Academy Awards Short Films 1931-1969 Discussion Thread

[CMWaters]

So here's a little project that's come to mind. Back in the golden age of animation, when shorts were put in theaters before movies, there were a select few that were that were chosen for the Academy Awards starting for the 1931/32 ceremony.

I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and every Sunday I'll put up a year of the awards with the winner and the nominees, and we can discuss if the winner deserved it or one of the nominees...or if you would suggest a different short entirely.

We start with 1931/1932 (that's how it's listed on Wikipedia.

The winner that year was "Flowers and Trees" from Disney (the first cartoon in Technicolor)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NKcsg8vE_U

Other nominees were "It's Got Me Again" from Warner Bros.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx62n_JIULE

And...in a case of going against yourself (this would happen often in the early days): Mickey's Orphans from Disney.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2S1eJFRM5Q

So yeah. Short list, and it wouldn't be until the 40s when we'd get more than 3 or so nominees...but that's for a few Sundays from now. For this week, let's start the discussion with the inaugural winner and nominees.

[Mandarin Dessert Version 0]

I am kinda wondering whether it having color was the main reason "Flowers & Trees" won (though it is still an entertaining short in its own right).

Kinda funny that after Piggy (who kinda came across as Warner Bros. attempt to rip off Mickey Mouse) they actually had a short that came across even more as them taking inspiration from Disney (wasn't the Mickey Mouse short "When The Cat's Away" kinda similar to "It's Got Me Again"?)

Have to say, when I saw the title "Mickey's Orphans" I got it confused with "Orphan's Benefit" at first.

Anywho, a nice project you got there Chris and I hope you have the energy to continue.

[tirtefaa]

I know we have the power of hindsight, but this category always seemed like a joke to me. Yeah, some great animated shorts won, but many many times, they routinely awarded cartoons that were far less influential.

Like, it's completely understandable why Disney won a lot of those early awards since the animation was far and away the best in regards to what usually got nominated.

But by the time you get to the 1940's?

MGM's The Milky Way beats Warner's A Wild Hare and MGM's Puss Gets the Boot in 1940...you know...the introduction of Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry. Those were the only three nominees that year. Fred Quimby the animation producer of MGM, and a complete totalitarian collected several more Oscars, mostly for Tom and Jerry cartoons, that while some were classics, most of the time it was more of the same.

In 1941, a routine sentimental Disney cartoon starring Pluto called Lend a Paw beat the cutting edge animation of Paramount's Superman.

By the time Warner actually won an award in 1947, it was for Tweetie Pie...I guess the Academy really enjoyed cats being beaten up by smaller animals.

By the time you get to the 50's, the Academy started awarding experimental animated projects and the art style became secondary to everything else. Outside of MGM's The Two Musketeers and Warner's Birds Anonymous and Knighty Knight Bugs, every other winner was pretty weak. Even Disney started ripping off UPA's bland style. By the time you get to the 60's, it's almost entirely experimental one offs or educational.

[CMWaters]

Aug 22, 2022 3:42:24 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

I am kinda wondering whether it having color was the main reason "Flowers & Trees" won (though it is still an entertaining short in its own right).

Might be more true for next year's offering, but that's a story for next Sunday.

[CMWaters]

Aug 22, 2022 4:54:52 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

I know we have the power of hindsight, but this category always seemed like a joke to me. Yeah, some great animated shorts won, but many many times, they routinely awarded cartoons that were far less influential.

Like, it's completely understandable why Disney won a lot of those early awards since the animation was far and away the best in regards to what usually got nominated.

But by the time you get to the 1940's?

MGM's The Milky Way beats Warner's A Wild Hare and MGM's Puss Gets the Boot in 1940...you know...the introduction of Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry. Those were the only three nominees that year. Fred Quimby the animation producer of MGM, and a complete totalitarian collected several more Oscars, mostly for Tom and Jerry cartoons, that while some were classics, most of the time it was more of the same.

In 1941, a routine sentimental Disney cartoon starring Pluto called Lend a Paw beat the cutting edge animation of Paramount's Superman.

By the time Warner actually won an award in 1947, it was for Tweetie Pie...I guess the Academy really enjoyed cats being beaten up by smaller animals.

