Wacky Blackout: Difference between revisions

Wacky Blackout
Wacky Blackout
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Story by	Warren Foster
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Narrated by	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Sid Sutherland
Color process	Black-and-white
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Studios
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Release date	July 11, 1942;
Running time	7:52
Language	English

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Wacky Blackout is a 1942 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.^[1] The short was released on July 11, 1942.^[2]

Plot

The cartoon, set on a farm during World War II, features a series of disconnected gags:

The narrator describes a farmer's preparations for war, including a dog trained to put out fires by spitting.
A cow laments her high milk production, which is taken from her daily.
A turkey tries to lose weight to avoid being cooked for dinner.
Turtle eggs hatch, revealing one turtle claiming to be a jeep.
A blackout-loving dog gets lipstick stains during a blackout prank.
Glum caterpillars cheer up after one gets a retread.
Fireflies practice a blackout, while a turtle is afraid of the dark.
A bird wants to be a dive bomber, mimicking airplane sounds.
The narrator notes that the famous swallows of Capistrano avoid war, but a telegram reveals they are stranded over the ocean.
Elderly carrier pigeons sing about giving their sons to war, while a woodpecker continually pecks a cat's tail.

References

^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 131. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 100–102. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.

External links

Wacky Blackout at IMDb

[Beck-1] Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 131. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

