Dancing on the Moon (1935)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Dave Fleischer

Release Date:

12 July 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Honeymooning couples of various animal species take a rocket ship excursion to the moon. Spectacular lunar scenery. |

Plot Keywords:

Color Classic

Runtime:

USA:8 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Fleischer Studios

Movie Connections:

Edited into Betty Boop Confidential (1995)

Soundtrack:

DANCING ON THE MOON

One Dollar For A Trip To The Moon & Back!

This must have looked pretty spectacular to audiences at the theater in 1935. The color animation is pretty good and it just has a lavish appearance to it and, as far as I know, most material on screen was in black-and-white, including cartoons.

We begin by spotting a big heart-shaped sign which advertises "Honeymoon Express To The Moon." It is next to a big rocket ship, which looked, by the way, very cool. This was the era of Flash Gordon, wasn't it? It reminded me of his old ship.

Hey, you can't beat the price for the trip: $1 to go dancing on the moon. Such a deal!

Cows, elephants, insects, giraffes, etc., are all on the ship, ready for a night of dancing. They are still in the wedding gowns and tuxes. The male giraffe tells his bride that this is a good place for necking and then she, with her longer neck, gives her Mae West impression with "Come up and see me some time." Other than that, there wasn't a lot of humor in here. One of the brides - a cat - was left at the gate, so to speak, so the husband pines away on the moon.

The music, which plays a large part of this, is right out of the early '30s Busby Berkeley musicals, except we had about eight couples dancing instead of hundreds.

In all, a curiosity piece but not funny and only mildly entertaining. The ending was awful and unsatisfying.