By the time you get to the 50's, the Academy started awarding experimental animated projects and the art style became secondary to everything else. Outside of MGM's The Two Musketeers and Warner's Birds Anonymous and Knighty Knight Bugs, every other winner was pretty weak. Even Disney started ripping off UPA's bland style. By the time you get to the 60's, it's almost entirely experimental one offs or educational.

All interesting points to come across when we get to those respective years (including talking about shorts that weren't even nominated, like "One Froggy Evening").

And slight spoiler...Disney wins the entire 1930s.

[tirtefaa]

The more depressing note for me is that Max Fleischer never won, despite putting out in my opinion the most beautiful animation in that era.

[CMWaters]

Aug 22, 2022 6:27:37 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

The more depressing note for me is that Max Fleischer never won, despite putting out in my opinion the most beautiful animation in that era.

I may be commenting on that when we get to 1936 (maybe, have to watch the two non-Fleischer ones that year first).

[CMWaters]

Week 2 (day late because I was doing stuff yesterday).

We move on to the 1932-1933 season. Once more, only three nominees. Once more, Disney wins. Once more, Disney runs against itself.

The winner was Disney's "Three Little Pigs"...which I may argue only won because of color, despite a rather dark joke in the background in the brick house about the "father" of the pigs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs6_0g8RHA

Runner ups were the Mickey short "Building a Building" (had to use DailyMotion as the YouTube versions change the audio)
www.dailymotion.com/video/x6k6d47

And a sort of fight against self even if Disney didn't own the rights anymore, the Oswald short "The Merry Old Soul" (warning, some racist caricatures here):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odot_wCLoKo

[Mandarin Dessert Version 0]

The Three Little Pigs...a short so popular they got three sequels for it (with one even being supposed to be the start for their own cartoon short series).

For years as a child, they were also the first that came to mind when I heard the story of the three little pigs.

[CMWaters]

Aug 29, 2022 5:59:20 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

The Three Little Pigs...a short so popular they got three sequels for it (with one even being supposed to be the start for their own cartoon short series).

For years as a child, they were also the first that came to mind when I heard the story of the three little pigs.

Oddly for me, I saw the MUCH later short "Three Little Bops" before I saw this Three Little Pigs short.

[tirtefaa]

Aug 29, 2022 6:03:47 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Aug 29, 2022 5:59:20 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

The Three Little Pigs...a short so popular they got three sequels for it (with one even being supposed to be the start for their own cartoon short series).

For years as a child, they were also the first that came to mind when I heard the story of the three little pigs.

Oddly for me, I saw the MUCH later short "Three Little Bops" before I saw this Three Little Pigs short.

That was Freleng's second attempt at a Three Little Pigs short after Pigs in a Polka...which while okay, it was the case of Friz reusing his old gags, something he was absolutely notorious for Pigs in a Polka was mostly recycled ideas from Rhapsody in Rivets). But Three Little Bops is an absolute classic.

Kind of funny that they wouldn't do a Three Little Pigs with Porky, as they could easily do a very easy cartoon based on his star alone.

[Mandarin Dessert Version 0]

Aug 29, 2022 6:03:47 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Aug 29, 2022 5:59:20 GMT -5 Mandarin Dessert Version 0 said:

The Three Little Pigs...a short so popular they got three sequels for it (with one even being supposed to be the start for their own cartoon short series).

For years as a child, they were also the first that came to mind when I heard the story of the three little pigs.

Oddly for me, I saw the MUCH later short "Three Little Bops" before I saw this Three Little Pigs short.

Odd fact that I only noticed while watching the Three Little Pigs short recently on Disney+:

-It appears that for years, at least on a show on German TV called "The Adventures Of Micky And Donald" (which was a half-hour show consisting of three animated Disney shorts incl. the Silly Symphonies and stuff and which was usually a part of the German "Disney Afternoon" program), they still used this old version of the disguise the Big Bad Wolf used at the end:

Cue my surprise when I saw the short on Disney+ and that disguise looked much differently (though I have read up on it and know now why they changed it).

[CMWaters]

Aug 29, 2022 6:35:26 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Aug 29, 2022 6:03:47 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Oddly for me, I saw the MUCH later short "Three Little Bops" before I saw this Three Little Pigs short.

That was Freleng's second attempt at a Three Little Pigs short after Pigs in a Polka...which while okay, it was the case of Friz reusing his old gags, something he was absolutely notorious for Pigs in a Polka was mostly recycled ideas from Rhapsody in Rivets). But Three Little Bops is an absolute classic.

