The Great Oscar Baiter

We’ve discussed a lot of bad animated shorts from the 1930s, and they’ve typically been bad for one of two reasons- overly cutesy animation that’s just obnoxious or horrible, horrible racism. Well, I’m glad(?) to say that today’s short, the 1938 film Hunky and Spunky, has neither of those problems. No one could call the film cutesy, and it’s not going to offend anyone. No, Hunky and Spunky manages to be completely unique in how utterly terrible and unwatchable it is. Which is not much of an achievement, but it’s something! (via TV Tropes) Directed by Dave Fleischer, Hunky and Spunky is NOT, despite what the title might lead you to believe, a cartoon about a kind-hearted himbo and a free-spirited gal going on adventures together, nor is it about two muscular gay gentlemen having some sort of erotic romance while going on adventure together. Sorry to disappoint you. Instead, it is the first entry in a series of cartoons about two donkeys, a mother (Hunky) and her son (Spunky). Presuma...

Fellow Oscar Baiters, I have a confession to make. A deep, shameful confession. I am unfamiliar with most of the Fleischer Brothers’ work, from their black-and-white Popeye shorts to pretty much anything featuring Betty Boop. In my defense, I have an excuse (although not a very good one)- most of their work was ignored by the Academy! And yes, I know, I should remember that “the Oscars don’t matter” and “I should watch their shorts anyway” and “what the hell is wrong with me?” and the like. And look, you’re not wrong. But my brain likes organization when it comes to these things (just not in any areas in which organization would be useful ), and it helps to have an easy list of films to choose from when trying to see a wide variety of shorts throughout the years. Not to mention it’s fun to try and figure out exactly why certain shorts got nominated. For instance- why the fuck did the Academy nominate a film like Educated Fish? (via TV Tropes) Released in 1937, Dave and Max Fleischer...

I don’t need to tell you that 2020 was a crazy year, in ways both big and small. One example of the latter category is the fact that there weren't any new releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, in just over a week from now superhero movies are going to come back in a big way, and with that, endless think pieces about how we’re all contributing to the death of cinema by watching them. It’s gonna be a fun six months folks! But of course, superhero movies are nothing new. Although, admittedly, they took different forms back in the day, with serials being the best way to see the adventures of characters like Batman and Superman, both in animation and live action. But only one of those films ever got nominated for an Oscar- the 1941 Fleischer cartoon, simply titled Superman. (via Wikipedia) Also titled The Mad Scientist, Superman was the first in a series of shorts produced for Paramount by Fleischer Studios, who (thanks to their experience on the Popeye series ) were no...