Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

1931 animated film

September 5, 1931 (1931-09-05)

Running time

7 minutesLanguageEnglish

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! is a 1931 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Rudolf Ising.^[1] The short was released on September 5, 1931, and features Foxy, an early Merrie Melodies star.^[2]^[3]

This is one of only three Merrie Melodies cartoons to star Foxy; the other two are Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (August 1931) and One More Time (October 3, 1931). This short is a remake of Trolley Troubles, a Disney short featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit 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, that has characters from the trolley's parody 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.^[4]

A segment of the cartoon was featured in "The Gang's All Here", the twelfth episode of the 1980s children's series Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Synopsis

Foxy is a trolley engineer whose problems include a fat lady hippo 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 hobos 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 brakes don't work. Finally, the trolley runs off of a cliff, throwing Foxy right into the camera... and then he falls from bed, waking up from what has turned out to be just a nightmare. The radio by his bed is playing the title song, and the annoyed Foxy smashes the radio with a bedpost upon hearing it.

Song

In 1931, English bandleader Billy Cotton covered the song.^[5]

It was used, two times, in Robert Zemeckis' 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 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.^[6]

Colorization

In 1973 and 1992, a colorized version was commissioned by Fred Ladd and Ted Turner. 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.^[7]

Home media

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

Streaming

References

^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 5. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 83. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising (1931). "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931)" – via Internet Archive.
^ Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 40. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
^ Billy Cotton And His Orchestra (1931). "Smile Darn Ya, Smile". Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
^ Slezak, Michael (February 17, 2013). "Christoph Waltz Hosts Saturday Night Live: Watch Video of the Best and Worst Sketches". TVLine. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
^
- Beck, Jerry (January 20, 2012). ""Smile Darn Ya, Smile": To Color Or Not To Color a Classic". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931, Redrawn and Colorized).mp4 Internet Archive