nnwahler Reviews

Gonzales' Tamales (1957)

My fave of the series--& top-drawer Sylvester!

[9/10 · 23 August 2023]

Most consider the self-titled Speedy Gonzales film the best of the bunch, but this takes the cake IMHO. (Actually, I'd give "Mexicali Shmoes" nine stars too.)

Director Friz Freleng was under pressure to produce entries for the most popular series (with and without Bugs/Sylvester). One really has to give him credit for trying a new spin on each of these films, but he DID resent having to produce potboilers for the Speedy series. In this one, Speedy (and, ultimately the other mice) are the culprits, putting supreme fall-guy Sylvester through all sorts of hell, ultimately rocketing up to the moon via lots of hot tabasco! The director always said what happened to THE CAT was the fun of the picture. Some of Freleng's best-timed gags in this one.

Hats off to animators Art Davis & Gerry Chiniquy for executing the funniest gags here. Top-drawer Sylvester.

The Bongo Punch (1957)

Personally very identifiable

[9/10 · 23 August 2023]

This is about the cream of Walter Lantz's later output. Harkening back to the old musical-cartoon days, it features a very engaging and, for me, personally endearing story of an ex-fighting-rooster who also wants his new son Pepito to take up boxing--but the kid's got more of a natural inclination to play the bongos. Pepe, the dad, holds a grudge, so the chick's mom does her best to keep the balance.

"Bongo Punch" struck a definite chord with me: My father, who was a farmer, wanted me to follow in his footsteps instead of pursuing a career as a musician.

I fell in love with this cartoon from the first time I saw it; didn't really get into Lantz's work till my late twenties. I saw it first on syndicated TV, when they showed ALL his work ("Scrub Me Mama" not counted); then it disappeared. Wasn't able to see it again till well into the YouTube era.

The cartoon does show the late-50s budget constraints, nothing too deluxe about it. But it's simply drawn, with bright colors, and storytelling done entirely to an incessant musical beat.

Playful Pelican (1948)

Endearing

[7/10 · 19 August 2023]

Thid cartoon brings back some nice early gradeschool memories, of reruns of "The Woody Woodpecker Show". Andy's exclamation, "Well, whaddaya know...a baby pelican!" still rings cheerily in my ears. And my heart always broke for that poor mama pelican, stuck down at the bottom of the ocean trapped with an anchor in her beak.

This was a happy period for the Lantz studio; Lantz always used the best Hollywood talent he could. He hired director Dick Lundy and animator Ed Love, both from the Disney studio, shortly before this time. Lantz always kept an eye to his budgets--he was forced to close his studio once about 1952. There's nothing cheap about the present cartoon, however.

Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971–1972)

Entertaining, if you have other ulterior motives

[7/10 · 19 August 2023]

In September 1971, two shows went head-to-head with each other--CBS' "Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch," and ABC's "The Jackson Five." (In Saturday morning terminology, that's a "clash of the titans"!) ABC's "J5" was the apparent ratings winner, as "Hair bear" didn't survive past the first season while "J5" got to make a few more episodes the following year.

Some neat, inventive storylines here, from the likes of Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who later formed their own successful studio. The three principals were voiced by Daws Butler (reusing his Hokey Wolf voice) as Hair Bear; Bill Callaway as Square Bear; and Paul Winchell (reusing his Jerry Mahoney voice) as the diminutive Bubi Bear. They always tried escaping the watchfulness of head zookeeper Peevely (John Stephenson) and his dumb assistant Botch (Joe E. Ross, using his ooh-ooh! Voice!) Worth watching for just the interplay of the above-mentioned voice actors. A cast of cooperative (to the bears) zoo animals are the able supporting cast. Ultimately, it was hard to give a damn about Peevely as he was such a sourpuss.

And in mentioning modern times, one could just about count the title characters as TV's First Gay Threesome! (Of course, this is me with my subversive fantasizing.)

Swat the Fly (1935)

What's so funny about it?

[2/10 · 19 August 2023]

This film makes "unfunniness" a way of life: we're supposed to be laughing our behinds off at the cute antics of the (very nondescript) fly and roaring at Betty flinging her cake batter at the little pest (CAN'T have too much room for facial expression with such a miniscule character). About the only thing remotely funny is the way Pudgy unknowingly invents breakdancing, and even that wears thin after less than a half a minute. This cartoon makes "The Impractical Joker" and "Buzzy Boop" seem like works of pure comic genius. "Swat The Fly" is an absolute masterpiece in comparison only when compared with "We did It".

