SUCCESS IN ANY field spawns both imitation and parody. It has long been said that: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." If this is so (and we're sure it is)then the spoof, the send-up and that old standby, parody should rank right up there also. (And don't forget Lampoon, either!)
THIS 1933 CARTOON short does a credible job in recreating in cartoon world similar settings that mimic Skull Island of KING KONG fame. The cartoon opens up with Pooch the Pup and his female companion already having arrived on their version of that mysterious island far southwest of Borneo, New Guinea, Java, Sumatra and Australia. They arrive during the sacrificial rite that offers up a female native to the giant godlike ape.
THROUGH SOME ERROR, Pooch's lady friend get's switched and is taken by the super simian, who apparently would actually have eaten her as a tiny morsel of his dinner. Cupid appears and does his bit with bow and does his thing; which renders the big ape helpless. (This in a direct spoof of the quotation in the opening credits and prelude to the KING KONG story of" ".......and he (the Beast) was as one dead."
AFTER THE INTRODUCTION of an all-purpose dinosaur from either the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods and their version of the Kong vs. Tyrannosaurus bout, a brief tip of the hat to MGM's TARZAN THE APEMAN, the capture of the ape sees his sight gag ridden trip to the big exposition of "Klunk" in NYC. His eventual escape and final fate is sealed with his tumbling off the skyscraper and his crashing and burning!!
WE CAN SUPPOSE that this was a very amusing to audiences of the day. We did our best to look at it both analytically, as well as objectively. Having done so, we can only suppose that it produced about a 5 or 6 on the old Laugh Meter. Like any theatrically released picture, its appeal and enjoyment factor would rise when viewed as a part of a live, red-blooded and breathing audience.
ONE ELEMENT THAT jumps out of the screen at a viewer in this 21st Century is the casual use of racial stereotypes concerning the native (indigenous, aboriginal peoples). Their character design was that of those being derivative of the Minstrel Show.
WE HAVE JUST only today heard of this title and screened it for the first time. It is one in a series of POOCH THE PUP Cartoons produced for Universal Pictures by Walter Lantz. This predated his successes with ANDY PANDA, WOODY WOODPECKER, WALLY WALRUS, CHILLY WILLY and others.