This is a live action/animation combination Puppetoon featuring Duke Ellington and some Puppetoons. Mild spoilers ahead:
The short begins with Duke Ellington playing a piano when a perfume bottle notices that "That's Duke Ellington!", causing three other perfume bottles to wake up and take notice. They get Ellington's attention and one shyly asks if they might play along with him in accompaniment on (naturally) "The Perfume Suite". They play the horn section.
After the first performance, a rather cantankerous bottle with a yellow top shows up to declare quite loudly that he refuses to dance, which Ellington playfully accepts as a "challenge" by playing a faster and more jaunty piece. Of Course, Mr "I won't dance" makes his way over to the piano and begins to dance.
The most engaging aspect of the short is the ease with which Ellington interacts with the puppets. The end of the short is charming and funny. Ellington was a showman with a great deal of charisma.
This short, with a number of other Puppetoons, has been included as an extra on a recent Blu-Ray release of The Puppetoon Movie done in a limited release of 3000 copies. The Blu-Ray is an excellent release well worth purchasing and Date with Duke is well worth watching. Highly recommended.
The short begins with Duke Ellington playing a piano when a perfume bottle notices that "That's Duke Ellington!", causing three other perfume bottles to wake up and take notice. They get Ellington's attention and one shyly asks if they might play along with him in accompaniment on (naturally) "The Perfume Suite". They play the horn section.
After the first performance, a rather cantankerous bottle with a yellow top shows up to declare quite loudly that he refuses to dance, which Ellington playfully accepts as a "challenge" by playing a faster and more jaunty piece. Of Course, Mr "I won't dance" makes his way over to the piano and begins to dance.
The most engaging aspect of the short is the ease with which Ellington interacts with the puppets. The end of the short is charming and funny. Ellington was a showman with a great deal of charisma.
This short, with a number of other Puppetoons, has been included as an extra on a recent Blu-Ray release of The Puppetoon Movie done in a limited release of 3000 copies. The Blu-Ray is an excellent release well worth purchasing and Date with Duke is well worth watching. Highly recommended.