Little Cesario (1941)

A hidden gem

[10/10 · 11 August 2023]

Real pity, these MGM cartoons with just a one-shot character, all fallen by the wayside, but for YouTube. (Thank God for YouTube.) There's a timelessness to so many of them, and their obscurity defies logic.

This is a "buried classic," with superb characterization and animation; has all the hallmarks of a first-rate children's book. The story of Little Cesario and Big Alexander is worth experiencing over and over again--timeless (apart from Little Cesario getiing accidentally drunk). Magnificently designed. I'm sorry for losing my only DVD-R copy. Again, my gratitude for the above-mentioned source.

14 Carrot Rabbit (1952)

The last in the unbroken string...

[10/10 · 11 August 2023]

I consider ALL OF the Yosemite Sam cartoons from 1945-52 ("Hare Trigger" through this film) to be superlative. There's only a slight lopping-off of the quality with "Hare-Lift", in '53, but bouncing right back later that year with "Southern Fried Rabbit". (The last top-notch film would be "Rabbitson Crusoe," in '56.)

Sam & Bugs are at it again here, at a high-flying level. What really MAKES this cartoon is a wonderfully-animated routine where a funny feeling comes over Bugs whenever he hits gold: an elaborate, squash-and-stretch action making him contort his body for an incredible two seconds. It never fails to get a laugh, no matter the number of repetitions. Bugs has to do little or nothing to outsmart his adversary, and Sam's comic frustration sees the whole thing through.

Snubbed by a Snob (1940)

By far the best of the series

[9/10 · 7 August 2023]

This is easily the best entry in the Hunky and Spunky series. Not as cloying as "A Kick in Time", "Barnyard Brat," and the rest.

Let me state, flat out: Voice artists Jack Mercer and Pinto Colvig were both geniuses. Mercer is Hunky and the colt, Montgomery; and Colvig is Spunky and the mare. Additionally, Mercer is the huge bull the youngsters frequently run into, and who's forever practicing his vocalizing on the bass solo in the old song "Asleep in the Deep"--a lost part of America's song heritage.

Nice, slick animation and design too, and clearly not a victim of the underqualified animators who got in at the ground floor at Fleischer's new Miami studio.

Taking Off (1971)

Lost classic....quite treasurable

[10/10 · 4 August 2023]

"Taking Off" was Czech director Milos Forman's first movie in exile, his American debut. The story behind this film is an incredible one: having stirred up controversy with his last native film, 1967's "The Fireman's Ball", Forman was all but blacklisted over there and had to seek refuge in the best country he could find. Forman (with co-writer John Guare) threw himself into the current movie with the same passion he did his previous efforts. Trouble was, the Universal execs didn't like the script, saying (accurately) that no one would see it; so the company gave Forman a nominal deal that he only take in a share of the profits. The film flopped, and Forman, trapped in NYC, was left with only the sketchiest knowledge of the English language and a year-long struggle to obtain a green card. He was fortunate enough to have a tiny handful of fellow countrymen as connections, and he would firmly establish himself in 1975.

"Taking Off" involves a runaway teen (Linnea Heacock) whose parents (Buck Henry and Lynn Carlin), in her absence, try with the assistance of other parents to connect with the younger generation. This partly is done at a "reefer clinic" whose professor (Vincent Schiavelli, who'd instantly become director Forman's chief ensemble player) shows the grownups how to smoke a joint. Paul Benedict, who'd go on to become the English neighbor in the sitcom "The Jeffersons", is another cast member.

The film's title can refer to the youngster's running away, or to the parents' initiation/indoctrination, or even the penultimate scene which I won't reveal to you.

The present movie, shot on a shoestring budget, never made it to US home video and, through the decades, only was shown sporadically on syndicated TV. I'd speculate that a few of the supporting players--including Carly Simon--have held out for a higher royalty rate. I was wise enough to tape it first on Beta, then transfer it to VHS and later DVD-R.

Greedy for Tweety (1957)

Powerful

[8/10 · 3 August 2023]

This is one of those cartoons that, if seen for the first time in one's childhood, remains grafted onto the surface of one's mind forever.... Particularly if, like me, you were raised with a lifelong fear of hospitals. I had two hospital stays in my grade-school years, and then made a very conscientious effort to stay out of them. At least I managed until my late 40s.

