Back in 2014, we did a show for TCM that featured Van Beuren studio’s Rough on Rats. Today, as I was looking through archive drives for a different film cleanup project, I stumbled upon the standard def transfer of the film, and it looked so lovely I thought it would be fun to write about.

First, in Thunderbean world:

Traveling for Thunderbean:
I’ll be in Chicago this week, then New York the next- it looks like traveling to do this or that is something that will be continuing, at least currently. The New York trip includes a significant scanning session. Haven’t been downtown Chicago in a bit here- but very much looking forward to the trips.

On Special Discs:
We’ve been working to get things organized for the upcoming dubbing festival. Special discs will be fast and furious as the masters are finished. So far I’ve got five built and checked. It looks like, at the moment, eight of the nine we have listed to send in August will indeed be sent this month (including the much anticipated PD Mouse Adventures) with the T-shirts and the Sam Basset set. Ok, Lost media folks, spread the word now! Here’s the link.

Through these years, the special discs sets have been so much fun to do- and made so many things available in decent quality that otherwise probably wouldn’t be. It’s looking like quite a few of more can get finished in September as well.

On Rainbow Parades:
Work has been growing great on this title; We’ll have the set all cleaned up this month and hopefully mastered. We’re down to three films left in progress now. I love how it’s looking, and the bonus features are looking really lovely as well.

And now..onto the cartoon!

In looking to see if I did write about it earlier, I came across a 2014 post from the TCM showing, and smiled seeing the picture sitting with Robert Osbourne when we did that show 10 years back. Robert was a lovely person who put everyone there at ease, even though he was the centerpiece of the day’s shoot. That article is here.

..and here’s what I wrote about Rough on Rats back then:

Rough on Rats (1933). Dir. Harry Bailey. A favorite among the Aesop’s Fables, and the last of the long running series. Rough on Rats is truly a transition film for the studio, not only in ending a series, but in style and animation quality. Well structured and timed, the film has well animated sequences next to very mediocre ones, though all work just fine to convey the story. I was fascinated at just how violent this film was when I first saw it as a teenager. The manic sequence near the end of the film features the tune “Zombie” as these formally helpless kittens torture and ultimately kill their rat tormenter. I do think he deserved it for almost chopping one of them into meat slices. In looking at the films made before this at Van Beuren, the leaps forward in timing, film construction and animation are evident. Still, I think it’s fitting that they end this film with one of the little kitten’s faces coming toward the camera, as is common in so many of the very early Fables.

In the next few weeks I’m going to dig out the ‘Uncensored Animation’ archive drive. I haven’t looked at that stuff in ages, and one of my favorite things about that disc was Mark Kausler’s commentary on Rough On Rats. Listening reminds you of why animation is such a lovely medium: a film is enjoyable for what is it as you’re watching it, but there’s always the ability to take a peek into the time the film was made, not only in the sensibilities of the film, but what it says about culture and the cultural experience the filmmakers reflected on the screen. I’ll dig that out again soon.

Rough on Rats was the last Aesop’s Fable that didn’t feature Cubby Bear, so it’s sort of the last of the series. After working on the Rainbow Parade cartoons as well as watching some of the earlier films more recently, you can really see the progression of the studio, and what animators started to be more sophisticated in their approach and techniques, and what ones were still working in the similar ways they had in the late 20s.

Still, as so many things are going on here with projects, I’m always reminded of the real reason to watch old cartoons: They are enjoyable, and were made to be enjoyed. All the other stuff is secondary and a deeper dive. Sometimes a nice swim is as satisfying as a deeper dive.

Have a good week everyone!