redryan64

..............................WE RESPECTFULLY AWARD This Perfect 10 Rating !

FROM THE VERY start of this one, it is obvious what is going on. Due to the popularity of Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck at Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, as well as the ascent to the spotlight of Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker at Universal, Director "Tex" Avery wanted to present the motion picture viewing public with a wacky, manic character from MGM' Animation.

THAT HE HAD been around the animation industry for some years was ans is a well known fact. He was kept busy from the early 1930's to the 1950's, plying his ani ator's trade split between Leon Schlesinger's/Warner Brothers' studio and at MGM's animation unit. His work,wherever it appears, is unmistakable.

THE IDEA BEHIND a concept that was SCREWY SQUIRREL (as his name ws shortened to) was one of out and out madness and fueling such with rapid fire gags. The personality of Mr. Squirrel was really rather shallow, for he only acted on reacted and reacted to other, poor character who just happened to be in his same film frames. Humor and gags were plentiful in both visual and verbal forms.

IT IS OBVIOUS at the very beginning f this short that Mr. Avery was serving his notice to the World that this was definitely not disney animation, nor was he Uncle Walt ! The opening scene contrasting the highly idealized vision of Nature in contrast with his introduction of the rude, crude screwball character is an obvious example of this.

WE JUST READ that the series at MGM only lasted for 5 entries. This may be an indication that Avery & company perhaps did too good a job of making this character into a pillar of incivility. Even Bugs, ,Daffy and Woody took an occasional breather. A little contrast wouldn't have hurt. (just our opinion)

......................But Artistically ? Not So Much !

AND JUST WHERE are Hans & Fritz ?

THIS ENTRY INTO MGM's animated short subject category could best be described as adequate at its very best. We know that they had done some of these CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS one reelers and actually had seen some of these years ago on local TV here in Chicago. As we recall, unless our memory is failing us, there were at least some of the series entries that were done in color.

AS FAR AS this film is concerned, there is a bare minimum of elements infused int the various aspects of production. This assertion refers to: story-line & "plot" (such as it was), cast of characters, settings and originality & tailoring of gags to the characters.

IN GIVING THE Devil his due, we must make mention of what may well be not only an act of "follow the leader" in reference to the product of the "big boys" in the animation field. We refer to Walt Disney and Max Fleischer. Their advancement would be in their numbering of characters digital appendages (that means fingers, Schultz!) Not only do the human characters here (being only Mama and the Captain) have a thumb & 3 fingers on their hands (a la Mickey Mouse & Company), but the same lineup applies to their feet !

WHENEVER ONE CONSIDERS the comic strip characters of Hans, Fritz, Mama, the Captain, the Inspector and others; it should be stressed that there was a duplicitous situation here. There were in fact two separate and distinct comic strips featuring the same cast in similar, if not identical, situations. (You can read all about it in Wikipedia or in many other sources)

ALTHOUGH THIS WAS not a successful series, the characters were very familiar to the movie going public. There were both live action and animated cartoon screen adaptations dating from the earliest of movie history. Remember that THE KATZENJAMMER KIDS Strip started in 1897 and continued being produced with original material until January 1, 2006; after which reprint strips are still being syndicated to this day. THE CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS competitor strip lasted until 1979. That was "only" a six decade run.

THIS ANIMATED SERIES, however, was the only screen presentation of the Katzies under that title.