CBS and ABC ran this cartoon throughout the 60s, then banned it in the 70s and 80s. It was, however, included on at least three home-video compilations throughout the 80s. It was finally brought back to broadcast TV in the late 80s, by Nickelodeon., so we audiences could again enjoy some good, violent fun.

Taxi: Louie's Fling (1981) Season 4, Episode 5

More poignant endings were to come....

[10/10 · 1 August 2023]

This, along with the third season's "Out of Commission", are the first two watershed episodes in the series that would end on a note of sadness. And in the last season, more poignant conclusions would be the norm.

This episode's an emotional rollercoaster: it's got outrageous belly-laughs and an extremely sobering conclusion...the studio audience's moans fit the viewer's own as a disheveled Louie shuffles his way back into the garage to find Alex's shoulder to cry on. (If you listen closely, you can even hear a female studio audience member bawling out loud!) Writer Sam Simon and producer-creator James L. Brooks did some wise, last-minute doctoring of the script when an initial test audience was taken aback by the rough-draft script which had Louie emerge triumphant.

These developments were a part of the series' artistic growth at this point. The result puts this episode in my Top Five.

The Mad Magazine TV Special (1974 TV Movie)

Great on paper--lousy in execution

[3/10 · 31 July 2023]

This was a prime-time cartoon pilot for a potential series. I was just into MAD magazine at the time, and became a voracious collector. Great idea for a show, huh? Certainly preferable to what was on prime-time TV at the time.

But the pilot was victim of the wrong animation studio--Format Films, run by producer Herb Klynn. They specialized in low-budget animation; their past work included the original "Alvin & the Chipmunks," the inferior low-budget mid-60s Looney Tunes, and animated links fot the "Hee Haw" variety show.

The scripts used the actual texts from mainly 1971-72 issues of MAD, though drastically edited--hurting the program already. There are reasonable attempts to duplicate the art styles of the zanier MAD artists Don Martin and Sergio Aragones; but sophisticated, detailed drawing from George Woodbridge and Mort Drucker is another matter; the chintzy budgets and scrappy animation/design of Klynn's uncreative forces do it all in.

No wonder the networks didn't pick it up.

Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943)

Daffy's one-man show

[10/10 · 19 July 2023]

Daffy dominates this whole cartoon like barely other efforts with him. I still wonder why the other reviewers can't get the point of the title--it's a pun on the song title, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," fer cryin' out loud!

Many of director Friz Freleng's best films came from musical sources, and this is one of his very finest. It's one of the pinnacles of the earlier career of the early, ZANY version of the duck. Virtually never mentioned in discussions of the duck's (as well as Porky's) supreme works. As Daffy gallops and spits his way through a bewildering medley of tunes, Porky has more than he can manage to hop aboard a plane to an important golf game. All for the sake of auditioning Daffy's client, a diminutive duck, Sleepy Lagoon.

Dazzling use of double-exposure in Daffy's tour-de-force effort. Fantastic timing.

Taxi: A Grand Gesture (1983) Season 5, Episode 23

The last episode is the greatest

[10/10 · 18 July 2023]

This wasn't aired as the final episode before NBC canceled "Taxi" for good (that honor went to the shriekingly funny "Simka's Monthlies"), but the present episode represented the REAL last episode to be filmed. And quite a finale: Danny De Vito reported that everyone on the set--actors, writers, producers and the rest--were emotional and moody at rehearsals; they ALL realized this would be their last show. I felt, at the time it premiered, distinctly like this was the end. And I'd presume anyone else out there watching this episode's first airing, knew it in their hearts as well. Writers/producers Ken Estin and Sam Simon gather together not only the regular stars, but some of the running characters throughout the series. It's the most memorably affecting episode of all, and, I realized, the finest as well.

Jim, apparently having had a trust fund set up by his brother for their father's inheritance, has been freely giving $1000 bills to total strangers. The cabbies scoff at this, so Jim gives them (and Louie and Latka) a challenge: to each give a special gift of $1000 to a needy soul by the end of the day.

Elaine lets her daughter (Melanie Gaffin) have it, not so subtly suggesting she should return the favor by splitting it with her brother. Then the girl offers her share to her mom. Elaine is touched, but asks her what she'd get with it? Video games, natch.

