Viva Willie (1934)

Willie tells his friend that he was once a cowboy.

Director:

Ub Iwerks (uncredited)

Storyline

Willie and a friend are playing Cowboys and Indians when they happen across a statue of a pistol-wielding Poncho Villa. In an attempt to prove that he too is a tough guy, Willie spins a tall tale about his former life as a cowboy. Willie's girlfriend is harassed by another cowboy in a saloon where she dances. Willie engages in a gunfight to defend her honor. Meanwhile, Willie's horse is drinking beer from an unattended barrel. When the cowboy kidnaps Willie's girlfriend, he and his drunken horse must follow. A combination of creativity and haphazard luck allow Willie to save his girlfriend from the cowboy and his gang.

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Plot Keywords:

cowboy | tall tale | saloon | playing cowboys and indians | gunfight | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Heading for the Last Roundup
Written by Billy Hill
Performed by McKinney's Cotton Pickers

User Reviews

Cowboy Willie

Ub Iwerks's Willie Whopper series of cartoons was short-lived, only lasting a year from 1933 to 1934. On the most part the Willie Whopper cartoons are not great or cartoon/animated masterpieces and it is sort of understandable as to why Willie didn't make it bigger. However they are far from terrible ones either and do amuse and charm.

1934's 'Viva Willie' is the final Willie Whopper cartoon. It is also not one of the best Willie Whopper cartoons to me, towards the weaker half. It's still pretty entertaining though. And this is coming from somebody who has only just gotten acquainted with the series as a huge animation fan. Just don't expect a masterpiece or too much.

'Viva Willie' is on the formulaic side with conflict that is somewhat predictable, it is not hard to figure out at all how it all ends or what goes on in the cartoon.

Willie himself is a bit bland and a fairly limited character, while still being likeable, and the material is also bland and lacks variety.

However, there is a lot of nice background work, smooth drawing, lively black and white and inventive little things. The music is energetic and characterful with appealing orchestration. The cartoon goes at a lively pace, has an appealing charm, is amusing and the tale is wonderfully outlandish.

There are a lot of very amusing and sweet little laughs which makes it entertaining. Although slightly bland, Willie avoids being annoying and he avoids being sickly sweet as well, fairly likeable. The supporting characters are lively enough. The setting is nicely done though it has been handled more inventively elsewhere. The ending is the cartoon's highlight.

In summary, pretty entertaining but not the best of cartoons for a short-lived character to go out on. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1934 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Celebrity Productions, Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1