All Dogs Go to Heaven: What’s Mine Is Yours
I thought this song was lame as hell when I was little, but I always admired the control Charlie had over his band of technicolored orphans. In just two verses he got a group of kids to slavishly chant his doctrine and do his communist bidding – except unlike real Communism, he rewarded them with cake instead of death camps.
Animaniacs: I’m Mad
Dr. Scratchansniff takes the Warners on a car trip and they can’t stop arguing and fighting in the backseat.
This short was originally released theatrically on March 30, 1994. It was was paired with the feature film Thumbelina which ALMOST got me and Johnny to go see it just for the pre-roll toon.
Under the Umbrella Tree
Under the Umbrella Tree featured a diverse set of characters, including the only human cast member Holly Higgins, and puppets Iggy the Iguana, Jacob the Bluejay, and Gloria Gopher who all live together in a home featuring a prominent indoor Umbrella Tree.
There are also various other puppet characters, such as Mrs. McMurtry, the Umbrella Tree gang’s neighbor, and Chuck Chickadee, who is Jacob’s friend. Special guests have also appeared on the program, such as Michelle St. John as the gang’s new neighbour in 1990’s Great Gardening episode.
The program consists of 280 episodes, 270 of which are 15 minutes in length, and there are ten 30-minute specials. There are episodes about baseball, holidays, singing, dancing, exercise, and various other activities.
The show’s characters were created by Ken Sobol, who also wrote the majority of the series episodes. Sobol had previously worked closely with Noreen Young on Readalong and Telefrancais, two other children’s television series.
Characters
* Holly Higgins (Holly Larocque) – The only human cast member. Holly was seen as a parental figure for the three puppet characters. She is known for being funny, artistic, and generous.
* Iggy Iguana (Bob Stutt) – Iggy sleeps on the shelf at the Umbrella Tree residence, and his characteristics include sometimes thinking too highly of himself, and unwillingly making mistakes. He enjoys playing the guitar. He, along with Jacob Bluejay, can be regarded as the klutzes of the gang.
* Gloria Gopher (Noreen Young) – Gloria is the only female puppet in the Umbrella Tree household, and lives and sleeps ‘under the umbrella tree’, which is located behind the couch. It is known as her burrow.
* Jacob Bluejay (Stephen Brathwaite) – Jacob is the only citizen of the Umbrella Tree household capable of flight. He usually sleeps somewhere outdoors, preferably on the patio. Jacob sometimes invents things that seldom work as he plans, which results in a humorous episode.
* Louis Bird (Bob Stutt) – Louis is a friend of the Umbrella Tree gang, usually involved in festivities outside the apartment, or in dialogue within several episodes. He is well known for overusing the term “indeed”, and usually adds the phrase “hmm, indeed!” at the end of his statements.
* Mitzi the Dog (Holly Larocque) Mitzi is Gloria’s best friend who is always seeming to get either herself or Gloria in trouble.
All Dogs Go to Heaven: Let Me Be Surprised
I always thought this movie was a little awkward, and this song is up there in that area all up until the actual main “Let Me Be Surprised” part of the song which is pretty catchy.
Having died, Charlie goes to Heaven by default, despite not having done a single nice thing in his life; as the angelic Heavenly Whippet explains, “unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind”. Dissatisfied at having died before his time, Charlie takes back his ‘life watch’ (a glowing pocket watch) and winds it up again, forsaking his place in Heaven and returning himself to Earth. While he has been returned to life, and cannot die while his life watch still ticks, when it does stop he will be condemned to Hell for eternity. (As the Heavenly Whippet says through the watch, “You can never come back.”)
Cool World Trailer
I never even saw Cool World, but the commercials in 1992 left a lasting impression as they were conversation pieces among my mostly older friends. Probably because it featured cartoon on human sex.
Batman 1966: Death in Slow Motion
The Riddler and his felonious fimmaking cronies (Pauline, C.B., Von Bloheim and Wolf) interrupt a silent film festival of a famous silent film collector Mr. Van Jones dressed as Charlie Chaplin and The Keystone Cops (much to the disgust of Van Jones, who believes the act takes all the attention from the movies!), and steal the box-office receipts! Batman and Robin trace Riddler via one of his Riddles to Mother Gotham’s Bakery, where he not only plans to pilfer its payroll, but film the whole robbery in the style of an old film comedy. The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder rush to the bakery, only to be greeted by its unconscious bookeepers (put to sleep by Riddler’s pies topped with sleeping cream!) and another Riddle left by the already departed King Of Conundrums. This new Riddle leads them to The Baker Street Branch of The Gotham Library (closed on Wednesdays due to lack of funds!), where they are hit over the head by a huge tome–which is also captured in its entirety on camera by The Riddler!
As Riddler and his celluloid comical cohorts view and enjoy the day’s rushes involving their adversaries in an abandoned cutting room of a bankrupt movie studio, The Dynamic Duo speed back to The Batcave to analyze the tome; it contains yet 2 more Riddles which lead our Duo to a Temperance Party (where the only refreshment served is lemonade) being given by Mr. Van Jones. As The Boy Wonder waits outside, The Caped Crusader enters to find that The Riddler has spiked the lemonade with Temper Tonic, causing the goodnatured party to turn into a hot-tempered free-for-all! Once again The Riddler’s ever-present camera crew catches the action. Meanwhile, back at The Batmobile, Pauline, The Riddler’s moll, disguises herself as Little Bo Peep and gasses The Boy Wonder to sleep, kidnapping him and taking him to the abandoned Gotham Lumberyard, where in a matter of minutes a giant buzzsaw threatens to slice him in two!