. . . were using I WAS A TEENAGE THUMB to warn America of the dire threat posed by Great White Sharks (such as "Bruce" in JAWS) when King Arthur shrieks "This fish is full of people!" But were Warner's Looney Tunes squad of clairvoyant prognosticators ACTUALLY recommending a steady diet of shark fin soup, to safeguard against all of us being gobbled up during SHARKNADOS and what not? In a word, no. Notice that at the end of I WAS A TEENAGE THUMB master Thumb becomes a patriarchal figure to an increasingly diminutive line of descendants, who nevertheless are firmly entrenched at the apex of his nation's Ruling Class. Clearly Warner is offering I WAS A TEENAGE THUMB as an allegorical warning against America's Pachyderm Party. Founding POTUS "A. Lincoln" was considered a tyrannical mental nonentity by his peers in government. However, as each of his elephantine successors proved to be an even smaller figure than "Honest Abe," the latter's stature has swelled all out of proportion to the size of his mob's mascot. Modern biology suggests that such a de-evolution cannot continue forever. In fact, Warner even pictures the USA's current microscopic "leader" in the final frame of I WAS A TEENAGE THUMB.
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tavm17 January 2009Just watched this latter-day Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon on YouTube. Directed by Chuck Jones with Maurice Noble, this cartoon seemed to be their version of the Tom Thumb story with the parents, especially the wife, wanting a child. Then Merlin, who changes into anything for seconds at a time, grants the wife's wish when he overhears her. Then after the boy is taken away by a cat...oh, watch the short on YouTube or anywhere you encounter this if you want to see what happens. What I'll tell you is this cartoon has a "Fractured Fairy Tales" vibe that you'd recognize if you've ever seen that particular segment on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Quite dryly funny throughout with a sort-of British flavor that Jones seemed into during this period. So for that reason, I highly recommend I Was a Teenage Thumb.
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ja_kitty_7129 January 2017I remembered 10 years ago (or was it nine years ago?) that I had seen this Chuck Jones cartoon on an episode of the 1970 TV series "The Merrie Melodies Show" before the TV went from Analog to Digital. I never thought much about it until I watched the uncensored version online. Now it is another Chuck Jones favorite besides "Go Fly a Kit"-top favorite that is.
The story is basically a satirical take on the English re-telling of "Tom Thumb," published by Joseph Jacobs. Now I'm not sure if there is a pun intended for Merlin's full given name. It was hard for me to choose which cartoon adaptation of the fairy tale I loved more: this one or the 1948 cartoon from Paramount called "The Mite Makes Right." I would say that I love both cartoons. I also love the vocal talents of Richard Peel and Julie Bennett as Mr. And Mrs. George Ebenezer Thumb.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that Chuck had done a Tom Thumb short 23 years ago called "Tom Thumb In Trouble." But I love this short better.