Now Hear This (1962)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Chuck Jones
Maurice Noble (co-director)

Writers:

John W. Dunn (story) &
Chuck Jones (story)

Release Date:

27 April 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Short | Animation | Comedy

Plot:

In this very abstract cartoon, a hard-of-hearing old Britisher finds a red horn and uses it as a megaphone...

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Looney Tunes | Ear Trumpet | Hell | Phonograph

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Vocal effects (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Chuck Jones
Maurice Noble		(co-director)

Writing credits
John W. Dunn		(story) (as John Dunn) &
Chuck Jones		(story)

Produced by
David H. DePatie	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Lava		(as Bill Lava)

Film Editing by
Treg Brown		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Treg Brown	....	sound effects

Animation Department
Bob Bransford	....	animator
Philip DeGuard	....	background artist
Ben Washam	....	animator

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

6 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This was the first Warner Bros cartoon to use the "modern" Looney Tunes opening and closing sequence featuring stylized animation, an abstract WB logo, zooming "OO" in the word "Cartoon", swirling zooming lines (in place of the zooming shield), and slick lettering, on a black background, all to a "modern" rendition of the Looney Tunes theme ("The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"). This title will also be used on four 1964 shorts ("Bartholomew Vs. The Wheel," "Senorella and the Glass Huarache," "Pancho's Hideaway" and "Road to Andalay,) and then every WB cartoon from 1965 to 1969.

Quotes:

[the only spoken line]
Voice: QUIET!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Tunes: Crash! Bang! Boom! - The Wild Sounds of Treg Brown (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Frat

hear we are

It's hard to deny that Chuck Jones was truly one of the geniuses of animation. His short "Now Hear This" seems a little bit like a precursor to the psychedelic era - which would hold sway within a few years - as a slightly deaf Brit picks up what he thinks is a hearing aid (actually one of Satan's horns) and it amplifies every sound into total wackiness.

What's the point of the cartoon? Why ask? This cartoon has as its purpose total abstraction, and it achieves that. "Now Hear This" certainly deserved its Oscar nomination (too bad that Chuck didn't win more during his lifetime). As the cartoon's not readily available on video or DVD, you can watch it on YouTube.