''I Love to Singa'' is a 1936 Warner Bros. ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

cartoon directed by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

. The short was released on July 18, 1936.

Plot

''I Love to Singa'' depicts the story of an owlet (singing voice of Jackie Morrow, speaking voice of Tommy Bond) who wants to sing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, instead of the

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

that his German-accented parents wish him to perform. The plot is a tribute to

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

's film ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

''. The owlet's disciplinarian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist father, Professor

Fritz Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...

Owl (voiced by

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disn ...

), kicks him out of the family's home after catching him singing jazz instead of "

Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" is a popular old song, the lyrics of which are the poem " To Celia" by the English playwright Ben Jonson, first published in 1616. Lyrics After this song had been popular for almost two centuries, scholars beg ...

" to the pump organ accompaniment of his mother (voiced by

Martha Wentworth Verna Martha Wentworth (June 2, 1889 – March 8, 1974) was an American actress. Her vocal variety led to her being called the "Actress of 100 Voices". Biography Wentworth was born on June 2, 1889 in New York City. After graduating from ...

). While wandering, he encounters a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

contest Contest may refer to: * Competition * Will contest * Contesting, amateur radio contesting (radiosport) Film and television * ''Contest'' (2013 film), an American film * Contest (1932 film), a German sports film * " The Contest", a 1992 season ...

(clearly a takeoff of the ''

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

''), hosted by "Jack Bunny" (a pun on

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

and later used in ''

Goofy Groceries ''Goofy Groceries'' is a 1941 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated short film directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on March 29, 1941. Bearing a similar premise to earlier WB shorts ''Speaking of the Weather'' and '' Have You Got ...

'', voiced by

Tedd Pierce Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906 – February 19, 1972) was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s. Biography Pierce was the son of a stockbroker, Samue ...

). Billing himself as "Owl Jolson" (a reference to

), he performs and his parents, worried sick about him (his father now regrets throwing him out) hear him over the radio. They rush to the station. Jack Bunny has decided Owl Jolson wins First Prize, but when the owlet sees his family watching him from outside the studio, he reverts to singing "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes". Jack Bunny is about to revoke the prize, but the family bursts in and Owl Jolson's father, finally having realized his son's potential, allows him to freely sing jazz.

Production notes

* The first owlet hatched sang the opening bars of "Chi mi frena in tal momento", from the opera ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

''. (Papa Fritz compared him to the great opera singer

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

.) Translated in Italian is "Who is holding me back at this time?" * The second owlet to hatch played the beginning of "

Träumerei ' (, "Scenes from Childhood"), Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. History and description Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. The unused mov ...

" by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

on the violin. (Papa Fritz compared him to the violinist

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was know ...

.) * The third owlet, a flautist, played the first notes of "Spring Song" by

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

from his work ''

Songs Without Words ''Songs Without Words'' (') is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre. Music The ...

''. * The fourth owlet emerges singing jazz, causing his mother to faint. Papa decides that "if he must sing, we will teach him to sing like we want him to". Owl Jolson sings (badly and off key, due to his loathing of classical music) "

", the lyrics of which are

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

's 1616 poem "Song To Celia." Whenever Mama had to pause playing her pump organ to turn the sheet music page, Jolson managed to get in a few bars of "I Love to Singa". However, Papa Fritz came over and caught Jolson singing the latter. * The first known reject in the contest played a few bars of "

Listen to the Mocking Bird "Listen to the Mocking Bird" (1855) is an American popular song of the mid-19th century. Its lyrics were composed by Septimus Winner under the pseudonym "Alice Hawthorne", and its music was by Richard Milburn. It relates the story of a singer drea ...

" on the harmonica. * The blackbird in the blue jacket played a few bars of "Nola", composed by

Felix Arndt Felix Arndt (May 20, 1889October 16, 1918) was an American pianist and composer of popular music. His mother was the Countess Fevrier, related to Napoleon III. His father, Hugo Arndt, was Swiss-born. Educated in New York (his music teachers incl ...

, on the saxophone. * The bird with the accordion briefly played "

Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people c ...

