Release Date:

August 26, 1939

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

Spot gags shown around many places in the United States.

That’s Not All, Folks:

This cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award and the first to be nominated for an Academy Award since “It’s Got Me Again” (1932).

The scene with the mosquito being slapped, causing it to yell “OUCH!” became a meme.

What I Like About This One:

The opening title card: “All states depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual states, either Democratic or Republican, is purely co-incidental” (with “Arkansas Traveler”, “California Here I Come” and “I Wish I Was in Dixie” playing).

In the Everglades, a tourist slaps a mosquito, who yells “OUCH!”

In the (literally) rolling plains of Texas, we see a cow puncher, a cowboy who keeps literally punching a cow. When the narrator comments, “Say, this couldn’t be right.”, the cow-puncher says in a Jerry Colonna voice, “Ah, so you’re wondering too!”

In California, the logs floating down the river stop at a traffic light to wait for other logs to pass.

In Wyoming, the prairie dogs are actual dogs.

In western California, a prospector finds a small piece of gold and whispers very quietly to the audience that he found it at last. Suddenly, hundreds of other prospectors show up and start digging!

Indian cliff dwellers having the ability to easily walk on steep cliffs.

An elderly Indian woman slithering like a snake after drinking “snake oil” (which helps “that tired feeling”).

Another Indian’s papoose being a large child Indian who throws a tantrum over having to get off.

The “Indian snake dance”: snakes doing a war dance.

In “Jellostone National Park”, a geyser erupts into a spittoon.

A seemingly timid little fawn “shyly” approaching the back door of a cabin but then angrily banging on the door and yelling, “Hey, in there! How about a handout!?”

A running gag involves a daredevil named “Mr. Butter Finger” climbing the Empire State Building. In the end, he’s made it to the top and is struggling to get up to the top. The narrator asks if he would like to say anything to the audience. He does: “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