Any Bonds Today? | |
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Directed by | Robert Clampett |
Written by | Robert Clampett |
Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
Animation by | Virgil Ross Robert McKimson Gerry Chiniquy Rod Scribner |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 1:38 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
"Any Bonds Today?" is a song written by Irving Berlin, featured in a 1942 animated propaganda film [1] starring Bugs Bunny. Both were used to sell war bonds during World War II.
"Any Bonds Today?" was based on Berlin's own "Any Yams Today," sung by Ginger Rogers in 1938's Carefree , which in turn was a modified version of "Any Love Today," which he wrote in 1931 but was not recorded. [2]
Berlin wrote the tune "at the request" of Henry Morgenthau Jr., then U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, to promote the Treasury Department's defense bond and savings stamp drive, the National Defense Savings Program. [3] The United States Treasury adopted the piece as the official song of the National Defense Savings Program in 1941. [4] Its copyright, held by Morgenthau, [5] is dated June 16, 1941. [6]
Barry Wood introduced the song (along with another Berlin composition called "Arms for the Love of America") on Arsenal Day, June 10, 1941, at the War College in Washington, D.C.; he also recorded the song in the same week for RCA Victor. [7] Wood's performance of the song was the first broadcast on radio, "in late June 1941"; it was also performed by the Andrews Sisters, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Dick Robertson, Kay Kyser, [6] and Gene Autry in the 1942 film Home in Wyomin'.
Berlin signed over his royalty payments from the song to the war bond drive, as he did with several of his songs during the war. [8]
The 90-second cartoon, commissioned by the Treasury, was designed to encourage movie theater audiences to buy defense bonds and stamps. Its title card identifies it as Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny, [1] but it is more widely known as "Any Bonds Today?" It was neither considered a Looney Tunes nor Merrie Melodies cartoon and was not part of the Bugs Bunny series (but a spin-off).
Bob Clampett wrote and directed the film, which started production in late November 1941 and was completed eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. [9] According to an article of The Hollywood Reporter , it took three weeks to complete. Counting from the drawing of the first sketch to the shipping of the first print. [1] The paper reported that production would typically last two months. It was reportedly produced "free of charge". [1]
In it, Bugs Bunny approaches the audience while fife-playing "The Girl I Left Behind Me" on his carrot. He then sings a portion of Berlin's song against a patriotic backdrop, at one point going into a blackface parody of Al Jolson. [10] For the song's last refrain, he is joined by Porky Pig in a Navy uniform, and Elmer Fudd in Army garb. The short ends with a graphic encouraging the audience "For defense, buy United States Savings Bonds and Stamps". [11] Another graphic briefly followed, reminding audiences they could buy bonds and stamps "At This Theatre".
Because the short was made for the U.S. government, the short is automatically in the public domain in the United States.
The cartoon was initially conceived to promote the sales of "defense bonds", which were renamed war bonds by the spring of 1942. [11] Between feature films, or between the feature films and the animated shorts, the lights of the movie theater would come on and ushers would collect monetary contributions from the audience, to help finance the war effort. [12] Bonds and stamps were also available at the box office on a daily basis- "including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays"- for the duration of the conflict.
Any Bonds Today? is also one of five cartoons featuring the Elmer Fudd modeled after his voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan, which is fatter than the popular incarnation.
Bugs Bunny is a fictional character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior.
What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 American Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on July 6, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the companion series to Looney Tunes, and featured many of the same characters. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it was revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.
Michael Maltese was an American story man for classic animated cartoon shorts. He is best known for working in the 1950s on a series of Merrie Melodies cartoons with director Chuck Jones. This collaboration produced many highly acclaimed animated shorts, including 4 of the top 5 "greatest cartoons" as judged by 1000 animation professionals; "What's Opera, Doc?" tops this list as the best animated short of all time.
The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon, released on July 5, 1941, and featuring Bugs Bunny and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery, written by Michael Maltese, animated by soon-to-be director Robert McKimson, and with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. In a style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.
Wabbit Twouble is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and released on December 20, 1941, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
All This and Rabbit Stew is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on September 13, 1941, and features Bugs Bunny.
The Wabbit Who Came to Supper is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. It was released on March 28, 1942, and directed by Friz Freleng.
Hare Remover is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, released in 1946. The film was the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to be directed by Frank Tashlin, the first being The Unruly Hare (1945). It was also the last short Tashlin directed before leaving Warner Bros. in 1944 to direct live-action films. His animation unit was handed over to Robert McKimson upon his departure.
What's Cookin' Doc? is a 1943-produced, 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett, and stars Bugs Bunny. The short was also written by Michael Sasanoff, and was animated by Robert McKimson, along with uncredited work by Rod Scribner, Phil Monroe and Virgil Ross. The film was released on January 8, 1944.
Stage Door Cartoon is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on December 30, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
The Unruly Hare is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Frank Tashlin and written by Melvin Millar. The cartoon was released on February 10, 1945 and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The film was one of only two Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Frank Tashlin at Warner Bros., the other being 1946's Hare Remover.
Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".
Blitz Wolf is a 1942 American animated propaganda short film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A parody of the Three Little Pigs told via a World War II perspective, the short was directed by Tex Avery and produced by Fred Quimby. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons but lost to Der Fuehrer's Face, another anti-Nazi World War II parody featuring Donald Duck.
Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He speaks in an unusual way, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws, so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as a "scwewy" or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter.
Bacall to Arms is a 1946 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series short planned by Bob Clampett and finished by Arthur Davis, in his second-to-last cartoon at Warner Bros. The short was released on August 3, 1946.
World War II changed the possibilities for animation. Prior to the war, animation was mostly seen as a form of family entertainment. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a turning point in its utility. On December 8, 1941, the United States Army began working with Walt Disney at his studio, stationing Military personnel there for the duration of the war. The Army and Disney set about making various types of films for several different audiences. Most films meant for the public included some type of propaganda, while films for the troops included training and education about a given topic.
Events in 1941 in animation.