[2] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 100–102. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox film
-| image         = File:Wacky Blackout 190611 LTGC.webm
+| image         = WackyBlackoutTC.png
 | director      = [[Bob Clampett|Robert Clampett]]
 | producer      = [[Leon Schlesinger]]
 | story         = [[Warren Foster]]
 | narrator      = [[Mel Blanc]]
+| starring      =
-| starring      = [[Mel Blanc]]<br />[[Sara Berner]]<br />[[Kent Rogers]]<br />[[Thurl Ravenscroft]] (all uncredited)
-| music         = [[Carl W. Stalling]]<br />[[Milt Franklyn]] (orchestrator) (uncredited)
+| music         = [[Carl W. Stalling]]
-| editing       = [[Treg Brown]] (uncredited)
+| editing       =
-| animator      = [[Sid Sutherland]]<br />[[Rod Scribner]] (uncredited)
+| animator      = [[Sid Sutherland]]
 | studio        = [[Leon Schlesinger Studios]]
-| distributor   = [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.]]
+| distributor   = [[Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.]]
 | released      = {{Film date|1942|7|11}}
 | color_process = [[Black-and-white]]
-| runtime       = 8 minutes
+| runtime       = 7:52
 | language      = English
 }}
-'''''Wacky Blackout''''' is a 1942 [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon directed by [[Bob Clampett]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=131}}</ref> The short was released on July 11, 1942.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |accessdate=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/100/mode/2up |pages=100-102}}</ref>
+'''''Wacky Blackout''''' is a 1942 [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon directed by [[Bob Clampett]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=131}}</ref> The short was released on July 11, 1942.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |accessdate=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/100/mode/2up |pages=100–102}}</ref>
-==Plot synopsis==
+==Plot==
+[[File:Wacky Blackout 190611 LTGC.webm]]
-As with a number of early-1940s ''Looney Tunes'' shorts, the plot consists of a loosely tied collection of [[cutaway gag]]s; in this case, the common theme is life on the home front during [[World War II]].
+The cartoon, set on a farm during [[World War II]], features a series of disconnected gags:
-*The cartoon opens up on a farm, and a narrator (done by [[Mel Blanc]]) shows people how farmers being prepared for any emergency during the war. We see a farmer trying to put out a fire, and the narrator says that the farmer has trained his dog to put out fires. The narrator says that the dog is a "full-blooded [[spitz]]", as the dog puts out the fires by spitting.
+*The narrator describes a farmer's preparations for war, including a dog trained to put out fires by spitting.
-*The narrator then says that a [[cow]] has increased her production and she has given 5000 quarts of milk a day. The cow (voiced by [[Sara Berner]]) then says that they come in and take it from her, and cries. Meanwhile, a baby cow says, "What a performance.".
+*A cow laments her high milk production, which is taken from her daily.
-*A turkey is eating food, and the narrator says that when the turkey reaches 20 pounds, they put him in the oven. The turkey then hears that, and goes to an exercising machine, reading a book on how to lose weight in 18 days.
+*A turkey tries to lose weight to avoid being cooked for dinner.
-*As [[turtle]] eggs get ready to hatch, the narrator says that the turtles are born with a natural bombshell shelter on their backs. Two turtle eggs hatch, and the final one pops out of the shell, zooming around. The turtle stops, and says that he's a [[jeep]], and continues zooming around, laughing in a fashion similar to [[Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner|the Road Runner's]] beeping.
+*Turtle eggs hatch, revealing one turtle claiming to be a jeep.
-*Back on the farm, a dog tries to ask his lover, Marie-Alana, something. The dog wishes there was a blackout. He sees a lightswitch, and yells "BLACKOUT!". After a short blackout, the dog has lipstick stains on his face, and he turns off the lights again, yelling "BLACKOUT!".
+*A blackout-loving dog gets lipstick stains during a blackout prank.
-*Glum [[caterpillars]] appear, as the narrator has no idea why they are glum. Just then, a happy caterpillar comes crawling on-screen. The caterpillar says that he's happy because he just got a [[retread]]. He laughs, and rolls off.
+*Glum caterpillars cheer up after one gets a retread.
-*The narrator says that [[fireflies]] are gonna stage a practice blackout. The fireflies then turn off their lights. Meanwhile, the narrator tells a turtle to go into his shell because it's a blackout, but the turtle doesn't want to. The turtle then climbs into his shell, and the narrator asks him why he didn't want to go into his shell. The turtle then says that he's afraid of the dark. The narrator tells the fireflies that the blackout is over, and all the fireflies turn their lights back on... except for one. The firefly notices and asks the others who stole his bulb, and the one behind him gives his bulb back.
+*Fireflies practice a blackout, while a turtle is afraid of the dark.
-*A mother bird is teaching her son how to fly. After she shows him an example, the bird says that he wants to be a [[dive bomber]]. The bird flies around, mimicking a plane engine, and the mother bird shrugs to the audience.
+*A bird wants to be a dive bomber, mimicking airplane sounds.
-*The narrator says that the only living things to not be affected by the war are the famous swallows of [[San Juan Capistrano, California|Capistrano]]. The narrator also says that the birds return to a mission on a certain day each year. He also says that they are just in time for their return. Just then, a delivery person comes and says that there is a telegram for the audience. The message says (sung by the messenger to the tune of “[[My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean]]”): "We are out over the ocean. We can't even get close to land. We can't fly to Capistrano, past the Fourth Interceptor Command.  Signed, the Swallows".
+*The narrator notes that the famous swallows of Capistrano avoid war, but a telegram reveals they are stranded over the ocean.
-*Elderly carrier pigeons are in their home. The narrator says that they give their sons to the service during each war. Pa says, "Well, Ma...", then the two pigeons start singing "''We did it before and we can do it again''". Then, they watch their sons fly in the sky, heading out to war.
+*Elderly carrier pigeons sing about giving their sons to war, while a woodpecker continually pecks a cat's tail.
-*A running gag in this cartoon is a [[woodpecker]] (voiced by [[Kent Rogers]], doing a [[Red Skelton]] voice) pecking a cat named Old Tom's tail. In gag 5, he says that he pecked the cat's tail again. Near the end of the cartoon, Old Tom says that he ate the woodpecker, and the woodpecker pecks through his stomach.
-==Cast==
-*[[Mel Blanc]] as Narrator, Baby Cow, Baby Turtle, Turkey, Caterpillar, Firefly, Baby Bird, Delivery Person, Male Carrier Pigeon, Old Tom
-*[[Sara Berner]] as Cow, Mother Bird, Female Carrier Pigeon
-*[[Kent Rogers]] as Dog, Turtle, Woodpecker, Baby Bird<ref>[http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/bob-clampetts-a-tale-of-two-kitties-1942/"Bob Clampett's "A Tale of Two Kitties" (1942)"]. Retrieved 2017-01-02.</ref>
-*[[Thurl Ravenscroft]] as Male Carrier Pigeon (singing voice)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartley |first1=Steven |title=Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 374. Wacky Blackout (1942) |url=https://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2015/04/374-wacky-blackout-1942.html |website=Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie |accessdate=27 September 2020 |date=4 April 2015}}</ref>
-==Crew==
-*'''Director:''' [[Bob Clampett|Robert Clampett]]
-*'''Producer:''' [[Leon Schlesinger]]
-*'''Writer:''' [[Warren Foster]]
-*'''Musical Direction:''' [[Carl Stalling|Carl W. Stalling]]
-*'''Orchestrator:''' [[Milt Franklyn]]
-*'''Film Editor:''' [[Treg Brown]]
-*'''Sound Effects:''' Treg Brown
-*'''Animation:''' Sidney Sutherland and Rod Scribner
 ==See also==
@@ Line 63: / Line 47: @@
 [[Category:Looney Tunes shorts]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Bob Clampett]]
-[[Category:American films]]
-[[Category:English-language films]]
-[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
 [[Category:American World War II propaganda shorts]]
 [[Category:1940s American animated films]]
 [[Category:Films scored by Carl Stalling]]
+[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
+[[Category:Films with screenplays by Warren Foster]]
+[[Category:Films produced by Leon Schlesinger]]
+[[Category:Films set on the United States home front during World War II]]
+[[Category:Animated films set on farms]]
+[[Category:American animated black-and-white films]]
+[[Category:English-language war films]]