Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

Voices of: Rudolf Ising
Directed by: Rudolf Ising
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Comedy, Animation
Length: 7 minutes
1931

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A streetcar driver has a series of wacky adventures while traveling down the track.

Review:

Tim: Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! is a strange Merrie Melody short. I can't claim it was especially enjoyable. I've seen a lot of these early animated shorts and this one was slightly more inferior than many of them. It doesn't do anything outrageous, but I was still pleased when it was over.

The short stars Foxy, apparently one of only three Merrie Melodies to do so. I suppose it was worthwhile to see the film since it's a relative rarity, at least in terms of its protagonist. Foxy is a fox and not much else is interesting about him. The most fascinating aspect of Foxy is that he's an obvious ripoff of Mickey Mouse. He looks exactly like the famous character, except for his longer ears and tail. Indeed, when the short film started, I actually thought it was Mickey for a moment (which I knew was impossible). It's clearer an inferior copy. I don't know much about Rudolf Ising, but I can't claim the guy had much in terms of original ideas, based on this short. There's even a potential girlfriend to Foxy, who is a clear and obvious ripoff of Minnie Mouse. Really, it's a bit bizarre to watch.

The film itself is pretty boring. Foxy is the conductor of a streetcar and a bunch of wacky things happen along the way. The gags are mostly obvious or expected. I was a little surprised by the senseless violence in this animated short, but that was the way the world was in 1931.

Truly, it's hard to feel much about a short film that lasts 7 minutes. I didn't especially like Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!. There's a song that goes with it (I think that goes by the same name). It was about as forgettable and generic as this short film. I enjoyed watching this film just because it gives you a little insight into film history, but Foxy and this short are perhaps best lost in the archives.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



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