Tin Pan Alley Cats

What marvelous things the animators once did! Seek this out ... great jazz music and Salvador Dali-esque monochrome background art. Brilliant! This inspired cartoon is from the age of pride in creative filmmaking, and as such it is most highly recommended to all. Adults and children alike will appreciate the masterful imageries to be seen and heard.

Uggghhh!!!! This is one of several Looney Toons cartoons that were shelved decades back due to their strongly racist content. And while SOME of them are actually highly offensive BUT well-made, this one is a bore even if it weren't full of racial stereotypes. For some of these offensive cartoons, I have recommended people watch them--particularly for their historical value. However, this one has really nothing to recommend it--being a long cartoon with nothing but stupid music and very, very big-lipped Black characters acting,...well,...STUPID! So, the film is offensive, poorly made and not particularly entertaining--everything you'd like in a cartoon, huh?! (this is sarcasm, by the way)

This is a great short that is right up there with Clampett's earlier "Porky in Wackyland." In fact, the shorts are very similar in ways other than being Clampett creations. The odd characters that Porky encounters in "Porky in Wackyland" are very similar to the characters that the Fats Waller-esque cat runs across in the fantasy sequence in "Tin Pan Alley Cats."

Overall, "Tin Pan Alley Cats" is arguably one of the best shorts from the golden age of animation. They certainly don't make them like this anymore!

This cartoon is a wonderful example of Robert Clampett's genius. Perfect musical score; the scene with the scatting trumpet player who blasts Waller "out of this world" into a "Porky in Wackyland" world is an unheralded masterpiece. This one equals or even tops the infamous "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" for sheer enjoyment. Certainly worth seeking out.

This is an incredibly good cartoon that has sadly been shoved into the vaults because of the fact that it caricatures pianist Fats Waller (as a cat, no less) and the powers that be are afraid this short might offend somebody somewhere. Even sadder still, Fats Waller himself is probably all too unknown these days. A great musician and one of those larger-than-life personalities that come along a few times each generation. This short reminds me in spots of Porky In Wackyland, but with better music. This is well worth the effort to hunt for. Most highly recommended.