| Book Revue | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Robert Clampett |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Robert McKimson Rod Scribner Manny Gould C. Melendez |
| Layouts by | Thomas McKimson |
| Backgrounds by | Cornett Wood |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 7:01 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Book Revue is a 1946Warner Bros.Looney Tunes cartoon directed byBob Clampett.[1] The cartoon was released on January 5, 1946, and featuresDaffy Duck.[2]
A semi-remake of Clampett's earlier shortA Coy Decoy (1941), it also incorporates plot elements ofFrank Tashlin'sSpeaking of the Weather (1937) andHave You Got Any Castles (1938).
A collection of books becomes animated after midnight, starting with theComplete Works of Shakespeare, depicted as clockwork mechanisms to the tune of "My Grandfather's Clock". The narrative transitions to various book covers, includingYoung Man with a Horn, where a caricature ofHarry James begins playing "It Had to Be You" in jazz style. An emaciated caricature ofFrank Sinatra sings the song amidst the revelry, captivating other book cover characters. A jam session ensues, featuring a variety of characters from different books.
Daffy Duck interrupts the festivities and commands the music to stop. He reminisces in an accent akin toDanny Kaye's Russian characters before inadvertently teasing the Big Bad Wolf, who pursues Daffy through various book scenes. The police apprehend the Wolf, who is then sentenced tolife by a magazine coverjudge. The Wolf flees, but inadvertently falls into the cover ofDante's Inferno with the assistance of Sinatra.
The celebration continues as the characters dance to "Carolina in the Morning", but the Wolf emerges from Dante's Inferno, demanding an end to the dancing.
The film was reissued in 1951, asBook Review.[4] The original title is a pun, as arevue is a variety show, while areview is an evaluation of an artwork; this pun is however not retained in the title of the reissue.
Animation historian Steve Schneider writes that many of the cartoon's references are dated, "but who cares? ... Better simply to revel inBook Revue's headlong brio, overlapping settings, meticulous economy of gesture, intertwining narratives, resourceful color effects, super-efficient use of screen space—and a great, great turn by a duck called Daffy, as he dances, scat-sings, cavorts, and distorts in one of his true moments of glory...Book Revue is an encyclopedia of what can be done in the animated medium if you're brilliant enough."[6]
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