One Froggy Evening (1955)

This is a cartoon from 60 years ago that deals with a guy finding a frog. The frog is really talented at singing, but sadly every time his owner wants to put him on display, the frog refuses to show everybody his great voice and instead he makes usual frog noise. No Mel Blanc in here, but Oscar winner Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese came up with it as always. I have to say I am very much surprised that this is one of Chuck Jones' famous cartoons today as I have seen many many which are far superior. As I wrote in the description, this is basically the same joke for 7 minutes and even at this low runtime, it gets repetitive at some point. And what's even worse, they realized it and included a totally random future reference with the very same joke. Not a great short film at all and it annoys me to see that there even is a sequel out there, even if it's not famous at all. I have no idea, but I would not be surprise if it relies on the same repetitive story. In any case, I do not recommend "One Froggy Evening".

Lately I've been gradually working my way through a few of Chuck Jones' classic Warner Brothers cartoons, and this one, so far, is one of my favourites. Released on December 31 1955 as part of the Warner Brothers' 'Merrie Melodies' series, 'One Froggy Evening' is one of the most highly-regarded of all cartoons, voted #5 of all time in 1994 by members of the animation field.A 1950s construction worker has just completed demolishing a building built in 1892. Hidden in a cornerstone, he discovers a small box containing a tired frog, which eases itself into the open air and, surprisingly, bursts into full song, performing "Hello! Ma baby," in an act complete with a top hat and cane. Notions of fame and wealth pass through the construction worker's mind, and he snatches the frog to be used in his money-making schemes. There is one problem, however, and we would find out. This flamboyant amphibian performer refuses to display his talent in front of anybody else. Still poor, dejected and having spent time in a psychopathic institution, the construction worker eventually disposes of his trouble-bringing, ragtime-performing friend, tossing his box into the cornerstone of a building under construction. A century later, in the year 2056, another ray gun-wielding construction worker stumbles upon this mysterious box, and also discovers a certain talented frog living within.Though unnamed at the time of the cartoon's release, director Chuck Jones later dubbed his frog "Michigan J. Frog" after one of the songs he performs. The voice behind the frog was long considered a mystery, but the 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection' credits the vocals to baritone Bill Roberts, who was a Los Angeles nightclub entertainer in the 1950s. Written by Michael Maltese, 'One Froggy Evening' contains no dialogue – but for the singing of the frog – and it really is highly entertaining. Having never honestly heard of this film before, I really didn't know what to expect when Michigan J. Frog first emerged from the box, but the sheer absurdity of his breaking into song and dance made me laugh out loud.

This is the single greatest animated short ever made. The uncut version is perfect. The songs are great, the art direction is terrific, and above all the story is priceless.Spoiler: A construction worker demolishing a building finds a frog in a box in the cornerstone. The frog sings and dances. The man tries to cash in on the miraculous frog, but it will only sing for him. After wasting his life's savings and even spending time in an insane asylum, he hides the frog in the corner stone of a new building...I don't know why anyone would possibly another film with the frog character. It would be a travesty to use him in another flick. Besides, he's still in the box, waiting for the next poor schmuck to find him.

Chuck Jones and company created another masterpiece with "One Froggy Evening", about a man finding a singing frog who only sings for him, leading to many unpleasant situations. These cartoons were so simple, yet so clever. I think that there's absolutely no doubt that this and many other cartoons from that era will stay firmly ingrained as part of our national heritage forever.One thing I notice is that Mel Blanc didn't do Michigan J. Frog's voice. But that's no problem. This cartoon is still great. How they came up with these things is beyond me; it just shows that they were geniuses. A great cartoon. These are the sorts of cartoons that we need to show our children.