Polly Wants a Doctor

Long before Louis Malle got the idea of building a film around two cordial figures having dinner, the Columbia cartoon studio came up with this little culinary gem.

Columbia cartoons of the forties were known for experimenting with bizarre ideas, and this story centers on a parrot protagonist (named Polly, but male - why ask questions) who is sick - I mean SICK of crackers. He is invited to dinner by an erudite goat with the most discriminating taste in backyard garbage. Polly soon finds himself eating everything from nuts and bolts to an entire combination radio and phonograph - and loving it! Did it all digest well? I'm thinking our parrot hero probably experienced less intestinal discomfort than the hero of "Supersize me".

Screen Gems cartoons are hard to come by, but they occasionally pop up on youtube. If you ever run across it, check it out.