Author Archives: dcaligari

June 22, 1955 – Disney’s first film about dog breeding, The Lady and the Tramp, was released on this date. Walt Disney originally didn’t want to include the ‘Bella Notte‘ spaghetti-eating scene, now one of the most iconic moments in the whole Disney canon.

June 22, 1946 – The Merrie Melodies short Hollywood Daffy, starring Daffy Duck, was released on this date. This is the first directorial work of Hawley Pratt for the series. Since Friz Freleng refused to work with it, Pratt probably served as the solo director of the cartoon. .

June 22, 1940 – The Merrie Melodies short, Circus Today, directed by Tex Avery, was released on this date. After circling the globe, the Human Cannonball has stickers from England, China, France, Italy, Hawaii, Asia, the Alps, and it appears there are two stamps from Bali.

June 07, 1957 –The Looney Tunes short, Boston Quackie, directed by Bob Clamplett and starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, was released on this date. At the opening, the announcer says, “Friend to those who need no friends; enemy to those who have no enemies.” This is a spoof of a line from the openingContinue reading “Boston Quackie premiered”

June 22, 1968 –This Guy’s in Love with You by Herb Alpert topped the charts on this date. Alpert sang this to his first wife in a 1968 TV special called The Beat of the Brass. The sequence was taped on the beach in Malibu. The song was not intended to be released, but afterContinue reading “You see this guy …”

Today is Father’s Day. Remember, many people will say that the best gift you can give a Dad is your love (or a good nap) – I say, provide Dad (or at least me) a perfectly chilled martini before dinner. Dads, don’t get too cocky, celebrating the day – While Mother’s Day has been aContinue reading “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. — F. Scott Fitzgerald Today is the first day of Summer, also known as the Summer Solstice. It’s theContinue reading “If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed”

June 21, 1969 –In an ill-advised attempted to make the British royal family seem more ‘approachable‘, the BBC airs the documentary Royal Family, on this date. Created at the behest (I absolutely love the word behest,) of Queen Elizabeth, eager to humanize the Royal Family at a time of social upheaval, it only aired twice.Continue reading “Watch this if you dare”

June 21, 1988 – Robert Zemeckis’ incredible advance in animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, opened in NYC on this date. Since the movie was being made by Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, Warner Bros. would only allow use of their biggest cartoon stars, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, if they got as much screen time as MickeyContinue reading “Work’s been kinda slow since cartoons went to color”

June 21, 1941 –The Looney Tunes short, Porky’s Prize Pony, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, was released on this date. The Good Housekeeping seal of approval, spoofed here, was an important indicator of an item’s quality at the time of this short. It continues to be awarded today.