I swear the animal playing the waiter was a gorilla or ape...Gotta represent the mindset back in that day.
6 Reviews
Looney Tunes during the years where they were still trying to find their niche.
planktonrules20 November 2021
During much of the 1930s, Looney Tunes had a hard time establishing a personality for their cartoons. All the great characters we love weren't yet created and so many of the early shorts just seem random....as if the studio was trying to find its way. "Goopy Geer" is a good example of this...with a character you'd see only three times.
Like many of the Harmon-Ising directed Looney Tunes shorts, this one features music very prominently...something you'd almost never see in the following decades. The short is set at a nightclub for various animals and Goopy Geer the dog plays the piano to entertain patrons. Most of the cartoon consists of various gags involving the audience and staff of the establishment.
So is it any good? Well, the animation if pretty much what you'd expect. Like nearly all shorts of the era (aside from Disney, which had an exclusive contract with Technicolor), it's in black & white and the animation quality is very nice...a huge improvement over the studio's early output (such as their Bosco films). In fact, it's backgrounds an animation are nearly as good as the output from the Fleischers....and that's high praise indeed for 1932.
As for the story and plot, it's decent and a bit better than average for Looney Tunes of 1932. My score of 7 is relative to other cartoons of 1932 and should NOT be taken to mean it's as good or even close to being as good as Looney Tunes' classic output from the 1940s and early 50s.
By the way, I have HBOMax was was surprised that hidden within the app for it is a section on Looney Tunes cartoons. I assumed it would be their later stuff, but many very early cartoons are posted there...and in absolutely pristine condition, like "Goopy Geer".
Like many of the Harmon-Ising directed Looney Tunes shorts, this one features music very prominently...something you'd almost never see in the following decades. The short is set at a nightclub for various animals and Goopy Geer the dog plays the piano to entertain patrons. Most of the cartoon consists of various gags involving the audience and staff of the establishment.
So is it any good? Well, the animation if pretty much what you'd expect. Like nearly all shorts of the era (aside from Disney, which had an exclusive contract with Technicolor), it's in black & white and the animation quality is very nice...a huge improvement over the studio's early output (such as their Bosco films). In fact, it's backgrounds an animation are nearly as good as the output from the Fleischers....and that's high praise indeed for 1932.
As for the story and plot, it's decent and a bit better than average for Looney Tunes of 1932. My score of 7 is relative to other cartoons of 1932 and should NOT be taken to mean it's as good or even close to being as good as Looney Tunes' classic output from the 1940s and early 50s.
By the way, I have HBOMax was was surprised that hidden within the app for it is a section on Looney Tunes cartoons. I assumed it would be their later stuff, but many very early cartoons are posted there...and in absolutely pristine condition, like "Goopy Geer".
Mild cartoon with an unappealing star
J. Spurlin29 April 2008
At a nightclub, the crowd demands Goopy Geer, and the lanky dog doesn't disappoint them. He gives a zany performance on the piano, but the employees and the customers are just as wacky. A gorilla waiter dances while serving. Three identical cats display a peculiar way of eating. A chicken has a nauseating way of making chicken soup. The nightclub singer tells corny jokes. Even the hat racks come to life and dance. A horse imbibing a too-strong drink provides the show-stopper.
The chicken soup gag, and another one with a hippo getting goosed, prove that crude humor is not limited to modern children's films. As for the unappealing Goopy Geer: he makes one long for the bland Bosko. Or more of the hat racks.
The chicken soup gag, and another one with a hippo getting goosed, prove that crude humor is not limited to modern children's films. As for the unappealing Goopy Geer: he makes one long for the bland Bosko. Or more of the hat racks.
Kinda good in my opinion
seraphimoneil4 March 2024
Even though we spend some time on the customers and parts of the cartoon are rehashed from"Lady, Play your Mandolin!", Its decent. Rudolf Ising was trying to make a star for the Merrie Melodies. Goopy Beer reappeared in 2 more cartoons. "Moonlight for Two", and " The Queen was in the Parlor". My favorite moment is when the horse looks in the mirror and turns into a deer, Lion, dragon and Ghandi? Overall its a good cartoon from 1932. I have to have 600 letters in here so I'm doing the crew who worked on this Cartoon.
Director: Rudolf Ising Animation: Friz Freleng, Rollin Hamilton Music: Frank Marsales.
Featuring John Murray as Goopy Geer.
Director: Rudolf Ising Animation: Friz Freleng, Rollin Hamilton Music: Frank Marsales.
Featuring John Murray as Goopy Geer.
Goopy Geer is another entertaining Merrie Melodies cartoon from Harmon-Ising
tavm4 June 2007
Goopy Gear is the title character in this Merrie Melodies cartoon from Hugh Harmon-Rudolf Ising Productions in association with Leon Schlesinger and distributed by Warner Bros. He is a piano-playing dog who plays while the customers dance. There's the gorilla waiter who I just saw in Lady, Play Your Mandolin! Same goes for that alcohol-drinking horse who sees his reflection in the mirror and some hallucinations there as well! My favorite gag in here is when the waiter orders some soup and the chicken swims in it for a while before it is served! Loved the keys-playing sequences the best. Worth a look for anyone interested in early animated cartoons from Warner Bros.
A very cute and underrated short
ddempseylewis3 March 2023
I saw this on HBO max and I find this short to be very adorable. All of the characters here are very likable and have great personality , the songs are memorable and catchy, the pacing is consistent, and the voice acting is superb for something made in the 30's. The designs of the characters are cute, especially goopy and the zoop chicken. I don't understand why this short has a low rating here on this site. If there is anything to criticize about it, it is how it depicted Gandhi even though the writers didn't know any better as this was before Gandhi achieved what he wanted and became a heroic figure in history.
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