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Anyone who's ever had a frog in his voice should enjoy this endearing cartoon from Chuck Jones. Not only is the frog beautifully animated when he goes into his song and dance routines, but the songs range from "Hello, Ma Baby" to an operatic aria from "The Barber of Seville." The simple story has an unusual premise. A man discovers a frog living inside the cornerstone of a building just demolished. The frog emerges in fine singing form, demonstrating that he's very much alive and can sing and dance. Immediately the man has dollar signs in his eyes and decides to make the rounds of agents willing to feature his singing frog as the main attraction.

Has to be one of the most original of all the Chuck Jones cartoons, fresh and funny as ever despite the crazy concept of a singing and dancing frog. (Or because of).

An absolute delight.

What is there to say about Chuck Jones's 'One Froggy Evening' that hasn't been said already, not just one of the greatest cartoons ever made but one of the best things to ever happen anywhere ever! The story of a demolition worker who discovers a singing frog in the cornerstone of a building and attempts to exploit the creatures talents for profit, 'One Froggy Evening' is often called "the 'Citizen Kane' of animated shorts". That level of artistic worth is not an exaggeration. Everything, absolutely everything, is perfect about 'One Froggy Evening'. For one, the timing is astonishing. Jones tells the story (from a uniquely brilliant script by Michael Maltese, the author of many of the greatest cartoon scripts of all time) completely silent apart from the singing of the frog, who bursts into song at precisely the most hilarious moments possible.

Aside from being side-splittingly funny, 'One Froggy Evening' also works on a deeper level as a profound parable about greed. Presented with this wondrous of a singing frog, the demolition worker's immediate and only impulse is to use it to make money. To his ever-growing frustration, the frog will only sing in his presence. Despite his obsession with money, the demolition worker is extremely sympathetic and the audience shares in his pain even as they howl with laughter at his misfortune. The cartoon ends with another poor sap about to make the same mistakes, showing that no matter how much we progress as a society, greed is a constant in human beings. One element that is not often mentioned is the haunting quality of 'One Froggy Evening'. There's a sense of the supernatural in both a singing frog and a frog that can last for years sealed inside the cornerstone of a building, which always leads me to think of the frog in slightly more sinister terms, as a karmic lesson enforcer! The final image of 'One Froggy Evening' coupled with the distant echo of the frog's song always sends a shiver down my spine.

Aside from all this, there's the wonderful animation and the glorious soundtrack. From the moment the frog leaps out of the box, his back foot slipping a couple of times, he is one of the great animated creations. His ability to snap from spellbindingly charismatic showman to the most uninspiring and ordinary croaker you've ever seen is both hilarious and impeccably achieved. The demolition worker, meanwhile, goes through a wonderful range of Chuck Jones's trademark expressions. The music is great throughout, with a virtuoso performance from singer Bill Roberts who sings a range of classic Tin Pan Alley songs, a snatch of opera and, best of all, a cracking original composition by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese themselves. Called 'The Michigan Rag', the song is not only the best and catchiest in the whole cartoon, it also provided a name for the frog character when, overwhelmed by the popularity of the film and inundated with requests for the character's name, Jones dubbed him Michigan J. Frog. Despite this popularity, Jones wisely refused to use Michigan in any other cartoons, ensuring 'One Froggy Evening' remains a true one-off and one of the greatest strokes of genius animation has ever seen.

In the interests of keeping it brief, I'll leave it there but I could gush about 'One Froggy Evening' for pages and pages. It really is a landmark piece of film history and more than justifies its appearance on every single list of greatest animated cartoons that's worth a damn.

Oh what a wonderful surprise this cartoon was. It is just so irresistible and endearing, not to mention funny and charming, and is just a froggin' masterpiece. The song "Hello ma baby, hello ma honey" is not only catchy but also memorable, I am still humming now writing this review. The other songs go without fault and the dancing routines are slickly done with lots of pizazz. The animation is spot on, with beautiful backgrounds, sharp character features and lovely colours. Michigan is a great character. Sung marvellously by Bill Roberts, he is charming, likable and sweet for a frog. The story is simple and well told, and its simplicity added to the charm that this gem has. All in all, wonderful and a must see! 10/10 Bethany Cox