Kind of funny that they wouldn't do a Three Little Pigs with Porky, as they could easily do a very easy cartoon based on his star alone.

We'll be getting to Pigs in a Polka since IIRC it was a nominee one year.

As for Porky not being a Three Little Pigs adaptation, which one of the pigs would you have him be (if not all three)?

[tirtefaa]

Aug 29, 2022 6:37:56 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

As for Porky not being a Three Little Pigs adaptation, which one of the pigs would you have him be (if not all three)?

Easy..the third pig. Porky was usually rather meticulous and wholesome, so him telling the other two to be more careful would make sense, while the first and second pigs would be loud, abrasive and arrogant. The cartoon writes itself!

[CMWaters]

Aug 29, 2022 6:41:07 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Aug 29, 2022 6:37:56 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

As for Porky not being a Three Little Pigs adaptation, which one of the pigs would you have him be (if not all three)?

Easy..the third pig. Porky was usually rather meticulous and wholesome, so him telling the other two to be more careful would make sense, while the first and second pigs would be loud, abrasive and arrogant. The cartoon writes itself!

Hmm, sounds like a plausible idea. Maybe with the straw and sticks pigs not listening to Porky due to the stutter too.

[tirtefaa]

Yeah, they could be his big brothers who bully him or something, and Porky saves the day in the end. This probably would work with a pre 1940 Porky very well.

[theironyuppie]

Aug 29, 2022 5:31:14 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Week 2 (day late because I was doing stuff yesterday).

We move on to the 1932-1933 season. Once more, only three nominees. Once more, Disney wins. Once more, Disney runs against itself.

The winner was Disney's "Three Little Pigs"...which I may argue only won because of color, despite a rather dark joke in the background in the brick house about the "father" of the pigs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs6_0g8RHA

Runner ups were the Mickey short "Building a Building" (had to use DailyMotion as the YouTube versions change the audio)
www.dailymotion.com/video/x6k6d47

And a sort of fight against self even if Disney didn't own the rights anymore, the Oswald short "The Merry Old Soul" (warning, some racist caricatures here):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odot_wCLoKo

Three Little Pigs was legitimately a cultural phenomenon, though. It was massively popular and widely perceived as an optimistic response to the Great Depression (one North Carolina newspaper wrote that the pigs "built a sturdier house from the ruins and gave the big, bad wolf hell....And that is what America is at last giving the depression."", with 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Woof?" becoming a hit song.

[CMWaters]

Aug 29, 2022 7:36:01 GMT -5 theironyuppie said:

Aug 29, 2022 5:31:14 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Week 2 (day late because I was doing stuff yesterday).

We move on to the 1932-1933 season. Once more, only three nominees. Once more, Disney wins. Once more, Disney runs against itself.

The winner was Disney's "Three Little Pigs"...which I may argue only won because of color, despite a rather dark joke in the background in the brick house about the "father" of the pigs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs6_0g8RHA

Runner ups were the Mickey short "Building a Building" (had to use DailyMotion as the YouTube versions change the audio)
www.dailymotion.com/video/x6k6d47

And a sort of fight against self even if Disney didn't own the rights anymore, the Oswald short "The Merry Old Soul" (warning, some racist caricatures here):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odot_wCLoKo

Three Little Pigs was legitimately a cultural phenomenon, though. It was massively popular and widely perceived as an optimistic response to the Great Depression (one North Carolina newspaper wrote that the pigs "built a sturdier house from the ruins and gave the big, bad wolf hell....And that is what America is at last giving the depression."", with 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Woof?" becoming a hit song.

Good point about the song thing. This may come up again when we get to 1942 in that year's winner.

[theironyuppie]

This feels like a good fit for the thread:

[CMWaters]

New week, so we now move to 1934's awards (finally just one year at a time).

The winner was Disney's Silly Symphony "The Tortoise and the Hare". We get a hint of how Sonic may have moved if he was a 1930s cartoon character. XD Plus, this did have influence for the Warner Bros. cartoons in the near future, with the short "Gold Diggers of '49", as well as potentially the design of their biggest star.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DrKmpuKhKE

The other nominees were Mintz's "Holiday Land"...which I think a young Tim Burton may have taken some inspiration from:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mt9Sht_Q-U

And Lantz's "Jolly Little Elves" (don't pay any mind to the Woody Woodpecker bit beforehand)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfW2Hugw2z0