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A Cartoonist's Nightmare

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 7m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
324
YOUR RATING
A Cartoonist's Nightmare (1935)
AnimationComedyFamilyShort

A cartoonist falls victim to the very villains he has drawn. It's up to Beans the Cat to save the day.A cartoonist falls victim to the very villains he has drawn. It's up to Beans the Cat to save the day.A cartoonist falls victim to the very villains he has drawn. It's up to Beans the Cat to save the day.

  • Director
    • Jack King
  • Writer
    • Melvin Millar
  • Stars
    • Billy Bletcher
    • Tommy Bond
    • Jack Carr
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    324
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jack King
    • Writer
      • Melvin Millar
    • Stars
      • Billy Bletcher
      • Tommy Bond
      • Jack Carr
    • 5User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos4

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    Top cast4

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    Billy Bletcher
    Billy Bletcher
    • Demon Beast
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    Tommy Bond
    Tommy Bond
    • Beans
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Carr
    • Animator
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Stanton
    • Singing Villain
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jack King
    • Writer
      • Melvin Millar
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews5

    6.6324
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    Featured reviews

    7tavm

    A Cartoonist's Nightmare was an amusing early Warner Bros. cartoon

    Just found this rare Warner Bros.-Looney Tunes cartoon on YouTube. "Supervised" by ex-Disney animator Jack King (though he'd later return there as the new resident Donald Duck helmer), A Cartoonist's Nightmare is one of the few that starred a now-forgotten character named Beans the Cat who was first seen in Friz Freleng's color Merrie Melodies short, I Haven't Got a Hat, which also introduced Porky Pig. In this one, with all the other animators having gone home, one particular cartoonist stays on trying to finish his drawings on time. As he draws bars on Beans to protect him from a monster, the animator goes to sleep and dreams of getting attacked by other villains he created. It's up to Beans to rescue him...Lots of clever creative ways of drawing and erasing escapes abound here and while nothing hilarious happens, I was constantly amused at this early version of Duck Amuck that Chuck Jones made with Daffy Duck 18 years later! On that note, I recommend this for any Warner cartoon completists out there.
    7TheLittleSongbird

    It may be a nightmare for the cartoonist, but it's not for the viewer

    As has been said by me a fair few times already, it is always interesting seeing early Looney Tunes characters that are not the iconic more well known characters that we all know and love, with more interesting and fleshed out personalities.

    Beans the Cat, the third Looney Tunes star after Bosko and Buddy, never made it big, starring in 10 or 11 cartoons and then retired after a year when Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers/Merrie Melodies started to evolve and become more imaginative and wittier. This is a shame, because he was a funnier and more compelling character than either Bosko or Buddy (both of which lasted longer), though there are admittedly funnier and more interesting Looney Tunes character around, being neither an annoying stereotype or bland.

    The cartoonist has a fun role that is done quite inventively here, the frustration and such is done very nicely. The caricatures of particularly Bob Clampett were funny and will be for anybody familiar with them, a potential problem with caricatures is not knowing who they're caricaturing so it goes over the viewer's head but that is far from the case here.

    One of the earliest cartoonist/characters on page coming to life cartoons (something done a lot in animation), 'A Cartoonist's Nightmare' is not among the best of them (1953's 'Duck Amuck' is the king of them all) but it's a good one still. It's not hilarious, the best of it is still very amusing but not much more than that, and not hugely imaginative and fairly slight in terms of story with the conflict obvious.

    However, the way the drawings come to life are handled in an inventive and lively way and look great. Everything looks very fluid and detailed and the setting of the animation studio is used to full advantage. The energy is constant.

    Not just in the very amusing gags and the characterisation. But particularly in the cleverly orchestrated, beautifully scored and characterful music score, with songs that are catchy and with remarkably witty lyrics (particularly the song of the villains, who are suitably dastardly).

    In conclusion, pretty good and interesting. 7/10 Bethany Cox
    7lee_eisenberg

    Beans Amuck

    Sort of a forerunner to Chuck Jones's more famous "Duck Amuck", "A Cartoonist's Nightmare" portrays an animator working on a Beans cartoon. He falls asleep and ends up in the cartoon, where the monster threatening Beans proceeds to menace the cartoonist. It's up to Beans to save the day!

    This short, directed by Jack King (previously a Disney animator, he soon returned to Disney, after which Frank Tashlin took over his unit), came out right after Friz Freleng's "I Haven't Got a Hat", which debuted not only Beans but also Porky. If I remember right, Porky and Beans were officially a team (pork and beans, get it?). Needless to say, Beans quickly dropped off the radar, while Porky gained fame as WB's first bona fide cartoon superstar, although he soon got overtaken by a certain stuttering duck, and later by a wise-guy rabbit.

    Anyway, this one's OK as a historical reference.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The cartoonist's office has a water cooler, complete with glass jug. These are still in use in 2023, though the jugs are now made of lightweight plastic.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Night Watchman: You gonna work all night, son?

    • Connections
      Featured in Toon in with Me: What's a Cartoon? (2021)
    • Soundtracks
      The Teddy Bears' Picnic
      (uncredited)

      Music by John W. Bratton

      Modified Lyrics by Melvin Millar

      Arranged by Bernard B. Brown

      Performed by Billy Bletcher and Harry Stanton

      [Sung by the cartoon villains]

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    FAQ1

    • Which series is this from: Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 21, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Production company
      • Leon Schlesinger Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 7m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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