The Old Mill Pond

I just saw this cartoon for the first time and recognized the caricatures of famous black entertainers... Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, (not Josephine Baker or Sophie Tucker, who was white), Thomas "Fats" Waller, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Stepin Fetchit (notwithstanding) Louis Armstrong and the chorus girls are out of the famed "Cotton Club" in Harlem. True... stereotypes are there, but this was the way it was... and these cartoons were meant as adult entertainment at your local cinema before the main feature.

Harmann & Ising cartoons tended to be more "cutesy" and more upscale, (after all... we are talking about M-G-M) than the standard animated short done over at Warners, Paramount, Universal, Fox, RKO or lowly Columbia. Even Disney's very early Mickey Mouse had loads of barnyard humor before Uncle Walt cleaned him up just before he went "Technicolor".

Disney had some cartoons with caricatures of black entertainers as well... for example, 1937's Silly Symphony "Woodland Cafe". But we have to remember that these films are part of a certain time and place. 50 years from now... clips of the Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park will be also scrutinized, analyzed... and even vilified by future viewers.

So, what can one say about a cartoon that appears to have all the racial sensitivity of a Klan meeting yet respectfully presents tributes to some of the period's greatest African-American Jazz performers? "The Old Mill Pond" is an Academy Award-nominated cartoon which, because of its use of the racial stereotypes of the time, now seems uncomfortable and offensive to many people today. However, rather than using those stereotypes to mock or lampoon the characters, "The Old Mill Pond" is a celebration of some of the premier Jazz performers of their era. At a time when African-Americans were either marginalized or completely ignored in most American films, this cartoon at least makes them the focus of attention and showcases the music of performers who might otherwise be lost to history. Significantly, a number of the reviewers of this film on IMDb are, themselves, unfamiliar with the identities of some of the artists shown. (For the record, the female singer depicted performing "Jungle Rhythm" with the Cotton Club back-up dancers is Ethel Waters, distinguished by the sizable gap in her front teeth.) The caricatures of the performers are not egregiously offensive and are on a par with the Warner Brothers' cartoons depiction of, for example, Frank Sinatra as a beanpole with an Adam's apple or Jimmy Durante as, essentially, a nose followed by a vestigial body. The one exception would be the inclusion of Stepin Fetchit, in all his foot-shuffling glory, in the "Hold That Tiger" number. It should be noted, however, that this presentation is merely a literal recreation of Stepin Fetchit's own screen persona which was, itself, a caricature. (It should also be noted that Lincoln Perry, who created the character, was the first black actor to receive a screen credit and the first to become a millionaire. He may not have been politically correct but he knew his audience.) As animation, however, "The Old Mill Pond" seems a little flat. To today's audiences, used to computer-generated 3-D images, it will certainly seem dated. More importantly, it pales in comparison with the avant garde surrealism of contemporaneous Max Fleischer "Betty Boop" cartoons such as "Minnie the Moocher." Still, it is meticulously drawn, with humor and respect for its characters. While it may not benefit from performances of the actual artists it portrays, it is still one of the few cartoons to depict a number of musical performers who might otherwise be unknown to today's audiences and deserves its place in history.

The Old Mill Pond is more of a tribute to the African-American entertainers of the '30s than any denigration of the entire race (Stepin Fetchit caricature notwithstanding). Besides who I just mentioned, there's also frog or fish versions of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Joesphine Baker, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Louis Armstrong. This Happy Harmonies cartoon from Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising is very entertaining musically with perfect characterizations all around. They all sound so much like the real thing that half of me thinks they could possibly be. If not, they're certainly very flattering impersonations. Even the lazy, shiftless Fetchit characterization gets an exciting workout here when he gets chased by a tiger as "Hold That Tiger" plays on the score. Highly recommended for fans of '30s animation and jazz music.

Hugh Harman directs this cartoon in which pond life, mostly frogs, puts on a radio broadcast that looks like a show at the Cotton Club.

It features froggy caricatures of various well-known Black entertainers of the period, including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, 'Bill "Bojangles' Robinson', Louis Armstrong, Stepin Fetchit, Ethel Waters and The Mills Brothers. While the vocal talents do imitations that are not spot on, there's little doubt that this is as good as Harman and Ising got in this period, with their color work, character design, and background work rivaling Disney's Silly Symphonies, aided by interesting Dutch Angles.

Sure, I like short cartoons, but I didn't like this one. Naturally, kids would love it. But then again, I'm not a kid anymore (although I still consider myself young).

I will not tell you anything about the story, for the simple reason there is no story. How is it possible this dragon of a cartoon was nominated for an Oscar?! Well... I guess it's because people in the 30's were more happy with not much than now. In the present where we live, everything must happen fast. Look at the movies nowadays, and you will come to the same conclusion: we live in a society that doesn't allow men to be slow. That's really a shame. I wish I lived in the 30's, because it seems so peaceful. But every time has got its ups and downs, I guess...

To conclude: if you like music (and frogs), you'll have to see this cartoon. Otherwise, don't spill your time on it.