As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna and Barbera and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. Actually appreciate it even more now through young adult eyes, thanks to broader knowledge and taste and more interest in animation styles and various studios and directors.Have a lot of appreciation and admiration for Friz Freleng, while not one of my all-time favourites in animation. His early work was very variable but when on top form and in his prime the best of his work was great and even more. 'The Fighting 69 1/2th' is not one of Freleng's best. It is a very good cartoon though, even there are funnier, wittier and fresher cartoons from him, and saw signs of him finding his feet and settling. 'The Fighting 69 1/2th' may be predictable at times and the momentum could have had more sharpness at times. While there are no misfires, a few gags are not as funny as others and could have had more freshness.Mel Blanc as always does a fantastic job with the voice work, showing an unparalleled ability to bring individuality to multiple characters. The characters are cute with fun personalities, their interaction is one of 'The Fighting 69 1/2th's' biggest pleasures.The animation is as always bright and colourful, with lots of smooth movement, imaginative detail in the gags and rich and meticulous detail in the backgrounds. Carl Stalling's music score is as ever high in energy, liveliness, character, lushness and whimsy, and not only is dynamic and fits effortlessly with the action but enhances everything.What's more, 'The Fighting 69 1/2th' is entertaining, with some amusing wildness, wit and bite starting to show at this point in the dialogue. Plus there are some beautifully timed and animated and imaginative sight gags, that contain some surprises and a lively pace. Luckily the war element is not done in an over-the-top or heavy-handed way.Overall, definitely worth seeing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

. . . to view every motion picture solely in the context of its predecessor movies. Therefore, they play connect-the-dots between a Warner Bros. live-action James Cagney feature titled THE FIGHTING 69th and this seven-minute Looney Tune, THE FIGHTING 69 1/2th. Somebody who's actually watched BOTH flicks all the way through might quibble that the Cagney piece is about Real Life World War One Trench Warfare, while the cartoon SEEMS to concern ants at a picnic. What could be more different? However, when a Warnologist versed in deciphering Looney Tune Prophesy studies this animated short, the focus shifts to the question of WHO would leave an entire chocolate cake, plus a cheesecake, watermelon, salad, sandwich fixings, and a jug of olives UNATTENDED in Central Park for seven minutes, and WHY? As the half-seen (her blouse is probably ripped off!) human female victim tries to salvage her picnic things at the end of this tale, it becomes clear that Warner is depicting the marital rape aftermath of the "reconciliation picnic" Mrs. Trump the Second had gone to such pains to spread out. Warner is proactively urging the 2016 American Voting Public to educate themselves on New York State's Statute of Limitations for rapists BEFORE casting a ballot for Donald J. Hump.

One of the many one-shot cartoons released by Warner Bros. but not well remembered - it only recently got released as part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 - "The Fighting 69 1/2th" portrays two groups of ants who go to war over a picnic blanket. Well, that's more justifiable than launching a war against a sovereign country just to gain control of its resources. The formic armies use pieces of food as weapons; that's better than nuclear weapons, right? The attempted negotiations don't go so well; not even Sergio Vieira de Mello could have helped these ants.Long story short, wars fought by cartoon characters look much more pleasant than wars turn out to be in real life. Friz Freleng's cartoon - stripped of its opening credits in the Blue Ribbon reissue - is pretty entertaining. Not a masterpiece, but worth seeing.

The most memorable part of this cartoon (in my estimation)is where the red ant and black ant generals are atop the picnic cake that has a big red cherry at its center. They use their swords to draw a line across the top of the cake dividing it in two, with the cherry carefully selected to be on their side. Arguments ensue, each general erasing the other's dividing line with his feet and using his sword to draw a new one with the cherry on his side. After several back-and-forth erasures WAR is declared and, among other things, Limburger cheese is shot from slingshots at the opposing sides in an all-out battle. In the trenches, Gas Masks are donned by both sides which then engage in fierce hand-to-hand combat.