Latka and Simka donate it to the church of their native pastor, Reverend Gorki (Vincent Schiavelli), who promptly mocks and spits on it then accepts it--an apparent ritual of theirs, as Simka does same when the pastor gives it to her for a baby she and Latka planned on having.

Alex has a tough time finding a worthy receiver among his fares--including an aspiring political cartoonist (Tom Villard)--before giving the $1000 to a lady whose family was about to be thrown out onto the street.

Tony meanwhile has a surprise gift for a friend named Walt (Scatman Crothers), an elderly shut-in whose entire life revolves around TV. They do some chatting about "Bonanza" and "Gilligan's Island", before Tony uncovers his present, a top-line color TV (yes, many including myself, still watched B&W in those days) with stereo speakers. The old man cries quietly, then softly shoos Tony out the building ("And CALL NEXT TIME!!", he shouts out the window). One could easily see Walt as a potential running character in the series.

But Louie's had a tough go at it all day. Having promised everybody at the start that he'd give it to assistant dispatcher Jeff (Jeffrey Alan Thomas), who doesn't spit on the money like Latka and Simka's pastor did--but he rejects and mocks it in every way imaginable. Viewers say they feel sorry for Louie in this one, but one should go back earlier in the season, in the episode "Crime and Punishment". Louie really crapped on Jeff in that episode; so Jeff obviously has some lingering resentment yet. Will he accept the money?

Tune in and find out.

Pink Pajamas (1964)

Worthy follow-up to the "The Pink Phink"

[9/10 · 17 July 2023]

Friz Freleng and David DePatie began their new studio auspiciously with this film and its Oscar-winning predecessor, "The Pink Phink" (as well as the first live-action movie's opening which started it all--probably the single greatest thing Freleng ever directed).

I really wish Freleng hadn't tinkered with such a superb formula: in "Pink Pajamas," his flair for pantomime humor and comic timing is completely intact. Nearly everything happens spot on, in a thoroughly inevitable way. Writer John Dunn's gags are more than just serviceable.

But Freleng dinkered with the series's format for the rest of his directed filmography, even having the panther (heaven help us all) TALK, fer cryin' out loud! In a couple of years Freleng would hand over the directorial reins to long-time layout man and character designer, Hawley Pratt (really the TRUE creator of the Pink Panther). Pratt fortunately stuck to the pantomime formula and kept the series on an even keel with some very good cartoons.

I guess Freleng's main job at his own studio now was "minding the store".

101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure (2002 Video)

Disney folks: please stop cannibalizing your legacy

[6/10 · 13 July 2023]

By far the best aspect of the movie is the expansion of Thunderbolt's role here as a secondary lead (Patch is THE main character; his parents. Pongo & Perdita, are almost intangible), and also the creation of the Lil' Lightnin' character, a real delight (who CARES if he's a secondary villain!).

But the first "101 Dalmations" was a CLASSIC--a classic not to be tampered with; a classic to be regarded as hallowed. It had several delightful songs, to boot. This official animated sequel is nice enough entertainment, with well-wrought storylines and beguiling enough characters--it's refreshing that Thunderbolt's not the bright, flawless hero Patch once thought of him as, which helps give the story its dramatic meat.

But a word to the Disney employees of the past three decades: PLEASE stop cannibalizing your own heritage!

Buckaroo Bugs (1944)

Bugs is a bully in this one

[6/10 · 11 July 2023]

This really isn't Bugs's personality. It's a good thing Red Hot Ryder isn't really a human, but just a dumb little schmuck. If he were human, that poor guy would've been in tears before the film was half over. The "Arkansas Traveler" sequence--where Bugs uses a magnet to undo Red's pants--is the real topper. If you think I'm overreacting, I've got animation historian Mike Barrier, and a few others, to back me up re Bugs's character here.

I'm docking this one by an extra star for Clampett's continual hogging of the credit for having created Yosemite Sam with this cartoon--a claim which both Friz Freleng and Michael Maltese (the REAL creators of the character, in 1945's "Hare Trigger") have vehemently denied.

Pardon My Blooper (1974)

Open to suspicion

[2/10 · 10 July 2023]

Kermit Schafer's million-selling "Pardon My Blooper" albums are still a laugh-riot. But as I've slowly learned thru the decades, the albums in many cases were reenactments, and not from bona fide sources. In the present film, the classic "President Hoobert Heever" foul-up was from an original radio broadcast, as was Uncle Don's infamous fiasco. But the Buffalo Bob Smith blooper had the original recording utilized, but with a color film of a man and boy lip-synching to it. Similarly, a radio tape of the famous "purple people eater" goof had stock footage of a record player superimposed over it.

