Hot 888 Mama
. . . for an arm, leg, or tail from time to time? If "anthropomorphism" is the art of attributing animal characteristics to criminals, certainly the term "Zoolaunderlimericks" can be used to denote "Alfalfa's" mistaking a fish for his shin (an anagram of "Nish," which brings to mind "knish," the more popular of which are filled with fish) during the "Our Gang" episode FISHY TALES. Noted Real Life shrink "Oliver Baggy" will tell you that Alfalfa's strange misperception during FISHY TALES is not as bad as mistaking your wife for a hatpin. At least you can eat a fish. (Purists might argue that this would constitute cannibalism, but who's counting?) Within a few years of FISHY TALES' release, "Dr. Seuss" would break into the entertainment industry by writing rhyming narrations for U.S. Army boot camp "training"\propaganda cartoons. This arrangement, funded by U.S. taxpayers and War Bonds (not to be confused with "Ward Bond") , was NOT a "match made in Heaven." Bradley, Patton, MacArthur & Co. would have been better off if "Spanky" heard a "Who," not Hitler. FISHY TALES may have inspired the Good Doctor's "Private Snafu," but "Run, Alfalfa, run!!" does not sound like a winning War Cry.
Leofwine_draca
FISHY TALES is an amusing short from the OUR GANG crowd. Alfalfa is in this one and takes part in the film's funniest scene in which he pretends to have damaged legs much to the amazement over the other kids. Otherwise the story is about a competition in which the kids shoot arrows with rubber suction caps on the end, only to fall foul of a bully when a shot goes awry.At just eleven minutes this is a very short comedy in which the gags barely have time to register. I think perhaps too much was crammed into the running time so the pacing appears to be a little too fast for the humour to really register. It would have been better for the team to just focus on a single set-piece rather than trying to do too much. Still, it's worth it just to see the kids in action once more.
Ron Oliver
An OUR GANG Comedy Short.Bully Butch has threatened great bodily harm to Alfalfa. Now it's up to Spanky's FISHY TALES to convince Butch that Alfalfa is in bed with a dislocated leg & is unable to fight...A humorous little film. Highlights include the `William Tell' episode -with Buckwheat as the target - and the cats n' crabs.
Squonk
During an exhibition of his shooting abilities, Alfalfa accidentally shoots Butch with a suction cup dart. Butch, of course, wants to fight, so to get out of it Alfalfa fakes a leg injury. A newly caught fish, courtesy of Buckwheat, is used to simulate the bum leg. 'Fishy Tales' has some good situations for comedy, but they are delivered too quickly. The humor never has much of a chance to develop. Alfalfa still provides a few good laughs during the scene in which Butch examines the bum leg, though.
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