"Greed" is one of the great American classics, but so often we limit ourselves to thinking of a film as a multi-hour feature film with live actors. In "One Froggy Evening" Chuck Jones tells the story of a construction worker demolishing a building and discovers a frog in the cornerstone. A SINGING FROG. Naturally, the first impulse is to make money on the frog. The only problem, the frog will only sing for this one guy. Not paying crowds, not talent agents, ONLY HIM. Slowly he is driven mad, not so much by the frog but by his own failed plans with the frog. Failing to recognize the special gift he has, he sees the building going up and sticks the frog back into the cornerstone. Years pass, and when the laser demolition-man is vaporizing the building with his 21st century technology, what does he find? A SINGING FROG. "You know," he thinks, "I could make some money." And so the cycle continues. People of any time are the same, they never learn. There's your moral. Chuck Jones does in 7 minutes what Von Stroheim took 7 hours to do. A genuine masterpiece of animation.

The last two times I saw One Froggy Evening it was in a censored version. In the original, the guy rents a theatre to show the singing frog and peppers the building with posters but no-one comes. He puts out a "free admission" sign but still no-one comes. He then puts out a "free beer" sign and is trampled by the crowd that rushes in. In the censored version, the "free beer" sign is cut. This is not only a stupid thing to do in itself; it also makes no sense since there is no reason why crowds would rush in so enthusiastically to see the singing frog if the only attraction was free admission. The whole point is that no-one believes in the singing frog. Who has committed this stupid act of vandalism and why -- and can we do anything about it?

You know, I would virtually tell everyone to watch EVERY short that Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese collaborated on. They are icons in creating some of the best storytelling animation in our time. EVERYONE looking to get into screen writing or story board writing should study their storytelling. But the two most important ones, the first ones that everyone should watch when beginning their curiosity should be Feed the Kitty, which inspired Joe Dante and Chris Columbus, and this short, One Froggy Evening, which influenced Steven Spielberg.

A laborer at a demolition site discovers a frog that can sing and dance. Seeing a world of opportunity, he leaves, and gets more than he ever bargained for.

There are too many elements in this short to count. But it's great. The frog doesn't even need to sing for you to appreciate the hilarity of it all. But if you do listen to the frog, I guarantee you at one point in your life you will sing that song in your head. When people at my work ask me to try to tune out some song in their head, I pop out, "Hello My Baby," or, "Michigan Rag." They end up having one of those songs permanently stuck in their head. Try it! You'll go through work faster and have a good memory stuck in your head. And if you haven't watched this cartoon, I suggest you find it. Now.

Although some consider What's Opera, Doc? the perfect Chuck Jones cartoon, I would argue that this is the best choice to represent Chuck Jones boiled down to one short. Jones did a great variety of work, but he was at his best with little or no dialog, a visual cartoon that wasn't just slapstick visuals. Put a character into a situation where they either see something they want and grab it (or try to), throw in the law of unintended consequences, stir in a little bad luck and stand back to catch the fireworks! A one-shot cartoon that made its lead character a star. Think about the impact a short like that as to have had over nearly 50 years to accomplish a feat like that! To top it off, it's a morality play in 7 minutes. The more things change, the more they stay the same! Great short, an essential work in the sub-genre of the animated short. Most highly recommended!!!!

Such a different short from Chuck Jones still maintaining his overall style and humor. One Froggy Evening delivers a tone shift from Jones to a more serious and maybe even rooted in something deeper short. It still looks great, and the amazing expressiveness of Jones style is not lost here.

A construction worker finds a frog in a box. The frog can sing and dance to the surprise of the construction worker. He sees an opportunity to make the frog famous and make money, but there is one problem, the frog only sings for him.

The amazing singing performance by William Roberts is great and iconic today. The combination of dancing frog and "hello my baby" is instantly recognizable and all the different songs used sound lovely.

This is a classic "false alarm" plot where someone has to convince other that something is actually happening. It´s a classic gag and done really well here. It also feels like this short has influenced so many other gags and animations throughout history. The humor is great and done well in this more serious story.

The animation is very good here. Seeing the frog dance is a delight and there are so many different colorful locations throughout. As always, Jones signature expressions are also great here. The expressions of the frog when it stops sitting and it´s sounds that follow, the expressions of the construction worker, they are so well done and say so much without using dialogue.

