Pagan Moon (1932); Parade of the Award Nominees (1932); Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (1933)

Sorry about the hodgepodge of photos for this, it was the best I could find for such old cartoons. Well, I would say it is a new month and so we have a new book of films, but that doesn't quite correspond to what is happening here. I did have a new book, but instead of new films, I was invited to watch three short animated features from the early 30s. Each unique in their own way, each re-imagined today, each perfect for children, but each just mediocre at best. For this one-of-a-kind entry, I am putting these all together because I watched them together randomly via the internet. Each were on average about five minutes long, so I put them together. For those few die hard readers, enjoy the change of format, for anyone new - well, just enjoy!

Pagan Moon (1931): Oddly, the biggest point of trivia with this musical number using large toothed fish and a pre-King Kong was that it was the same animation from another "Merry Melodies" short entitled Congo Jazz. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or cheated by this re-use, but none the less, this was an interesting music video that employed our little yukalaylee player into high trees and deep into the ocean as he chases after not only his instrument, but also another dancer in Hawaii (almost said jungle there ... whoops). Short, sweet, and too the point - Pagan Moon doesn't really add anything new, but was a fun black and white short to pass the time.

Parade of the Award Nominees (1932): Basically, this was one of those shorts that was never supposed to be released, but was created for one of the Oscar ceremonies to showcase those who were up for the award. It was interesting to watch for two reasons, 1) I didn't realize they did this in the 30s, I knew it was a modern technique used today, but I was not aware of its history and 2) this was the first short where Mickey Mouse was in color. That is pretty wild. Lasting only 3-minutes and using the same background over and over again, nothing much impressive about this except the color use.

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (1933): My first Betty Boop cartoon and the first of these three with any depth at all (and the only story). A doll version of Betty Boop is created and dropped off in a toy shop who comes to life and becomes the vixen of the wooden soldiers in the shop. The toys come to life - via Toy Story - and for the first several minutes it is all about the toy soldiers attempting to get Boop's attention, but then a large stuffed ape comes to life and suddenly we are reliving the King Kong film all over again. Ending rather bleakly (as all the toys become used toys), it was the most fun of the three and one that I could watch again. Semi-steamy, sex-filled, black and white cartoons always seem to impress me.

Found in my "The Essential Monster Movie Guide", these three individually were unique, but overall just mediocre at best. The first two stories were non-existent, and the final just couldn't hold up the rest. While I could watch the Betty Boop one again, it wouldn't be on the top of my list. I wish my nieces would watch Boop, and perhaps I need to get them interested. Other than that, these probably will be forgotten (except for the trivia) within the month. I am going to give these a pink mark. Enjoyable, but not ones that I could watch again and again.