Fiddlesticks (film)
| Fiddlesticks | |
|---|---|
| Flip the Frog series | |
| Directed by | Ub Iwerks |
| Produced by | Celebrity Pictures |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Distributed by | M-G-M |
| Release date(s) | August 16, 1930 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6:12 min |
| Language | English |
Fiddlesticks is a ground-breaking 1930 animated cartoon film. This was the first animated sound cartoon that was photographed in two-strip Technicolor, and was also Ub Iwerks's first cartoon since he departed from Walt Disney's studio.
This film was simultaneously released with King of Jazz, a musical revue, and was released with a cartoon depicting how Paul Whiteman, the music director of the film, "became the King of Jazz". The animation was made at Lantz Productions.
This cartoon appeared in the music video for Eminem's song "The Real Slim Shady".
Plot synopsis
Flip is seen dancing on lilypads until he reaches land and dries himself off. He walks to a party, where he performs a dance for the audience, accidentally climbing to a spider web. He also performs a duet, playing piano alongside an unnamed mouse on violin. They perform two songs, which on the first, the mouse starts crying, so does Flip and the piano. The second song makes Flip start hugging the piano, which kicks Flip. The cartoon ends with Flip beating on the piano - he kicks all the piano keys into the air, and they drop onto him.
Significance
This is the first film in the Flip the Frog series. The sound system for this film was Powers Cinephone, the same system used for Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928).
The unnamed mouse in the cartoon bears a striking resemblance to Mortimer Mouse, the original concept behind Mickey Mouse, both of whom were first animated by Ub Iwerks.