In short, it's virtually impossible to distinguish what's genuine and what's not. Can't say much for the movie's theme song, either.

High Note (1960)

Doesn't quite make it over the median

[5/10 · 9 July 2023]

If I were grading someone's school essay, I'd consider this to be a "line paper". Jones's musical cartoons were always praised by critics for their exactness; but this isn't one of his better ones, like "The Rabbit of Seville". This and other Jones musicals have consistently been remembered, while Friz Freleng's more accurate efforts therein usually aren't. Here the drunken musical note's been hanging out at the old "Tavern in the Town" instead of performing with his colleagues, and the understandably enraged maestro's immediate pursual of him and the drunk's ensuing jacking around result in missing the musical point.

I recall reading once of Jones's approach to directing a musical cartoon, deriving from his being "conscious" of music, like a musician or music lover can't be. I can't identify with this viewpoint. Jones and his desire not to adhere rigidly to the musical source at hand leave me feeling that he'd really rather be singing "How Dry We Am" with all the other notes at the "Little Brown Jug".

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on Bob Clampett's more complete take of the "Blue Danube Waltz ", with Daffy as the ugly duckling.

Weasel Stop (1956)

A joy to watch

[8/10 · 7 July 2023]

I get real pleasure from watching nearly all these 1956-57 Bob McKimson shorts. He'd just assembled a brand-new animation staff,after the Warner cartoon studio reopened (briefly having closed down on account of the short-lived 3D boom). He inherited animator Ted Bonnicksen from Freleng's unit, Keith Darling from Jones's unit, and adding veteran Russ Dyson. Background/layout artist Richard H. Thomas was the only member of the unit to return.

Teamed with writer Tedd Pierce, McKimson turned out some very good-to-excellent cartoons. The dog in this Foghorn episode is a shaggy, mid-southern hick who does little or nothing to outsmart Foggy and the weasel (that little guy's always awesome!). Wisely, McKimson would bring back the usual potbellied Brooklyn hound to do battle with Foggy.

Dog Gone People (1960)

See it for Rupert

[5/10 · 7 July 2023]

Far too many folks, I fear, list this as one of Warner's worst. That is where I come in, to bolster it a little. Sure, there are the shortcomings,such as Hal Smith, despite his best efforts, failing to approximate Arthur Q. Bryan's voice qualities, and its being a late McKimson-Pierce outing (McKimson's two directorial colleagues still turning out a few very good ones into the 60s).

But, surprise, surprise, McKimson has hit on a great (one-shot) character creation in Rupert; he carries the day. This director never was strong in pantomime humor, but he achieves it in the canine character. And he's helped along by strong personality animation (Bonnicksen? Grandpre? Tom Ray was doing the close-up speeches by this time). And the film's climax, where Rupert takes Fudd on a drunk-driving spree, is a comic high point.

It definitely has its moments.

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

See it for Madam Mim and the funny animals

[6/10 · 6 July 2023]

I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of viewer who can't help getting bored with an animated feature with an all-human cast. The more funny animals there are, the better; and it can go a long way towards maintaining my level of beguilement with the film.

"The Sword In The Stone" expects me to have my fancy captivated by a couple of rather blandly drawn humans: one being an old fuddy-duddy, and the other the lad he takes under his wing to ensure the latter's securing of England's monarchy. Writer Bill Peet's adapted screenplay apparently went through some major modifications once it was approved by the head cheese (we're speaking for the era when Disney himself was still alive). So when Merlin and young Wart go on their long trail, they are followed, in some spots, by an endearingly comical wolf who considerably makes the viewer's own journey a quite tolerable one. I almost root for HIM in these sequences. Merlin has an owl sidekick, Archimedes.

There are also individual scenes where Merlin's tutorials have him changing himself and Wart into birds, fish, and squirrels. One truly hilarious moment is when, in the squirrel sequence, a young female of the species develops a crush on Wart, giving Merlin a nice little laugh until an older she-squirrel pursues HIM.

