''Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!'' is the third title in the '' Merrie Melodies'' series, and features Foxy. It was released as early as August 15, 1931. It is directed by Rudolf Ising. This is one of only three Merrie Melodies cartoons to star Foxy; the other two being '' Lady, Play Your Mandolin!'' and '' One More Time''. This short is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of '' Trolley Troubles'', a Disney short featuring

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and Ozzie) is an animated series, animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short film ...

in whose creation Harman had once been involved. For the first time in a Warner Bros. cartoon, the short uses a gag, suggested by

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, film director, director, film producer, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the te ...

, that has characters from the trolley's

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

advertising posters ( Smith Brothers and others) come to life and perform a bit of business. This type of gag would become a recurring element across ''Merrie Melodies''. A segment of the cartoon was featured in 1986 '' Pee-wee's Playhouse'' episode "The Gang's All Here."

Synopsis

Foxy is a trolley

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whose problems include a fat lady

hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

who can't fit into the trolley and a set of wheels that detach from the trolley car when Foxy gets the trolley moving. Foxy picks up Roxy and gives her a ride, but along the way, the car is blocked by a cow wearing a dress and glasses, who won't get off the track. A group of nearby

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

s sing the title song while Foxy tries to move the cow; he finally runs the car underneath the cow and goes on his way. The trolley then goes down a hill and runs out of control; Foxy tries to stop it, but the

brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

s don't work. Finally, the trolley runs off of a cliff, throwing Foxy right into the camera... and then he falls from his bed, waking up from what has turned out to be just a nightmare. He realizes that the

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by his bed was playing the title song, and the annoyed Foxy smashes the radio with a bedpost.

Song

In 1931, English bandleader Billy Cotton

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the song. It was used, twice, in

Robert Zemeckis Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades incl ...

' 1988 film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'', first when Eddie Valiant arrives in Toontown, and then during the film's finale, both times being sung by the toons present in the film. In 2013, actor Christoph Waltz sang "Smile, Damn You, Smile" during his hosting duties on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.

Colorization

In 1973 and 1992, a colorized version was commissioned by

Fred Ladd Fred Laderman (February 19, 1927 – August 3, 2021),''T ...

and

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

. Due to the technological limitations of the time, the colorization process was done by tracing the original animation and then coloring it in. The colorization was completed in South Korea. *
Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931, Redrawn and Colorized).mp4

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Home media / Streaming

* DVD - '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'' * DVD - ''Return of the 30s Characters'' * Max

References

Notes

External links

*
''Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!''
at the

Big Cartoon DataBase The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) was 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 f ...

* 1931 films Merrie Melodies short films Remakes of American films Films about dreams Films scored by Frank Marsales Animated films about foxes Films directed by Rudolf Ising Foxy (Merrie Melodies) films Rail transport films Short film remakes 1931 songs 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films 1930s English-language films Films with screenplays by Bob Clampett English-language short films American animated black-and-white films 1931 animated short films {{MerrieMelodies-stub