A Ham in a Role

Topnotch Goofy Gophers cartoon, doing what they do best: pricking the vanity of the inept, in this case, a dog who wishes to give up doing slapstick cartoons for Warner Brothers and do Shakespearian roles instead.

Although this cartoon is credited to McKimson, it shows the hand of Art Davis, the most under-rated of the directors at Termite Terrace -- the hambone hound likes to wear a bow tie. Davis had his own unit, but it was folded into McKimson's in the late 1940s. A pity, as he was a much better director than McKimson. Take a look at this one and see.

I have always loved Mac and Tosh, the Gopher Twins. They are cute and very wicked little characters from Looney Tunes that never fail to make me laugh--though they don't appear in this film until it is almost half complete.

The cartoon begins with a very snooty, Frasier Crane sort of dog who is tired of slapstick and low humor, so he leaves the Looney Tunes studio for good. His intent is to become a Shakespearian actor but unfortunately, he comes into contact with the gophers--and they make his life miserable. And, being that this dog is so full of himself and sophisticated, it's fun to watch him being taken down a few pegs by the little rodents. Well worth seeing like all the Mac and Tosh films.

When I saw "Lumber Jerks" a few months ago and then read about the Goofy Gophers in the book "That's All Folks: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation", I was surprised that those guys had their own series of cartoons and yet I'd never heard of them before. So, I've finally seen another one of their cartoons, and I liked it better than the previous one. "A Ham in a Role" has those most effeminate members of the genus Citellus tormenting a snobbish Shakespearean actor dog who left Warner Bros. (they never miss a chance to advertise themselves, do they?) to stick with serious roles. Specifically, they terrorize him based on his lines from the Bard's plays ("A rose by any other name..." becomes an excuse for Limburger cheese).

Yeah, it's just nice, silly entertainment. But I saw it as a special feature on the "My Dream Is Yours" DVD, and this cartoon is easily the best part (it's practically a guarantee that any Doris Day movie totally sucks). So check it out; and if you watch "MDIY", skip to the Bugs Bunny scene, and the movie won't totally suck.

. . . many viewers will be wondering about the modern equivalent of RICHARD III's immortal offer, "My Kingdom for a Horse!" One must remember the context of Rich's ancient plight. Back in the olden days, monarchs could not confront their foes with flights of B2 Stealth Bombers laden with more than a dozen bunker busters. They had to actually lead their troops in gory hand-to-hand combat, and if a crowned head was defeated, he was not allowed to wait until January 6 to contest the result. In poor Rich's case, no one gave him another mount. Upon his demise, his kingdom (England) was wrested from his cold dead claws, and he was buried in a nearby church parking lot. After a few centuries, asphalt was invented, and Rich's final resting place was paved over. However, because Modern Medicine does not allow gamers to rub humps for good luck, some high rollers recently dug up old Rich to improve their odds.

If you love The Goofy Gophers, you'll like A Ham in a Role just as much. A Ham in a Role is not quite as good in my view, but it's still thoroughly enjoyable. The animation is beautifully drawn and lusciously coloured, giving the cartoon a cosy and elegant old-fashioned charm. The music has so much character and verve, and I shall always admire how the Looney Tunes cartoons are orchestrated and how the instrumentation blends. The writing is irreverent, done in a way that makes Shakespeare still sound so fresh, and the gags are similarly clever, I can't decide which is my favourite of the horseshoe magnet or Limburger gags. The characters are great fun to watch, the dog's delivery of the Shakespearean lines are priceless while the overly-polite gophers(characters that don't get anywhere near enough credit) are both endearing and funny. Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg provide sterling vocals as expected. Overall, not quite as good as The Goofy Gophers but every bit as entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox