Release Date:

March 25, 1944

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A newsreel spoof showing how the war effort affects everyday lives.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 6-13, the sixth Merrie Melodie in the 13th release season.

The cartoon seems to foreshadow UPA’s style of animation in that most of it is limited.

The title is a pun for “weekly reporter”.

What I Like About This One:

The heads on Mount Rushmore being seen with air raid warden helmets and with the whole country united during the war, there is a “We Love California” sign shown in Florida’s peninsula. Another smaller sign also appears, “For the Duration”.

With fewer automobiles being seen on the highways during gas rationing, one citizen gets around via a carriage and a horse. One man’s car is startled at this and clings to a street pole, shaking in fear. The narrator figures the car never saw a horse before.

A cop chasing after someone speeding, but the camera pans back to reveal they are both using their legs to get around.

Those who still have cars have a problem of their own: their windshields are completely covered in ration stickers but one man gets around this by using a periscope while driving.

An event called “Share Your Car” involves a man taking off one part at a time on a car and giving one part to each citizen.

In a scene using limited animation, the aftermath of an auto accident is seen, but the men in the ambulence take the tire away on the stretcher instead.

A woman has to pay to smell a porterhouse steak (animated by Ben Washam).

Some shortages happen to be a blessing in disguise: one man named John can get all the coffee he wants, but as a trade-off he frequently has trouble getting to sleep at night. With rationing limiting him to one cup, he is seen tossing and turning in bed.

There is one type of hoarding that Uncle Sam encourages- buying as many war bonds as possible.

In the next scene, a female narrator takes over, explaining how women do their bit in the war. They go to a beauty salon to try on new welding masks (animated by Ken Harris).

In a stick figure scene, a girdle proves useful in tying up several Nazi soldiers at once.

The male narrator takes over again as gangsters rob a cashier for a clock.

When mentioning how women are starting to do men’s jobs, there’s a “hard-boiled taxi driver of yesterday has been replaced by a dainty member of the fair sex”. But she’s just as hard-boiled as the previous driver and even smokes a cigar!

The WACS have been donning their war paint: putting lipstick on masks.

An all-woman army is told to get in there and fight- over a nylon sale. “And brother, do they fight dirty!”, the narrator says.

A factory suddenly stops working so a repair woman fixes the main controls with a bobby pin.

A woman given the honors of swinging a bottle at a boat is confused by the absence of said boat before the mayor tells her, “Just start swingin’ lady!” She does and the boat suddenly appears and sails off after the hit (animated by Washam). The camera then pans over to a sign on Henry J. Kaiser’s door: “Back in 2 minutes. Out to Launch”.

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕 ½