep, or hungry or absent-minded and the choice of score is as inspired as the vibrant animation. This is good fun.

When I first watched this cartoon short ages ago, I was amazed by the film itself. Such a hilarious cartoon playing out to the tune of a classical song, there are few of.

The story is that of a foreman, who is a lion, who "conducts" a group of human-like animal construction workers to build the tallest building, the Umpire State Building, a clear parody on the Empire State Building. While the animal workers strive to build this construction, hilarity quickly ensues in the form of the workers messing up each others' workings and a multitude of hilarious events which make this cartoon short well worth watching! I recommend it to all who enjoy a good musical parody.

. . . "catchy." While some listeners may consider it to be a little "highbrow" in these days of Liquid Sky and Abba, there are several hummable stanzas of tunes here. RHAPSODY IN RIVETS originally was produced for the Jenny Lind and Bing Crosby crowd, so it would be unfair to expect it to be backed by the strains of Dancing Queen or Sweet Dreams, let alone Hey Jude and We Didn't Start the Fire. RHAPSODY is part and parcel post of the time that it originated, which is why it begins to the strains of Buster Bizet and not Little Richard. Of course, it is always best to view archival footage such as this on a platform that includes readily accessible footnotes.