''Nelly's Folly'' is a 1961

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, 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 197 ...

'' cartoon short written and directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

. The short was released on December 30, 1961. It was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

in 1962. A singing giraffe leaves the jungle to pursue a singing career, but finds herself lonely and out of work following an affair. This cartoon may well have been at least part of what inspired "Money Becomes King" by Tom Petty.

Plot

The cartoon opens as a camera pans across the continent of Africa where the narrator describes how dark and terrifying it is, amid jungle sounds and roars. As the camera pans across the darkest area, we hear the melodious sound of someone singing. A second later, the camera opens on a singing giraffe named Nelly, who is performing for her animal friends. A hunter appears from out of the bush, surprised at the sight of this singing giraffe and remarks, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't hoid (heard) it with me own eyes!", and immediately has Nelly sign a contract offering her fame and fortune. Nelly waves a tearful goodbye to her friends in the jungle as she leaves for civilization, captivated by the idea of show business. Once she arrives in New York City, she is put to work singing jingles for "Algonquin Rutabaga Tonic" - a cure for ailments, puts on live stage shows, and produces a line of giraffe-neck sweaters. The camera closes in on a turtle reading a magazine article on the giraffe-neck clothing. His head turns toward the camera and he says, "Well, that's show business". Nelly releases several albums, but, over time, becomes lonely and disenchanted with fame and longs for male companionship. One day, she wanders into the Zoo and falls in love with a male giraffe, but she finds out he's already married (albeit unhappily, as the "wife" catches him looking at her). Scandal ensues and her agent tells her she's ruining her career (reduced to performing in empty opera houses and taking roles in foreign movies). She leaves show business to go back to her lover in the zoo, who is back together with his wife and wants nothing to do with a "has-been" celebrity. A devastated Nelly quits show business and goes back to Africa. Back in Africa, Nelly is seen singing a beautiful love song, her sad reflection in a pond, tears dripping from her eyes, and from the eyes of her jungle friends. Moments later, a large male giraffe begins singing along with her and, as if all the darkness in her life disappears, the two fall in love and the cartoon ends right then and there.

Crew

*Animation: Richard Thompson,

Ben Washam Benjamin Alfred Washam (March 17, 1915 – March 28, 1984) was an American animator who is best known for working under director Chuck Jones for nearly 30 years. According to his World War II draft registration, he was born in Newport, Jackson Cou ...

Tom Ray Thomas Archer Ray (August 2, 1919 – April 6, 2010) was an American animator. Career Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937, working under Tex Avery for six months. He applied for a job at MGM and wa ...

Ken Harris Karyl Ross "Ken" Harris (July 31, 1898 – March 24, 1982) was an American animator best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of director Chuck Jones. Life and career Ken Harris was born in Tulare County, Calif ...

*Layouts:

Maurice Noble Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American animation production designer, background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand man ...

*Backgrounds:

Philip DeGuard Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

*Film Editor:

Treg Brown Tregoweth Edmond "Treg" Brown (November 4, 1899 – April 28, 1984) was an American motion picture sound editor who was responsible for the sound effects in Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons from 1936 to 1963. ...

*Voice Characterizations:

Gloria Wood Gloria Wood (September 8, 1923 – March 4, 1995) was an American singer and voice actress. Her rare voice was in the four- octave range. She was able to imitate other voices. Background and career Born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1923, her fa ...

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

Ed Prentiss Paul Edward Prentiss (September 9, 1908 – March 19, 1992) was an actor in the era of old-time radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, ...

*Music:

Milt Franklyn Milton J. Franklyn (born Milton Julius Frumkin; September 16, 1897 – April 24, 1962) was an American musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoons. Career Franklyn was born in New York City Sept ...

*Produced by

David H. DePatie David Hudson DePatie (December 24, 1929 – September 23, 2021) was an American film and television producer who was the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio and the longest-living until his death. He also formed ...

& John W. Burton *Co-Directors:

Abe Levitow Abraham Levitow (July 2, 1922 – May 8, 1975) was an American animator who worked at Warner Bros. Cartoons, UPA and MGM Animation/Visual Arts. He is best known for his work under Chuck Jones' direction. Career Levitow was born in Los Angeles ...

*Story:

Dave Detiege Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

*Directed by

Music

* "Auld Lang Syne" * "The Flower of Gower Gulch" from ''

Drip-Along Daffy ''Drip-Along Daffy'' is a 1951 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' theatrical cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on November 17, 1951, and stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. This cartoon ...

'', written by

Michael Maltese Michael Maltese (February 6, 1908 – February 22, 1981) was an American story man for classic animated cartoon shorts. He is best known for working in the 1950s on a series of ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons with director Chuck Jones, notably "Wha ...

* "Voices of Spring", by

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

* "Aloha Oe", by

Queen Liliuokalani Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

* "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean", aka "The Red, White and Blue" * "Then You'll Remember Me", from Balfe's opera "

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwel ...

Home media

"Nelly's Folly" is included on the ''

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection Warner Bros.' library of Oscar-nominated cartoons were showcased in a DVD set released by Warner Home Video on February 12, 2008 that included their own Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, as well as Tom and Jerry, Droopy, and other classic MGM car ...

'' and '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3''. It was also included on the DVD release of the Warner Bros. film ''Sex and the Single Woman''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelly's Folly 1961 films 1961 animated films 1961 short films Merrie Melodies short films Short films directed by Chuck Jones Films directed by Abe Levitow Films directed by Maurice Noble Films scored by Milt Franklyn Animated films about animals 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films 1960s English-language films Films set in Africa Animated films set in New York City Films about adultery in the United States Films about singers