A Day at the Zoo

A Day at the Zoo (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Tex Avery directed short gives us exactly as the title says. The narrator introduces us to various animals at a local zoo but there's often a twist in the story.

A DAY AT THE ZOO is a rather clever short from Avery who, as you'd expect, gives us the high quality animation but he mixes it with a certainly smart aleck attitude that is rather funny. There's a running gag throughout the running time dealing with a man who keeps picking on a lion. The narrator warns him to leave the lion alone several times but the pay off is rather funny. There are also a few nice gags aimed around people feeding the monkeys including one poor woman who should have listened to the sign. Fans of Avery's humor will certainly get a kick out of this one.

nothing surprising. all lovely. because, after decades, the flavor of childhood has the mark of Merrie Melodies, with its silly situations and stupid characters, lessons and show in same package. good entertainment. and a tour at zoo, with the same ingredients of ordinary tour and the legendary Grayhound. so, Merrie Melodies .

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best cartoons ever made. While the ending is an easily foreseeable one, 'A Day at the Zoo' is one of Avery's best early cartoons to me. Sometimes there was the sense that he was still finding his style at this point, but the visual and verbal humour were in classic Avery style in 'A Day at the Zoo' and there was evidence of the wild wackiness he was famous for (if not done as imaginatively as later).

It is no surprise that the animation is superb, being rich in colour and detail, the meticulousness is also noticeable. The character designs are fluid and well drawn, if not quite the creative ones of his very best cartoons. Carl Stalling's music is lush and characterful, with clever orchestration and a mastery of not just adding to the action but enhancing it as well (Stalling was a near-unequalled master at this, though Scott Bradley gave him a run for his money).

'A Day at the Zoo' is great fun and never less than amusing, the running gag never outstays its welcome and is executed with enough variety to stop it from becoming predictable and repetitive. The characters carry the cartoon beautifully and the pace is always lively without being so relentless that it feels rushed.

Mel Blanc shows once again his unrivalled ability to voice multiple characters and give each of them an individuality rather than giving them all the same personality and voice.

In summation, great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Avery's spot gags tend to be hit or miss. While the idea of coming up with a short with a series of blackout gags centered around a theme without a plot was certainly novel, some of them wear thin after a while. True of any formulaic series.

This energy in this title is really lacking. There are some funny gags, but they come off as too dry. Gil Warren's narration reflects this. Compare to Norman McCabe's WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO, which is also not a great cartoon, but has much better execution.

There are some interesting pop culture references, which requires the viewer to become well versed in to understand, such as Bank Nite and the bread and butter superstition.

The proto- Elmer again serves as the running gag. As usual, his voice and mannerisms are much different than his other appearances. Here he quotes and sounds like Lou Costello.

I wonder if there were any scenes cut from the blue ribbon release. There's an abrupt cut to black as well as the soundtrack prior to the scene with the rabbits.

Not one of Avery's best shorts. It's public domain status and frequent appearance on unofficial videos in poor quality further reduced its value.

A Day at the Zoo is a typically amusing Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Fred "Tex" Avery. You'll see pink elephants, a pack of camels smoking cigarettes, a monkey admonishing a lady trying to feed him when the sign says not to, and a human baboon switching places with an actual one. Some gags are now too dated (like the two panthers walking around and constantly saying, "Bread and butter", or two (human) Elks greeting each other), and the typical speed of Avery has not been fully developed yet (that would come when he moves to MGM). However, there is a historical interest here as this has a recurring gag appearance of Egghead, a precursor to Elmer Fudd, who keeps teasing a caged lion even after the narrator tells him not too. Egghead keeps saying, "I'm a bad boy" impersonating it's originator, Lou Costello. So to any fan of Avery and Warner cartoons, A Day at the Zoo is worth a look.