There's also the legendary battle of the sorcerers scene between Merlin and the only character approaching the role of a real villain, Mad Madam Mim. This part of the picture really goes a long way towards buoying the film and is its chief saving grace. Madam Mim changes herself into a dragon ; Merlin becomes a rabbit, etc. All executed in that incomparable Disney style of comedy slapstick, with their (at that time) unapproachable and lavish animation. It's a shame this villainess couldn't have been given a more prominent role, or even her own short subject series. She stole the show.

In all, a pleasant little family movie, not much more. But still sort of a special treat for fans of furrydom like myself.

The Firemen's Ball (1967)

One of the most cherishable little comedies ever

[10/10 · 5 July 2023]

He may be bathing in millions on account of his big Oscar wins for "Amadeus" & "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"--but director Milos Forman perfected his basic style with films like this, one of the most cherishable little comedies ever made. Indeed, its hour-and-fifteen-minute length makes one crave reliving this warm and extremely human story again and again.

Made while Forman was still living under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, "Fireman's Ball" was meant as a satire of government bureaucracy, though the story can be enjoyed purely at face value. The firemen are pathetic pillars of the community who engage in endless and logic-bending arguments over ridiculous little points, desperately nabbing any reluctant teenage girls for the beauty pageant; while the people outside are enjoying and upsetting the ball (even stealing all of the edible raffle prizes) to their hearts' content. Everybody's concerned only with himself or herself......until an outside siren leads everybody to a fire destroying an old man's house. Finally, everyone seems united in a common cause. The tragedy of the story--as well as the Czech people--is driven home.

During my first few months in West Seattle in '93, a Rumanian guy (in his 60s) stayed with us, and I played my cassette dub for him in the landlord's living room. He laughed heartily throughout, and he added some verbal details on the stir it made in Eastern Europe back in the 60s.

Absolutely wonderful transfer in my Criterion Collection DVD--those of us who've caught it in infrequent TV broadcasts (notably on the USA network) have had to endure white subtitles obscured in decrepit-quality prints, or lost in the screen detail. (As well as one little scene with a single obscenity cut out.) Criterion has them completely readable. The interviews with Forman & his erstwhile photographer Miroslav Ondricek are enlightening. My one complaint is that the Criterion Collection edition doesn't give us Forman's original English-language introduction, appended to original American & British prints of the film (he looked quite stylish in a beard).

Amazing, too, that this film uses no professionals among its actors--simply friends and even schoolboy pals of Forman's. One can view this little comedy again and again, offering renewed pleasures.

Bingo & Molly: Mr. Growl's Brothers (1997) Season 1, Episode 10

My favorite of the entire series

[8/10 · 1 July 2023]

I always had, way into middle age, a weakness for puppet shows of unusual artistry, and I spent my first few years in Seattle hooked on this show, at least a couple of times. The puppets were always positive characters, and there was a token adult figure--Mr. Growl, a kindly wolf--to drive home each episode's individual point.

Here Mr. Growl tells the kids, who've been bossy toward one another, about his two older brothers, who happen to have been the famous wolves in 'Red Riding Hood' and 'The Three Little Pigs'. They both have sent him a letter commanding him to move back in with them, to learn to be a REAL wolf.

Each episode in the series climaxed in Mr. Growl's relating the story of one one of the books in his back yard's "book tree".

Shivering Shakespeare (1930)

One of the best of Our Gang's first "sound" season

[7/10 · 1 July 2023]

The early sound shorts in the Our Gang series were scattershot, quality-wise, depending on which director was handling the episode at hand. Full-time director Bob McGowan saw the new era through to its maturity. Other early sound-era episodes, like "When the Wind Blows" (L&H director James W. Hornes' one-shot Rascals short), and series co-director Anthony Mack's efforts (Mack was really Robert Anthony McGowan, nephew of Bob), were a few times good, but mostly misfires.

Mack was a semi-skilled director at best: the man just didn't latch onto how to pace and shape a film. But the present episode presents an ingenious compromise: being merely a semi-skilled director, Anthony Mack proves just about the ideal choice to direct an episode with this plot: the gradeschooler kids are supposed to be players in the cast of a small-town production of "Quo Vadis" which quickly becomes one big joke by means of forgotten lines, a harried and loud and pretentious schoolmarm, and an extended pie-throwing melee to cap things off. Norman "Chubby" Chaney shines in his attempt to be Nero, The result is an episode that cuts the mustard, at least in this reviewer's opinion. Some of the punchlines fail to come off, but a hearty good time generally.

A large, hilarious supporting cast help put this one over the edge.