The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1933)

Dishes and utensils wash, dry, and stack themselves. A duster plays a silverware box like a piano while a salt-pepper-and-sugar set sings. The spoon proposes to the dish (interrupted by a ... See full summary »

Director:

Rudolf Ising (uncredited)

Storyline

Dishes and utensils wash, dry, and stack themselves. A duster plays a silverware box like a piano while a salt-pepper-and-sugar set sings. The spoon proposes to the dish (interrupted by a cry from a baby spoon), then plays percussion on some pans and jam jars. Some teacups do a can-can, then a centipede-like conga line. The Swiss cheese yodels. The blueing sings "Am I Blue?," joined by a potato crying from all its eyes. An egg dances, slips on some lard, hatches, and sings "Young and Healthy." A lump of dough rises like a ghost and dances over to a packet of yeast, which it mixes into water and drinks, then grows, a la Jekyll and Hyde. It threatens the dish; some utensils fight back, lobbing canned goods from a spatula catapult. More attacks with cheese graters, popcorn, a rolling pin, and an electric fan, turn the dough into muffins, a bundt cake, a pie, and waffles.

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Plot Keywords:

spoon | dish | popcorn | jekyll and hyde | anthropomorphic spoon | 

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Genres:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy | Musical

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Vitaphone production reel #5945.

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Alternate Versions

This cartoon was colorized in 1992 by Turner Entertainment Company, with each frame traced over onto a cel. Each cel was then painted in color and photographed over a colored reproduction of each background.

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Soundtracks

Shuffle Off to Buffalo
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by the Dish and the Spoon

User Reviews

Singing and dancing with the dishes

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Studio Ghibli and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. With significantly broader knowledge of different directors, animation styles and studios, actually appreciate and love it even more now.

As has been said a few times already, 'The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' is fairly typical of Harmon-Ising (not enormous favourites of mine but understand their importance in animation history), leaning towards the cute kind of cartoon with a lot of sentiment in alternative to the laugh a minute and hilarious kind, the latter being the one that a lot seem to prefer (understandably, though am hardly biased against the former). This approach has varied with Ising. In some instances it has been very sweet and charming, in others it can be cloying and too cutesy. Generally 'The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' belongs in the former category, despite the danger of falling into the latter with the premise.

'The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' has a lot to like although not a great cartoon, not one to completely overlook if not a cartoon to watch repeatedly.

Yes it gets a bit too saccharine in places and it is best perhaps to not talk about the story because there really isn't much of one.

What 'The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' does so well however eclipses these problems. The animation is rich in detail for design and backgrounds, vibrant and crisp. The composer for the prime-era 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons and regular Tex Avery composer Scott Bradley provides a lush and atmospheric music score. The voice acting is also on point.

It is hard not to fall in love with the characters, even if they are not especially distinctive, and it has enough likeability and personality to not be dull. 'The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' is rich in natural sweet charm and some very imaginative ideas and visuals in its recreation of the authentic setting. There is nothing hilarious and the cartoon's hardly laugh a minute, but a good deal of it does charm and touch. There are many fun moments and some inventive ones too, enjoyed the impersonations though familiarity is in order. The pace avoids being too draggy, with it being full of energy throughout when things got going.

Summarising, nice and pleasant to watch if not a must watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Merrie Melodies #12 (1932-1933 Season): The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harman-Ising Productions, The Vitaphone Corporation, Leon Schlesinger Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1