From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

Young "Ralph" takes exactly the same view as most of us did at school when we were children. We were usually bored - especially when it came to arithmetic. Those repetitious times tables, or improbably complex calculations that brought on an ennui - before we even knew that was a word - that just encourage day dreaming. This young lad has quite a vivid imagination that seems to tap into what ever punishment the teacher has for his lack of attention, especially when she decides to put him in the corner and he turns into Jack Dempsey. It's good fun this with our hero, despite his grade "C", proving he is much more of the Errol Flynn than the model student and maybe, just maybe, educating people, parrot-fashion isn't the best of techniques.

Looney Tunes cartoons are mainly known for their stock characters, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, etc., but now and again there was a single cartoon, or one or two, featuring a character who didn't appear anywhere else. One of these characters was the daydreaming little boy, Ralph Phillips.

In 'From A to ZZZZ', Ralph daydreams during class - he's underwater, he's a general, the usual boyish kind of dreams. Cutely drawn and influenced just a touch by Gerald McBoing-Boing, UPA's award-winning creation who only speaks in sound, Ralph and this cartoon are an irresistible combination.

For all those who grew up on watching Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, whether they were on VHS or something like Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon, may be familiar with and remember the shorts starring Ralph Phillips, the little boy who would have the propensity for losing himself in daydreams. I remember this being among the many shorts that were aired on the latter that I watched. Despite being one of the lesser characters and one of those to have the shortest filmographies, Ralph still seems to have left an impression on viewers and remains in their memories. Another one that I hadn't seen in years until watching it online late, last night/last, early morning.

In his first of a couple outings, Ralph is in class where he and his classmates are going over their daily lessons. However, he's the only one who isn't paying attention and is easily distracted by various things he sees, letting his imagination run wild, as there are other things he'd rather do. These include flying, defeating mathematics, and boxing. But each time he finds himself in the midst of every one of these scenarios, his teacher, Miss Wallace, would always snap him out of it and bring him back to reality. Maybe the problem is her teaching techniques aren't exciting enough. And I never even thought of nor considered it at the time, but maybe Ralph does have an ADD or ADHD problem. Although there is the part of Ralph daydreaming about battling against some Native Americans and this would be cut in later T.V. airings, I just don't focus as much on that and despite racist scenes of certain LT/MM shorts being cut or not aired at all, I'm still giving it a high rating anyway since newer cartoons are still being allowed to include controversial, stereotypical moments to be aired anyway, so whatever.

This short is especially great for being so relatable to anybody who's ever been in the same situation as Ralph. I didn't think about it at the time, but now I think this would be among my favorite Chuck Jones-directed LT/MM cartoons. This was one of the WB cartoons that proved not all of them have to be so full of slapstick, but it is still surrealistic just the same. I can see why it was one of those WB 'toons nominated for Academy Awards for Best Animated Short, it's with the best of not just the '50s and LT/MMs in general, but of all time. I also didn't think much about the various art styles at the time nor was I as picky and even though the art style in this is much different from several, previous shorts before this point, I still consider it at least good, if not as great. The boy from Animaniacs, Colin, who'd always tell stories about a friend of his named Ralph Beaman that may or may not had happened, could've been inspired by Ralph in design, as they're similar-looking and remind me of each other. Everything else about this, from the writing to the animation to the characters to the voice acting is done well. Recommended.

'From A to Z-Z-Z-Z' is a clever, charming and imaginative cartoon that is deserving of more attention. Despite being Oscar-nominated, a high IMDb rating and reviews expressing extreme fondness and adoration, compared to other Chuck Jones cartoons it's not particularly well-known and it's a shame.

It's very well-animated, the drawing of course is sketchier than previous Jones cartoons and the backgrounds more stylised but they don't look cheap or ugly at all. There is some lovely lush use of colour, the backgrounds even when stylised look as though a lot of careful detail went into them and the sketchy drawing style is of the elegant rather than scrappy kind.

Carl Stalling has long been my personal favourite of the regular Looney Tunes composers, his music always elevates cartoons to a greater level and this reviewer has yet to hear a bad score from him. Here in 'From A to Z-Z-Z-Z', fits beautifully and not just adds to the cartoon but enhances it. It's lushly and cleverly orchestrated as always, has a delicious wit, a dream-like whimsy and the rhythms are high in energy and character.

The writing is sharp, whimsical and never misfires, often being hilarious. Ralph's day-dreaming is very imaginatively rendered and never less than highly amusing, especially with the maths. The story is energetically paced and one, particularly anybody known to day-dream or wanting to go on more exciting adventures, will find themselves relating to the story and to Ralph, who is a very charming title character who conveys a surprising wide range of emotions instead of just being adorable.

Voice acting is very good, Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet are always great and Dick Beals more than holds his own.

All in all, a real charmer from Chuck Jones. 10/10 Bethany Cox

While Chuck Jones has been given his just desserts as an animator he is awfully underrated as a filmmaker and should be considered as one of the top directors of all-time regardless of medium. Not only have his works inspired the likes of Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus and Joe Dante but his characters were always human.

In this short we get the most rounded character Chuck Jones ever created not only because he was "Flesh and Blood" but because he (Ralph Phillips) went through a range of emotions (boredom, whimsy, regret, anger, self-indulgence, loneliness) than most of his characters ever did. This film is a testament to Jones's art. In just 21 minutes Chuck Jones created a character who doesn't shine as brightly but is just as memorable as Bugs Bunny.

10/10