''The Merry Old Soul'' is a 1933 animated short film by

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

, as part of the

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is a cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 19 ...

series. The cartoon was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Plot

Oswald goes to a dental clinic for treatment to his cavity problem. While the dentist tries to pull out his damaged tooth, news break out of a radio in the shop, reporting that the king is in serious depression and needs to be cheered up. In this, Oswald abandons his dental treatment, and heads outside to spread the word. In his castle,

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1708. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index numbe ...

is having a long face for some reason. His personal jester tries to brighten him up but to no avail, and therefore, leaves the throne room. Oswald then shows up and reads to him a book of comical rhymes. The rabbit's attempt helps a little and the king's mood improves slightly. Other entertainers (caricatures of film comedians

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

, The

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

, and

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

Jeff Lenburg, "The Great Cartoon Directors", Da Capo Press, 1993, page 164.) also come in for a similar cause. Each of them has a distinctive method in providing comedy. It all comes down when some of them employs an act that involves hurling pies at each other. Eventually, everyone in the room joins the food fight, and so does the king who starts to enjoy it. Momentarily, the jester returns to the throne room to see what is happening. Upon noticing the king back in good spirits, the jester grows envious, and decides to take his grudge on one of the entertainers. The jester captures Oswald and brings the rabbit into a torture chamber at a basement of the castle. He then puts a

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

around Oswald's neck, with other end of the rope being pulled by three elephants. Oswald finds this ordeal impossible to get out of. It appears the experience at the castle was nothing more than a nightmare as Oswald wakes up and sees himself still at the dental clinic. The dentist, at last, succeeds in extracting the tooth, and Oswald is relieved of his dental worries.

Availability

The short is available on ''

The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection ''The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection'' is a three-disc DVD collection of theatrical cartoons produced by Walter Lantz Productions for Universal Pictures between 1930 and 1956. The set was released by Universal Studios Home ...

'' DVD box set.

References

External links

''The Merry Old Soul''
at the

Big Cartoon Database The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts. The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of Disney animated featu ...

1933 films 1933 animated films 1930s American animated films 1930s animated short films American black-and-white films Films about nightmares Films about dentistry Animated films about kings Animated films based on nursery rhymes Films directed by Walter Lantz Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons Universal Pictures animated short films Walter Lantz Productions shorts Animated films about animals Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of Charlie Chaplin Cultural depictions of Laurel & Hardy Cultural depictions of the Marx Brothers Cultural depictions of Jimmy Durante {{short-animation-film-stub

Plot

Availability

See also

References

External links