joeblev

I found myself laughing a lot during "Beaver The Bunny," so I was surprised to go online and find that it's actually a widely disliked episode of the series. Sure, Beaver is a little too old to be wearing a bunny costume for a school pageant, but that adds to the comedy because he's more acutely aware of how embarrassing the situation is. I like how stressed-out the teacher is and how much of a sleazy, unreliable jerk Lumpy is. And, as A Christmas Story proved decades later, there's just something inherently funny about bunny costumes, especially when they're worn reluctantly.

So, no, this "Beaver" does not jump any sharks. I hate that term anyway

This is one of those odd cartoons which tend to stick with you from childhood. What I mainly remembered about it was Mel Blanc's Charles Laughton-type king, an overstuffed glutton with enormous lips and an insatiable demand for hasenpfeffer. When I revisited it as an adult, I was surprised to find how (relatively) recent it was. Clearly, this is a later-period Bugs Bunny cartoon. The whole thing looks and sounds a little chintzy and low-budget, not nearly as lush as the Looney Tunes of previous decades. But you know what? The darned thing still works, namely due to the acting and writing. Blanc is very funny in all three roles here (there are only 3 speaking parts, along with a couple of mute, bumbling guards who add some nice pantomime comedy). I especially liked the opening sequence, with Yosemite Sam making his way up the long, winding path to the castle and grumbling to himself the whole time. I guess the very idea of Sam as a royal chef is funny, since it's so alien to his nature.

Yes, you read right. "BOO" (1932) is a delightfully _unfunny_ little movie. How is that possible? Well, the narration is really, painfully lame... so lame, in fact, that it had me laughing hysterically. The narrator is just so darned enthusiastic, so sure he's being delightful, that you have to marvel at his blissful ignorance. After I saw "BOO," I couldn't help but imitate him. ("He's just like Congress!" "He's like a female automobile driver!") Add to this the "wacky" editing tricks -- endlessly repeated -- and you have the recipe for comic perfection. I think if I had seen this when I was 8 years old, I might have thought it was just about the funniest thing in the world. Seeing it as an adult, the movie's UNFUNNINESS is itself funny. It seems like a contradiction in terms, but you'll understand when you see it. You should have the DVD of "Frankenstein" in your collection anyway. Universal's done a beautiful job with it.