Of course, before we dive in, I have to confess I have a more-than-normal love for Scrappy cartoons, and the best of them I’m more fond of than the most beautifully animated Technicolor Disney short (with The Old Mill (37) being an exception). I know some of you are Scrappy die-hards like myself – so you’ll understand. While I’ll admit this isn’t one of the most rounded-out cartoons of all time, it’s an enjoyable effort, and one we haven’t ever talked about here.
Dick Huemer really should be considered one of the great writers of early animation, even if he didn’t think much of his Scrappy cartoons in the years following their release. The Great Bird Mystery (1932) may or may not be a classic, depending on your opinion, but if one does a slightly deeper dive, you can observe some pretty complicated themes being explored: bullying, philanthropy, overpopulation, the unfairness and indifference of the US court system and being framed for murder. What I especially love about the Scrappy’s from this period is that they’re both really dark in themes and, at the same time, enthusiastically happy. While I really enjoy the other better-known films that have the theme of birds being killed by arrows — Disney’s later Who Killed Cock Robin (1935) and Fleischer’s Song of the Birds (1935)— both cartoons don’t approach the denseness of story elements included in this otherwise innocent-seeming 6 minutes.
Scrappy and Oopy merrily build a bird house, with one particular little bird trying to get first dibs. Sadly, as soon as the house is finished, a gaggle of home-seeking birds take it over, destroying it- but still populating its now exploded husk. Our little hero bird, still homeless, is continually harassed by a large, mean, Simon-Legree-esque bird with a top hat (I can relate!) who threatens to kill him with an arrow. Scrappy comes to try and save the day, so the top-hatted bird bends the arrow and pretends he’s been shot dead by it, placing the bow in the confused little bird’s hands. Scrappy screams “Who Killed Cock Robbin?!?!” And hauls the framed little bird off the court, with the bird on the bent arrow in tow. I won’t give away the ending, but I wonder what world Scrappy and Oopy are now living in where they can walk into animal court and be first up for trial. Sometimes I wonder if all the adventures Scrappy and Oopy are having are all in their imaginations. It would make a lot of these plots make a lot more sense.
Fleischer’s Popeye cartoons have, at times, had as much going on in terms of human tragedy, and UPA’s Rooty Toot Toot (51) also has a lot of mature themes going on in story ideas, but Huemer sure knew how to pack a lot into a plot. This sort of feels like three different cartoons in some ways. The animation is top-notch in this one, with well-executed camera moves and lots of action. While there’s a few Fleischer-esque details in the picture, it’s not so densely populated with gags as some other cartoons are, but it’s really pretty interesting to see a cartoon with so many plot turns in the space of just over half a reel.
Hopefully there’s less Simon-Legree Cock Robins in all our lives. I think I’ve managed to rid my life of them at the moment, and I hope yours aren’t requiring you to be properly dressed.
Have a good week everyone!
