Line #18 WesternAnimation/BookRevue


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BookRevue_7530.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:"[[PoirotSpeak De happy peoples sitting on their]] [[{{Malaproper}} balalaikas]], [[PoirotSpeak playink their]] [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign samovars...]]"]]
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4	A [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1945 (released in 1946)]] WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes short subject directed by Creator/BobClampett, ''Book Revue'' is a semi-remake of the 1938 Creator/FrankTashlin short ''WesternAnimation/HaveYouGotAnyCastles'' (or a GenreThrowback to the "things come to life in a store" plot that was very common in early 30's cartoons). However, pop culture references are up-front and center this time, along with Clampett's trademark expressive distortions and caricaturing, as well as some very catchy music. Midway through the short, good old WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck appears and intrudes on the story of "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood" -- and the fun really begins!
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6	----
7	!!"Book Revue" provides examples of:
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9	* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: When [[spoiler:The Big Bad Wolf falls into Dante's Inferno, everyone immediately celebrates.]]
10	* {{Bowdlerization}}: When this short aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang (barring its appearance on ''The Bob Clampett Show''), the scene of the Wolf chasing Daffy through ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was cut. The former WB network also cut the ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' chase, and cut Daffy's line, "Ah, cucaracha. [[AccidentalInnuendo So round, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw]]".
11	* CuckooClockGag: The bird in the cuckoo clock at the beginning is now [[AlcoholHic stone-cold plastered]] while shouting "Cuckoo! Cuckoo! It's twelve o'clock!".
12	* DancePartyEnding: Everyone celebrates [[spoiler:the wolf sliding into Dante's Inferno]].
13	* EndOfEpisodeSilliness: "Stop that dancing up there!... ya sillies."
14	* EvenTheGuysWantHim: At the end, [[spoiler:the Wolf is sent tumbling into Dante's Inferno in awe of Music/FrankSinatra's singing]].
15	* GratuitousRussian: See {{Malaproper}} below.
16	* HypocriticalHumor: Henry VIII's mother chews him out and spanks him for wolf whistling at the local Cherokee Strip, only to her and other girls to fall head over heels for Music/FrankSinatra's singing and start cat-calling themselves!
17	* {{Malaproper}}: As suggested by the image caption. A ''balalaika'' is "a stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings". A ''samovar'' is "a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, with an attachment on the tops of its lid to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate."
18	* MoodWhiplash: Daffy, in his smooth-talking Creator/DannyKaye persona, suddenly breaking into "La Cucaracha" in rather typical Daffy style:
19	-->'''Danny!Daffy''': Dey vould seeng to me a gypsy love song. Like zees...leesin: '''''[[SuddenlyShouting CUCARAAAAAAAAAAAACHAAAAAAAAA!!!]]'''''
20	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Where to ''start''?? Even for a 40's-era Looney Tunes short, this one has a lot.
21	** Daffy imitates Creator/DannyKaye (signalled by his appearing in front of the book ''Danny Boy'').
22	** The short also parodies a number of popular band leaders and musicians:
23	*** ''Young Man With a Horn'' is Harry James
24	*** ''The Voice in the Wilderness'' is Music/FrankSinatra
25	*** ''Brass'' is Tommy Dorsey (who snags Creator/WCFields' nose in his trombone slide)
26	*** ''Drums Along the Mohawk'' is Gene Krupa
27	*** ''The Pie-Eyed Piper'' is Benny Goodman
28	** ''So Big'' is Creator/JimmyDurante (known for his ginormous nose)
29	** The Big Bad Wolf, in his last appearance, does an imitation of comedian Joe Besser, going, "Ya sthillies!"
30	** Little Red Riding Hood is child actress Margaret O'Brien.
31	* PoirotSpeak: Used by Daffy in his Creator/DannyKaye persona.
32	* ProductPlacement: The ''Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies'' comic book is featured.
33	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: When the Judge, the Wolf, et al, start singing to the tune of the Sextette from Gaetano Donizetti's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5D4jRM1RPc Lucia di Lammermoor]]''
34	* PunBasedTitle: The title is a pun on "Book Review", "Revue" meaning "Variety Show", which this short basically is. However, the pun was tarnished in its re-release when the new title card inexplicably changed it to "Book Review".
35	** That's because the studio's producer Eddie Selzer (who reportedly had no sense of humor and an interfering bore), genuinely thought Creator/BobClampett messed up, and used the word "Revue" by mistake, so when the cartoon was re-issued, [[ExecutiveMeddling Selzer "fixed" it]].
36	* RecycledAnimation: During the montage of women reacting to Frank Sinatra's singing, a cover of ''Little Women'' features dozens of women fainting one after another in the exact same manner and positions as the chickens from ''WesternAnimation/SwoonerCrooner''
37	* ScaredOfWhatsBehindYou: When Daffy is trying to warn Little Red Riding Hood about the Big Bad Wolf, he imitates him and pretends to bite her leg. She starts screaming not at Daffy, but the real Wolf salt-and-peppering his leg.
38	* {{Scatting}}: Used by Daffy (in keeping with his Danny Kaye impression) to warn Red Riding Hood in song about the Big Bad Wolf.
39	* ShoutOut: Daffy's famous "morph into a giant eye" wild take (officially dubbed the "[[AlliterativeName Clampett Corneal Catastrophe]]") would appear again in the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Inside Plucky Duck", where Plucky successfully pulls it off... only to remain stuck in it for the rest of the episode.
40	** Also, in the short itself, there is a reference to ''Radio/TheAldrichFamily'', a popular radio comedy series of the time, when the mother calls, "Hen-RY! Hen-ry-the-Eighth!" and he replies, "Coming, Mother!"
41	*** Incidentally, this is not the only Looney Tunes short of the era to parody that show.
42	* {{Squee}}: Every female character [[spoiler:(and the wolf)]] in the library does this at the sight of Frank Sinatra.
43	* ToothyBird: Look at the page image. This is probably the reason why we don't hear Daffy talk with his famous lisp.
44	* VisualPun: Tons. For instance, when the Wolf receives his sentence from the court, he's thrown behind bars for life -- or rather, behind bars on the cover of an issue of ''Life'' Magazine.
45	* WildTake: One of the most famous in all of animation -- Daffy transforms into a GIANT EYEBALL.
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Context WesternAnimation / BookRevue