It´s a more serious story that in my opinion could have been taken to the next level in it´s moral. It´s a story about greed and no appreciating talent right in front of you. This short becomes darker and darker in tone really hammering home that the main character is missing the point of luck he had, having a personal singing frog.

This is a classic and so well done. I love the humor, the music, the expressive animation and the darker tone.

Everyone knows what happens in the excellent animated masterpiece. A guy finds a dancing, singing frog whom will only dance or sing for him and it drives him crazy. This is the best Chuck Jones short ever (no easy feat), and will be with else to entertain countless generations of the young and young at heart. Many attempts to duplicate this has but done throughout the intervening years, but accept no substitutes. This is fantastic stuff. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. It features a commentary by Micheal Barrier, as well as an optional music only track.

My Grade:A+

Chuck Jones and company created another masterpiece with "One Froggy Evening", about a man finding a singing frog who only sings for him, leading to many unpleasant situations. These cartoons were so simple, yet so clever. I think that there's absolutely no doubt that this and many other cartoons from that era will stay firmly ingrained as part of our national heritage forever.

One thing I notice is that Mel Blanc didn't do Michigan J. Frog's voice. But that's no problem. This cartoon is still great. How they came up with these things is beyond me; it just shows that they were geniuses. A great cartoon. These are the sorts of cartoons that we need to show our children.

We are so fortunate. We get to see the frog sing and dance. This is the remarkable tale of a man who finds a box. In the box is a frog who is an accomplished song and dance man. He performs at a high level but only when his owner is around. This cartoon takes us on an uncomfortable ride as the poor man who has been victimized by the frog embarrasses himself over and over, trying to get people to see his amphibian act. Unfortunately, those who get to see the little guy only get a croaking piece of sludge with almost no personality. The way this is put together is wonderful. Once again, Chuck Jones couldn't be matched for creativity. I first saw this at a movie theater in 1956 and it has stayed with me for all time.

Among my favorites of the Warner Brothers Merry Melodies shorts is the one with Michigan J Frog (which, like "the Man with No Name" in Leone films, is a marketing gimmick). It's basically a silent film only with a singing, dancing frog, right from the swamp into vaudeville as it were (ho-ho). His owner decides to make it rich with what is, well, a singing and dancing frog in such a reality-driven world as a cartoon. No one notices the frog's talents as it stops just as people are put in front of it; this even extends to an audience promised free beer. In the end, it's fairly tragic, however just in the sense of a Merry Melodies cartoon. This is one of those shorts, like Duck Amuck (my favorite), that brilliantly winks to the audience 'hey, we know this is all so irreverent and absurd, we'll play with it till it drops to the floor'. This time instead of the characters actively talking to the audience, we get the interplay between reality and fantasy played out between a man and an animal. It's funny, of course, because of the owner's attempts to get it to dance in front of others. And its timeless because it has this message of not being able to cross fantasy into reality, which is why all the Merry Melodies shorts, even the lessor ones, have this cool little quality to them. In short, one of Jones/Matleses' triumphs.

I really enjoyed this cartoon. Interesting that Michigan J. would only sing in front of the man who found him and no one else. His songs were great too, especially "McClosky Fight" and "Michigan Rag." Overall, I really like that character. It is a shame that he wasn't in more cartoons, but it's fortunate that the WB kept him around as the network's mascot:

"Watch the frog."

This, in my opinion, is the greatest cartoon ever put out by Warner Bros. There is just something about this cartoon that makes you want to get up and sing. M.J. Frog is the most entertaining character in the Looney Tunes bunch, which is a mystery to me why they didn't feature more cartoons with him. He seems to be shadowed by Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the gang. You will want to watch this again and again.

A man futilely struggles to make his fortune with a frog that sings and dances, but only when it is alone with the owner.

The cartoon's premise closely follows that of the 1944 Columbia Pictures film "Once Upon a Time" starring Cary Grant in which a dancing caterpillar is kept in a shoebox. It was common for Warner Brothers to mine well-known live action films for its Merrie Melodies productions.

Whether it borrowed from another film or not, the funny thing is how they ended up "winning" in the memorable film category. Everyone has seen the frog sing and dance and can reference it. Few have seen the Cary Grant film.