Foney Fables (1942)

A series of fractured fairy tales vignettes.

Director:

Friz Freleng

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Stars:

Sara Berner, Mel Blanc, Frank Graham

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Sara Berner	...	Mother (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Prince / Tom Thumb / Giant / Goose / Baby / Grasshopper / Ant / Aladdin / Boy who cried Wolf / Dog (voice) (uncredited)
Frank Graham	...	Narrator / Wolf (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

A collection of brief vignettes. Within the Book of Fairy Tales, we find much-loved stories like these: Sleeping Beauty (chewed out by Prince Charming for sleeping in), Tom Thumb, the Grasshopper and the Ant (the grasshopper can afford to be lazy because he has war bonds), the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing ("the fifth columnist of his day"), Aladdin and His Lamp, the Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs (only they're aluminum for the war effort), Old Mother Hubbard (but her cupboard isn't bare; she's a "food hoarder"!), and This Little Piggy. The Boy Who Cried Wolf gets his comeuppance.

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Plot Keywords:

wolf | fairy tale | grasshopper | ant | sleeping beauty | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Merrie Melodies: Foney Fables

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Leon Schlesinger Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

8 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During "This Little Piggy" one of the baby's legs disappears momentarily.

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Soundtracks

"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair"
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
Sung by Aladdin when he rubs the lamp

User Reviews

Quaint sort of charm to these fractured fairy tales...

This amusing Warner Bros.cartoon puts a new spin on the old fairy tales, a few using the war effort (made in '42) as a source of the payoff for the gags, and most of them falling a bit short of the mark as far as outright laughter is concerned.

The best device of all is the running gag that has The Boy Who Cried Wolf set up for the final wolf moment. Others include Jack and the Beanstalk, The Ant and the Grasshopper, Sleeping Beauty, Old Mother Hubbard, The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, all of which produce no more than a chuckle or two.

Not bad, but could have been a lot better with just a little more wit. The cartoon itself appears on the Errol Flynn Signature Collection in association with the '42 flick, GENTLEMAN JIM starring Flynn and Alexis Smith.