Another Froggy Evening

After years of waiting, I finally had my chance to see "Another Froggy Evening". I first heard of this sequel on Cartoon Network, although they apparently wouldn't show it. I have to admit that I'm disappointed that Warner Bros. has yet to properly release it. I feel as though it should at least be one of those "before the movie" cartoons.

The point of this cartoon falls right along with the original "One Froggy Evening". A poor man finds a singing frog with one of the most beautiful voices in the world. However, the man is blind to the fact that the frog won't sing for anyone but him. Instead of enjoying such a wonderful gift, he tries to exploit Michigan J. Frog for more money, and in doing so spends all of his savings and ruins his life.

"Another Froggy Evening" shows what happened when Michigan J. was found by others (though all bearing a strong resemblance to the man in the first cartoon) throughout time, including a caveman, a charioteer from Rome, and a solider in G. Washington's army. They all fall under the spell of greed and find their lives ruined when the frog won't sing. The moral is this: when you find a gift, enjoy it. Don't try and turn it into something else.

This has the amazing singing frog, Michigan, who plies his talents throughout history, then fails to make a noise when put on display. He starts with a caveman, moves to the days of Rome and Caesarus Salad, then the American Revolution. In each case, his discoverer is greatly disappointed and in at least one case, killed. The frog is a concert hall star and a crooner. Why he does what he does we will never know. Suffice it to say that he attacks avarice in his own way. Then one day, he does meet the figure he is looking for. This is one of those surreal films that has history repeating itself. There are numerous sight gags that we see and we will never be disappointed with this presentation.

Apparently this terrific short has not been given a proper release due to a squabble between Chuck Jones and Warner Bros. This is a shame, because this film is terrific.

This is a sequel to the classic, "One Froggy Evening", in which a poor demolition man finds a singing frog in the cornerstone of an old building. The only problem was that the frog would only sing for him, and no one else would believe that he had found such a rare animal. The man's life is eventually ruined and he puts the frog back into the cornerstone of a new building. Centuries later, when a space-suited demolition man is vaporizing the same building he comes across the singing frog and runs off with him, dollar signs floating over his head.

The new film depicts the adventures of "Michigan J. Frog" throughout history. We discover that his secretive vocal gifts and the human misfortune resulting from them have been repeated throughout the history of mankind. At each epoch of human civilization we see a dim-witted, would-be impresario trying to make money off of a frog that will sing only for him. A caveman, a Roman and even Robinson Crusoe all fall victim to greed upon discovering the frog with a taste for turn-of-the century songs. Each of them meets a fate similar to the poor schmuck from the first film. In fact, the money-mad characters in this film even resemble the character from the original.

The animation is first-rate, with none of the plastic-looking, digital sheen of recent Warner Bros. animation. It looks exactly like a classic 50's Warners cartoon short. Chuck Jones really outdid himself with the story, direction and animation found in this film. Even Michigan J. Frog sounds exactly the same as he did in the first film, although another actor must have sung the part, because this cartoon includes several all-new songs.

If Warners is not going to release this film in theatres they should at least put it out on video or give it a big build-up on the Cartoon Network. A hell of a lot of work obviously went into the making of it, and it shows Jones at the peak of is talent. Audiences would fall in love with this film; it really is that good.

...Favourite Looney Tunes cartoon to date! Before I watched "Another Froggy Evening", my favourite WB cartoon was "Yankee Doodle Daffy" and now it is this! This is definitely not a pointless remake and one worth watching (although its original, "One Froggy Evening" should be watched as well, it is also a very good cartoon). It is cheerful, has good songs and a good singer in it, good surprises, an amusing and original (ok, not totally original) plot-line and theme and to top it all - a longish unexpected cameo appearance of...

As the mention of the character will give away high spoilers, I am mentioning it at the very bottom of the review. :-)

Here are the things I like about the original cartoon which are not in/changed in the remake:

1. I prefer Michigan's animation in this version to the other version. 2. I thought the man with Michigan in this cartoon was better than all of the men in "Another Froggy Evening". 3. There was very little slapstick in this cartoon, as in the remake there is quite a lot.

Here are the things which I like about this cartoon which are not in/different in the original:

1. I love the surprises in the remake. 2. I love the historical settings, which create excitement for me. 3. Unlike in this cartoon, there is a cameo appearance in the remake (which I include as one of the surprises), which is delightful.

I recommend this cartoon to people who like different, cheery and slightly history-orientated Looney Tunes cartoons. Enjoy "Another Froggy Evening"! :-)

9 and a half out of ten.

***SPOILERS HERE*** ***SPOILERS HERE*** The surprise appearance is Marvin the Martian! I do not think anyone will expect this character to appear unless they had been told, I certainly did not! It was very exciting to see Marvin, especially as he is one of my favourite Looney Tunes characters.

***SPOILERS OVER*** ***SPOILERS OVER***

First things first I adore One Froggy Evening, for me it is one of the all-time great cartoons with beautiful animation, wonderful music and Michigan is just a joy to watch. I wasn't sure about this sequel at first, but I was all for seeing it. And I am glad I did, Another Froggy Evening is terrific, and a worthy sequel to a timeless masterpiece.

Is it as good as One Froggy Evening? For me, not quite. That said, this is not pointless. It is funny(I'd actually go to say it is funnier than One Froggy Evening), charming and well worth watching.

So what are the many good things of Another Froggy Evening? The animation is a definite plus. It is vibrant and colourful, it doesn't look plastic, and makes some effort to stick to the style of One Froggy Evening while having a promising sheen to it. The music is amazing as well, some I recognised and others I wasn't quite familiar with but it made me somewhat nostalgic. The plot-line isn't exactly original as it kind of follows a similar structure to One Froggy Evening, but it isn't at all hackneyed and has many memorably funny parts to it. Then there are the characters, the caveman especially looks exactly like the demolition man and all the characters from the Roman to Robinson Crusoe were put to good purpose. But of course it is Michigan's show all the way, such a funny and charming frog who is so much fun to watch and will continue to do so. His singing voice isn't quite as limpid this time around, but it is still beautiful and mellow and does perfect justice to the music. Also not only the pacing just right, but the moral is well judged without it preaching and the ending with a cameo from a I feel underrated Looney Tunes character is a delight.

Overall, a terrific cartoon that deserves more recognition than it does. It isn't as good I agree, but it is a worthy sequel that doesn't lack in any fun or charm of its original. 9/10 Bethany Cox