Goopy Geer (film)

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Goopy Geer
Title card
Directed byRudolf Ising
Produced byHugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
StarringJohnny Murray
Rudolf Ising
The King's Men
Music byFrank Marsales
Animation byIsadore Freleng
Rollin Hamilton
Color processBlack-and-white
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • April 16, 1932 (1932-04-16)
Running time
7 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Goopy Geer is a 1932 American animated comedy short film directed by Rudolf Ising. It is the tenth film in the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the titular song by Herman Hupfeld, and the first appearance of the title character.[1][2] The short was released on April 16, 1932, alongside the feature film The Crowd Roars.[3]

Plot

The short from 1932, restored.

The customers in a nightclub clamor for Goopy Geer, who emerges from numerous smaller stages to sing and play the piano for the audience with his hands and ears. He switches to a slower tune after he notices three cats slurping soup and eating crackers loudly. A cow also eats spaghetti to the tune, to his amusement.

Goopy Geer then plays a ragtime song, which his gloves independently help him in playing. In the meantime, the waiter requests a bowl of soup, which a chicken "chef" produces by bathing in boiling water, emerging unscathed as the soup is served. A female dog then goes on stage, jokes with him and dances to his music, while a conflict between a dog and a hippo takes place.

Goopy Geer then dances to a jazz number, which a turkey and two clothing racks dance to. A drunken horse also dances while reaching for more alcohol, only to hallucinate upon seeing his face in a mirror. He goes on stage and spits on Goopy Geer, causing him to explode, but he does not mind as he continues the show on his destroyed piano.

Two scenes—one involving a waiter, the other the drunken horse—are reused from the earlier Foxy short Lady, Play Your Mandolin! One of the customers, a fat lady hippo, appeared in the Foxy short Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

Reception

Motion Picture Herald called the film "an amusing cartoon number." The review noted that "the furniture does its assorted jigging in a manner often done before, but the short is entertaining enough in animated fashion."[4]

References

  1. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 10. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. Parten, James (October 29, 2019). "Tunes From The Merrie Melodies 1932-33 Season |". Cartoon Research. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  3. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  4. "Shorts". Motion Picture Herald. 107 (5): 42. April 30, 1932. Retrieved February 19, 2024.