Scrappyland Recap

Well, what can I say? Jerry Beck’s ASIFA-Hollywood Scrappyland event at the AFI in Hollywood, which took place last Saturday afternoon, was a joy. We may not have had a full house, but the attendees (which included animation-history notables such as Mark Kausler, Milton Gray, Will Ryan, David Gerstein, Ray Poynter, Jere Guildin, Earl Kress, Art Binninger, Larry Loc, and others) packed the room with cartoon knowledge. Dr. Richard Huemer was there to give a warm and funny talk about his dad, Scrappy, George Winkler, and other matters. Our costume contest had only one entrant, but she was a doozy (see below). And after a few words about Scrappy animator Ed Friedman, who had died the day before, Jerry showed us a historic program of Scrappy cartoons.

The lineup of cartoons wadn’t a truly definitive Scrappy retrospective–which would have to include shorts like Let’s Ring Doorbells and The Puppet Murder Case–but it was a splendid selection that included some astonishingly rare examples. I’d only seen two of them before myself. And most of the 35mm restored prints were razor-sharp. (Surprised to hear that Columbia has been restoring Scrappy cartoons? So were we–we have David Gerstein to thank for discovering this fact.)

Here’s what we saw, courtesy of Columbia Pictures (thanks, Mike Schlesinger!) and UCLA:

Sunday Clothes (1931–the third Scrappy cartoon): Scrappy, in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, tries to get to Sunday school. A gag involving a bully building a battering ram by gluing small children together seems weird and disturbing until it’s outdone by a later sequence involving dogs forming themselves into a daisychained canine bridge by sucking on each others’ tails.

The Dog Snatcher (1931): Scrappy, in trying to spring Yippy from prison, kills a dog and dons his skin as a disguise.

Showing Off (1931): Most notable–as far as I’m concerned, anyhow–as the film that David Gerstein analyzed on his pop music page, this short is one of the relatively few in the series to feature Margie. She snubs Scrappy, and eventually pays the price by having her panties set accidentally on fire.

Railroad Wretch (1932): Some misguided soul has allowed Scrappy and Oopy to operate a railroad train. This film’s Peckinpah-like violence–Scrappy spends much of it punching Oopy in the face–provoked audible gasps from the audience.

Fare-Play (1932): An Oopy solo short, unseen in 73 years! Oopy sells lemonade at a fair; when a drunk spikes it, everyone gets sozzled–including Oopy.

The Flop House (1932): One of the most 1930s-ish films to come out of the 1930s. Scrappy operates a home for transient animals. Appalling and funny.

Scrappy’s Party (1933): Scrappy and Oopy throw a party for Scrappy’s birthday. After setting the table and lighting the cake, they invite their friends–including seemingly every 1930s celebrity from Gandhi to Garbo.

The Beer Parade (1933): Unseen in 72 years! Scrappy and Oopy get elves drunk and battle Old Man Prohibition. Probably the greatest cartoon ever made about beer and children.

Scrappy’s Puppet Theater (1936): A short animated/live-action promotional film for the Scrappy Puppet Theater giveaway, which must have been the best-promoted giveaway of its time. Scrappy, in creepily limited and exaggerated animation, introduces child star Edith Fellows (who couldn’t attend Scrappyland, but sent her regards). Edith shows how the puppet Scrappy can fight with the puppet Chinaman. This short was preserved thanks to a donation by Jerry Beck himself.

In My Gondola (1936): A sumptuous but not-very-entertaining Color Rhapsody. The better the production values in a Scrappy cartoon, the less entertaining it tends to be.

Merry Mutineers (1936): Another so-so Color Rhapsody with an inexplicable conceit: Scrappy and Oopy operate toy pirate ships manned by Lilliputian versions of 1930s celebrities.

Is Scrappy funny? Are his films worth rediscovering? The crowd at the show may have been biased, but they seemed to think so: Laughter was plentiful, and I got the feeling that the crowd was frequently surprised by the sheer visual imagination of these cartoons. And they seemed to want more–I heard more than one attendee ask Jerry about a Scrappyland II event.

Finally, some photos from the bash…

This way to Scrappyland:

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I’d say that the array of Scrappy items on display was impressive, except most of it came from my collection, so that would be bragging. I was startled to find not one but two Scrappy lamps in operation (one of mine, one belonging to David Bastian); I’d never had the courage to plug mine in.

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Dr. Richard Huemer:

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Jerry Beck interviews Dr. Huemer:

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The crowd for the panel was an impressive assemblage of animation notables, brought together by their love (or at least grudging tolerance) of Scrappy. From left, Larry Loc, Ray Pointer, Raven Loc (who won multiple prizes for her amazing monochromatic Margie costume), Milton Gray, and David Gerstein.

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Me and a Scrappy movie strip, drawn by Dick Huemer and beautifully colored by a former owner:

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Dr. Huemer with animator/historian Mark Kausler:

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7 comments on “Scrappyland Recap”

  1. HI,
    Glad it went well. Any pictures from the LIVE presentation of the Scrappyland Puppet Theater?
    Thanks.

  2. Hey, howzabout a tip of the hat to the guy that provided all those splendid 35mm prints?

    Mike Schlesinger
    (not given to false modesty!)

  3. Hi, Mike, tip of the hat thoroughly deserved–I amended my posting. And thanks again!

  4. Note to Craig. We have more Scrappyland photos over at the ASIFA Blog. And Harry, thanks for sharing your collection. Oh and my daughter, Raven, had a gray old time.

  5. hey i see you mentioned dave bastian in your scrappy segment.
    do you know how i can reach him? we studied film animation in college at the university of cincinnati. i also wanted to say hello to jerry beck who has been a great help to my animation students at the art institute of philadelphia who has emailed him on some animation history information.
    i have met you a couple of times with dan deneroff at the society for animation studies and the animation celebration in L.A.
    keep up the good work.
    thanks,
    willie moore 320-354-5506cell

  6. Hi,
    I live in Portugal,Lisboa and i wonder if i can buy
    Scrappys DVDs or 16mm movies i can pay through paypal
    if necessary one of those titles in particularly i
    would really want if possible was Scrappy Lets Ring
    Doorbells.
    Thx,
    Best Regards,
    Pedro

  7. Scrappy’s, “In My Gondola” episode, I just watched on the Antenna Channel and it was just great! How beautifully made and funny. New cartoons of today cannot match these older ones in quality and uniqueness. Highly recommend everyone to see “In My Gondola” you have the opportunity, watch it!

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