Mother Goose Goes Hollywood

1938
6.3| 0h8m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 23 December 1938 Released
Producted By: Walt Disney Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Various Mother Goose rhymes are portrayed by Hollywood stars for example, Old King Cole's fiddlers three are the Marx Brothers, and Humpty Dumpty is W.C. Fields, who falls while tormenting Charlie McCarthy; Simple Simon and the Pieman are Laurel and Hardy.

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" is an American 8-minute cartoon from 1938 and this one was nominated for an Oscar from a time when Disney was truly dominant, was nominated for 4 out of 5 Oscars in the cartoon category and of course also had the winner that wasn't this one here though. I can see why people quite loved this one back then as it was a nice tribute to the industry including cartoon versions of many of the big stars back then, which made this film also really popular beyond the cartoon industry of course. But the problem today is that when you watch it, you will know hardly anybody unless you really are familiar with stars and movies from that time. But above-average won't be enough as recognizing the names and guessing like "this could be x and that may be y" won't be enough and you may also want to know what makes them who they are, their routines, their trademarks etc. And I'd say only 1% of audiences will be on that level and judging from the ones I recognized (Laurel and Hardy), their scenes honestly aren't that funny compared to their live action selves. But maybe the other ones I couldn't identify are funnier. I wouldn't bet on it. This approach also takes a bit away from the Mother Goose story appeal, the other area where this film tries to make an impact. Overall, it may be the weakest nominee at the Oscars in its category back then. I give it a thumbs-down. Don't watch.
tavm I just recently (as of today) discovered a blog devoted to Cab Calloway called The Hi-De-Ho Blog. One section showcases caricatures of the legendary entertainer in various cartoons from Max Fleischer (whose shorts Cab actually was involved in), Warner Bros., M-G-M, and this one from Walt Disney in which Mother Goose characters are depicted as Hollywood celebrities. Mr. Calloway is one of the "four blackbirds in a pie sequence" and while that may have an unfortunate stereotypical connotation (which may be true of some of the white celebrities too), seeing "Cab", "Fats", and "Louis" do their musical stuff was enjoyable. The only real negative portrayal of an African-American here was that of the lazy, shiftless, Stepin Fetchit character. Other depictions of celebrities I liked were that of W.C. Fields with Charlie McCarthy with Fields as Humpty Dumpty, The Marx Brothers sans Zeppo as the Fidlers Three (Harpo appears here as a redhead and not a blonde), and Laurel and Hardy as Simple Simon and the Pieman with welcome use of Marvin Hatley's L & H musical theme "The Cukoo Song (Dance of the Cukoos)". If there's one celebrity that may be obscure even to old movie buffs, it might be that of Joe Penner whose catchphrase "Wanna buy a duck?" anticipates a very familiar Disney character. So despite some negative stereotypical characterizations, I recommend Mother Goose Goes Hollywood for any animation buff especially those of old-time movie star caricatures.
Coolguy-7 This was a wonderful idea for a Disney (or non-Disney)cartoon. It was very creative to portray the latest Hollywood stars as characters from the classic nursery rhymes. I was reading someone else's comments and they mentioned that understanding this short's humor would take a lot of knowledge of the Hollywood stars of the 30's. I do agree with them. Many of those stars were unknown to me, but I could identify quite a few of them. Let's see! There was Katherine Hepburn portrayed as Little Bo Peep. W.C. Fields is portrayed as Humptey Dumpty with the puppet Charlie McCarthey making clever jokes about him. In the nursery rhyme about the seesaw, there was Edward G. Robinson and Greta Garbo going up and down. Simple Simon was portrayed by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was the pieman. The scene at the beginning is humorous where Mother Goose takes the place of the MGM lion. Then, there is a disclaimer that reads: ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONALITIES PORTRAYED IN THIS PICTURE, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.
Squonk This Disney animated short puts Hollywood stars of the 1930's into roles from Mother Goose stories. For example W.C. Fields is Humpty Dumpty and the Marx Brothers are the fidlers three. I'm sure much of this film's humor depended on a knowledge of the stars of the day. Today it's just not as amusing. Still, the animation is wonderful. Donald Duck does make a cameo appearance. The version Disney shows on TV has obviously had pieces edited.