Russian Rhapsody

That's one of the shtick jokes from this wartime jewel. I gave it an 8 out of ten for its one flaw, a screw-up in continuity.

Basically, it's a vehicle for silly slapstick at Hitler's physical expense. Some of the gremlins bear striking resemblances to the gang at Termite Terrace. And where else would you hear "Volga Boatmen" at 8-to-the-bar?

I said there was one flaw, in continuity. There was another flaw - a social one. See, there was one bit at the end I found eye-brow-raising by 1999 standards where Hitler, dazed from his plane crashing on top of him, looks Oriental - read Japanese. You can say, "yeah, it was racist, but it was the 1940s, it was WWII, everyone was like that, &c." But the casual, remorseless, didn't-think-twice-about-it attitude of the joke struck me from beyond the film-frames of this cartoon.

yes I saw this one in the Film Museum of Brussels. it was a bit silly, I thought, but it fit right in the context: a lesson about communism in Hollywood. this cartoon contains of two parts: the first one was about how the situation was in those years of war and the second one was to ridicule it with lots of satire and parodies of existing political figures. the cartoon left me a bit unsatisfied, because I wondered the whole if Hitler would have seen this (because the 'main' character is a satire on him)? they couldn't tell me in the Film Museum, what was a pity. I do realize why this cartoon was banned (or should be banned at the time): it contains too much propaganda for political systems.

During the early 1940s, It was pretty easy for allied nations to mock Adolph Hitler and his Nazi ways. But shortly after a year when this cartoon first appeared, footage of the concentration camps was released world-wide to stunned individuals. All of a sudden, Hitler and the Nazi party were no laughing matter.

So maybe this was why I never saw this toon air on my television during my youth years. Yet I recently caught it and *shocker* enjoyed it! Mel Blanc did an amusing job imitating Hitler plus the Gremlin theme song is pretty catchy! Along with the energetic directing by Bob Clampet (Nearly all of his toons had some anarchy in them) and the familiar faces of Warner Bros. animators & execs, put on the bodies of the gremlins,make this cartoon memorable.

It's best to watch it with an open mind,forget what Hitler stood for, and enjoy watching the "Gremlins from der Kremlin" .

Hitler is concerned about his aeroplanes towards Moskou, as they all somehow seem to be missing. He decides to go on the mission himself (as he's apparently the best pilot), but in the air he has to do battle with some strange small creatures, who call themselves 'The Gremlins From The Kremlin'.

This short animation story is really silly and not that fun either. It's even pretty boring. I've seen so many better propaganda films from that era; you can stop your efforts to track this one down if you'd ask me: go for a movie like 'Education For Death' instead.

4/10.

Throughout the Cold War, it was customary to portray Russians as drunk at best, evil at worst. Even today in movies, Russians tend to get relegated to the roles of mobsters and corrupt oligarchs. Apparently, we've forgotten that the Soviet Union was our staunch ally in World War II. "Russian Rhapsody" sticks with that. It portrays Hitler -ranting like in "The Great Dictator" - concerned about German planes going missing over Russia, so he decides to fly there personally (he's the best pilot). During the flight, Gremlins from the Kremlin start dancing all over his plane and dismantling it.

I should say that this isn't the best Looney Tunes cartoon. Far from it. But I just like that there was one cartoon that portrayed Russians positively.