For all those who grew up on watching Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, whether they were on VHS or something like Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, may be familiar with and remember the shorts starring Ralph Phillips, the little boy who would have the propensity for losing himself in daydreams. I remember this being among the many shorts that were aired on the latter that I watched. Despite being one of the lesser characters and one of those to have the shortest filmographies, Ralph still seems to have left an impression on viewers and remains in their memories. Another one that I hadn't seen in years until watching it online late, last night/last, early morning.
In his first of a couple outings, Ralph is in class where he and his classmates are going over their daily lessons. However, he's the only one who isn't paying attention and is easily distracted by various things he sees, letting his imagination run wild, as there are other things he'd rather do. These include flying, defeating mathematics, and boxing. But each time he finds himself in the midst of every one of these scenarios, his teacher, Miss Wallace, would always snap him out of it and bring him back to reality. Maybe the problem is her teaching techniques aren't exciting enough. And I never even thought of nor considered it at the time, but maybe Ralph does have an ADD or ADHD problem. Although there is the part of Ralph daydreaming about battling against some Native Americans and this would be cut in later T.V. airings, I just don't focus as much on that and despite racist scenes of certain LT/MM shorts being cut or not aired at all, I'm still giving it a high rating anyway since newer cartoons are still being allowed to include controversial, stereotypical moments to be aired anyway, so whatever.
This short is especially great for being so relatable to anybody who's ever been in the same situation as Ralph. I didn't think about it at the time, but now I think this would be among my favorite Chuck Jones-directed LT/MM cartoons. This was one of the WB cartoons that proved not all of them have to be so full of slapstick, but it is still surrealistic just the same. I can see why it was one of those WB 'toons nominated for Academy Awards for Best Animated Short, it's with the best of not just the '50s and LT/MMs in general, but of all time. I also didn't think much about the various art styles at the time nor was I as picky and even though the art style in this is much different from several, previous shorts before this point, I still consider it at least good, if not as great. The boy from Animaniacs, Colin, who'd always tell stories about a friend of his named Ralph Beaman that may or may not had happened, could've been inspired by Ralph in design, as they're similar-looking and remind me of each other. Everything else about this, from the writing to the animation to the characters to the voice acting is done well. Recommended.
