Weekend Children’s Matinee

When I was but a lad, we had about one hour (it might even have been a half hour) of bona fide children’s programming, programming not tied to education and progress, that is, but to almost pure raucous entertainment. For us this was Cap’n Gus (see elsewhere in this blog), who retailed many old theatrical cartoons, especially those of Popeye and Bugs Bunny. It was on his show I first saw many of those old Russian animations, and Cap’n Gus himself brought a dash of ‘moral’ education to his fare. Of course, Saturday mornings all three of the broadcast channels (NBC, ABC, and CBS) were dedicated to cartoons for kids, with a sprinkling of live action, game shows, and mildly educational offerings.

But after twelve o’clock on Saturday, that all faded away, and we would be facing a long desert of an afternoon, especially in summer when it would possibly be far too hot to play outside in the Texas sun. If we were lucky, they might be playing an old comedy or maybe a science-fiction or horror movie (plenty of overlap in those two genres). But even those ‘hand-me-down’ genres were generally films designed for an older generation. Mostly, we wanted more cartoons, something specifically for kid interest.

Well, of course, Disney was the gold standard of animated film, but it never was going to ‘debase their coin’ by allowing it on TV, apart from snippets or shorts shown on the Wonderful World. Disney movies were reserved for theatrical release; keeping them scarce kept value high. But there were several movies produced by other animation studios that were not so successful and which, perhaps to just squeeze a little bit more from them, did appear on network television, some only a few years after being in movie houses. The Japanese films I’ve already mentioned were some of these, but there were others.

By far the oldest and strangest were those from the Max Fleischer Studios. Gulliver’s Travels (1939) is thought to have been made to rival Disney’s Snow White (1937) but was nowhere near as popular. It was the origin of Gabby, a blustering little man who later starred in several of his own shorts. Fleischer also made the multi-titled Hoppity Goes to Town (1942; also called Bugville or Mr. Bug Goes to Town), the story of insects facing the urban ‘upgrade’ of their little plot of earth, along with the story of Hoppity (a rather Jimmy Stewart-like grasshopper) trying to wed the bug of his heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v1vLWDatpA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt53jBURFqU

Then there was Gay Purr-ee (1962), directed by Chuck Jones, which might be considered The Aristocats (1970) before The Aristocats ever came out, even if only because of taking place in France and the obvious resemblance of the romantic duo. I wonder really just who this movie was made for; it contains adult themes that would certainly not be thought of as fit for children today, even if not explicitly expressed. Perhaps it was seen as something both children (cartoon action) and adults (romance … and also a rather seamy side of ‘romance’) could enjoy. YouTube does not have a full cut of the movie, but here’s the villain song:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTiPr2l_6o8

 

The same could be said of the two Hanna-Barbera movies that would sometimes be shown. The Flintstones actually started as an animated show for adults; so it is no surprise that The Man Called Flintstone (1966) was a parody of spy films like the James Bond franchise and had a serious side beyond just enjoyable mayhem and adventure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1pvKyjHEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMkFCQQZlEg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqdMmMhVaR0

The same could be said of Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964) whose main plot engine was driven by Yogi coming to appreciate his girlfriend Cindi and his efforts to get her back, a motivation which might not yet appeal to the children who could be expected to be its main audience. But both had bits that might appeal to the maternal chaperones, Italian love songs that would give the kids a chance to go to the restroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HM1KymaYYk

Anyway, these were movies that were available for our juvenile TV viewing pleasure; some whose appeal was only just slightly above taking a nap. But they were around, and I think they all had their own influence, if only negative. Thus it was in the old days, before we had entire channels dedicated to cartoons, and it took a lot more labor to produce an animated film.