Release Date:

May 11, 1940

Main Character(s):

Sniffles

Summary:

Sniffles decides to take a vacation in the beautiful countryside, only to find it a lot less peaceful than he imagined.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. “Let the Rest of the World Go By” played under the opening credits:

Supervision: Charles Jones

Story: Dave Monahan

Animation: Phil Monroe

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

Additionally, a 35mm print with the original titles was rumored to exist. Hopefully, that will be unearthed to the public one day.

This is the last cartoon where Sniffles wears his original clothes as in his next few appearances, he wears a green shirt rather than a red one.

The cartoon’s plot is similar to the 1945 Tom and Jerry cartoon, “Mouse in Manhattan” where Tom and Jerry live in the country and Jerry decides to move to New York as he is tired of country life, but after several dangers in the city, he decides there’s no place like home, and goes back to Tom (who was asleep the entire cartoon and had no idea Jerry was gone).

What I Like About This One:

In general, the backgrounds in this cartoon are really pretty, reminding me fondly of the rural areas around Oconee County, Georgia where I live (as well as the surrounding rural counties).

The song Sniffles sings about how he’s going to have a “happy holiday”.

Sniffles mistaking a crow for a robin and then comparing the sign for “Country Meadows” (where he is intending to spend his vacation) to the pamphlet he has for it.

The music that plays when Sniffles makes his way into the countryside as well as him admiring the scenery.

As Sniffles looks through his binoculars, he suddenly comes across a creature seemingly the same height as him angrily staring at him. Shocked, Sniffles ducks for cover only to discover it was only a little fly. He easily scares it off with a simple “Boo”.

Sniffles attempting to take a nap but the noise of a woodpecker disturbs him and causes him to get twisted in his hammock. The woodpecker continues pecking causing Sniffles to repeatedly thump his chin on the ground.

Sniffles tying his hammock to a different location- between the legs of a swan! Waking up to find himself underwater, Sniffles ends up sliding to the end of the swan’s beak and falling off into the pond below.

Scared by the noise of Sniffles falling into the pond, the swan flies off.

Sniffles getting scared by a tiny frog he mistakes for an alligator.

The last scene (entirely animated by Robert McKimson) is by far the best: That night, at a campfire, Sniffles starts to become uneasy while commenting on how peaceful it is in the dark (as seen in the screenshot used). The noises of creatures scurrying around in the night (all of which are harmless but are scary in a mouse’s point of view), as well as the views of spooky looking trees as well as mysterious eyes in the trees eventually scare Sniffles into running back to the city (running so fast that he leaves his hat behind). The music in this scene is particularly outstanding, with it starting off ominous and then becoming more sinister.

As Sniffles hastily runs back to the city, the camera pans upward to the sign pointing to “Country Meadows”, revealing that Sniffles took the wrong direction at the start of the cartoon and was never there after all. Again, the sinister-sounding music in this scene is also really good.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