Synopsis
Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment present the UPA Jolly Frolics Collection. This three-disc set includes 38 theatrical cartoons from the most critically-acclaimed cartoon studio of the 1950s. Presented for the first time on DVD, these classic cartoons have been re-mastered - with as many of the original theatrical titles restored as possible - making the collection a desirable addition to any animation and classic movie fan's DVD library. Released theatrically by Columbia Pictures, the cartoon shorts produced by UPA (United Productions of America) were revolutionary, adopting the contemporary graphics of Modern design and offering non-traditional, provocative storytelling. Giving the animators at Disney, MGM and Warner Bros. a run for their money, UPA earned six nominations and three Academy Awards , and among their classic one-shot cartoons they adapted stories by James Thurber (A Unicorn in the Garden) and Edgar Allan Poe (The Tell-Tale Heart -narrated by James Mason). The studio tried to avoid repetition, but nevertheless presented two long-lasting characters in Gerald McBoing-Boing (created by Dr. Seuss) and the near-sighted Mr. Magoo, whose first cartoon - Ragtime Bear -- is also included in the UPA Jolly Frolics Collection. (Robin Hoodlum, 1948) The King appoints the Crow to be the new Sheriff of Nottingham and demands that he catch the outlaw Robin Hood (played by the Fox.) (The Magic Fluke, 1949) When dance band leader Lips Fox leaves his drummer (the Crow) behind to become Foxini, the highfalutin conductor at Corneggy Hall, his former partner gives him a magician's magic wand to use as a conductor's baton. (Ragtime Bear, 1949) In the first Mr. Magoo cartoon, the near-sighted Magoo mistakes a banjo-playing bear for his nephew Waldo while vacationing at the Hodge Podge Lodge. (Punchy De Leon, 1950) In 1503, the King of Spain posts a reward for proof of the Fountain of Youth, so the Fox and the Crow travel to Florida to retrieve it. (The Miner's Daughter, 1950) Clementine, the daughter of a crusty gold prospector, falls for John Harvard, who stakes a claim too close for daddy's comfort. (Giddyap, 1950) Jack the horse pulls an ice wagon but reminisces about his glory days in show business as "Jack the Hoofer" and tries for a comeback. (The Popcorn Story, 1950) The adventures of farm boy/inventor Wilbur Shucks, and his blundering into the discovery of popcorn, are recounted. (The Family Circus, 1951) Little Patsy causes all manner of havoc in her household due to her jealousy of the attention Daddy devotes to her baby brother, Butch.