Wake Up the Gypsy in Me (1933) User Reviews

Put the Cossack to Sleep

[boblipton · 6/10 · 18 February 2008]

Ahem. Those are Cossacks in their big hats there, dancing the kazatsky, although the female lead does look like a gypsy. Oh, well, just as in these early cartoons, inanimate objects could become suddenly animated and species were fungible, the distinction between a Gypsy and a Cossack wasn't important. I guess.

More importantly, this is actually a pretty good cartoon from this period. I attribute this to lead animator Isadore 'Friz' Freleng who, over the next decade, would become the resident expert out of making one-off cartoons based on musical numbers, perhaps reaching his peak in SKYSCRAPER SYMPHONY. Certainly the gags are a lot sharper than usual for this period and their pacing is excellent. Worth a look.

Fun Cartoon With Tons Of Sight Gags

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 9 July 2009]

The first half of this cartoon is a musical but the whole cartoon is filled with sight gags, and they include some very funny clever ones. It's just one of those early 1930s frenetic animations where anything can happen. There are so many in here, I lost count, but I enjoyed most of them.

Other reviewers here have pointed out the history, a take on "Rasputin" and the Russian Revolution but it's basically not a serious message, just a fun cartoon with, as mentioned, tons of humorous sights. It was designed to draw laughs from theater audiences at the time, especially the kids. If it gave a few digs to the Russian oppressors, all the better.

What's good about this cartoon, is that it's still humorous 75 years later! The beginning of this Merrie Melodies cartoon features some good cossack dance music as villagers whoop it up in the streets. Then we see "Rice Puddin - The Mad Monster" cheating his way while trying to figure out a crossword puzzle (cutting pieces to fit slots). A little girl is in danger in his presence and that's all I'll say, not wanting to ruin anything.

I saw this as a bonus feature on the "Picture Snatcher" DVD, a feature film starring James Cagney. That was pretty wild, too!

Russian History Made All The Better To Be Amusing.

[Dawalk-1 · 10/10 · 26 May 2009]

History can become better and get more intriguing when it's being poked fun at and this is one good example of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies that done them. Rice-Puddin' is a spoof on Rasputin, the Russian Mad Monk who had more power than the czar and because of the people's loathing of him, this led to the 1917 Revolution. This WB cartoon takes place in a small village in Russia and the villagers are having a fun time, performing traditional cossack dances to not-so-traditional music. Even a little gypsy girl joins in, dancing with a tambourine at one point. But her fun is interrupted when Rice-Puddin' spots her through a pair of binoculars and he sends a guard to bring her to the palace where he is. Will anybody come to her aid, will her cries for help be answered? Tune in to find out for yourselves.

This is one of my favorite history-based WB cartoons. That Rice-Puddin' is a comical villain. The best parts for me are scenes of him trying to complete a puzzle, a short gypsy disguising himself as a woman to get past a palace guard, the whole musical number of the title song and the angry, armed mob coming after Rice-Puddin'. The whole thing is great really, right up to the outcome. An hilarious take on a history figure. Recommended especially for history buffs.

Russian Ising

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 12 August 2018]

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.

'Wake Up the Gypsy in Me' is unmistakably Rudolf Ising, but oddly enough it is not one of the cute and sentimental cartoons that was often seen with him. 'Wake Up the Gypsy in Me' is actually one of his most inventive and funniest cartoons, or at least to me it was, being one of not many to have frequent laugh-out-loud funny moments and the best of them are hilarious. It is also one of his strangest and this is meant in a good way.

As with pretty much all his output, the cartoon is practically plot-less and the little there is easy to figure out.

Occasionally it gets a touch on the hectic side too. Will mention in brief passing that it does play fast and loose with history, but that is ignorable as it is abundantly clear that 'Wake Up the Gypsy in Me' never intended to be a history lesson.

Visually, 'Wake Up the Gypsy in Me' looks great. Beautifully drawn with interesting character designs, meticulously detailed in the backgrounds, fluid, lively and crisply shaded. Even better is the lush and characterful music, which is full of tremendous energy and an authentic Russian music flavour accompanying the dancing.

Speaking of the dancing, it is a lot of fun to watch and well animated. There are some great sight gags, there are a lot and they are well-timed and never less than very funny. The energy is non-stop and for a cartoon never intended to be history or a message cartoon 'Wake Up the Gypsy in Me' doesn't take itself seriously or try to be any more than it is. The characters are lively, with the most interesting and memorable being Rice Puddin, even if most are not particularly distinctive. There is nothing to be offended by.

In summary, very entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Appeal to a historian like me!

[petersgrgm · 9/10 · 30 January 2008]

Half a century ago, I first saw Wake Up the Gypsy in Me, long before I knew much history. To be sure, I have always liked this cartoon, liking the Russian music and dancing. I noted how Rice Puddin' the Mad Monk was a jig-saw puzzle enthusiast. I can identify with THAT since jig-saw puzzles have long been one of my pastimes. (It was later that I learned that he represented Rasputin, one of the sinister characters in Czarist Russia.) Rice- Puddin' watched the gypsies dance and make music, had eyes on one the girls, and told the guard to bring him the girl, whom he abused. THAT led a mob to go after Rice-Puddin', which suggests the Russian Revolution. Surely, a cartoon like this one would appeal to a historian like me.