Release Date:

June 8, 1940

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

A woodchopper lives with his tiny son, Tom Thumb. One day, when his father is away chopping some wood, Tom enthusiastically does all the chores, but accidentally slips on a bar of soap and nearly drowns in a tub of dishwater. A bird rescues him, but the father mistakenly believes that the bird violently attacked Tom, and angrily chases him away. Upset that he is unable to explain what actually happened, Tom goes out into the fierce snowstorm to find the bird.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. Strauss’ “Vienna Life” played over the opening credits:

Supervision: Charles Jones

Story: Rich Hogan

Animation: Robert Cannon

Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling

Additionally, a print with the original titles has been rumored to exist since 2021 but so far only a picture of the original opening rings have been revealed. Interestingly, this also revealed that the cartoon used the sky background instead of the black background like the other Merrie Melodies released around this time, so it’s possible that this cartoon was delayed until the summer of 1940. As with all the others, I do hope the complete original titles get unearthed one day.

Robert McKimson animated the majority of the cartoon.

Margaret Hill-Talbot, an actress who also did Sniffles’ voice, voices Tom.

This cartoon is known for being one of Jones’ most Disneyesque of his early cartoons, as it is mostly a very serious cartoon. Jones would eventually stop making slow-paced cartoons for good around 1942 and would later create some of the fastest and funniest Warner cartoons, most notably the creation of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote.

Interestingly, Jones would parody Tom Thumb again in one of his very last Warner cartoons, “I Was a Teenage Thumb” (1963), which is a British version of Tom Thumb set in medieval times.

What I Like About This One:

Tom being woken up by the alarm clock and having trouble turning it off before his father helps him out by turning it off for him.

We then see how a typical morning for Tom and his dad goes: Tom is so small that he can take a bath in his dad’s cupped hands, using his father’s thumb as a diving board. After Tom puts on his clothes, he comments that he feels like a new man. Then, they have breakfast with Tom drinking from a thimble.

After the father leaves to chop wood, Tom does the chores by singing a charming version of “In a Little Dutch Kindergarten” with substitute lyrics.

The various chores Tom does, such as tossing soap chips onto a plate before cleaning it, polishing a glass while using something resembling a tiny scaffolding, and jumping on a fork with a cup at the other end to launch the cups up to where they’re supposed to hang.

The utter seriousness when Tom nearly drowns in the dishwater that shows just how scary this is in real life. Tom sputters “HELP!” for a total of 13 times, while this unknowingly puts his father in a bad parenting position with him away.

Fortunately, the bird sees that Tom is in danger and decides to help by backing up a far distance away from the window before smashing into it at full force.

The father hearing the window shatter and running back to the house, concerned. While the bird is attempting to get Tom to wake up, we get a few crosscuts of the father walking fast back to the house before picking up his speed and running, with only his legs being shown.

Robert McKimson’s animation of the scene of the father completely misinterpreting what he sees is very good as while the father clearly looked at it the wrong way, it shows that he is someone you do NOT want to get on the bad side of. When the bird looks up, he sees the father giving him a cold, angry stare (as seen in the screenshot used), with the smashed window also not helping any matters. The father’s stare then turns into an angry expression with his teeth shown, ready to attack (his expression basically reads, “I’ll teach you to attack my son!”). The bird, justifiably afraid, slowly starts to back away before frantically dodging the father’s attempts to smash him, and narrowly making it back outside. The lack of dialogue in this scene is also a great move, showing all you need to know.

Tom being unable to explain about the bird is very relatable, as we’ve probably all been in a situation where we’ve unable to explain something to a parent.

Another superb scene animated by McKimson is when Tom leaves a note for his father explaining that the bird saved his life and that he is going to go look for him. The father wakes up after the door closes and upon seeing Tom’s note, opens the window and starts to yell Tom’s name at the top of his voice several times (with “Ride of the Valkyries” playing in the background).

The bird hearing the father’s calls and finding Tom walking through the snowstorm before picking him up and bringing him home.

When the father (crying over the supposed loss of his son) looks up, he sees Tom and the bird in front of him. Tom greets him with “Hi, pop!” before the father sheds a tear of joy (the rendition of “In a Little Dutch Kindergarten” in this scene always brings a smile to my face as this is just so heartwarming).

That night, with Tom safe and sound and asleep, the bird is seen comfortably sleeping in the father’s beard (I also assume that the father apologized to the bird for misjudging him).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕 ½