Sadly Over-hyped

Let's be realistic.

Best movie ever!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

an old fashion animation. that could define it . only at first sigh. because, more than story, for me, three characters are memorable. first - the horse and its fascinating run. the ant. and the gray pig. and, sure, the clock who is the heart of this short animation with its little pigs fans. a film about farm who seduces not exactly for gags but for real good animation. and this is a real good point. and useful. for the child us.

. . . FARM FROLICS is a good bet. Any school text worth its blood-pressure-friendly low-sodium table seasoning will shake out three words explaining each obsolete syllable used by that Avon dude who croaked 400 years ago. (Now that Bill's product line is dying out, perhaps the writings of someone who stuck with timeless words--such as Dr. Seuss--rather than faddish ones will come to the forefront, and Avon will finally stop calling.) If anything, FARM FROLICS is MORE obscure than Shakespeare, since it references lots more people who've been dead since at least the 1900s. Back then, radio supposedly was the dominant U.S. medium, and almost no one had satellite! In the absence of luminaries such as Howard Stern, the Looney Tune people who threw together FARM FROLICS crammed it full of impersonations and catch phrases with the shelf life of soap bubbles. It's like watching a Johnny Carson monologue from New Year's Eve, 999. Do you think that a week later, Here's Johnny or anyone else even remembered anything that happened in years with just three numbers? Whether it's HAMLET or FARM FROLICS, no one can make omelets without breaking any eggs.

Farm Frolics (1941) *** (out of 4)Robert Clampett directed this narrative short, which takes us to the farm where we learn about the various animals and going-ons.There were quite a few of these types of shorts that were released during this period. Tex Avery was a master at them but other director's also did well within the sub-genre. This short benefits from the excellent animation that you've come to expect but there are also a few funny stories along the way. One prime example is the trusted old farmer's dog who gets the newspaper everyday but not for the reason you might expect. There's also a funny bit dealing with some baby pigs gathered around a clock as well as the "quiet" sounds of a mother ant. If you're a fan of these narrative shorts then this here is certainly one of the better ones.

One of the many early Merrie Melodies cartoons existing pretty much as an excuse for a series of narrated sight gags, Bob Clampett's "Farm Frolics" is noticeably tamer than "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" or "A Day at the Zoo", but still provides its fair share of laughs. It's pretty much the same kinds of jokes as Clampett's "Crazy Cruise" the following year. Granted, the jokes are fairly hokey. In my opinion, Tex Avery was the master of spot gags, and Bob Clampett reached his all-time apex with "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery".Still, you gotta imagine how this stuff must have seemed the first time that moviegoers ever watched it. I figure that they very likely cracked up (or at least guffawed). And you'll probably at least chuckle at the gags. Worth seeing. Just came out on DVD on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5.