". * The dark, operatic bird sang a line from the silent film '' Laugh, Clown, Laugh'', even though the lyrics to the theme song don't have those actual words (this version was later used in ''

Yankee Doodle Daffy ''Yankee Doodle Daffy'' is a Warner Bros.'' Looney Tunes'' theatrical cartoon short released on June 5, 1943, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was the second Technicolor ''Looney Tunes'' entry to feature Porky ...

'' when

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many criti ...

opened the door and saw

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

dressed as the clown singing, then shut the door). * The overweight bird (voiced by

Bernice Hansen Berneice Edna Hansell (July 11, 1897 – April 16, 1981), known as Bernice Hansen, was an American Voice acting, voice actress. She was best known for providing the voices for both female and young male characters in the mid to late 1930s for var ...

) got only a few notes of "

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of Premier Leag ...

" sung before being rejected. * The country bumpkin bird (voiced by Lou Fulton) stuttered through the first and almost all of the second verse of the nursery rhyme Simple Simon before voluntarily rejecting himself.

Reception

As with several early Warners cartoons, it is in a sense a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

designed to push a song from the Warners library. The song in question, "I Love to Singa", was first written by

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

and

E.Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards " Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ...

for the

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Warner Bros. feature-length film ''

The Singing Kid ''The Singing Kid'' is a 1936 American musical film directed by William Keighley and written by Warren Duff and Pat C. Flick. Starring Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Beverly Roberts, Edward Everett Horton, Lyle Talbot and Allen Jenkins, it was released ...

''. It is performed three times in the film: first by

and

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...

, then by the Yacht Club Boys and Jolson, and finally again by Calloway and Jolson. During this period, it was customary for Warners to have their animation production partner,

Leon Schlesinger Productions Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it was ...

, make ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons based upon songs from their features. The cartoon has become a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

favorite, with a pervasive impact on popular culture. The short, one of the earliest ''Merrie Melodies'' produced in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

's three-color process, is recognized as one of Avery's early masterpieces. Musicologist Daniel Goldmark writes, "''I Love to Singa'' may be one of the most instantly endearing cartoons Warner Bros. ever created. The story combines two themes that are as popular then as they are now—a child breaking away from his parents and contesting chasing the 'rags-to-riches' promise of amateur shows." Animation historian

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including '' The 50 Greates ...

agrees, "While not as wacky as Tex Avery's later works, ''I Love to Singa'' is still the perfect metaphor for the changes this great director brought to the studio. Instead of following stuffy cartoon convention, Tex taught his peers to march to their own drummers."

Legacy

The May 7, 2013 episode of '' The Looney Tunes Show'', "Gribbler's Quest", featured a Merrie Melodies segment in which

Gossamer Gossamer most commonly refers to: * Fine spider silk used by spiderlings for ballooning or kiting * Gossamer (fabric), very light, sheer, gauze-like fabric Gossamer may also refer to: Technology * Gossamer Condor, the first human-powered ai ...

plays the piano and sings "I Love to Singa" (with new audio sung by Kwesi Boakye). This was one of two instances of the show's Merrie Melodies segment using a classic song rather than a new composition with the other instance being " Yellow Bird". However, the lyrics were changed to remove racist terms such as "mammy." In the first episode of the American animated television series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'', "

Cartman Gets an Anal Probe "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''South Park''. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle B ...

", Cartman is hit by an alien beam, causing him to begin singing and dancing to "I Love to Singa". Owl Jolson appears in several levels of the video game tie-in to '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'', singing "I Love to Singa" via archive audio.

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

and

will comment upon Owl when they get close enough.

Home media

* VHS – Cartoon Moviestars Porky! * LaserDisc – Cartoon Moviestars Daffy and Porky! * VHS – ''

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'' is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM Home Entertainment, MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being ...

'' * LaserDisc – ''

'' * DVD – ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...

'' * DVD – '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2'' * Blu-ray/DVD – '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1'' * DVD – ''

References

External links

* *
''I Love to Singa (Blue Ribbon)'' on the Internet Archive
{{authority control 1936 songs 1936 short films 1930s color films 1936 animated films 1930s American animated films American comedy short films Films scored by Norman Spencer (composer) Films directed by Tex Avery Merrie Melodies short films Films about owls 1930s English-language films American animated short films Animated films about birds American musical comedy films 1939 musical comedy films