Hot 888 Mama
. . . Warner Brothers portrays Mickey Mouse as a swaggering fop in LADY, PLAY YOUR MANDOLIN! From the title of this "Merrie Melodies" cartoon short, you can tell that Warner's version of Mickey is not making a gentlemanly request, but issuing a misogynistic command. Six sheets to the wind from guzzling a gallon of then-outlawed booze, Mickey's stand-in rodent already has punched out his horse before summoning his surrogate Minnie (beating BLAZING SADDLES' "Mongo" by nearly half a century in accomplishing this equestrian feat). While complying with Master Mouse's directive, Minnie comes off like some kind of cheap stripper, as she warbles a verse which mostly rhymes the word "poop" with nonsense syllables. Because of LADY, PLAY YOUR MANDOLIN!, 10 of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories are still under copyright, and will be forever, along with every other word and doodle that the world has produced since Steamboat Willie's advent in 1925. That's what happens when you make a mouse roaring mad with a mandolin!
Lee Eisenberg
The first Merrie Melody cartoon becomes funny once you realize the historical context. "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!" was released during prohibition, but features a bunch of characters drinking themselves stupid (those cartoons loved inebriation, didn't they?). Otherwise, you can see that the Termite Terrace crowd was only getting started, so you can forgive them for creating something that looks too much like a Disney cartoon; they got really good when they deliberately tried to be the anti-Disney. There's a reason that Foxy didn't get as well known as Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer, etc. But at least the existence of this cartoon paved the way for the Looney Tunes.
evanston_dad
This bizarre cartoon short is more disturbing than anything. The animation is creepy, and the content is rather adult for the art form. A bunch of unidentifiable animals (I know I saw a gorilla, and maybe some foxes?) drink it up until they're soused, and a grand finale consists of a horse exploding while a bunch of rowdy saloon customers dance around it maniacally. The songs are annoying, a quality not helped by the fact that they stick to your head like glue (I caught myself humming one of them in the shower). If I had seen this come on the screen as a little kid, I probably would have wanted to crawl under my seat and hide.This is on the DVD release of "Little Caesar," if you're interested in seeing it for yourself.
boblipton
The first credited Merrie Melody is a poor effort. The animation is repetitive, the gags poor -- one involves a character's dentures coming out on an armature and acting like a castanet -- and the songs -- "Lady, Play Your Mandolin" and "I Am A Gay Caballero" are sung in annoying cartoon voices.
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